Betsy, Tacy, and Tib

I love these books written by Maud Hart Lovelace about her childhood and her two best friends set in Mankato (aka Deep Valley), Minnesota around the turn of the century, my favorite time period.  I was able to visit her home and take a bus tour around Mankato to see many of the places found in her stories.  It was so much fun!  I love children's books, and these are some of my favorites.  I also love houses, so it was a double bonus!  We started off our tour at the library in the Maud Hart Lovelace wing.  

This is a mural hanging in the Mankato library which depicts Maud and many of the scenes in the books and the artist who painted it.  

Tacy's house is right across from Betsy's.  Tacy's name in real life was Frances "Bick" Kenney.  Bick was her nickname because she had bright red hair and her little brother couldn't say "brick".  Betsy watched Tacy's family move in from her house across the street and was hoping for a little girl her age to play with.  Tacy was invited to Betsy's 5th birthday party and brought her a tiny glass pitcher which is displayed in the house.  And they were best friends all of their lives from that point on.  They meet Tib a little later who also was a lifelong friend and who lived on the next block.  

This is Betsy's house and the last maple tree living planted by Betsy's (Maud's) father.  

I love these old doorknobs!

The master bedroom

The bench where Betsy and Tacy would meet on the "little hill".  

I bought a poster of Maud's first four Betsy-Tacy book covers, framed it and will hang it in our school room.  

This was a delightful experience, and I would love to volunteer here just to learn more and to be a part of such history and endearing stories.  One thing I loved about them is that her childhood was a happy one and her family was happy and she truly loved her friends.  If there's anything negative in the books, it's about herself and growing up.  And we can all relate to that!  The books take her from that 5th birthday party all the way to her wedding and marriage to Joe so it's easy for young girls to relate and to grow up with her.  I'm so happy I was able to do this and have wanted to go since I moved to Fairmont.  So anyway, next post: dentist appointments for us all!  This was a much more fun experience to write about, I can tell you!