What an amazing weekend we’ve had in De Smet, SD. It started with rain and snow on Friday and transformed into beautiful sunshine and cloudless skies on Sunday and Monday.

Over a four-day period we did recreations from multiple periods in Laura’s life — from childhood right up to her marriage to Almanzo Wilder. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my “Laura” friends Marian Cramer and Dr. Orval Van Deest, who oversaw the selection of thirty people from De Smet and its surrounding communities, who generously gave of themselves to be Laura, Mary, Carrie, Grace, Caroline and Charles Ingalls and of course Almanzo Wilder…they were the Boast’s and the Masters’, Mrs. Brewster, Cap Garland, Nellie Olsen/Stella Gilbert and Reverend Brown.  They gave of themselves through long hours as we shot moment after moment from Laura’s LittIe House books. As I watched them all in their costumes I was genuinely moved knowing that each of them, in their own way have embraced Laura’s books and her legacy, as have millions and millions of people all over the world. I am not a particularly religious person but I can’t help but feel blessed by all these people and their willingness trust me and be there to help tell Laura’s story.

You couldn’t do this without the places to shoot. The Sullivan family (Tim, Joan, and their daughter Anne) at The Ingall’s Homestead and Cheryl Palmlund at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society provided all the locations, the costumes, and props, horses, wagons, and carriages that made it all work.

All these people put themselves in front of our camera and our director of photography, Derrick Robinson. As he did for me in Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura, Derrick got the shots. We didn’t plan to record a lot of dialog, but when we did Jeremy Chambers was right there to do it…he was also our grip and good humor man. Still photographer Derek Cecil came in from Madison, SD on Saturday and Sunday. He took great pictures of action going on in front of and behind the camera…he also lent a hand with equipment as the hours went on. Derrick, Jeremy and Derek are can-do guys…

We’ll finish here in De Smet today, but our LIW journey continues…in Walnut Grove and then for the next several months back in the editing room. I’ll keep you informed.

Dean

At some point anyone who is digging deeply into the world of LIW has to make the trip to the Hoover Library in West Branch, IA. I’m going today and looking forward to it.  Pictures and writings await. I’ll have more on this visit later.

Dean

I arrived in Pepin, WI this afternoon after flying from Los Angeles to Minneapolis this morning. I had to check six cases of video equipment onto the airplane. The good news is that it all seems to have arrived in good shape.

The drive into Pepin is a narrow country highway. The leaves are still beautiful so I should get some great shots tomorrow. Before going to the Pepin Motel for the night I made the 7 mile drive from Pepin to the Wayside Little House. Its simple but very pretty setting. Tomorrow I’m hoping to get inside the replica log cabin. In addition we will be shooting stands of native trees to simulate The Big Woods and Lake Pepin before departing for Spring Valley, MS in the early afternoon.

I love being out here… Laura’s story awaits.

Dean

For the past year Legacy Documentaries has been researching and shooting a wonderful documentary entitled THE UNDEFEATED for Yale University’s Class of 1961. This is exactly the kind of legacy based project that I created Legacy Documentaries to do. Its a story that will shine a light on the lives of Yale ‘61 graduates in an effort to encapsulate their 50 year journey through contemporary American history from their graduation to their 50th reunion in 2011. As their candid interviews reveal, they are a group of men (Yale was a male-only institution in those days) who have experienced great success, as well as disappointment and tragedy. To date we have shot more than sixty interviews in seven US cities. The final program, for their eyes only, is going to be an amazing time capsule.

Legacy Documentaries is very proud to be a part of their great life adventure.

Dean

I have been somewhat illusive about the content of our upcoming LHOP project…but now I can talk about it. Beginning on October 23 we are shooting a new Laura Ingalls Wilder documentary…the first of its kind ever undertaken because it will include not only footage from the places where Laura lived, but also recreations of scenes and written words from her classic Little House books.  In addition we will be including the expert comments of historians and Laura Ingalls Wilder scholars, who will add their insights about Laura’s life on the prairie. This is a project I have been trying to do for more than ten years and its finally going to happen.

