Little House On The Prairie - General Discussion

[CountryGirl]

2 hours ago, Superclam said:

No narration in the extra-dumb balloon one I just watched. 

"Despite playing a handsome boy in his youth, the Balloonist did NOT age well..." 

I thought Cass was fug then. Not as fug as Johnny Johnson, but close.  Now Patrick was fine (fair episode Patrick, not Bobby Brady “blink and you miss him” Patrick). 

[jird]

On 9/7/2021 at 5:51 PM, debraran said:

I never got taking the kids either since they couldn't see and so many things might be scary. I feel poor Grace had WAY too many takes and just about had it. I felt sorry for her. That happened again when they came back to Walnut grove and were over Jonathan's. Grace seemed almost "pinched", she started wailing outside and they tried to ignore it.

Is that the scene where she eventually fell asleep with her head on her plate? Poor kid was just way overtired.

[Katy M]

15 hours ago, debraran said:

I mean really, they didn't want to show it?? She did have a lot of good suggestions.

They probably didn't want to make the actress actually fall in the water.  But, since she was cool with it and actually suggested it, yes, it was better to see.

 

[Brn2bwild]

On 9/8/2021 at 11:04 AM, Zella said:

Nels, weirdly enough, is my least favorite member of the Oleson family. (OK I like him more than Nancy.) But he's always propped up as allegedly the only likable, decent one, but I actually think he actively enables his family's shittiness and then wants to act martyred when it affects him. Then again, I also think the entire town is baffling for continuing to be shocked--shocked, I tell you!--that Harriet continues to be Harriet, and they continue to invite her to things and include her in things and be freshly shocked when she acts the way she has acted for years. Seriously, why does anyone even shop at that store or socialize with them? 

Bingo! There are so many more valid things to call her out on. 

How was that family so rich, anyway?  There were like 12 people in Walnut Grove, and their store wasn't that big.  If the town was growing, you would think the mercantile would have received competition.

[Blergh]

On 9/8/2021 at 1:04 PM, Zella said:

 ) But he's always propped up as allegedly the only likable, decent one, but I actually think he actively enables his family's shittiness and then wants to act martyred when it affects him. Then again, I also think the entire town is baffling for continuing to be shocked--shocked, I tell you!--that Harriet continues to be Harriet, and they continue to invite her to things and include her in things and be freshly shocked when she acts the way she has acted for years. Seriously, why does anyone even shop at that store or socialize with them? 

Bingo! There are so many more valid things to call her out on. 

Very good points! 

It seems as though somehow Mr. Oleson and the rest of Walnut Grove  were treating Harriet and Nellie with the same logic as though they were striped zebras but they kept pinning on them changing into to spotted Dalmatians despite the two consistently and constantly showing their true colors. Expecting a different outcome from others  with despite a history of the opposite happening is a definition of insanity and/or enjoying hearing oneself complain. 

I get that Oleson's Mercantile is the only store to shop in for many miles AND maybe there's a measure of pity for Mr. Oleson but one has to wonder why anyone (besides the Ingallses) who could have vaguely afforded to have ordered their merchandise via mail order catalogue didn't do so instead of having to endure Harriet's flak at the Mercantile. 

Yeah, having Nels calling out Harriet for not being stick thin while largely avoiding calling her out on her more glaring shadow side was not only unfunny but a bit cowardly on his part! 

Yet, despite all the above, I still wound up being entertained by this duo (and admit  IMO that their interactions usually were more fun to watch than Charles and Caroline's) 

[CountryGirl]

Some of my favorite moments are when Harriet and Nels are being tender with each other. As sweet as Caroline and Charles could be with one another, there was something more real about H & N. 

[Zella]

I agree that Nels and Harriet were usually way more fun than Charles and Caroline. I really liked in one of the episodes in which they separated or were threatening to that when Charles said something critical about Harriet that Nels immediately got defensive and was clearly proud of her business sense. 

3 hours ago, Blergh said:

I get that Oleson's Mercantile is the only store to shop in for many miles AND maybe there's a measure of pity for Mr. Oleson but one has to wonder why anyone (besides the Ingallses) who could have vaguely afforded to have ordered their merchandise via mail order catalogue didn't do so instead of having to endure Harriet's flak at the Mercantile. 

