The story behind ‘The Beautiful Snow’

It was the illustration on the front cover of “On the Banks of Plum Creek” where Laura Ingalls Wilder is pictured running barefoot on the roof of the dugout that first drew Cindy Wilson into “The Little House on the Prairie” series. 

“Like a lot of little girls, I was reading ‘The Little House’ books in early elementary school,” said Wilson. “When I found out they were based on real people, I became fascinated by the real history.” 

Wilson said she devoured the history behind the Ingalls family. It became a passion, and she is even friends with several Wilder scholars. 

So after reading some heavy topics in her book club, Wilson suggested they lighten the mood by reading a young adult novel, specifically "The Long Winter" by Wilder. This book turned out to be just as heavy, but it sparked a journey for Wilson. 

"I was curious how the historic record compared to her (Wilder's) novel," Wilson said, and she knew the women in her book club would have questions as well. 

This led Wilson to dive into newspapers and compare the week-by-week history through the articles about the winter to the novel itself. 

The project helped Wilson keep her "rudder going straight" during the challenges of her mom's final year. It served as a personal escape and a way for her to reset. 

"I don't know how I would have gotten through all of that if I hadn't had this thing to escape into," said Wilson. 

As Wilson shared the research, her friends started saying, "You've got some good stuff here. You need to publish it so we can read it."

Although Wilson had helped other people get their books published in the past, it never dawned on her that she could go ahead and do it herself. 

However, she said, "I really wanted to be able to contribute to Wilder scholarship, and this was an area that hadn't really been covered in much depth."

By the time she was done researching, Wilson said, "I looked at just about every remaining newspaper edition that exists from September of 1880 through May of 1881 in the region most heavily affected by that winter."

When an article was relevant, Wilson took pictures of the microfilm, typed the articles to make them useable and color-coded them based on topics like weather, railroad, food, fuel, mail, travel and so on. She also sorted them by the five different railroad lines that went through the area. 

All told, Wilson harvested around 3,000 relevant individual articles for her book.

Through the process, Wilson became infatuated with steam locomotives, trains and the sound of a steam engine. The more details she learned, the more fascinated she became with the railroad aspect of the story. Especially since Wilder believed the railroads abandoned them while the newspapers showed that the railroad companies worked diligently all winter long. 

Wilson also referenced Wilder's prior manuscripts of "The Long Winter," a few letters between Wilder and her daughter Rose and things from Wilder's autobiography when it was important to the context. 

One particularly poignant letter referenced what the weather did to Ma and Pa. While they were usually portrayed as strong, playful and upbeat, both parents struggled with the winter. It nearly broke them. 

Because the town was new, first and second year crops were not nearly as productive in the fields or the gardens. The townspeople were counting on purchasing food from their grocer. However, the grocer was new as well and likely still investing in his business. Thus, he may not have had the money to invest in a large back stock and instead relied on the train to bring more supplies. 

"There were just all these things that became a perfect storm to lead to that winter," said Wilson. 

The writing itself "was a lot of fun but also took a lot of time." One of the hardest parts was comparing the timelines since months and dates were often not clear in the novel. 

More time was spent on developmental and core editing until at last the book was fast-tracked through publication. 

After a three year journey, "The Beautiful Snow: The Ingalls Family, the Railroads, and the Hard Winter of 1880-81" was released February 7, 2020, the same day as Wilder's birthday. 

Some have objected to the title saying the snow is not beautiful. However, Wilson said, "The phrase 'The Beautiful Snow' showed up over, and over, and over, and over, and over in the newspapers."

The phrase originated from a poem called "The Beautiful Snow" which was published in 1872. It then became a catchphrase in popular culture and was used all the time. 

"It fit everything. It was used sarcastically. It was used derisively," said Wilson. Thus, it made a fitting title. 

"The Beautiful Snow" documents the hard winter as it happened for the people living through it, and according to Wilson, "It has done very well."

It placed gold in the Independent Publishers Book Awards, was a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards and has sold close to 10,000 copies. 

A month ago, Wilson was at a conference with Rick Mills, curator of the South Dakota State Railroad Museum. When Mills heard that Wilson was planning a trip to the Black Hills, he invited her to do a book signing at the museum June 16.

"That was an amazing turnout and a lot of fun. People had really good questions," said Wilson. 

There was a steady stream of people throughout the afternoon. Some came just to get a book, and others sat, visited and heard Wilson's story. 

"I was so happy to have been invited and really enjoyed talking to the people who stopped by," Wilson said. The whistle from the 1880 Train added to the delight. 

Wilson's second manuscript is currently going through the final step before heading to a book designer. She is excited about the project and hopes it will be out by the end of the year. 

For more information about Wilson or her books, go to thebeautifulsnow.com. Wilson also offers several presentations on the history behind the winter of 1880-81 via Zoom.