Betsy-Tacy Sites in Mankato, Part I

Betsy's House and Tacy's House





"Hill Street was rightfully named. It ran straight up into a green hill and stopped. The name of the town was Deep Valley, and a town named Deep Valley naturally had plenty of hills. Betsy's house, a small yellow cottage, was the last house on her side of Hill Street, and the rambling white house opposite was the last house on that side."
(From Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy.)


The Ray Piano



"They marched around and around the house and in and out of the parlor and the back parlor. Betsy's mother loved to play the piano; she came down hard and joyously on the keys. Every once in a while Tacy would look at Betsy sideways through her curls. Her bright blue eyes were dancing in her little freckled face, as though to say, 'Isn't this fun?' They marched and they marched, and at last they were told to lead the way to the dining room. There the cake was shining with all its five candles, and a dish of ice cream was set out for every child."
(From Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy.)


The Bench



"That summer they started having picnics. At first the picnics were not real picnics, not the kind you take out in a basket. Betsy's father, serving the plates at the head of the table, would fill Betsy's plate with scrambled eggs and bread and butter and strawberries, or whatever they had for supper. Tacy's father would do the same. Holding the plate in one hand and a glass of milk in the other, each little girl would walk carefully out of her house and down the porch steps and out to the middle of the road. Than they would walk up the hill to that bench where Tacy had stood the first night she came. And there they would eat supper together."
(From Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy.)


Mrs. Chubbock's Store



     "They crossed the street and turned the corner and came to a little store.
     'That's Mrs. Chubbock's store,' Julia explained.'That's where you go to buy gum drops and chocolate men if anyone's given you a penny.'
     'I wish that someone had given me a penny. Don't you Tacy?' Betsy asked.
(From Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy.)


Tib's Chocolate Colored House



     "'Tacy,' said Betsy, "I never yet saw anybody around this chocolate-colored house.'
     'Neither did I,' said Tacy.
     They looked at it a moment before they climbed to the door.
     It sat like a big plump chocolate drop on the big square corner lot. There weren't many trees around it; just a green lawn with flower beds on either side of the white cement walk which led to the porch steps.
     Betsy and Tacy walked up that walk and climbed the porch steps.
     They rang the bell and waited.
     While they were waiting they looked around. The tower jutted right out on the porch. It had windows in it, but all the shades were pulled down. The pane of colored glass over the front door shone ruby red in the sunlight."
(From Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy.)


Lincoln Park



     "'Well, I don’t want you to go too far away,' said Mrs. Ray. 'How far do you think they should be allowed to go, Bob?'
     'Not beyond Lincoln Park,' said Mr. Ray.
     Lincoln Park was a pie-shaped wedge of lawn with a giant elm tree and a fountain on it. Hill Street turned into Broad Street there. It was the end of the neighborhood."
(From Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill.)


The Carnegie Library



     "'But if you're going to be a writer,' he went on, 'you've go to read. Good books. Great books. The Classics. And fortunately ... that's what I'm driving at ... Deep Valley has a new Carnegie Library, almost ready to open. White marble building, sunny, spick and span, just full of books.'
     'I know,' Betsy said.
     'That library,' her father continued, 'is going to be just what you need. And your mother and I want you to get acquainted with it. Of course it's way downtown, but you're old enough now to go downtown alone.'"
(From Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown.)


The Children's Room



"The Children's Room was exactly right for children. The tables and chairs were low. Low bookshelves lined the walls, and tempting-looking books with plenty of illustrations were open on the tables. There was a big fireplace in the room, with a fire throwing up flames and making crackling noises. Above it was the painting of a rocky island with a temple on it, called The Isle of Delos."
(From Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown.)