Definitely! Honestly, if I was a local farmer and needed to go to the store, I'd probably use a combo of the catalog and trekking to Mankato when I did something at the store to avoid going in there. I'm really shocked nobody else tried to set up a store nearby. They'd have made a killing off everyone who didn't want to deal with Harriet. 

[debraran]

I don't remember Harriet being unkind to many in the store but some snarky comments about Caroline since she was envious in a way.  They had many short scenes where she was saying hello and goodbye to patrons but not unkind. They gave credit to long standing neighbors and she donated things without thought when needed.  One woman said she'd look in Mankato for fabric to Nell's during Xmas episode, but that wasn't that close.

Harriet didn't like how the low class farmers were treating the pregnant wife of the guy who went to get corn seed and had an accident. Why not one numskull in the whole group thought of that with the way travel was back then, IDK. I mean Mary had accident, many did, wheels broke, robbers hit on travelers. I just thought that was a bit overboard with no one mentioning anything in that vein.

Harriet brought up 2 spoiled kids but they turned out okay. Nels was always a good example and other neighbors. Harriet not going to Willie's wedding or making that big of a fuss was over the top too. I realize she wanted more for him but he wasn't working on a pig farm (although a good job) but Willie was a good young man and I wish we had more time with him.  Nellie was also a good person later and besides feeling different her whole life, wasn't bad to the core. I feel telling her how much better she was did more harm, but she was never evil, did bad things, but  just not a happy kid. I wont mention the other child because it made me stop watching those episodes.

Edited September 11, 2021 by debraran

[Blergh]

Good arguments for Harriet and Nels, @ debraran! Yes, it was good to see Harriet defend the pregnant wife of the missing farmer AND let's not forget that she wound up solving the captive Laura's wherabouts after the grieving mother of her drowned one-shot pal Ellen came into the Mercantile   specifically to buy birthday candles despite her daughter being known to have died. Yes, her nosiness wound up saving the day (and may have ultimately kept the . .. challenged Farmer Busbee from getting lynched over Laura's disappearance). 

Of course, can anyone top what one French interviewer said in extolling the virtues of Nellie [who, along with Harriet, is quite popular in France] when Miss Arnrgrim was on their show   capping it off saying that Nellie wasn't bad but  instead was  misunderstood and French? LOL

[Mr. Sparkle]

I found another actor re-use! 

One of the bad guys who threatened Mary & Adam in Winoka played the father of the new kid in the one where Mrs. Oleson teaches French at the school. He's kind of mean in that one too. 

[jird]

So I watched Halloween II the other day (spoiler alert: it is every single bit as bad as I remember) and immediately recognized a nice old lady in it as Miss Trimbull, the pipe-smoking, busted-leg teacher that Laura stayed with in Sweet Sixteen. 

You will be happy to know that, although Michael Myers stole a knife from her kitchen, she was otherwise unharmed. 🙂

[CountryGirl]

I will still always love how Harriet got her ass handed to her by young, blind Samson. Her face when she realized how awful she had been behaving.

And when she learned from her mistakes and ensured bigoted Larabee got his ass handed to him, in front of a crowd of people, and strode off hand in hand with Samson - that was a thing of beauty. 

Also, in interviews, Katherine MacGregor spoke highly of Marcus Chong, the actor who played Samson, and in stating she thoroughly enjoyed working with him, called him "the sweetest boy."

[Mr. Sparkle]

I watched "Rage" for the first time ever. What a dark, unpleasant episode! I believe that's the second time Laura was held hostage by someone who thought she was someone else. 

[Egg McMuffin]

Little House and Waltons cast members to battle on “Stars in the House”

[Egg McMuffin]

1 hour ago, jird said:

So I watched Halloween II the other day (spoiler alert: it is every single bit as bad as I remember) and immediately recognized a nice old lady in it as Miss Trimbull, the pipe-smoking, busted-leg teacher that Laura stayed with in Sweet Sixteen. 

You will be happy to know that, although Michael Myers stole a knife from her kitchen, she was otherwise unharmed. 🙂

LOL. Lucille Benson was a very distinctive character actress and she showed up in a lot of things. I remember her as the landlady on “Bosom Buddies.”

As far Halloween II: yeah, it’s pretty ridiculous and doesn’t hold a candle to the original. But it’s grown on me a bit over the years, especially given what came after.

