Pa Ingalls was a flawed man, but here we still are, sitting under the trees he planted.
Pa Ingalls planted a lot more than five cottonwood trees, but the five he planted around his new home at the edge of De Smet, South Dakota in 1880 were more important than the others: “We’ll make a square windbreak, all around the house. Ma’s tree and mine by the door, and a tree for each of you girls on each side of ours.” They were symbols of his family, of the people he intended to shelter inside the protective circle of those trees.
In the summer of 2020, my daughter was 12 years old and obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder. Los Angeles was a nightmare, locked down and masked up in a fit of hysterical fear. So we put the tent in the car and started driving.We ended up sitting in the middle those five cottonwood trees, and we had company: A woman, about my age, called a friend on her cell phone to tell her where she was, because she wanted to say out loud that she was sitting under the trees that Pa Ingalls had planted. She was sheltered by Pa Ingalls, 140 years later, and she was struggling to catch her breath as she thought about it.
People who visit De Smet because of their interest in the Ingalls family tend to end up at the family graves, and to approach the visit with solemnity and respect. They act like they’re grateful, offering thanks.