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Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Little House on the Prairie 50th Anniversary Cast Tour Meet and Greet - Independence, Kansas (LITTLE HOUSE EVENT PART TWO)

In PART ONE, of this two-part series, I shared a little bit about our visit to the Little House on the Priarie Museum near Independence, Kansas on the morning of May 31, 2024.



In the afternoon of that same day we attended a 'Little House on the Prairie 50th Anniversary Cast Tour' Meet & Greet and, oh, what fun we had!


The main reason that I wanted to attend the Meet & Greet was to meet my long-time, on-line friend, Wendi Lou Lee who, along with her twin sister, Brenda, played Baby Grace on the long-running series. 


But...we got to meet several other members of the original cast, too, and ohmygoodness! We enjoyed it so much! 

Honestly, these were some of the nicest and most humble people I have ever met! They were all so kind and they seemed truly grateful that their 'Little House' fans were there.

On the way in to meet the cast members we got to see several replica costumes that were worn by cast members on the show. Do you recognize any of them?




By the way, the pretty lady in the background in the burgandy dress with her hair up in a bun? That is Laura Ingalls Gunn. She is an interior designer, the creator of the Little House 50th Anniversary costume collection, and she is related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

 
Lansford James Ingalls



Charles Phillip Ingalls

Laura Gunn's great-great grandfather, Lansford James Ingalls and Pa, Laura Ingalls Wilder's father, Charles Ingalls, were brothers. 

As we were moving through the line a Nels Oleson impersonator approached the girls and offered them candy from his pocket.


As he was handing the candy to them, an indepentent film crew approached us wanting to know if they could film the girls for a 50th-Year Anniversary documentary that they are doing. 
Of course it was! 


After signing papers and making it all legal, the film crew had Mr. Oleson give the girls more candy and, from that moment on, continued to follow us and others around the rest of the afternoon. They will contact us when the production is finished so we can get a copy of it.

We enjoyed observing and visiting along the way as the line moved slowly towards where the cast members were. Once in the room our first visit was with Victor French's (Mr. Edwards) children, Victor French, Jr. and his sister, Tracey. 


They were so sweet! They interacted with the girls and shared many stories with us as we waited in line. One thing we learned that we didn't know was, that Victor, Jr. was his dad's double on Little House! Anytime you see Mr. Edwards from the back...that's Victor, Jr! 😲


Next in line was Jonathan Kovacs (the 'Wild Boy' in Season 9). 
He and his interpreter were both very nice and a couple of the girls were able to communicate with Jonathan a little bit in sign language.


Next came Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) and she was a hoot! 



We got nice Nellie...


And we got nasty Nellie...


Other cast members that we met and visited with included 
Jennifer Donati (Baby Rose)...


Pamala Roylance (Sarah Carter)...



Charlotte Stewart (Miss Beadle)...



And, in the words of one of the granddaughters', "the real star of the show", Dean Butler (Zaldamo...er...uh...I mean...Almanzo Wilder)...



He was so kind and very pleasant to visit with!


It was a great day and a lot of fun!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

#littlehouse #littlehouseontheprairie #independencekansas #lauraingallswilder

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8 comments:

  1. Wow! What an epic moment to see so many connected with the show and also the history of the Ingall's family. I LOVED that show so much growing up and I think I have seen every episode many times over. Thanks for sharing such a fun post! 💗

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    1. It was epic, indeed, Carrie! I grew up on the books, but enoyed the series later on, too! It was fun meeting the cast members and getting to visit with them a little bit. Such nice people! Very humble! Thanks for stopping in and leaving a comment! Blessings, my friend! 💗

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  2. That is something I would have enjoyed. I see that Melissa Gilbert brought the actors together again, and has launched a Modern Prairie and I absolutely love their aprons. I have yet to buy one, but I will soon.

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    1. Yes, Modern Prairie is one of my favorites! I recently purchased an apron, which I love (it's like the ones I used to make, but have lost the pattern for) and have pre-ordered a prairie dress and bonnet. They are supposed to made by and shipped sometime in July. I can't wait! Both should come in handy with all the prairie-related stuff I do through work and with the grandchildren. I highly recomment Modern Prairie! It's so fun and Melissa's stuff is just beautiful! Have a lovely rest of the week and a great weekend ahead! Blessings! 💗

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  3. I love this! You must have had a wonderful time! Thank you! God bless you!

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    1. Thanks, Mrs. White! We did! It was so much fun! Thank you for dropping in and commenting! Have a great week ahead! Blessings!

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  4. What a lovely post. You captured some wonderful moments. My sweet husband, Eric, portrayed Nels. :)

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    1. Thanks for commenting, Laura! Eric made a great Nels! The girls really enjoyed the attention they received from Mr. Oleson and film crew, and your costumes were beautiful! Thank you so much for stopping by! I am truly humbled.

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