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, Kyle said:

As far Halloween II: yeah, it’s pretty ridiculous and doesn’t hold a candle to the original. But it’s grown on me a bit over the years, especially given what came after.

The hospital one? I kind of like it! And yeah, compared to part III it's Citizen Kane. 

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

I watched "Rage" for the first time ever. What a dark, unpleasant episode! I believe that's the second time Laura was held hostage by someone who thought she was someone else. 

Yeah, but what was even more chilling about this was that, instead of the unhinged captor thinking the preteen Laura was her deceased daughter, this unhinged captor convinced himself that the now-grown Laura was his own (still living) WIFE  [that he had just shot and left for dead before making his escape to Casa Wilder] so the viewers had to contend with the possibility that Laura would have had to at the very least consider how FAR she'd let him take his delusion in order to keep herself, Jenny and Baby Rose alive. Thankfully, he somehow never got to. .. fully  embrace her before he wound up being shot dead when the others were rescuing Laura, Jenny and Baby Rose. 

Of course, the end of his funeral was rather upsetting. Not that the captor (in of himself) was ANY kind of loss but his poor widow had been left paralyzed, his daughter was barely a teen AND the captor had hocked their farm above their eyeballs when the creditors finally said 'enough' (which helped unhinge him). So how were a paralyzed mother and her barely teen daughter going  survive now   that they were  even broker than broke- even with the teen having a flirtation with a barely teenaged boy who was nice enough to emotionally support them at their would-be murderer's funeral?  That vital question was left forever hanging! 

[debraran]

1 hour ago, Kyle said:

Little House and Waltons cast members to battle on “Stars in the House”

That's nice for them and will give Karen some air time with a book coming out soon.

[jird]

56 minutes ago, Superclam said:

The hospital one? I kind of like it! And yeah, compared to part III it's Citizen Kane. 

I pretend all the sequels don't exist, except for H20 and Halloween 2018 (which also ignores all the sequels!).  I just can't get past the completely dark hospital where only 3 people work,  and the fact that even though the guy that just tried to kill Jamie Lee is still on the loose, they leave her completely alone in her dark hospital room all the time. 😄

So, both the original Halloween and Halloween II have Little House actors - I wonder if there are others in the sequels?

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, jird said:

just can't get past the completely dark hospital where only 3 people work,  and the fact that even though the guy that just tried to kill Jamie Lee is still on the loose, they leave her completely alone in her dark hospital room all the time. 😄

You can't have a slasher flic without stupid decisions! 

"I heard screaming from that abandoned scary house! Should we investigate?"

"No, let's get to safety and then call the police." 

Fin. 

[Egg McMuffin]

1 hour ago, jird said:

So, both the original Halloween and Halloween II have Little House actors - I wonder if there are others in the sequels?

I looked and the only ones I can find are both Kyle Richards (Alicia) and Charles Cyphers (Zack Taylor in “Little House: Look Back to Yesterday) appeared in both “Halloween” and “Halloween II”, and will reprise their roles as Lindsey Doyle and Sheriff Brackett in the upcoming “Halloween Kills”.

[methodwriter85]

On 9/17/2021 at 5:14 PM, Blergh said:

Yeah, but what was even more chilling about this was that, instead of the unhinged captor thinking the preteen Laura was her deceased daughter, this unhinged captor convinced himself that the now-grown Laura was his own (still living) WIFE  [that he had just shot and left for dead before making his escape to Casa Wilder] so the viewers had to contend with the possibility that Laura would have had to at the very least consider how FAR she'd let him take his delusion in order to keep herself, Jenny and Baby Rose alive. Thankfully, he somehow never got to. .. fully  embrace her before he wound up being shot dead when the others were rescuing Laura, Jenny and Baby Rose. 

It's such a freakin' weird trope and I'm here for it. I watched this weird, dark little microindie called "Inside" about a grieving couple who convince themselves that an intruder into their house is their dead son come back to life and I always thought of "My Ellen" while watching it.

I'm surprised this show never tried a plot where a grieving widow convinces herself that Almanzo is her dearly departed husband, but then again, they already had the plot where Almanzo's spinster sister is obsessed with him and his recovery.

