One Room Schoolhouse Dedicated on Wilder Property, Malone NY

I am sorry that this was not posted on this site anywhere beforehand but perhaps some of you knew about it.  Last Saturday I travelled to the James Wilder property near Malone, NY to attend the dedication of a red, one room schoolhouse that has been built on the property in honour of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Eliza Jane Wilder and teacher everywhere.  The following is a write up for another group that I belong to.  I will include pictures as well below.  Enjoy!

It was a wonderful day. We arrived before 4pm on Friday night and went to the
farm. It's amazing getting your first glimpse of a place that you have only
read about and dream to visit. We met up with John, Sue and Misty. We crossed
the street and headed to the Trout River, such a pretty spot. We then went on
to find the schoolhouse where Almanzo attended school. It had recently fallen
down.
My family and I left the others and went to explore the town of Malone. We took
pictures at the fair grounds and the town square.
The next day we arrived early to get in the lines before they got too long. I
went into the bookstore to buy Bill Anderson's new book about Walnut Grove. We
had a few minutes so we decided to tour the house but we only got the main floor
done before we had to get to the autograph line. Thankfully we were at the
front of which became likely a 3 or 4 hr line. We learned later than there were
2000 paid visitors and I think they all were in that autograph line!! Lucy Lee
was very sweet and it was a really nice moment that we shared together. Then I
got to Dean and he knew me, very sweet. I reminded him of my name but he knew.
We chatted about next year's 40th Anniversary events. He told me that he would
be in WG. When I mentioned Green Bay, he said that they would have to
reschedule if any LHOP cast members would attend. He shrugged his shoulders and
gave me the impression that if it could be rescheduled then he could do both.
He told Diva Sue that he had agreed to attend WG, all he had to do was sign the
contract.
Next I got to chat with my good friend Bill Anderson as he signed my new book.
He and I have had some one on one chats and so it was really good to see him
again. We didn't chat for long due to the line but it was amazing to see him
again.
We went back to see the upper floor of the house and the barns. the only
original Wilder owned item in the house is a coverlet on the parents bed. It
was given to the Wilder farm from Mansfield and had been cut in half, the other
half remains in Mansfield. There are also towels that belonged to Rose. The
floor boards in the boys' room are the same that Almanzo walked on and in the
girls' room Mother Wilder's loom is set up between the beds.
The barns are enormous and there are stalls for every animal. I can now picture
where each farm animal rested each night. The only missing building was the ice
house.
The crowd began to gather under the tent shelters for the ceremony so we made
our way there too. It was fun to chat with the others around and hear stories
and talk about Laura and Almanzo. Many people didn't know much about them so it
was fun to answer their questions. All 3 special guests spoke at the dedication
ceremony for the new one room schoolhouse that was lovingly built in honour of
Laura and Eliza Jane and teachers everywhere. Dean and Bill have been there
multiple times but this was Lucy's first visit to the farm, her first visit to
the state of NY since age 19. Dean told how his life has been forever changed,
for the absolute good, since being hired to play Almanzo. It was sweet.
There was a tree planting ceremony in honour of the schoolchildren who had
donated and the school tours that helped fund the new building. Honourary
Almanzo and Laura helped in the planting with Dean, Lucy and Bill adding a
shovelful to set the tree. Then they all moved to the door of the school for a
ribbon cutting ceremony. Lucy cut the ribbon in honour of Eliza Jane, very
touching. The new school was beautiful. The building itself is complete but
they need more time to fill the room with desks.
After the ceremony Dean was standing outside and I asked him for a picture. He
was really supposed to be somewhere but he took the time for me. What a great
guy. Unfortunately this pic is on my brother's camera and I have to wait for
him to give it to me. I'll share it as soon as I can, promise.
We prepared to leave and said our goodbyes to John, Sue, Misty and the others
whom we I knew from Laurapalooza. We had a 6 hr drive ahead so we had to get
moving. It was a wonderful weekend.

The Trout River where Almanzo loved to fish is located directly across the street from the house. It is such a pretty place and was one of the spots that I wanted to head to first to get pictures of.




Meeting Lucy Lee Flippin was a very special moment. I have now met 12 LHOP cast members.

I have met Dean Butler four times now.  He recognized me as one of Dean's Divas but I reminded him of my name so he didn't have to guess.




Lucy cut the ribbon in honour of Eliza Jane Wilder.  I think she really enjoyed her first time at the REAL Wilder farm.  It was my first visit there too and I had a blast!!




LIW biographer and expert William Anderson helps to plant a tree in honour of the schoolchildren who donated money for the schoolhouse and for those who have visited the farm with their school classes.

Thanks for posting your experience at The Wilder Property Marilyn. How fun that must've been!  

Thanks for posting, Marilyn. Lucy Lee Flippin looks amazing. 

Doesn't she though?  She and Dean are aging very well!

Great post, Marilyn!  Thank you!

oh very nice. 

Marilyn, which 12 cast members have you met?  That's impressive!

I got more pics from my brother. Will post them Wed afternoon.

Rob wrote:

Marilyn, which 12 cast members have you met?  That's impressive!

Dean Butler, 4 times
Alison Arngrim 2 times
Karen Grassle
Hersha Parady
Patrick Labrateux
Lindsay Greenbush
Sidney Greenbush
Wendi Turnbaugh
Brenda Turnbaugh
Charlotte Stewart 2 times
Melissa Sue Anderson
Lucy Lee Flippin

And I was about 10 feet from Melissa Gilbert when she was in the musical in Toronto. I was in one of the front rows.

What a beautiful building.

My favourite picture of all.

Awesome trip!

These are awesome. So glad you got to go Marilyn. Dean and Lucy look amazing. I am so glad they are people that seem to embrace the rolls they played in LH.
One day I will get up there, and I wonder how big that little tree will be by then??

Beautiful, Marilyn!

Thanks for sharing Marilyn's article with us, Muriel!  Marilyn, wonderful article and pictures!  I can tell that this trip meant a great deal to you!  Gin, like you, I am so pleased that Dean has made his Almanzo connection a part of his life.  I appreciate any of the cast that has embraced their characters to the extent of bringing awareness to the history.


I love the red schoolhouse, especially that they painted it authentically with either milk paint or chalk paint that would have been available at the time. Looks so cool!

It was such a wonderful day and YIS, it is really amazing that Dean, Lucy and many of the other cast members are helping to keep Laura's legacy alive by attending reunions and visiting heritage sites.  Dean in particular has worked so hard to do this by putting out documentaries about both Almanzo and Laura.  It was funny, at the dedication of the schoolhouse he stated that his tombstone will still link him to Almanzo.  We all laughed but he said that to him, that would be awesome.  What a great guy.

You can watch the dedication ceremony here.

I think it was awesome that Lucy got to cut the ribbon. I agree though, they needed to ring a bell!

I watched the dedication and noticed they pronounced "Almanzo" differently than they did on the show. Al-MAN-zo here, and Al-MON-zo on TV. I'm guessing that means it was MAN in real life. I wonder why they changed it for the show.

Al-MON-zo is a bit more pleasing to the ear.  But gee, the show was so true to history in every other sense.