I will be adding many more details in the weeks ahead.

Dean

Legacy Documentaries is preparing a brand new Little House related documentary that we think Laura Ingalls Wilder fans will absolutely love.  I’ll keep you posted here.

All best,

Dean

Last weekend I had a great experience at the Heritage Hill State Historical Park in Green Bay, WI. Heritage Hill invited me to come in order to help them celebrate Laura Ingalls Wilder Day. Other special guests included William Anderson, the very talented writer and Beth Ingalls-Leisses who is a living relative of Charles Ingalls. Over 3,000 people gathered at Heritage Hill last saturday and broke the museum’s attendance record, which was set last year on the previous Laura Ingalls Wilder Day. The fact of the record breaking day is nice, but what made it even better was that  the record was broken competing head to head with the first 2009 training camp practice of the Green Bay Packers, only miles away. In a city like Green Bay, which is more than a little obsessed with the Packers, that was pretty cool.  It truly amazes and touches me that so many people continue to love our series and the books on which they were based.

My involvement with Laura’s world began 30 years ago and it has been an honor to be joined with so many others who preserve and celebrate her stories focused around the challenges and romance of a family struggling to survive America’s great western movement. The more I learn about Laura and her life I am increasingly impressed by her desire to turn a life filled with hardship and tragedy into one that has inspired and enriched people of all ages for more than seven decades.

While I was on-site at Heritage Hill I had the opportunity to join Bill and Beth in four different gatherings of visitors in order to speak, sign autographs and answer questions. In advance of the event I prepared a brief Legacy Documentaries DVD that included the romance segment from Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura, brief clips from LHOP bonus content, as well as a tease for Legacy’s next Little House documentary project, The Life Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The reaction was wonderful. Look for it 2nd quarter of 2010. I’ll be talking much more about this project in the months ahead.

After the event was over we started talking about what we could do next at Heritage Hil…a lot of good ideas came out, including one for the entire family that will connect holiday music and spoken word. I’ll share more when its all locked in place.

Hope everyone is having a great summer.

I wanted to thank all of you for your support of ALMANZO WILDER: LIFE BEFORE LAURA. Thanks to all those who have purchased it. For those who haven’t, but would like to, the DVD is available at the Wilder Homestead in Burke, NY.  You can order the DVD on-line at www.almanzowilderfarm.com. 

Beyond Little House, American history has always been something that interests me, so I’m pleased to announce that I’m going to be producing other documentaries that feature American heroes and patriots.  The idea is to make these stories come alive for young people in particular and hopefully inspire them to make a difference in the world and in our country.   I’m also more than pleased to tell you that I’m working on a production paradigm that would deliver these “slice of history” DVDs to school children for about the cost of a Happy Meal or a paperback book!

Some of you out there are teachers and parents and you certainly have an interest in the education of children… I would love to hear from you.  Which of the following titles do you think would have the most appeal to 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th grade students and teachers?  Here are some of the ones under consideration:

Tom Savage – early Colonial period - a young boy from England who, at 13, stowed away on a vessel leaving London for the Virginia colonies.  He was traded to the Powhatan Tribe in exchange for a Native American boy.  Tom provided valuable information about Native American culture (as well as information about the likelihood of attacks) to the colonists.

Benjamin Banneker – Revolutionary War era - a Revolutionary War patriot and an African American freeman who aided in the design of the Capitol.  A man of great accomplishment, Banneker wrote a famous letter to Thomas Jefferson, advocating the abolition of slavery.  A child prodigy, Banneker was also an astronomer and published an almanac.

Sybil Ludington – Revolutionary War era - At the tender age of 16, Sybil Ludington, daughter of an American military leader, took a midnight ride longer and more dangerous than Paul Revere’s famous ride, to warn the colonists that the British had invaded Danbury.

