Retiree clings to memories with Wilder

When Delores Hayes talks about her days of growing up in Missouri, and personally knowing famed author Laura Ingalls Wilder, her eyes light up.
“I remember her as such a beautiful lady,” said Hayes, who lives at the north edge of Mound Valley.
The small town of Norwood was the perfect place for the celebrity writer to spend her last few years. And, the rest home operated by Hayes’ grandmother, Letta Millard, became home to Wilder in those years.
The town of Norwood was located only a few miles from Rocky Ridge, the well-known home of the Wilder family in Mansfield.
In that general vicinity was where Laura Ingalls Wilder did much of her writing  of such books as “Little House on the Prairie,” “Little House in the Big Woods,” “Farmer Boy,” “On the Banks of Plum Creek,” “The Long Winter,” and many more that were penned posthumously by her daughter, Rose.
It was during Wilder’s more prolific years as a writer, in the 1930s and 1940s, that Delores Hayes, as a young, single girl, got to know the writer, visiting her many times in the rest home.
Delores and her family attended church across the road from the Wilder home. Actually, worship services were held in the front room of a motel owned by Dr. Newton D. Neufeld, who was Wilder’s physician. She was about 7 years old when she started making treks over to the Wilder home.
   It was there that the friendship between a little girl and an elderly writer took place. Delores recalls walking over to the home where Laura Ingalls Wilder resided and being invited in.
“If you want to take a flower from the yard, it’s okay,” Mrs. Wilder would tell Delores.
Among the young girl’s favorite things was going to the Norwood Library and picking up books that she might read aloud to the rest home residents — including Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Some of the books had been written by Wilder herself, but she still enjoyed hearing them read aloud.
“Today, I’m just interested in passing along some beautiful moments from my life to young people,” she said. Delores was 16 when Laura Ingalls died in 1957 at the age of 90.
Another ‘little house’ gives a new chance to learn history
Laura Ingalls was born Feb. 7, 1867, and became one of the best known authors of her time.
Her “Little House on the Prairie” series resulted in local lore as the Little House Museum was built southwest of Independence as a monument to the pioneer family that once lived along Onion Creek in a log cabin.
Today, there are Little House on the Prairie sites located in Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and South Dakota. But the one where Delores Hayes holds dear memories was near Mansfield, where the house and museum are known as Rocky Ridge Farm.
More than 73 books were sold over the name Laura Ingalls Wilder.
The 90th anniversary of the first publication of the Little House on the Prairie novel in 1935 will be marked in 2025.
At her home along the north edge of Mound Valley, Delores Hayes arranged to have a small building built by local Amish carpenters, and it serves as an interesting place to visit and see the various relics of pioneer life, and specifically the lore of her old friend, Laura Ingalls Wilder. She calls it her library.
A small sign adorns her yard, pointing to the small library and her private home.
She welcomes anyone to drop by to visit about Laura Ingalls Wilder, and to see her collection of items and books about the famed writer.
Hayes wrote a book, “My Unusual Life,” and it tells a lot about her friendship with the Wilder family. More importantly, Delores also wrote stories about growing up poor, and facing many of the same challenges that Laura Ingalls Wilder details in her many books.
Her home is located in Mound Valley, Kan. She moved to Mound Valley two decades ago with her husband, Richard, who later died. She previously lived at Coffeyville where she worked for many years as activity director for a local nursing home.
“I have been praying about this little library and museum,” said the 85-year-old Hayes. “I know it will work out for good.”