The living conditions were different from how the living conditions are today.  They had to wash clothes in lakes, rivers, or ponds.  They had to gather wood for the fire place and had to warm water over the fire place before they put it in the tub to get washed.  They had candles  or carosene lamps to light their houses.  They had to make their own music because there was no radios when Laura was a child. Money was very valuable back then.  So Twenty-five dollars was a lot of money.  People helped out by building houses, barns, or school houses just to be a nice neighbor.  Today we  have washing machines to clean and dry our clothes.  We have heaters to keep us warm in the winter and air condition to keep us cool in the summer. Our water is warm or hot , and cold when we need it.  Also we have lamps to light up our houses.