The Everyday Bean

Here are some more lessons from “The Long Winter.”

1. Listen to your elders especially when they are local. In the story, the men of De Smet are visited by an Indian. He tells them that he is old and has seen many winters. He states that this particular winter is going to be one of the worst of all. Fortunately, most of the people in the settlement listen to him and move into town. In our day, we can learn a lot from our locals. They can teach us about weather and about local flora and fauna. They can teach us skills that have been forged by personal experience. In the story, listening to the Indian likely saved many peoples’ lives.
2. Having a few forms of entertainment helps boost morale. In the story, Pa plays the fiddle. The girls have recitations. The family sings and marches. Even schoolwork becomes a form of entertainment. The family spends their nonworking hours doing constructive things together. In our day, we should always be prepared to entertain ourselves in case we can’t leave our homes. It will look differently for each family.
3. Be prepared to share. In the story, the Wilder brothers have some wheat hidden in wall. When the Ingalls run out of wheat, Pa goes to the Wilders and asks to buy some wheat. The Wilder brothers state that they don’t have any. Pa goes to the wall where it’s hidden and pours some into a bucket that he has brought with him. He promises not to tell where he got the wheat, and his family is spared hunger for a while longer. In our day, we need to be prepared to share with our family, neighbors, and friends. People are smarter than for what we give them credit. We all have choices to make when it comes to sharing or not sharing but it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared with a few items to share with others.
4. During hard times, a simple holiday can be just as good as an elaborate one. In the story, Christmas is celebrated with a simple meal of oyster soup that’s mostly water, a few pieces of candy per person, and a few very simple gifts. Then they settle down to read during the afternoon hours before the next blizzard strikes. It’s not an opulent Christmas, but it’s a very nice Christmas. In our day, we can prepare for holidays and birthdays ahead of time by maintaining a gift closet. We can store things that we’ve found at garage sales and thrift stores and keep them for lean times.

The final part of this series is coming next.