PROCLAMATION
LAURA INGALLS WILDER DAY
WHEREAS, Laura Ingalls Wilder is the author of over a dozen books which have sold over 60 million copies;
WHEREAS, the original Little House books and other works by Laura Ingalls Wilder, in addition to the television show inspired by Little House on the Prairie, have shaped the collective American notion of 19th century frontier life;
WHEREAS, Laura Ingalls Wilder travelled through Fort Scott on August 21st, 1894, as noted in her journal, posthumously published as On the Way Home;
WHEREAS, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s brief description of this area adds to our understanding of Fort Scott’s importance as a hub for travel by wagon during the depression that followed the Panic of 1893 as well as our understanding of the depression’s impact on Fort Scott;
WHEREAS, many of the “clean and contented” houses and “handsome” business buildings seen by Laura Ingalls Wilder in 1894 still exist today, making Fort Scott unique among the towns mentioned in On the Way Home;
WHEREAS, fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books visit Fort Scott as part of re-tracing her journey from De Smet, South Dakota, to Mansfield, Missouri, in August of 1894;
THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Jeanie Parker, Mayor of the City of Fort Scott, proclaim August 21st, 2020, and every August 21st thereafter, to be “Laura Ingalls Wilder Day” in Fort Scott.