[debraran]

Everyone always thinks of Walnut Grove like "Mayberry" but they sure had their share of weird and bad people. The resident bigots and crazy people,drunks, they had famous thieves come by and hold people hostage, they had rapists (a horror) neighbors who would poison others with bad meat to make money.  The "bad boys" that had to leave town. The neighbor who'd keep the Ingall's cow rather than bring it back and check on the family. (who would let their cow leave and not know?) So many instances. Maybe realistic but not ideal. Really with all the neighbors and church goers, the Ingalls' pretty much hung out with Mr E and later Jonathan and family. All those women in town and Caroline pretty much had Grace until she left and they killed off Alice.  Really Grace happened only after Mr Edward's married her.

On a different note, the house Grace and family lived in was pretty nice, I remember in the bad meat episode, it was like a nice farm house, nice lamps, chairs, etc. How did Grace get all that?

Edited September 19, 2021 by debraran

[BigBingerBro]

1 hour ago, debraran said:

On a different note, the house Grace and family lived in was pretty nice, I remember in the bad meat episode, it was like a nice farm house, nice lamps, chairs, etc. How did Grace get all that?

Perhaps her late husband had a bit of money.  Not as much as the widow Thurmond however.

[CountryGirl]

Didn’t Grace and Edwards move into the Sanderson home after they got married? Actually, I think Grace was staying there with the kids when Julia died. So some of those nice things were Julia’s and her late husband’s presumably. 

[debraran]

1 hour ago, BigBingerBro said:

Perhaps her late husband had a bit of money.  Not as much as the widow Thurmond however.

Even Mrs. Whipple had a nice home. Why did everyone have more than Charles even without husband's? Life insurance wasn't a thing then and I thought most single women lived like Ms Beadle in a room or rooming house.

Was Grace a widow?

Edited September 19, 2021 by debraran

[BigBingerBro]

1 hour ago, debraran said:

Why did everyone have more than Charles even without husband's?

I always assumed it was because these people set off to the prairie as pioneers and brought substantial wealth with them.  As we know, Charles et al were farily poor from the get go, so there was never much money to spare.  I do agree that they should have become a bit more weathly in the later years on the show.  They should have at least built a sizable extension on the little house.

[Blergh]

Actually, many never-married, separated, widowed and, ahem, divorced women of that time and place either pooled what few resources they had and lived with other unmarried women in one spot OR they 'visited' different relatives for sometimes years at a stretch. I had an ancestress around that era who did just that with her daughters  after they were all grown and married while the family  let everyone think   she'd informally separated from her husband but, in reality, she'd secretly gotten a legal divorce! 

Yes, I know we had Amy Hearn having lived with a woman roomie before the latter died but it seemed odd that there NO single women in  Walnut Grove were doing the rotating relative 'visiting' deal !

I don't recall any episode in which Grace Snyder formally gave up her her postmistress position upon her marriage to Isaiah but it seemed she'd quietly done so and the presumably widowed Mrs. Foster was the new postmistress. However, in the whole 'wives moving to Nellie's Hotel to force their husbands' hands' episode, not only was she married but also had toddler twin girls (husband and daughters never seen/heard of before or after- and no 'Very Special Episode' dealing with Mrs. Foster having safely borne them in her 50s). 

Edited September 19, 2021 by Blergh

[Zella]

In the 1950s in North Carolina, my grandmother's grandparents did the rotating months with various relatives thing after they got too old to care for their farm. My great-great grandmother apparently really regretted it. 

[Zella]

And I just remembered another relative who did that in the 60s. She was my grandfather's widowed grandmother. She said staying with my newly grandparents was way more pleasant than staying with any of her kids, but she did have a basic rotation she followed. 

[ctlady]

Was in my LHOTP glory yesterday morning as they had Sweet Sixteen followed by He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not parts 1 & 2  They should've been named 'The Ones Where Laura Wears Out That Rust & Teal Colored Flowered Dress'

[CountryGirl]

On 9/19/2021 at 11:36 AM, BigBingerBro said:

I always assumed it was because these people set off to the prairie as pioneers and brought substantial wealth with them.  As we know, Charles et al were farily poor from the get go, so there was never much money to spare.  I do agree that they should have become a bit more weathly in the later years on the show.  They should have at least built a sizable extension on the little house.

That reminds me. 

Remember when Charles talked about adding on an extra room when Charles Jr was born?

But never mentioned it when Grace was born?

Or when they adopted James and Cassandra?

