Laddie By Kimberly Wing

Laddie was one of the very first books I read when we started home schooling.  What I really enjoyed about the book was the example of the father.  He was focused on his kid’s education, but he didn’t preach about it; he set the example about learning.  He made it a priority in their lives.  He wanted his wife to be educated, but recognized her responsibilities in having a large family, so he would read to her nightly.  This impressed me greatly.  I did not have a love for reading when we started home schooling.  I knew I needed to start reading and learn to enjoy it.  My husband set the example for our family.  He would come home from work and sit down in the library and read for about four hours a night.  We could all see him snuggled up in the recliner reading.  The kids would go in and visit and sometime sit on his lap while he read to them.  At dinner he would tell us about the book he was reading and share something enjoyable about the book.  It was motivating to hear him tell a teaser about the book.  I began to get excited about some day reading that book.
We also began to do what we called “Daddy devotionals” at night, similar to the father in Laddie. Warren would pick a book like God, Family Country by Ezra Taft Benson.  He would read and then explain the book to us. We went through all kinds of books, but our favorite is always history.
  One of our big goals as a family was to understand the Constitution better and the founding fathers.  Warren started teaching Principles of Liberty classes.  The first book we started with was the 5000 year leap.  This was an eye opening book.  It helped me understand the 28 Principles the founding fathers understand and how they could put together a constitution.  We invited friends and neighbors to join in on this free class.  It helped us form a community of like minded people.  This was a key part of Laddie, their community.
I loved the idea of lead by example, especially when it’s the father of the home.  They are the Patriarch of the home and their example of loving to learn as a personal priority is huge.  Because of my husband’s example I began to pick up books and take free time to read.  I now have a love of learning and it all started with my husband’s example.  We turned off the TV and changed our living room into a library.  We bought good classical books to fill the shelves.  A love to read attitude is what we want our kids to have for the future.  And it all began with the example of the father in Laddie.

Laddie by Robyn Henrie

            As I read Laddie, I noticed several themes throughout the book.

            The first theme was nature. Little Sister goes in to much detail in some parts of the book describing her natural surroundings, how comfortable she is within that environment, and how she adores God’s creations. I found it interesting that her pets and playmates were a blue jay and two chickens.

            In a couple of places in the book, Mother and Father either explain to their children or are looking over their property. They reflect on the beauty as well as the many uses they have gained from  their property. As an example, the fruit trees they have planted provide food in the fall, as well as beautiful blossoms in the spring.

            The second theme was education, but more importantly, how and where this education was acquired. Little Sister had a fairly vast amount of knowledge for a six or eight year old. Her father taught her all about nature as they walked and worked together around their property. It sounds like she had a large amount of time to freely roam the property. She learned to find answers to her questions from Father, and in the books their family owned. Formal education didn’t suit her; she wanted to be outside. She learned her lessons in the top of the granary.

            Father was well-read through the books and agricultural magazines he read every evening. Mother gained her education at the same time her older children were learning and going to school. Father knew Mother had very little time for studying, and read to her and discussed with her while she worked. Most evenings were spent with the children memorizing and then reciting their lessons to Father. I share Laddie’s opinion that you never ‘finish’ your education. You are learning all the time until you die.

            In addition to school knowledge, each child had a list of skills to learn according to their gender before getting married. Mother made sure each of her daughters could care for a home, and tested those skills as she took a vacation for one month. Father made sure each son could do all the work necessary for running a farm, and left them in charge for a period of time.

            The next theme was moral character. There are plenty of examples of hard work, compassion, and conviction. The parents did their best not to judge those neighbors who worked hard. However, they made their opinions known to their children of community members who didn’t work and lived off the sympathies and guilt of their neighbors. Mother showed compassion by living the principle of doing unto others when she took in travelers just as she and Father had been taken in when they first arrived in the community. Laddie showed his conviction to be true to himself in choosing farming as his profession instead of a lawyer, as the Princess desired. Your profession does not define who you are.

            The last theme was relationships with other people and also the animals. The most prominent relationship is between Laddie and Little Sister. He loved her from the day she was born. He helped her in her learning. He confided secrets to her. They had a special bond.

            Little Sister was very observant of her siblings, and knew how to interact with each of them. She mentions that Leon had a different personality, and she was the only one who understood him.

            Whereas some members of the community avoided interactions with other individuals and families, the Stantons were friendly with neighbors, regardless of status. Laddie went the extra mile to work his way into the social graces of Mr. Pryor, so he could date Pamela. My favorite example of relationships is between Laddie and Mr. Pryor’s dogs, much to the surprise of Mr. Pryor.

