News

Our annual Christmas ornament fundraiser

Be part of our holiday celebration at the Betsy–Tacy Houses, even from afar! From now through December 20, make an end-of-the-year donation to the Betsy-Tacy Society of any amount, and we'll write your name on a Christmas ornament to hang on the tree at Tacy's House. We'll then email you a photo of your ornament on the tree as well as this year's BTS holiday card.

We're open for tours and holiday shopping on December 7 and December 14 from 1 to 4 p.m., but we'll happily accept donations at any time.

You can also mail a check to us at P.O. Box 94, Mankato, MN 56002. (Please note on your check that it's for our Christmas fundraiser.)

The BTS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and your donation may be tax-deductible.

Thank you for your support!

Find us on Bluesky

We’ve added Bluesky to our social media platforms. You can find the BTS here.

We Were in the Washington Post!

You can read the article here.

Meet Our New Intern!

Autumn Ward-Shodin is a student at MSU Mankato, majoring in gender and women’s studies, with a minor in child development.

Her first BTS project is to catalogue the enormous doll collection a friend donated a few years ago and start selling the dolls on Etsy, and she looks forward to helping us market the Betsy-Tacy Houses as a destination for Minnesota history buffs. Autumn tells us she loves exploring hidden treasures around Mankato. She says, “One of my favorite places to hike, hammock, or just to think is the Williams Nature Center.” She's excited to bring her skills to the BTS and get a peek behind the scenes at a small but thriving nonprofit, adding, “So far this internship has been one of the best experiences I've had in Mankato!” We love her energy and enthusiasm and are simply thrilled to have her with us.

Raffle!

Congratulations to BTS member Anna Brannin, who won a beautiful copy of the Betsy-Tacy Companion!

Many thanks to everyone who participated in this fundraiser, which netted more than $500 for the BTS.

The Betsy-Tacy Society Celebrates National Novel-Writing Month!

The BTS hosts a monthly Drop-In Writers Lounge via Zoom: a multi-hour block for participants to work quietly on their own projects while enjoying the fellowship of others. Attendees have noted how much they enjoy this dedicated writing time and how surprisingly productive they are!

For National Novel-Writing Month (November), we’re kicking it up a notch with a meeting every week: two Sunday afternoons and two Tuesday evenings. And not only that: Two well-established writers who also happen to be devoted Betsy-Tacy fans have agreed to drop in and give us a writerly pep talk!

On Tuesday, November 26, 6:30 p.m. Central, meet Mitali Perkins!

Mitali was born in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, and says that her biggest lifeline during her early years was story: “Books were my rock, my stability, my safe place as I navigated the border between California suburbia and the Bengali culture of my traditional home.” She has written many books for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near (nominated for a National Book Award) and Rickshaw Girl (adapted into a film by Sleeperwave Productions), all of which explore crossing different kinds of borders. She says her goal is to make readers laugh or cry, preferably both, as long as their hearts are widening. She lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Steeped in Stories: Timeless Children’s Novels to Refresh Our Tired Souls, her nonfiction book for adults, includes a chapter on Emily of Deep Valley (Mitali wrote the Foreword to the latest edition!), and her delightful middle-grade novel Hope in the Valley includes many nods to EODV.

  • Sunday, November 24, 1–3 pm, register here

  • Tuesday, November 26: 6:30–7 pm: Mitali Perkins! (free to BTS members, $10 for non-members); 7–9 pm: Writers Lounge, register here

Our Wish List

Want to be part of the Betsy-Tacy Houses and support our work in a very concrete and tangible way? Check out our new Wish List on Amazon.com and see the various items we’d love to receive. (Many years ago, a member donated a new vacuum to Tacy’s House, and every time she visits she checks to see how “her” vacuum is doing! 🤣) We will update this list regularly. Thank you for your support!



—> Looking for older News stories? They can be found here.

Events

Save the date! The next Betsy-Tacy Convention will be October 10–12, 2025. Find the latest Convention news here:
Website: https://betsy-tacy-convention.square.site/
Facebook: facebook.com/BetsyTacyCon

Note: “Deep Valley Time” (i.e., Central Time) is our default when listing an event. To be sure that you’ve correctly calculated the time difference for your location, we suggest using an online world clock such as this one.

Featured
Drop-In Writers Lounge – December
Dec 17
Drop-In Writers Lounge – December

Each month, we offer a block of time for writers to gather via Zoom and have a chance to work quietly while enjoying the fellowship of other writers.

This event is free and open to all. Pre-registration is required. Once you've registered, please email Jennifer (Jennifer@betsy-tacysociety.org) to get the Zoom link.