I guess you had to be a boy and blood-related for Charles to GAF.

But seriously, 4 kids crammed into a loft and Grace just a few feet away from the bed of popcorn-popping. 

On 9/19/2021 at 12:56 PM, ctlady said:

Was in my LHOTP glory yesterday morning as they had Sweet Sixteen followed by He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not parts 1 & 2  They should've been named 'The Ones Where Laura Wears Out That Rust & Teal Colored Flowered Dress'

IIRC, Melissa Gilbert hated that dress. I don't blame her. It was fug and clashed with her hair. 

[Egg McMuffin]

On 9/19/2021 at 11:36 AM, BigBingerBro said:

They should have at least built a sizable extension on the little house.

Not necessary. Because the little house was full…of love!

[debraran]

I get that Michael wanted the "little house" to stay little, but realistically he shouldn't have brought so many people into it. Albert was enough but then James and his sister? That was silly. The noise, smells and just need for a little privacy was needed. Charles wasn't a shop keeper, he knew how to build, he was surrounded by trees and could do things in his free time. He had friends that would help. The fact that he wanted so many sleeping so close, when he didn't need too, didn't make sense. You could love with an 9x9 ext like the kitchen.

If in 20 years Caroline never got anything but a stove, never a store bought dress, hat, dishes, a root cellar, anything to make her life easier, that's their choice, but it didn't seem realistic when everyone but Mr Edwards had a more secure, solid home and less ability to keep it up. In the city they had what looked like a nice home with different rooms and furniture etc. I guess the store paid well but Charles could make furniture and never did for his little home.  I would have loved if Karen was still on show, to see how she adjusted to living in a home like she grew up in. Not as quaint but solid and comfortable with a "real kitchen" ! I hate watching the last farewell but I did like seeing those scenes in their home and realizing it was theirs.

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by debraran

[Snow Apple]

Even Mr Edwards had a nice house after he married Grace. I figured he didn’t need a big house as a bachelor but could have built extensions if he wanted or needed.

The Ingalls were nuts to live in such a cramped house. A house full of love, my foot. 

[Blergh]

The only reason I can think of that the Ingallses stayed in those cramped quarters for eight seasons (even with all those extra folks) was that ML didn't want to have to build a bigger permanent set for them (or spend extra monies) and perhaps, he just felt comfortable keeping their set 'as was'. 

Ironic that the Olesons got a much bigger and fancier permanent set (and ML seemed to add to it) and three out of the four were the villains! 

[Zella]

They'd needed to have changed the name of the show too if they upgraded the Ingalls' digs. Big House on the Prairie. 😂

[ctlady]

I had to chuckle while watching Divorce: Walnut Grove Style  where Laura got into a knock down drag out with Brenda Sue right in front of the restaurant.  I never noticed Nellie standing in the doorway and probably wondering, "ah, this brings back memories of mine and Laura's fights"

[Blergh]

37 minutes ago, ctlady said:

I had to chuckle while watching Divorce: Walnut Grove Style  where Laura got into a knock down drag out with Brenda Sue right in front of the restaurant.  I never noticed Nellie standing in the doorway and probably wondering, "ah, this brings back memories of mine and Laura's fights"

True but it seemed that Nellie FORGOT she was married to Percival when Harriet gleefully exclaimed that 'Laura and Almanzo are getting a divorce' and Nellie had the most evil, gleeful smile to a haunting score! 

OK, it was funny and harkened back to the premarital and pre-tamed Nellie Oleson. However,  considering how happily married Nellie was (before and after that episode), one would have thought she'd have done nothing more than shrug 'So?'. 

[BigBingerBro]

3 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I figured he didn’t need a big house as a bachelor

Didn't he have that shack which was featured in the scarlet fever episode?

[debraran]

3 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

Didn't he have that shack which was featured in the scarlet fever episode?

Yes, it wasn't pretty but fit him. You saw it mostly then and with the blind girl he liked, but didn't Laura paint it with Albert or was that another one he had. That one was really awful.

[debraran]

6 hours ago, Blergh said:

The only reason I can think of that the Ingallses stayed in those cramped quarters for eight seasons (even with all those extra folks) was that ML didn't want to have to build a bigger permanent set for them (or spend extra monies) and perhaps, he just felt comfortable keeping their set 'as was'. 

