Little House On The Prairie - General Discussion

[debraran]

5 minutes ago, Cara said:

Tony Randall didn’t divorce his first wife, she died. But I still think it’s crazy having children in your 70’s.

That’s what I meant with that, the much older dads. Some of the older kids resented hearing their dads say how much they enjoy the babies now etc. I’m sure they had help and more time but it was more about virility. 

[Blergh]

13 hours ago, debraran said:

That’s what I meant with that, the much older dads. Some of the older kids resented hearing their dads say how much they enjoy the babies now etc. I’m sure they had help and more time but it was more about virility. 

Mr. Randall had had no children by his first 50 year marriage, so that wasn't the issue in this particular case. Of course, his children lost him when they were quite young (as did ML's two children by his 3rd wife) which is statistically more likely to happen re older parents than younger parents.  Charles Ingalls himself was 29 when Mary was born and 41 when Grace was born which, back then, was actually older than average for first time parents  back then but at least he was able to live to see his daughters' adulthoods. 

[libgirl2]

9 hours ago, Blergh said:

Mr. Randall had had no children by his first 50 year marriage, so that wasn't the issue in this particular case. Of course, his children lost him when they were quite young (as did ML's two children by his 3rd wife) which is statistically more likely to happen re older parents than younger parents.  Charles Ingalls himself was 29 when Mary was born and 41 when Grace was born which, back then, was actually older than average for first time parents  back then but at least he was able to live to see his daughters' adulthoods. 

I remember reading an article about him when the kids were little and he said how much he was enjoying being a father. I know its crazy to have children that old, but it was kind of sweet. 

[ctlady]

On 2/5/2021 at 8:30 AM, libgirl2 said:

I always wanted to see more Nellie and Percival. I think the only reason I kept watching the show was just to see them! 

I wish they were never written off either, then we wouldnt' have had to suffer through Cousin Oliver......I mean, Nancy!

[suev3333]

On 7/25/2020 at 11:05 PM, Superclam said:

Well, I finally watched the two-part "Sylvia." I'm certain I've never seen Part 2 before. Just as dark as everyone has said. While of course the mime/clown was creepy as hell, that father was off the charts. 

You reap...what you sow, 😉

[suev3333]

All I know is that i always dreamed that Charles was my father or husband, either one... (but not at the same time  lol). I wished, and still wish Charles Ingalls had been my daddy. Growing up I thought all husbands were that caring and loving, and I'd have one like that too.      

HA!   Then reality hit...

[suev3333]

On 2/1/2021 at 12:06 PM, debraran said:

This was the closest to a "book" but was really 4 interviews. I really enjoyed the ones with Richard Bull and Katherine and the emphasis put on their acting and even Jon Gilbert. They both said nice things but Richard Bull to my recollection said he was very smart and a good actor and felt sorry for how he was shut out of his family (Melissa was the star) I also found it odd in all the years the show was on, not one interview with Jon, not even a short one for a TV Guide or something. He had a pretty big part and I can't see Michael not wanting him too. I always wondered why being Melissa's brother he was almost invisible to the press for so long.

I gave this book/magazine to a fan years ago during my decluttering phase of a new year but sometimes wish I could read the interviews again. Patrick was respectful but did probe a bit more than some fluffy interviews.

I think a lot of the cast didn't want to talk about things that were not as nice and good things were already known. Unless you did a lot more acting or became someone famous in another way, it probably wouldn't be enough. All 3 women who came out with books did it pretty close together, Melissa Sue, then Melissa G and then Allison. Each one was better in the sense they added more but I didn't like the picking on Melissa Sue for some drama when she was respectful of them. Kind of Jr High like but I did find Alison's funny.

http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2014/08/prairie-memories-by-patrick-loubatiere.html

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1394745337580572&set=pb.100011353564247.-2207520000..&type=3

https://victorfrench.bigcartel.com/product/tribute

I met Melissa Sue Anderson at a meet and greet.  I bought her book and she signed it.   It was so crazy!  I grew up watching LH.  I wanted to hug her so much!   Here I am, the psycho fan...lol.  The one thing that struck me was how tiny and petite she was.  Not at all how I saw her on tv...

