September 21, 2007--It's remote, but if you make the trip to northern New York state, to the town of Malone, you'll find the original home of Almanzo Wilder, and the setting for Farmer Boy by his wife, Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The first thing that struck me on making the turn onto the road to the farm was the thought, "Wow, Almanzo really exaggerated that hill he had to go up on the way home from school." The area is really pretty flat. There's a nice rolling hill a bit to the south, but the area around the farm, and to and from town, is quite level.

We came into Malone from the east, on Hwy. 11 from Vermont. From this direction, the farm is off a turn before you reach the town. Watch for the blue signs. The route is well-marked. A few more turns and the red farm house is clearly visible.

A bonus to our after-hours arrival, however, was getting to see Dean Butler, who played Almanzo on the TV series, preparing and doing some shots for a documentary. We also chatted with Kathy Ellis, Wilder association president  (see website). Something I recommend to all of you as you tour these homes and sites is to do this--strike up conversations with the folks who run the places. If they're not too busy they're generally all quite happy to talk about the place, the history, and the people. Most people who run these sites are in it for the same love of the topic that brings you to this website, and so are very happy to share. Kathy Ellis told me they expect to have the documentary up on their website in streaming video around January, so check back for that.