From Fact to Fiction: Writing in Maud’s Mankato
Jan 10
From Fact to Fiction: Writing in Maud’s Mankato

One of the delights of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Deep Valley books is that they deftly and imaginatively depict common human experiences: being part of a family, making friends, attending school, going downtown, vacationing. A second delight—as co-equal as a best friend—is the love of the place the author lived in and described, from its hills and sloughs to its theaters and ice cream shops to its people: good-hearted even when they are wrong-headed.

In this online workshop, we’ll spend two hours both looking at photographs of places in Maud’s Mankato as they are today and writing about places and events in our own lives. We’ll practice the gift of seeing that Lovelace had in such abundance, as well as connecting our hearts—as she did--to what we have seen, and getting that transformed reality onto the page. Expect to plumb your own memories of people, places, and events, as well as to respond to photos you see of Deep Valley today. We’ll be thinking about how a place shapes the life lived there.

There will be a break at the end of the first hour and an optional 30-minute period starting at 8:30 for sharing the evening’s writing.

Open to all, best for teens and adults. $15 for BTS members, $25 for non-members.

Pre-registration is required. Once you have registered, email Jennifer D-K for the Zoom link (Jennifer@betsy-tacysociety.org).

About the instructor: J. Anderson taught writing at the College of St. Catherine, The Loft, and St. Louis Park Schools and currently leads writing and creativity workshops for Mankato Area Public Schools. She recently moved to St. Peter—up the road from Mankato—and writes the “Smaller” column for the St. Peter Herald. She worked in event planning and community relations for Barnes & Noble for over a decade but, since moving to Maud’s Mankato, is enjoying the Betsy-Tacy books for the first time. She serves on the advisory council of the Betsy-Tacy Society.

Drop-In Writers Lounge – January
Jan 19
Drop-In Writers Lounge – January

Each month, we offer a two-hour block for writers to gather via Zoom and work quietly on their own while enjoying the fellowship of other writers.

Free and open to all. Pre-registration is required. Once you've registered, please email Jennifer (Jennifer@betsy-tacysociety.org) to get the Zoom link.

“Betsy in Spite of Herself” Book Discussion – International Edition!
Jan 25
“Betsy in Spite of Herself” Book Discussion – International Edition!

Join us for a closer look at Betsy in Spite of Herself. In an effort to make our book discussions more accessible for our outside–the-U.S. members and friends, this two-hour Zoom discussion begins at 11 a.m. Deep Valley time. Open to all, though best for ages 12 and up. $3 for BTS members; $15 for non-members. Pre-registration is required.

Note: Please register at least 24 hours before the event. If you register the day of the event, we may not see your order in time.


Once you've registered, please email "Jennifer <at> betsy-tacysociety.org" for the Zoom link and discussion questions.

“Emily of Deep Valley” Book Discussion, Part 1
Jan 26
“Emily of Deep Valley” Book Discussion, Part 1

Join us for a deeper look at Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace, Part 1, on Sunday, January 26, 2025. The 90-minute discussion begins at 6:30 p.m. Deep Valley time. Open to all, though best for ages 12 and up. $3 for BTS members; $15 for non-members. Pre-registration is required. Once you’ve registered, please email Jennifer (Jennifer@betsy-tacysociety.org) for the Zoom link and discussion questions.

Drop-In Writers Lounge – February
Feb 18
Drop-In Writers Lounge – February

Each month, we offer a two-hour block for writers to gather via Zoom and work quietly on their own while enjoying the fellowship of other writers.

Free and open to all. Pre-registration is required.

“Emily of Deep Valley” Book Discussion, Part 2
Feb 24
“Emily of Deep Valley” Book Discussion, Part 2

Join us on Monday, February 24, 2025, for a deeper look at Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace, Part 2. The 90-minute discussion begins at 6:30 p.m. Deep Valley time. Open to all, though best for ages 12 and up. $3 for BTS members; $15 for non-members. Pre-registration is required. Once you’ve registered, please email Jennifer (Jennifer@betsy-tacysociety.org) for the Zoom link and discussion questions.

“Betsy and the Great World” Book Discussion, Part 1
Mar 10
“Betsy and the Great World” Book Discussion, Part 1

Join us for a deeper look at Betsy and the Great World by Maud Hart Lovelace, part 1. The 90-minute discussion begins at 6:30 p.m. Deep Valley time. Open to all, though best for ages 12 and up. $3 for BTS members; $15 for non-members. Pre-registration is required. Once you’ve registered, please email Jennifer (Jennifer <at> betsy-tacysociety.org) for the Zoom link and discussion questions.