Little House on the Prairie Season 1 (1974-75)

Revisited

Review

The first season of Little House on the Prairie began airing on 14 September 1974 to 7 May 1975 and consisted of 23 episodes. The story begins as the Ingalls family arrive in Minnesota to settle on the banks of Plum Creek which is just outside of Walnut Grove. Over the course of the season, we get to meet the townspeople who will become regulars throughout the series and others who will appear for just one episode. Amongst the regulars are Nels and Harriet Oleson who run the mercantile and are often used as a contrast to the wholesomeness of the Ingalls family as Harriet puts profit above everything else. While Nels is a much kinder man, he rarely stands up to his wife and their two children are very spoiled as a result. The other regulars are Miss Beadle, the school teacher: Lars Hansen, the mill owner and a town founder, and, Dr. Hiram Baker who often treats animals as well as humans.

The first two episodes, A Harvest of Friends and Country Girls, establishes the Ingallses as a hardworking family with a solid moral foundation and an abiding love for one another. Michael Landon also puts Charles Ingalls at the centre of each episode so there is no confusion who is the star of the show. With no money to set up the farm, Charles makes various deals for wood, seed and feed for his stock but a serious injury leaves him bedridden and unable to carry out his part of the bargain. Staring defeat in the face, he drags himself into town to move heavy bags of grain and his daughters follow close behind. Seeing their father struggle in again, the little girls rush to help and it prompts the men in town to do the same. The Ingallses pull together when it is needed and we will see many instances of this throughout the series.

In Country Girls, Laura and Mary attend school for the first time where they meet the snooty Nellie Oleson who mocks their country ways. The episode sets up the enmity between Laura and Nellie that will become a huge part of the show and deliver some of its funniest moments. Nellie is definitely her mother’s daughter though as Caroline runs into problems when Harriet tries to cheat her out of a fair price for her eggs at the mercantile. The Olesons also bring a lot of humour to the show as Harriet’s hare-brained schemes often get her into trouble or she is quarrelling with her husband in Family Quarrel.

The series also takes a lighthearted tone when Mr. Edwards arrives in town in Mr. Edwards’ Homecoming and declares his intention to settle in Walnut Grove. Before long, he catches the eye of Grace Snider, the local postmistress, and they begin a tentative romance. Edwards is also at the centre of the episode, Ma’s Holiday, where he takes over domestic duties when Charles and Caroline head out of town. Edwards is run ragged by Carrie and he comes up with some very novel ways of keeping in her in one place much to the horror of her sisters.

However, there are also more serious moments as Caroline gives birth to a much longed for son in the two-part, The Lord is My Shepherd, only for him to die a few weeks later. Having been jealous of her baby brother, Laura blames herself for his death and heads up a mountain to get closer to God to ask him to take her instead of little Freddie. The story deals with a very painful moment in the lives of the real Ingallses and it is one that Laura Ingalls Wilder chose not to write about but these episodes are overly sentimental and the religious aspects are heavy-handed.

Many of the episodes also start out fairly light-hearted but soon develop much darker themes like in The Racoon where Laura adopts a pet raccoon who practically destroys the house when it gets loose from its cage. However, things take a serious turn when the racoon bites Laura and is suspected of having rabies, There are a few anxious days while the Ingallses wait to see if Laura will develop any symptoms but it appears there were two racoons all along. Another serious episode is Child of Pain where Charles tries to help an alcoholic father dry out so he will stop beating his son. This is an example of how Landon wanted to introduce more topical storylines to show so they would resonate with viewers.

Unfortunately, there are also some very poor episodes like Doctor’s Lady where Doc Baker falls in love with Harriet’s niece who is much younger than him but ends up breaking off their engagement due to the age difference. There is also The Love of Johnny Johnson where Laura develops a crush on an older boy who prefers Mary which leads to unnecessary quarrelling between the sisters since Mary doesn’t return Johnny’s feelings. Johnny makes another appearance towards the end of the season in To See the World where he runs away to see the world after being inspired by Edwards’ tall stories. Edwards has to persuade him to return home, and thankfully Johnny is never seen again.

The season ends on a lighter note with Founder’s Day as the Ingallses family take part in various competitions but seem to keep coming up short. Charles gets into a logging contest with an aging man who still feels like he is “Bull of the Woods”. However, Charles ends up letting the old man win after a plea from his wife not to dent his pride.