[suev3333]

11 minutes ago, suev3333 said:

I met Melissa Sue Anderson at a meet and greet.  I bought her book and she signed it.   It was so crazy!  I grew up watching LH.  I wanted to hug her so much!   Here I am, the psycho fan...lol.  The thing that struck me was how tiny and petite she was.  And very soft spoken.  Not at all how I saw her on tv...

 

[Pirpana]

I watched S6 episode Silent promises last night. It was a good and funny episode:

Harriet: "If God had wanted me to talk with my hands, He wouldn't have given me a mouth."

Nels, after she's gone, breaking the fourth wall: "Even God can make a mistake." Ha, classic!

...but even that one has one aspect that annoys me. It's how incredibly fast Laura teaches sign language to that deaf boy and his father. All that takes place while Albert builds his doghouse for Bandit. It's so unrealistic! Without that Albert-related sublot, albeit a funny one, they could have said teaching took several months.

 

Another favorite "nitpicky" of mine is from the final episode of season 5, Odyssey. At the beginning of the episode, Dylan recaps the story of Odyssey for Laura and Albert. He says the sea god Neptune hated Odysseus and planned to sink Greek ships. Fine, except for the fact that the sea god in ancient Greece was Poseidon, not Neptune! Neptune was Poseidon's counterpart in ancient Rome. You'd think a guy who is that fascinated by the sea would know that. I call that lazy scriptwriting. 

[jason88cubs]

Alof of us in the midwest are going through alot of snow

 

Might need to watch "Blizzard" tonight

[CountryGirl]

6 minutes ago, jason88cubs said:

Alof of us in the midwest are going through alot of snow

Might need to watch "Blizzard" tonight

Aka "Miss Beadle Tries to Kill the Kids." 

Ugh to that poor father continuing to search for his son, not knowing he's safely back at the schoolhouse.

A rare, sweet moment with Willie comforting Miss Beadle.

Uh, yes it was, at least partially. She should have known the flurries could quickly develop into something more on the unpredictable prairies. 

[jason88cubs]

The Blizzard episode is the perfect example of "how far away do all these people live away from the town"

[debraran]

1 hour ago, jason88cubs said:

The Blizzard episode is the perfect example of "how far away do all these people live away from the town"

Yes they seem to run to school in a few minutes but other times it takes much longer. That sad scene with the dad made me love my cell phone. They wasted so much time looking for kids and never could say they found someone or warn them. I remember how frightened my daughter was the one time I couldn't pick her up on time at school because of an accident and no phone. So many scary moments when my mom waited for my dad in bad weather or he went to get my sibling and another parent brought her home.

They might be bad in someways but I'd much rather have them than not.

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by debraran

[jason88cubs]

25 minutes ago, debraran said:

Yes they seem to run to school in a few minutes but other times it takes much longer. That sad scene with the dad made me love my cell phone. They wasted so much time looking for kids and never could say they found someone or warn them. I remember how frightened my daughter was the one time I couldn't pick her up on time at school because of an accident and no phone. So many scary moments when my mom waited for my dad in bad weather or he went to get my sibling and another parent brought her home.

They might be bad in someways but I'd much rather have them than not.

 

Another possible error I thought of is Miss Beadle was gonna let the kids go home early from school. I figure they usually get out at 3 or 330 back then? So they got out maybe 200-230, and then it got dark while they were walking home which usually sets around 430-500 on Christmas Eve so they had been walking for almost 2 hours?!?!?!?