Spy Kids of the American Revolution – Revolutionary Era - Dicey Langston and John Darragh are only two of the young people who were used as spies and messengers during the American Revolution.  The fact that they were mere children meant they were often overlooked by adults and therefore were valuable messengers… though it was dangerous work.  John Darragh, 14, would listen in on the British officers who took over a room in his parents’ house.  His mother would sew information into his coat buttons so he could deliver “intelligence” to George Washington’s army.  Dicey Langston, 15, often overheard neighbors and loyalists talking about troop movements.  When she heard that the British were planning to attack her brother’s militia, she ran to warn them, swimming though the Tyger River in the middle of the night to do it.

Elizabeth Blackwell – Pre Civil War - the first woman doctor in America.  After being rejected by over 20 medical schools, Elizabeth was finally admitted to Geneva Medical College as a prank.  But she stuck it out and graduated first in her class in 1849, despite the fact that she was forbidden to attend certain anatomy classes which were deemed improper for a lady to attend.

Maggie Walker – Post Civil War -A community leader and civil rights advocate born in 1867, Maggie was the first woman (and an African American) to start a bank in the United States.  Despite the recent economic downturn, the bank she started in still in existence today.

Other titles under consideration are the more familiar ones: Betsey Ross, Martha Washington, Pocahontas.

So this is your chance to help design the future of my venture into American History!  Write to me and let me know which titles interest you the most.  Feel free to suggest other names as well.

Best to all…

Dean

I clearly have been less than prolific during the last month and two weeks. Its just been a quiet time and unless I have something to say I’m not the kind of writer who can just blow out 500 words a day.  That is, however, something to aspire to as time marches ahead.  In the meantime allow me to wish all readers of this blog a very happy Valentine’s Day. 

Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that I have gone back and forth on during the years. When I was a kid in love I couldn’t wait to rush out to get flowers and cards for the women with whom I was romantically involved.  As the years passed and my heart had been bruised a bit I began to feel that Valentines Day was filled with forced sentiment that we were all being marketed to express on February 14 of each year for the benefit of florists and Hallmark.  

During the early years of our relationship my wife Katherine felt the brunt of my ambivalence about Valentine’s Day and it did hurt her feelings when I didn’t produce even a minimum of Valentine’s cheer.  I guess it was something that I just had to work for myself. There was something about the obligation to be romantic on a schedule that just rubbed me the wrong way. Jumping forward, after 13 years together I can genuinely say that I enjoy and even look forward to Valentine’s Day because it offers me and all of us a chance to reaffirm that one or those several relationships that truly make a difference in our lives. I couldn’t be more grateful for the life and love I share with Katherine.  She is the touchstone to my best self and the anchor point of my present and future.

I just went out and got roses and a card for Katherine…she gave me a very sweet musical card this morning and will make chocolate chip cookies for me tonight because she knows I love them. What could be better than that?  Valentine’s Day gives all of us a chance to tell those we love, in whatever way we choose, that they are essential and precious in our lives. In my case the florists and Hallmark benefit too.  

So today, go get that special someone flowers, candy, a card or whatever communicates the  love and affection you feel. Don’t fight the commercial implications. Valentine’s Day warms the heart and stimulates the economy too.  It’s a win/win for all of us. Enjoy the day!

With less than a month to go before we release ALMANZO WILDER: LIFE BEFORE LAURA, at the Wilder Homestead in Burke, NY, the editorial is going really well.  In addition to the beautiful images of the Wilder farm and some fun re-creations from sections of the Farmer Boy book, one of the things we think viewers will enjoy the most is the way historic photos and illustrations from Farmer Boy have been rebuilt and animated in order to give them an all new look.  The choice to animate photos and illustrations became very appealing to us given that these images are not only few, but also very well known to those who love the books and legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder. We realized if we could offer a new way to look at well known images that we could bring new attention and interest to what those images show.  

Next week our composer comes in to look at the documentary and decides where we’re going to put music.  Unlike all the LHOP bonus content we’ve made for NBC and Imavision, in this program we will not have access to the beautiful themes composed by David Rose for the series…so we’re going to create an original score to provide the emotional under pinnings that will support our story.  

I’ll keep you informed.

Dean