Blessed2Bless by Steve Klusmeyer
A Place to Go
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Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum
Mansfield, Missouri
Photo by Steve Klusmeyer
Little House Beginnings
In 1894, Almanzo and Laura Wilder and their daughter Rose left Dakota Territory in a covered wagon and moved to the Ozark hills near Mansfield, Missouri. Over the next nineteen years, Rocky Ridge Farm would grow from a one-room cabin to a large two-story farmhouse on 200 acres of improved land. In 1932, Laura Ingalls Wilder would publish the first of her Little House books. All nine manuscripts for her famous series would be written on this farm.We had a chance to visit the farm and museum last week. Most of the house and furnishings are just as Laura left them prior to her death in 1957. One sight caught my attention - a bench, probably constructed by Almanzo, set among the trees a few yards from the house. From the bench, one could observe the peaceful wooded hillside or watch the passing traffic on nearby Highway 60. Several images passed through my mind.
A Place of Solitude
The bench represented a place to be alone, a quiet place. This was a place to escape, a shelter from the maddening rush of the world. This was a place to dream - a place to reflect.A Place of Companionship
But the bench also represented a place to be together, a friendly place. This was a place for sweethearts to wish upon a star - a place for a mother and child to imagine lions and zebras in the clouds above - a place for a grandpa to tell stories of days gone by to his inquisitive grandson. This was a place just to be together - a place to share.A Place to Go
Do you have a special place to go - a place of solitude, a place of companionship? There is one who can help you find such a place even in the midst of life's turmoil. He can satisfy your deepest longings and needs. Learn more.Learn more about the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.