Winfield Digital Collections

Winfield, Kansas

1947 January 23 : letter to Helen Crawford

Title

1947 January 23 : letter to Helen Crawford

Subject

Wilder, Laura Ingalls, 1867-1957

Authors, American--Correspondence

Water conservation

Description

Letter from Laura Ingalls Wilder to Winfield, Kansas children's librarian Helen Crawford regarding the draining of Silver Lake, sloughs and springs, and later construction of dams.

Creator

Wilder, Laura Ingalls

Source

Winfield Public Library, Winfield, Kansas

Publisher

Winfield Public Library, Winfield, Kansas

Date

1947-01-23

Rights

The copyright in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s correspondence is owned and controlled by Little House Heritage Trust, and may not be reproduced or otherwise copied or used without the Trust’s written permission. All rights reserved.

In Copyright In Copyright

Format

image/jpeg

Language

English

Type

Correspondence



Citation
Wilder, Laura Ingalls, “1947 January 23 : letter to Helen Crawford,” Winfield Digital Collections, accessed November 21, 2024, https://winfield.digitalsckls.info/item/8.
Text

(in pencil) 8

Mansfield, Missouri
Jan 23. 1947

Dear Miss Crawford,

Your note and the clipping were appreciated even though they have been neglected and I thank you for both.

I am pleased that my books are still favorit[e]s.

Silver Lake did not dry up of itself. I[t] was drained and also the sloughs near it.

As the lake was fed by springs, they also were dried up in the process.

When I asked why in the world

[page 2]
so much beauty was wantonly destroyed, I was told that the people had gone crazy over more plow land during high prices and wanted to raise more wheat.

All the sloughs in that part of the country were drained so there were left no natural resivoirs [sic] to hold the water thus helping to prevent floods and furnish moistures.

New dams must be built at enormous public expense to hold water for irrigation and for flood control. Bah!

Please excuse one, but "What fools we mortals be."

Wishing you all good things
I remain
Sincerely your friend
Laura Ingalls Wilder

Original Format

Letter