            This family was very religious. The parents had a personal relationship with God. Little Sister tells of the time Leon went after the ‘Even So’ traveler. She would hear her parents pray for Leon and said it sounded like God was in the room with them. Because of this relationship, Father was not afraid to tell Mr. Pryor that his opinion God was a myth was offensive and not to repeat it in his home, even though Mr. Pryor became very angry.

            Although there are more themes in this book, I focused on education, nature, moral character, and relationships.

Schoolhouses are Made Wrong

"Schoolhouses are made wrong.  If they must be, they would be built in a woods pasture beside a stream, where you could wade, swim, and be comfortable in summer, and slide and skate in winter.  The windows should be cut to the floor, and stand wide open, so the birds and butterflies could pass through.  You ought to learn your geography by climbing a hill, walking through a valley, wading creeks, making islands in them, and promontories, capes, and peninsulas along the bank.  You should do your arithmetic sitting under trees adding hickory-nuts, subtracting walnuts, multiplying butternuts, and dividing hazelnuts.  You could use apples for fractions, and tin cups for liquid measure.  You could spell everything in sight and this would teach you the words that are really used in the world. "

The Home Feeling

“Do you know that being a stranger is the hardest thing that can happen to anyone in all this world?” This is what the Princess told Little Sister in the book, “Laddie” by Gene Stratton-Porter. The Princess, along with her mother and father, the Pryors, were the newcomers in town and they had a dark, family secret they tried to keep hidden from their neighbors.

Mr. Pryor was a man who felt betrayed by his own son. He was so overcome with grief and shame over what his son had been accused of doing that he forced his wife and daughter to leave their home in England . They moved to the United States and changed their last name hoping to forget their past, yet ever living a daily nightmare of untold anguish and disappointment. They don’t fit in very well and reject help from others. Mr. Pryor becomes especially bitter and hardened as he rejects God. Various members of the Stanton family especially notice their suffering and isolation and desire to help them carry their burden.

One day, the mother of the Stanton family, Ruth, gets her opportunity to have a heart to heart talk with Mr. Pryor. Ruth explains to Mr. Pryor how much she would like to help him carry his burden. She tells him that it doesn’t matter to her what the burden is, if he had betrayed his country, blasphemed against God or killed his own child, he could not stop her from caring about him and praying for him. Mr. Pryor doesn’t believe that Ruth (or anyone) could ever understand his trials. Ruth’s response is, “You’re in the position of a man doubly bereft. You are without a country, and without a God. Your face tells every passer-by how you are enjoying that kind of life.”

The author, Gene Stratton-Porter does a beautiful job of setting side by side the polar opposites of the Pryors’ bitterness and pain that leads to their isolation and loneliness and the Stantons ’ creation of the home feeling that invites inclusion and friendship.

Ruth talks to Mr. Pryor about her family life and why it matters so much to her. She and her husband, Paul, are partners with God in everything they do and build their lives on this solid foundation. She says, “Shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart, I’ve stood beside my man, and done what had to be done, to build this home, rear our children, save our property.” Together they raise twelve children whom they teach self-control, how to study, to work hard, to have joy of life and to be satisfied with what they had.

Ruth explains that they always focused their energies on striving to transform this land “into the dearest, the most beautiful, spot on earth.” In making their home the best they could, in improving their township, county and state, they are doing their share toward building up this nation. Ruth’s highest aspiration is to be a clean, thrifty housekeeper, a bountiful cook, a faithful wife, a sympathetic mother. “That is life work for any woman, and to be a good woman is the greatest thing on earth....to hold the respect and love of my husband is the greatest object of my life.”

I don’t think it was a coincidence that the author chose to give Mrs. Stanton the name of “Ruth” which means “compassion” and “pity.” Ruth is filled with goodness and concern for everyone she comes in contact with.

At the end of their discussion, Ruth sends Mr. Pryor away with some cuttings and roots to plant in his own yard. When her husband Paul came home that night she exclaimed, “Praise God, the wedge is in!...Once he begins planting, and watching things grow, the home feeling is bound to come. I tell you, Paul, the wedge is in! Oh, I’m so happy.”

And Ruth is right. The wedge is in; the healing has begun. And through some fateful events the Stantons and Pryors become family through the marriages of their children. Mr. Pryor is reconciled to his son, and his daughter, the Princess, asks her father to forgive her for having hard feelings against him. She exclaims, “Oh Daddy, do let’s forget, and begin all over new, like other people!” I have no doubt the Pryors are learning how to have the “home feeling” for themselves.