Ironic that the Olesons got a much bigger and fancier permanent set (and ML seemed to add to it) and three out of the four were the villains! 

I think he liked the little house and it would have been okay if he didn't take in kids not from the books. Even the table was small for all of them. Seen below, just a foot or more would have fit everyone better. Ma had her rocking chair but you think he would have built a sturdy chair for himself on the other side of the room or for company. I still think its odd Caroline was left out a lot. She had a birthday cake once but you always saw Charles getting gifts from everyone but not Ma.

Even that one Xmas, she was supposed to get stove, Mary made Pa a shirt, Ma the same shirt, Laura gave him a scarf, Carrie a toy, but except for Laura's gift, what did Caroline get? She always watched.

Edited September 22, 2021 by debraran

[Blergh]

One thing that was emphasized in The Books was that the ONLY luxury item the Ingallses owned was a porcelain 'china shepardess' doll which they would pack VERY carefully when making all their journeys and set on the mantles of their dwellings to commemorate that they'd arrived AND survived intact.  Somehow, they'd drilled it into their four daughters from very early ages that this was NOT a toy and that that were not to attempt to play with it under any circumstances.  I recall it on the show but it didn't seem to have had the same kind of import as it had in The Books. 

BTW, does anyone know what became of it? 

[Mr. Sparkle]

44 minutes ago, Blergh said:

One thing that was emphasized in The Books was that the ONLY luxury item the Ingallses owned was a porcelain 'china shepardess' doll which they would pack VERY carefully when making all their journeys and set on the mantles of their dwellings to commemorate that they'd arrived AND survived intact.  Somehow, they'd drilled it into their four daughters from very early ages that this was NOT a toy and that that were not to attempt to play with it under any circumstances.  I recall it on the show but it didn't seem to have had the same kind of import as it had in The Books. 

BTW, does anyone know what became of it? 

I remember the china doll, and yes, they took it very seriously. I just read the books, but I don't recall if it was mentioned after they moved to the claim house. 

Interesting how the books focused much more on Laura, especially the later books. I guess not so interesting when you consider who the author was! 

[Zella]

Here's an interesting discussion about the china doll. Seems like a couple of different museums claim it.

http://www.pioneergirl.com/blog/archives/4093

[Mr. Sparkle]

Holy crap @Zella, I got lost on that site! 

[Zella]

7 minutes ago, Superclam said:

Holy crap @Zella, I got lost on that site! 

It's super interesting! I stumbled across it earlier this year. 

[jason88cubs]

the house was very cramped when every got older .Idk how they handled it. Especially in winter time. Everyone cramped up all day

[debraran]

10 hours ago, jason88cubs said:

the house was very cramped when every got older .Idk how they handled it. Especially in winter time. Everyone cramped up all day

In reality instead of a home full of the smell of bread and eggs, you probably had a lot of BO from dirty clothes and not being able to bathe well. You had dirty diapers and maybe a pot when snowed in or during a blizzard or bad weather (having to use bathroom doesn't stop with weather unfortunately) They talked of how sanitized they made even the most laborious chores at times but for this show it was fine. No one hopefully was using that as a history lesson. Even writing about it, most don't want to talk about having your period and being 0 degrees and everything freezing or how hot and sweaty it was in the summer without fans or ice. In the books, they got magazines and books they didn't show in the TV series that they tried to make last the long winter but boring yes beyond chores. The twisting twigs for burning was something they never would touch on in show but that description stuck with me long after I read it.

I'll take the LHOP sanitized version : )

Edited September 27, 2021 by debraran

[Blergh]

Not to mention, while Pa's one pair of overalls, one pair of workboots, a few odd shirts and no underwear wouldn't have taken much space, surely Ma, Mary and Laura's umpteen petticoats and corsets would have  but the viewers never saw those (and, oddly enough, only once or twice can I recall seeing any kind of clothesline much less any kind of laundry works- washtub, washboard, wringer,etc. ).  It also seemed that they did NOT possess a chamber pot inasmuch as Carrie had an accident first thing via having to use the outhouse after months of the house being abandoned for Winoka! If they HAD possessed a chamber pot, one would think they'd have had this young (and somewhat dim) child use it in a corner instead of risking a mishap. 

 Of course, Mary and Laura wisely dealt with the increasingly packed abode by moving out/getting married ASAP.