Further Reading

Explore the characters and books that inspired the series

  • Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon)
  • Caroline Ingalls (Karen Grassle)
  • Mary Ingalls (Melissa Sue Anderson)
  • Laura Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert)
  • Carrie Ingalls (Lindsay Sidney Greenbush)
  • Nels Oleson (Richard Bull)
  • Harriet Oleson (Katherine MacGregor)
  • Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim)
  • Willie Oleson (Jonathan Gilbert)
  • Isaiah Edwards (Victor French)
  • Lars Hansen (Karl Swenson)
  • Dr. Hiram Baker (Kevin Hagen)
  • Eva Beadle (Charlotte Stewart)
  • Reverend Alden (Dabbs Greer)
  • Grace Snider Edwards (Bonnie Bartlett)
  • John Sanderson Edwards (Radames Pera)
  • Carl Sanderson Edwards (Brian Part)
  • Alicia Sanderson Edwards (Kyle Richards)
  • 1.01 A Harvest of Friends
  • 1.02 Country Girls
  • 1.03 100 Mile Walk
  • 1.04 Mr. Edwards’ Homecoming
  • 1.05 The Love of Johnny Johnson
  • 1.06 If I Should Wake Before I Die
  • 1.07 Town Party, Country Party
  • 1.08 Ma’s Holiday
  • 1.09 School Mom
  • 1.10 The Racoon
  • 1.11 The Voice of Tinker Jones
  • 1.12 The Award
  • 1.13 The Lord is My Shepherd Part I
  • 1.14 The Lord is My Shepherd Part II
  • 1.15 Christmas at Plum Creek
  • 1.16 Family Quarrel
  • 1.17 Doctor’s Lady
  • 1.18 Plague
  • 1.19 Circus Man
  • 1.20 Child of Pain
  • 1.21 Money Crop
  • 1.22 Survival
  • 1.23 To See the World
  • 1.24 Founder’s Day
  • CHARLES PHILIP INGALLS was born on 10 January 1836 in Cuba, New York, and was the third of ten children born to Lansford Whiting Ingalls and Laura Louise Colby. Charles married Caroline Lake Quiner on 1 February 1860 and they had five children. Charles died, aged 66 years, in De Smet, South Dakota, on 8 June 1902.
  • CAROLINE LAKE QUINER was born on 12 December 1839, in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and was the fifth of eight children born to Henry Newcomb Quiner and Charlotte Wallis Tucker. Caroline’s father died when she was young and her mother married Frederick Holbrook on 2 June 1849. Caroline married Charles Philip Ingalls on 1 February 1860 and they had five children. Caroline died, aged 84 years, in De Smet, South Dakota, on 20 April 1924.
  • MARY AMELIA INGALLS was born on 10 January 1865 in Pepin, Wisconsin, and was the eldest daughter of Charles Philip Ingalls and Caroline Lake Quiner. Mary lost her sight in 1879 after a serious illness and attended the Iowa School for the Blind from 1880 to 1889. Mary never married and lived with her parents for the rest of her life, and then with her sisters. Mary died, aged 63 years, in Keystone, South Dakota, on 17 October 1928.
  • LAURA ELIZABETH INGALLS was born on 7 February 1867 in Pepin, Wisconsin, and was the second daughter of Charles Philip Ingalls and Caroline Lake Quiner. She married Almanzo James Wilder on 25 August 1885 and they had two children, Rose, born in 1886, and an unnamed son in 1889. Laura died, aged 90 years, in Mansfield, Missouri, on 10 February 1957.
  • CAROLINE CELESTIA INGALLS was born on 3 August 1870 in Montgomery, Kansas and was the third daughter of Charles Philip Ingalls and Caroline Lake Quiner. She married David N Swanzey in 1912 but had no children of her own. Carrie died, aged 75 years, in Rapid City, South Dakota, on 2 June 1946.
  • CHARLES FREDERICK INGALLS was born on 1 November 1875 in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, but died, aged 9 months, in South Troy, Minnesota, on 27 August 1876.
  • GRACE PEARL INGALLS was born on 23 May 1877 in Burr Oak, Iowa, and was the youngest daughter of Charles Philip Ingalls and Caroline Lake Quiner. She married Nathan William Dow on 16 October 1901 but they had no children. Grace died, aged 64 years, in Manchester, South Dakota, on 10 November 1941.

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