[debraran]

I just saw Circus Man with Red Buttons.  They must have filmed one scene with Laura talking to him at the end separately instead of 2 cameras. Her braids are in the front when she talks and in the back when he does. 😉. It’s the last part when Jack is ok and he tells her it’s not magic. Sometimes when you’ve seen it a lot you can catch things. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

3 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

The Blizzard episode is the perfect example of "how far away do all these people live away from the town"

I happened to have watched "Harvest of Friends" today. At one point, Hanson's blows the whistle, and they hear it back at the Ingall's place and get ready for Pa's return. So they're near enough to the town to hear a whistle, but not near enough to make it home in a blizzard. 🤷‍♂️

[jason88cubs]

35 minutes ago, Superclam said:

I happened to have watched "Harvest of Friends" today. At one point, Hanson's blows the whistle, and they hear it back at the Ingall's place and get ready for Pa's return. So they're near enough to the town to hear a whistle, but not near enough to make it home in a blizzard. 🤷‍♂️

yea I know the blizzard was bad and somehow they got off track to going home. They know what direction to go, just go that exact way

 

Charles walked to work somedays so it couldnt have been that far

[debraran]

6 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

yea I know the blizzard was bad and somehow they got off track to going home. They know what direction to go, just go that exact way

 

Charles walked to work somedays so it couldnt have been that far

I don't know how fast it came on but I was blinded by snow and had to pull over on the way home from work in a snow squall. It can be blinding and brutally cold. I can see getting off course a bit but wasn't there any farms on the way? It seemed instead of a road they crossed meadows and large areas of land while when Ma went to town, it was on the road usually. It was more drama to see the shacks about to fall down and how they couldn't see. Living through horrible winters though, you'd think they'd know to stay on the main roads but "short cuts" are appealing.  I always thought compared to our coats, they had pretty flimsy gloves and hats and I imagine winters were awful with just fireplace for heat and limited insulation.

The sad part without telephones, land lines, they couldn't call the Ingall's farm to say we got your kids here so even if they found a safe place, parents would keep looking. Not a good time really for communication or anxiety.

Edited February 16, 2021 by debraran

[jason88cubs]

16 hours ago, CountryGirl said:

Aka "Miss Beadle Tries to Kill the Kids." 

Ugh to that poor father continuing to search for his son, not knowing he's safely back at the schoolhouse.

A rare, sweet moment with Willie comforting Miss Beadle.

Uh, yes it was, at least partially. She should have known the flurries could quickly develop into something more on the unpredictable prairies. 

With Charles around always expect the unexpected. Any disaster can happen so he can make himself a hero

[jird]

14 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

The Blizzard episode is the perfect example of "how far away do all these people live away from the town"

When the moms all show up at the schoolhouse, a couple of them immediately say that their kids couldn't have gotten home yet, even though Miss Beadle hadn't said how long ago they left, so who knows??

[Mr. Sparkle]

I'm reading the books now, and I'm just finishing The Long Winter. The book talks about Pa having trouble getting across the street in the blizzard, and in a previous book, I think On the Banks of Plum Creek, Pa gets stuck in a blizzard for 3 days right near their house. So I can understand the kids getting lost no matter how far they were going. 

This still doesn't answer the question of how far the farm is from town, since it does seem to change like everyone has pointed out. Does anyone know of a map of the TV town and the surrounding areas? I know the location of the buildings in town is fairly consistent. 

[libgirl2]

14 hours ago, debraran said:

Yes they seem to run to school in a few minutes but other times it takes much longer. That sad scene with the dad made me love my cell phone. They wasted so much time looking for kids and never could say they found someone or warn them. I remember how frightened my daughter was the one time I couldn't pick her up on time at school because of an accident and no phone. So many scary moments when my mom waited for my dad in bad weather or he went to get my sibling and another parent brought her home.

They might be bad in someways but I'd much rather have them than not.

 

I was thinking about that the other day. I still remember the blizzard of 78 and my mom standing at the window in tears waiting for me dad to come home. He made it home. He had to abandon his car at the entrance to our subdivision. Several people in our neighborhood had snowmobiles (we had several open fields around us) and were picking people up and bringing them home. 

[Zella]

5 hours ago, debraran said:

  I always thought compared to our coats, they had pretty flimsy gloves and hats and I imagine winters were awful with just fireplace for heat and limited insulation.

 

Most of the 19th century winterwear I've seen was made of fur or wool and looked pretty warm to me. I don't think people could have survived on the Nothern Plains without heavy duty winterwear that actually worked. I also have access to wood heat, and it can be so warm that it is suffocating. As long as they weren't trapped in the elements and had access to fuel, I think they were okay. 

