Letters from Laura

 

Dear Plum Creek Classmates....

    The fourth graders read an excerpt in the reading basal from Laura Ingalls Wilder's book By the Shores of Silver Lake.  In this excerpt, Laura and her mother, her blind older sister Mary, and her two younger sisters take their first train trip. Laurie and Carrie are frightened by the huge, fast, noisy train, but once on board they find the trip to be an exciting adventure.
    When the students read the story, they focused on looking for the important and less important details. They also discussed Ms. Wilder's strong use of descriptive language in this book. As a culminating activity, the students pretended to be Laura and wrote letters to her Plum Creek classmates sharing the train ride experience. Look carefully at how we used details to tell about our journey. Enjoy our work!

DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Plum Creek Classmates,

I have been living in my new house for a few weeks now.  It was so fun on the train to Tracy. The train seats were red, soft velvet. They were so springy I wanted to bounce, but Ma told me not to.  
There was a fountain in the front of the train.  It was cool, but everyone had to share the same tin cup. When you turned the faucet, water came out of it.

Another thing on the train was a candy man. This young man came and sold a box of candy for 10 cents. I knew Ma would not let us buy some, but then she dug into her pocket purse and got 5 cents out and 5 pennies.  When we got the candy Ma had a little piece and Mary, Carrie, and I shared.  It was so good because Grace was sleeping.

I hope you can write back soon. It was so good.

Your friend,
Laura (Brandi)
 
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Plum Creek Classmates,

I rode the train two days ago and I saw some pretty cool things.  There was a water fountain on the train and a tin cup. Everyone drank out of. I liked that a lot.

The speed of the train was very fast.  We could go as far as we could in one day just with horse and buggy in one hour.  Watching the country side go by was fun!

Please send back a letter when you have time and have any of you rode a train before?

Your friend,
Laura (McKinley)
 


 
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Plum Creek Classmates,
My family arrived at the depot on hour early to make sure we didn't miss the train. Ma open her pearl pocket purse and bought tickets at the booth. The train arrived and made a rumbling noise by the platform. When we were on the train a boy was selling candy. I was staring at the candy.  Ma bought some of it.  She was sorry for spending so much money but after all it was our first train ride.

There was a tall man who helped Ma carry the full satchels into a different cart.  A little while later the man came back.  He wore a blue coat with shiny brass buttons.  He was tall and came by to punch our tickets.  He had a blue top hat that spelled conductor in gold letters.  He also had a bristly moustache.

Please write back and tell me some of the stuff you are learning in school.

Your friend
Laura (Mitchel)
 
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Plum Creek Classmates,

My family and I arrived in DeSmet, South Dakota at my new house by Silver Lake.  How amazing it was riding on the train.  The conductor helped my sisters and me onto the train. There were two rows of red velvet seats on the train.  They were bouncy.  I wanted to jump up and down, but Ma told Mary and I to use our manners.

When we were on the train a tall thin man went to the end of the car. I watched him.  He turned a shiny knob.  Ice cold water came out of it.  I asked Ma if I could go and get a drink. There was a little shelf with a hole in the middle to drain the water.

A boy with a basket came by with gum and colored candy that he sold for only 10 cents.  I thought Ma would not buy any, but she did! Mary and I each got two pieces. At last my family and I were in Tracy.
Please write me back and tell me what you are learning in school.

Your friend,
Laura (Kyler)

 
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Plum Creek Classmates,

My family is still on the train to DeSmet. When we were on the train a man with a dark blue coat and shiny buttons punched holes in our tickets.  He wore a hat with "conductor"  across  it. There were red velvet seats on the train.  They were so springy that I wanted to bounce on them but Ma said I couldn't.

There were other passengers on the train.  One was a man that was sitting in front of us.  He had a bald spot on his head and bristly eyebrows.  Further ahead was a man who was drinking water from a shiny fountain.  His Adam's Apple bobbed when he drank. Another passenger was a woman with a red hat and pink flowers on top.  She had bright yellow hair.

Please write to me when you get a chance.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Your friend,
Laura (Adam)
 
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Plum Creek Classmates,

I am living in my new home in DeSmet and it is so wonderful.  To get here, I got to ride on a fabulous train.  There was a boy who selling marvelous colored candies.  My ma bought a box.  It tasted so good! Carrie, Mary, and I each got two pieces.  We all ate our first pieces.  We were going to save our last one for later, but our first one tasted so good we gave in and ate our last piece.

