Wilder Days at Mansfield

Wilder Days had a really good turnout. It was a beautiful day - got a little warm in the afternoon, but not intolerable.

As usual, there were many things to experience. In town, vendors and crafters were set up in the square, and antique & classic cars lined the street for the car show. The Mansfield Area Historical Society was open, displaying many artifacts of the town’s history - including items of Laura and Almanzo. That’s where I was most of the day: they kindly had me set up there selling & signing my books.

I did take a break to go to Rocky Ridge in time for Lucy Lee Flippin’s reading with Bill Anderson. They read a scene from Farmer Boy - the blacking brush thrown on the parlor wall - and then Ms. Flippin read Eliza Jane’s account of her homesteading experience.

 Crafters were scattered around the museum grounds, too. Also at the home site, the stairs in the farmhouse were opened so that you could peek upstairs. David Scrivener played tunes on Pa’s actual fiddle. This year, the Association held a fiddling contest, so it was a very musical day. Many other contests took place throughout the day: Laura look-alike, beard, watermelon spitting, and greased pig, among others...something for everyone. You can see photos of many of these activities on the Museum’s Facebook page.

That about wraps up my Laura season. We’re back in Texas now, and boy, is it hot! The cooler temperatures up north will sure be missed for the next couple months.