Contributors

Diana Birchall
Diana Birchall works as a Story Analyst at Warner Bros. Studios, reading novels to see if they should be made into movies. She is the author of Onoto Watanna (University of Illinois Press, 2001), the biography of her grandmother, the first Asian American novelist and screenwriter. She has also written Jane Austen sequels, and her In Defense of Mrs. Elton was published by the Jane Austen Society in the U.S., Canada, England and Australia.

Susan Gaissert
Susan Gaissert received her B.A. in English from Rutgers University. After working as a technical writer, she studied for her Master's degree but decided that having her first and only child would be a more fascinating course of study. Now, as a wife and homeschooling mother, she is a passionate fan and supporter of classic children's literature -- including Laura Ingalls Wilder. Although a native New Jerseyan, she has been to De Smet, SD and would move there in a heartbeat, if only for the constant breezes.

Sandra Hume
Sandra Hume earned her B.A. in Journalism in 1992. A wife and mother, she works as a freelance writer and editor from her home office in Kansas. She has been a fan of "Little House" since the TV show led her to the book series in the late 70s. When she finally started visiting Laura's homesites in 2001, she felt compelled to write about them, and in 2002 the Homesteader was born.

Sarah S. Uthoff
Sarah S. Uthoff received both her history education BA and her Masters of Library Science from the University of Iowa and has been involved in many projects related to Laura Ingalls Wilder:

main speaker at at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Remembered Day at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library for five years running;
founder and designer of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Girl Scout Patch Day at Ushers Ferry Historic Village in Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
speaker at Ingalls Homestead's "Laura Ingalls Wilder: New Perspectives" conference and "Laura Ingalls Wilder Teacher Day" in De Smet;
creator of a staff training session at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Burr Oak, Iowa.

Food History is another of Miss Uthoff's interests and she is presently serving as the Foodways Resource Group Chair of the Midwest Open-Air Museum Coordinating Council. She has also presented at two national one-room school conferences.