The passing country was so beautiful.  I saw stubble fields, grassy prairies, lonely shanties, and schoolhouses, too.  The telephone poles swooped up and down so fast it looked like it was moving,  The trees were pretty with green, brown, red, yellow, and purple leaves.

I really want to hear back from you so write back soon as you can.

Your pal,
Laura (Rebecca)

 
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Plum Creek Classmates,

My family and I just got to our new house on the shores of Silver Lake.  We rode the train to get here. The seats on the train are red velvet.  They had springs in them so I could jump on them. There was a man with big letters that said Conductor on his hat.

The thing that I liked the most on the train was the fountain in the back of the train . The thing I did not like was that everybody had to use the same tin cup when they wanted to drink the water.

Please write when you get a chance.

Your Friend,
Laura (Megan)

 
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Plum Creek Classmates,

We are in our new house in DeSmet, South Dakota.  I like it here, but I miss you. 

When I got on the train the red velvet seats popped out at me.  They were very, very, very bouncy when I sat on them.  There was a boy on the train who came with a basket filled with red, yellow, and striped candy and Ma bought some.  The candy was very good.

At the front of the train was a water fountain.  When you turned a handle water came out of it.  There was a tin cup under the fountain you used to catch the water. People used the same cup.  I saw a man go and get some water soo I asked if I could get some too. Ma said yes. I brought it back to Ma so she could have a drink. 

When you get a chance write back please.

Your Friend,
Laura (Jennifer)

 
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Plum Creek Classmates,

How are you? I'm fine and we finally arrived in DeSmet. Let me tell you about some windows on the train. They were very close together and so smooth that you could see the countryside rolling by!

There was a tall man on the train, too. He had a blue hat that said "CONDUCTOR" right across the top. He had a little machine that punched little round holes in our tickets.

Please write back and tell me how you are doing in Plum Creek.

Your friend,
Laura (Alayna)
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Plum Creek Classmates,

The conductor on the train came and punched holes in our tickets. There were windows on the train that were one big sheet of glass.

On the train was a tin cup and when you turned the little knob on a fountain water came out. There was a little hole on the bottom of the shelf to recycle the water that dropped.

I hope you are looking forward to writing me back.

Your friend,
Laura (Logan)

 
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Classmates,

The train was amazing. It had beautiful red velvet seats and a water fountain. There was a candy guy walking down with a basket full of candy. Ma bought us some.

There was a man on the train who wore a blue and gold hat with the word C-O-N-D-U-C-T-O-R written across it. He also wore a blue coat with shiny brass buttons. He helped us get on the train and carried our bags. He punched holes in our tickets. He was in charge of the whole train.

Please write when you get a chance. I look forward to hearing from you.

Your friend,
Laura (Jack)

 
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Classmates,

We finally arrived in DeSmet and are getting settled in. I want to tell you about the train ride. You know there was a fountain that when you turned the handle water fell out. That was cool! I got yummy candy that Ma bought from a boy. It was red, white, and yellow striped. I think we could have saved the other piece if it wasn't so good. It was Christmas candy.

Oh! I forgot to mention the conductor. He was so cool! He wore a blue suit, blue had, and blue pants. There were brass buttons on his suit and on his hat it said CONDUCTOR in gold letters. He used a silver machine that punched holes in our tickets. He walked good through the aisles. When I first got out of my seat, I almost fell! It was so bumpy.

Could you write to me please? I want to know what you're doing.

Your friend,
Laura (Alexis)

 
DeSmet, South Dakota
October 23, 1879

Dear Classmates,

We just got off the train. It was fun because Ma bought us a box of candy when we were on the train. Mary and I each got two pieces. We were supposed to save a piece for later but we accidently ate it soon after the first one.

The train went 20 m.p.h. It was very fast. There was a water fountain in front of the car. It had a shiny handle. When I turned the handle cold water came out. Everybody used the same cup. A man drank out of it and I saw his Adam's apple bob up and down.

Please write back.

Your friend,
Laura (Gavin)

 

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