That being said, I was astonished when Miss Beadle let the kids run home. When Willie was trying to tell her it wasn't her fault, I was like, "but it totally is!"

Edited February 16, 2021 by Zella

[debraran]

2 minutes ago, Zella said:

Most of the 19th century winterwear I've seen was made of fur or wool and looked pretty warm to me. I don't think people could have survived on the Nothern Plains without heavy duty winterwear that actually worked. I also have access to wood heat, and it can be so warm that it is suffocating. 

That being said, I was astonished when Miss Beadle let the kids run home. When Willie was trying to tell her it wasn't her fault, I was like, "but it totally is!"

I know the real pioneers were warm, Indians knew how to use fur etc too but the Ingalls with shawls and knit hats sometimes seemed very cold. Our wood stoves are much better and I agree pretty toasty in small home.

[debraran]

45 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I was thinking about that the other day. I still remember the blizzard of 78 and my mom standing at the window in tears waiting for me dad to come home. He made it home. He had to abandon his car at the entrance to our subdivision. Several people in our neighborhood had snowmobiles (we had several open fields around us) and were picking people up and bringing them home. 

Me too. I got an escort to hospital job not realizing it was one way and my dad picked me up. My mom was frantic with worry, highway closed etc.  I remember her anxiety many times but that was really bad 

[Zella]

10 minutes ago, debraran said:

I know the real pioneers were warm, Indians knew how to use fur etc too but the Ingalls with shawls and knit hats sometimes seemed very cold. Our wood stoves are much better and I agree pretty toasty in small home.

Ah okay. I understand. Yes their TV winterwear leaves something to be desired. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Snow Apple]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

I'm reading the books now, and I'm just finishing The Long Winter. The book talks about Pa having trouble getting across the street in the blizzard, and in a previous book, I think On the Banks of Plum Creek, Pa gets stuck in a blizzard for 3 days right near their house. So I can understand the kids getting lost no matter how far they were going. 

This still doesn't answer the question of how far the farm is from town, since it does seem to change like everyone has pointed out. Does anyone know of a map of the TV town and the surrounding areas? I know the location of the buildings in town is fairly consistent. 

I was thinking about the book too due to this discussion. When the class were trying to get home in the blinding blizzard and finally hit the wall of the hotel, Laura was thinking if they were just a few steps off, they would be lost in the endless prairie. 

One of the students decided to rent a room at the hotel and I always wonder if his parents worried all night because there were no telephones back then.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Snow Apple

[Mr. Sparkle]

3 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

One of the students decided to rent a room at the hotel and I always wonder if his parents worried all night because there were no telephones back then.

I remember the walk back from school, it was harrowing. I don't remember the student renting a room, but I tend to read fast and miss stuff a lot of times. Was it Cap Garland? 

[Snow Apple]

15 minutes ago, Superclam said:

I remember the walk back from school, it was harrowing. I don't remember the student renting a room, but I tend to read fast and miss stuff a lot of times. Was it Cap Garland? 

I have the book handy and looked it up. It was Ben Woodworth. There were no buildings between the hotel and the depot were he lived, so it was too risky to go home without landmarks to guide him.

[Mr. Sparkle]

11 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

I have the book handy and looked it up. It was Ben Woodworth. There were no buildings between the hotel and the depot were he lived, so it was too risky to go home without landmarks to guide him.

Thank you! I only read a couple pages every night to fall asleep, so I barely remember Ben Woodworth. 

On a related note, so far the Long Winter has been the best one I've read. Really dramatic. Even though I knew they would all make it, I was a bit nervous for a while. 

[Blergh]

7 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I was thinking about the book too due to this discussion. When the class were trying to get home in the blinding blizzard and finally hit the wall of the hotel, Laura was thinking if they were just a few steps off, they would be lost in the endless prairie. 

One of the students decided to rent a room at the hotel and I always wonder if his parents worried all night because there were no telephones back then.

To say nothing of whether their gratitude  at his survival might have been tempered by a likely very much inflated hotel bill. Alas, few merchants and business folks who stayed open during the Blizzard of 1888 and other late 19th century blizzards  were generous and charitable as Nels was but more often than not DID profiteer during those times to take advantage of their neighbors' desperation. 

