Life of "Little House on the Prairie" family

    House Ingalls family lived in on Plum Creek.

        Q.  What kind of house did the Ingalls family live in when 
            they lived on the banks of Plum Creek? 

        A.  It was a house made of bought lumber (their previous 
            houses had been made made from logs).  It was what we 
            would call a "shell" with the studs and ceiling joists 
            and rafters showing on the inside.  The exterior walls 
            were constructed of slanting boards covered with tar 
            paper and then siding.  The roof consisted of only the 
            shingles nailed to the rafters.  The bottom floor was 
            partitioned into two rooms --- the main living area 
            and a bedroom.  The second floor was the attic where 
            the girls slept.  The house had a lean-to in the rear. 




    Foods eaten by the Ingalls family.

        Q.  What kinds of foods did the Ingalls family eat?

        A.  Potatoes, turnips and other vegetables from the 
            garden.  Fish from the creek.  Bear meat, venison, 
            rabbits, turkeys and geese from hunting.  Milk.  
            Beans.  Foods one can prepare from white flour and 
            corn meal.  Wild plums and berries. 




    Activities of members of the "Little House" family.

        Q.  What activities occupied the time of members of the 
            "Little House" family? 

        A.  Activities of Mrs. Ingalls and the two daughters:  
            Cooking, sewing, cleaning house, washing dishes, 
            knitting, studying school books.   Activities of Mr. 
            Ingalls:  Hunting, trapping, plowing, harrowing, 
            harvesting, cutting fire wood, building houses, 
            building furniture, milking the cow, playing the 
            fiddle. 




    Items requiring cash in the self-sufficient lifestyle of the 
       "Little House" family.

        Q.  What items did the family in "Little house on the 
            Prairie" need that required cash? 

        A.  The following:

                cloth            navy beans           kerosene
                shoes            cornmeal             door hinges
                flour            tea                  window glass
                sugar            molasses             seed
                salt             lumber               tobacco
                nails            coal