Locals braved icy conditions to turn out 40 strong at the very first and very successful event hosted by the ISBSSS Mary Ingalls Society on Jan. 10, 2014. The event was a combination celebration of Mary Ingalls’s birthday (coincidentally a birthday she shared with her father, Charles “Pa” Ingalls) and a kick-off of the build up to the first annual Mary Ingalls Pageant to be held in Vinton, Iowa this summer.

 

 

Original Vignette Performed

The main focus of the evening was a vignette set at a reunion of the school. Nancy Beckman, Barb Beau, and Carolyn Hibbs played alumni gossiping about life at the school, and providing the audience with a peek at what it was like. The fictional vignette is set in 1919, which would have been Mary’s 30th year after graduation — the reunion attendees portrayed were Mary Ingalls, Blanche Howard (who is mentioned in the “Little House” books as Mary’s friend), and Eva Whitcomb, who graduated with Mary. This vignette was designed to give attendees a preview of what the pageant will hold, but was written specifically for the event as a stand-alone piece. The informal part of the evening included sharing blind school memories and looking at the recently established history wall of 19th century photos now situated in the hallway outside the auditorium.

Cast Mixes with Audience

 

 

Pageant Date Officially Announced

The planning committee of the Mary Ingalls Society has been very busy and was able to make some announcements. The pageant will be held Friday, August 1 and Saturday, August 2. A schedule has not yet been created, so watch for more information as the event gets closer.

Mary Ingalls Site Sign

The design for a new sign declaring the ISBSSS a Mary Ingalls Site was unveiled. I’m sure this beautiful sign will feature in many future Laura Ingalls Wilder trip photos as fans make the pilgrimage to Vinton. The first $250.00 towards the cost of the sign has been donated but the society would welcome any further donations.

Checks can be made payable to:

 

 

VCF/IBSSS Mary Ingalls Society
Box 326
Vinton IA 52349

You can designate that your donation is for the sign in the memo line. There is no final date yet on when the sign will be installed. Watch the Mary Ingalls Society’s Facebook page for the reveal of the design.

Mark Your Calendars

The successful event was a wonderful kick-off; stay tuned for more announcements and possible events as the pageant draws closer. If you’re in the Iowa area, be sure to save the first weekend in August so you can say you attended the first annual Mary Ingalls pageant. (Photos are courtesy of the Mary Ingalls Society.)

Sarah S. Uthoff blogs at TrundleBed Tales; look for her on Facebook, Twitter , YouTube,  Blog Talk Radio, Google+, LinkedIn, and Academia.edu Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association, Acting President.