Yes, I felt sorry for Miss Beadle for the angst of wondering about having made the call to send the kids home but, back then, there was no Weather Channel or other outlets to warn that foul weather was eminent  (telegraphs were sporadic and usually hugged rail lines which Walnut Grove was nowhere near- AND the lines frequently blew down). Hence ANY 'dusting' had the potential of turning out to be a blizzard in which one couldn't see one's own hand in front of the face in an instant so I think she should have kept them in the building (and perhaps had a 'snowday' plan in which she and the parents had made plans in these contigencies so no one would be needlessly lost looking for parents/children).

[Zella]

I'm early into season 7 now. Laura and Alamanzo are married now, and they are both so insufferable. She's irritated me for a few seasons, but he's as bad as she is! When I see it's an episode that centers on them, I sigh. Very audibly. I've liked some of the other episodes (like the one with a young Madeline Stowe!) 

4 hours ago, Blergh said:

Yes, I felt sorry for Miss Beadle for the angst of wondering about having made the call to send the kids home but, back then, there was no Weather Channel or other outlets to warn that foul weather was eminent  (telegraphs were sporadic and usually hugged rail lines which Walnut Grove was nowhere near- AND the lines frequently blew down). Hence ANY 'dusting' had the potential of turning out to be a blizzard in which one couldn't see one's own hand in front of the face in an instant so I think she should have kept them in the building (and perhaps had a 'snowday' plan in which she and the parents had made plans in these contigencies so no one would be needlessly lost looking for parents/children).

I recently read Melanie Benjamin's The Children's Blizzard. It's fiction but was rather well researched. And the way it was presented there was that for children on the Northern Plains, they were taught to shelter in place during blizzards, so you only abandoned the schoolhouse if you were running out of fuel or the building became damaged during the storm. There's actually a subplot in there about a teacher who lets the children run home in a storm.

Spoiler

(It doesn't end well.)

The vibe I've gotten from other reading I've done was encouraging children to run home in anything that seemed like a potential blizzard was perceived as either negligent or done out of ignorance by Easterners who were new to the area. I'm baffled by why poor Miss Beadle was written that way in that episode because otherwise she's a character I really like. And she always seemed fairly level-headed and caring and certainly was no newbie to Minnesota winters. 

7 hours ago, Superclam said:

Thank you! I only read a couple pages every night to fall asleep, so I barely remember Ben Woodworth. 

On a related note, so far the Long Winter has been the best one I've read. Really dramatic. Even though I knew they would all make it, I was a bit nervous for a while. 

I read the series for the first time a few weeks ago, and I felt the same way. I enjoyed all the middle books in the series way more than I expected to, but that one was my absolute favorite. Parts of it are some of the most genuinely terrifying things I've read in a while. 

Edited February 17, 2021 by Zella

[jason88cubs]

Wasn't the snowfall at first very light? Then all of a sudden it turned into a blizzard?

 

I think the issue is all we "saw" was light snow flurries, then it cut to a massive blizzard out of nowhere. I think they needed an extra scene showing the bigger storm was on the horizon

 

Also I cant imagine all those people sleeping in the school over night, which they were planning on doing until the children were not there

[CountryGirl]

They did show scenes of various folks sending telegrams about the storms, but obviously there wasn't a telegraph office in show Walnut Grove. Although there was likely one in the real Walnut Grove.

[jason88cubs]

1 minute ago, CountryGirl said:

They did show scenes of various folks sending telegrams about the storms, but obviously there wasn't a telegraph office in show Walnut Grove. Although there was likely one in the real Walnut Grove.

I think my favorite part of the episode was at the opening part Charles and Mr Edwards didnt even have jackets on

 

Come Christmas Eve in Minnesota with a blizzard on the horizon and your not wearing jackets?

[CountryGirl]

Pa had his manly chest to keep him warm and it was powerful enough to keep Mr. Edwards warm, too.

