I have to assume that most people have heard of Laura
Ingalls Wilder, or at least heard of the TV show that was inspired by her books…
“Little House on the Prairie”…
What is my connection?
Well…
She’s family...
In the television show, Laura Ingalls was played by actress
Melissa Gilbert. Laura’s dad, Charles Ingalls, was played by actor Michael
Landon. This has absolutely nothing to do with me. I just wanted to share those
facts.
In real life though…
Laura and Charles were played by themselves because they
were real people (ok…now I’m just being stupid, but they were real people).
The real Charles Ingalls (Laura’s dad) had a brother named
Hiram. Hiram Ingalls was my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather.
Meaning that…
Laura Ingalls Wilder was my Great-Great-Great Aunt. I just
call her “Triple Great” (I don’t really).
I would though…
Call Melissa Gilbert (if I knew her) my Triple Great Aunt
Melissa, and we would both laugh because no one else would get the inside joke
because there would be no way that she could actually be my Great-Great-Great
Aunt.
We would have to explain that my real Great-Great-Great Aunt
Laura is dead, and since Melissa played Laura on TV, she is my stand-in Great-Great-Great
Aunt.
Then people would ask…
Why do you call Melissa by her real name instead of her
character’s name since she is standing-in for your Great-Great-Great Aunt?
Because that would be weird and creepy. Besides, Melissa
doesn’t want to be type-casted and play Laura Ingalls for the rest of her life.
That would be unfair, and I could never ask her to do such a thing. So I will
continue calling her Great-Great-Great Aunt Melissa (Triple Great Aunt Melissa
for short).
Check out a piece of my family tree from Hiram to me…
- Hiram Ingalls (Charles’ brother)
- Ruby Evaline Beers (Ingalls) – Daughter
- Ona Oriel Beers – Daughter
- Goldie Eveline McCrorie – Daughter
- Nancy (Thomas)(Allred) Green – Daughter (my Grandma)
- Marcia (Allred) Corbett – Daughter (my Mom)
- Chris Allred – Son (me, myself, and I)
Speaking of family trees…are they upside down?
Meaning…
Shouldn’t the ancestors be the roots or the sapling? Then as
the family grows it adds more height, leaves, and branches to the tree.
That’s how real trees work (if one was to make an obvious
observation).
So I will continue to watch the portrayal of my departed
family of yesteryear, and visualize their long forgotten struggles through my
television and from the comforts of my couch.
In closing…
I would like to thank everyone involved in not killing the
people on my list of family members before the next person on the list was
born; so that I could be here today sharing this list with you.
I wonder if old Hiram dreamed of me? That one day I would
restore honor to his bloodline? Because you know at family get-togethers all
Hiram ever heard from the rest of the family was, “Charles has a talented young
daughter”, and “That brother of yours sure has a gifted kid”.
And all old Hiram could do was to think that one day there
will be a male heir after a generational long line of daughters, and this first
born male will restore balance and order to the family; no longer will people
talk about how wonderful “Charles’ daughter” was, but how wonderful Hiram’s Great-Great-Great-Great
Grandson is.
Ok…I’m done since I have probably destroyed the legacy of Laura
Ingalls Wilder in a single article, but we’re family and so I’m sure that she
would forgive me.
