.: Character Guide :.

Welcome to the Character Guide of the Rose Years written by Roger MacBride. Simply click on the character name to be taken to a quick summary of the character.


Least Important Characters


.:Abe Baird:.
Abe first appeared in 'Little Farm in the Ozarks' when his brother tried to steal the Wilders' eggs for food. As the series progresses, Abe, Effie, and Swiney lives in the Wilder farmhouse while the Wilders live in town. The last we hear of the Bairds is in "New Dawn on Rocky Ridge" when they loose their third child. (NOTE: the Bairds are fictional characters that Mr. MacBride created for the story. Some accounts say that Abe is based on a boy who Rose knew in adulthood. There is also an Abe Baird in one of Rose books.

.: Nate Baird :.
Nate or Swiney is what Rose is used to calling him. Swiney first appeard in 'Little Farm in the Ozarks' when he was caught by Almanzo trying to steal Mama Bess' eggs. In 'New Dawn on Rocky Ridge' we start to see Nate developing a crush on Rose but she tells him she loves him as a brother not the other kind of love.

.: Effie Baird (formerly Stubbins) :.
Effie is the wife of Abe and the older sister or Rose's good friend, Alva Stubbins who lives in a large family next to the Wilder farm. She is the mother of James and Elza, the twin babies.

.: Blanche Coday-Anderson :.
Blanche is one of oldest and fewest friends of Rose, Paul being the other. They started off enemies, Blanche not being satisfied with being 2nd best speller, Rose being first. In 'New Dawn...' she attends Moutain Grove Academy and tells Rose the cost of it, but Rose shutters that $20 per month, six months is already $120! But Blanche says there are scholarships. Rose tells Mama Bess to write a letter to the professor, asking for a scholarship, only to be turned down because they down not give scholarships!

The last we hear of Blanche is in 'New Dawn...' but after that, the women remained friends until Rose's death. In Rose's will, she leaves Blanche money to help her through the nursing home in Springfield. It is unclear if Blanche had any kids or even a husband.

.: Paul Cooley :.
Paul is the long-time friend of Rose. He and his brother, George have known Rose since the long ago school days in DeSmet. After the death of his father, Paul decides to work at a railroad station faraway from Rose. During this time, Rose starts to get an attraction to her Back to the Top