[Zella]

In the books, Laura often mentioned a dark gray cloud in the northwestern sky (I think?) as what they'd see and know meant a blizzard was imminent. Even just a scene of that would have worked. I don't live in blizzard country (except for this week), but we do that with tornadoes around here. You see certain signs in the sky, and you know you're in for it. 

[I realize it might not have ben doable for them to show an actual blizzard is coming sky. But I've watched Westerns where they announce it's getting dark, and it's clearly high noon, so I think we could just roll with whatever sky they showed. 😄 ) 

Edited February 17, 2021 by Zella

[die Frau]

I finally braved A Matter of Faith, which I remember being terrified by when I was younger. It holds up better watching it as an adult. That music, though. Have aliens landed in Walnut Grove? The bleary vision actually wasn't as bad as I remembered. 

One thing I thought I remembered was Caroline reading aloud from the Bible before she looks like she's about to cut her leg off. She didn't though. I guess it showed the passage. Did my childhood self actually take the time to read it or was it edited out? 

 

 

[CountryGirl]

41 minutes ago, die Frau said:

I finally braved A Matter of Faith, which I remember being terrified by when I was younger. It holds up better watching it as an adult. That music, though. Have aliens landed in Walnut Grove? The bleary vision actually wasn't as bad as I remembered. 

One thing I thought I remembered was Caroline reading aloud from the Bible before she looks like she's about to cut her leg off. She didn't though. I guess it showed the passage. Did my childhood self actually take the time to read it or was it edited out? 

 

 

It did show the passage:

And they zoomed in on "cut it off" with big, dramatic music to let us know "OOOOHHHH, this is IMPORTANT!"

And here's a shot of Ma and her pretty awful looking leg:

I refer to this episode as "Ma (Almost) Cuts Off Her Leg."

I do think she was planning to cut it off due to the tourniquet (which had a wooden spoon in the knot, although not in the above pic - the things I remember) and the large knife. But she passed out after she cauterized the wound, which burned out the infection, saving her life.

I know we've talked about ML dusting off Bonanza scripts. Well, this one was lifted almost entirely from Bonanza's "A Matter of Circumstance." Barely changing the title and swapping out Little Joe for Ma Ingalls, but yep, pretty much the same episode.

[Katy M]

30 minutes ago, CountryGirl said:

I know we've talked about ML dusting off Bonanza scripts. Well, this one was lifted almost entirely from Bonanza's "A Matter of Circumstance." Barely changing the title and swapping out Little Joe for Ma Ingalls, but yep, pretty much the same episode.

Oh, come on, it was completely different.  Little Joe almost cut off his arm, not his leg.

[libgirl2]

On 2/16/2021 at 3:47 PM, Superclam said:

Thank you! I only read a couple pages every night to fall asleep, so I barely remember Ben Woodworth. 

On a related note, so far the Long Winter has been the best one I've read. Really dramatic. Even though I knew they would all make it, I was a bit nervous for a while. 

It is my favorite book out of the whole series. 

19 hours ago, Zella said:

I'm early into season 7 now. Laura and Alamanzo are married now, and they are both so insufferable. She's irritated me for a few seasons, but he's as bad as she is! When I see it's an episode that centers on them, I sigh. Very audibly. I've liked some of the other episodes (like the one with a young Madeline Stowe!) 

I recently read Melanie Benjamin's The Children's Blizzard. It's fiction but was rather well researched. And the way it was presented there was that for children on the Northern Plains, they were taught to shelter in place during blizzards, so you only abandoned the schoolhouse if you were running out of fuel or the building became damaged during the storm. There's actually a subplot in there about a teacher who lets the children run home in a storm.

  Hide contents

(It doesn't end well.)

The vibe I've gotten from other reading I've done was encouraging children to run home in anything that seemed like a potential blizzard was perceived as either negligent or done out of ignorance by Easterners who were new to the area. I'm baffled by why poor Miss Beadle was written that way in that episode because otherwise she's a character I really like. And she always seemed fairly level-headed and caring and certainly was no newbie to Minnesota winters. 

I read the series for the first time a few weeks ago, and I felt the same way. I enjoyed all the middle books in the series way more than I expected to, but that one was my absolute favorite. Parts of it are some of the most genuinely terrifying things I've read in a while. 

I just checked that out from the library today! 

[debraran]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

Oh, come on, it was completely different.  Little Joe almost cut off his arm, not his leg.That p

That passage might have given her strength but she did nothing to offend God but scrape herself on a rusty nail. I felt she wanted to cut her leg but knew obviously she didn't have the strength or tools to cut bone or stay awake for it. Maybe Michael wanted the illusion of it but I'm glad the doc said she was going to lance it and God helped her pick the right time.

She asked for something more than asking for coffee refills and I'm glad she occasionally got it. That show, Handyman, when she taught school, stretched her from that "Ma" role.

[RedbirdNelly]

I always liked the show where the woman with the petition to allow women to own property shows up, Pa is a jerk to Ma and she goes to live in the hotel (and rallies other wives) until the men agree to sign. It was nice to see Ma with some spunk and to get to do more. Of course, Percival was on the ladies' side from the get-go because he rocks.

[Zella]

10 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

I always liked the show where the woman with the petition to allow women to own property shows up, Pa is a jerk to Ma and she goes to live in the hotel (and rallies other wives) until the men agree to sign. It was nice to see Ma with some spunk and to get to do more. Of course, Percival was on the ladies' side from the get-go because he rocks.

Percival is pretty awesome. In the episode I watched last night, he told Harriet to piss off, and it was amazing. 

[QQQQ]

After watching the PBS documentary about Laura Ingalls Wilder, I really have to question the historical accuracy of the Monster of Walnut Grove.

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, QQQQ said:

After watching the PBS documentary about Laura Ingalls Wilder, I really have to question the historical accuracy of the Monster of Walnut Grove.

It's about as accurate as her meeting William Randolph Hearst when she was still a teen AND someone who looked a great deal like a late middle-aged Colonel Sanders (1890-1980) popping up in the 1880's at Harriet Oleson's restaurant with an offer. 

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, QQQQ said:

After watching the PBS documentary about Laura Ingalls Wilder, I really have to question the historical accuracy of the Monster of Walnut Grove.

I don't think this show was ever meant to be particularly accurate. It's just a tV show. That's a pretty fun episode even for all its non-sensicalness.

[jason88cubs]

I never understood Walnut Grove having a hotel. Did that many people pass through? I tend to not really watch once they go to Winoka so the later episodes are a blur to me. Did they really get a lot of overnight visitors?

Tbh I wish they had done  abit more with Miss Beadle. I liked her character, and felt they could have done a bit more with her. I can't imagine teaching all those kids at different grade levels

[Blergh]

22 minutes ago, jason88cubs said:

I never understood Walnut Grove having a hotel. Did that many people pass through? I tend to not really watch once they go to Winoka so the later episodes are a blur to me. Did they really get a lot of overnight visitors?

Tbh I wish they had done  abit more with Miss Beadle. I liked her character, and felt they could have done a bit more with her. I can't imagine teaching all those kids at different grade levels

Good question re the hotel. Yes, it seemed to be a bit much that Walnut Grove could have gotten enough overnight visitors to have sustained a hotel- even without the factors of Nellie's initial horrible cooking and 'tude! However, it's surprising how often even the tiniest outposts in the Midwest   before the Depression DID attempt to have hotels  to show that they had 'arrived' and were 'civilized'- a surprising number of towns even had opera houses! 

Yes, I agree that they could have done more with Miss Beadle.  Yes, she once was shown embracing an old beau while wearing her glasses AND she mentioned her father having been a prisoner at Andersonville during the Civil War but that's about all they did to flesh out her background. Oh, and she did have a horse named Jack that pulled her little surrey carriage but where any barn for him may have been remained a mystery. 

[Zella]

I was also baffled by Harriet's reasoning on the hotel, given what a snob she was. From what I've read, cooking and running a boardinghouse was deemed respectable for women, but it was also really hard work. It would have made more sense to me if she wanted to market Nellie as eligible for marriage to make her work in their store. Or have her teach. Not saying she would have been any better suited to it, but it would have made more sense than building that giant hotel. 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Zella