Little House on the Prairie Season 6 (1979-80)

Revisited
Nellie meets her match in Percival

Review

The sixth season of Little House on the Prairie began airing on 17 September 1979 to 12 May 1980 and consisted of 24 episodes. In the two-part opener, Back To School, Eliza Jane Wilder, the new teacher, arrives in town and she is soon followed by her younger brother, Almanzo, who immediately catches Laura’s eye. Before long, Laura is carving their initials into a tree and telling the viewers she just met the man who she would one day marry. The real age gap between Almanzo Wilder and Laura Ingalls was eight years, and while the age gap between the actors was the same, Melissa Gilbert was a very young fifteen. Adding to the issue is the fact that Laura is portrayed as a child for much of this season until the last few episodes when the braids disappear and suddenly Almanzo is seeing her differently which is jarring.

The opening episodes also reveal a new set for the show in the shape of a restaurant/hotel that Harriet presents to Nellie as a graduation gift, although the girl is less than pleased at the hard work she is going to have to do. Harriet informs her ungrateful daughter that the business will improve her hopes of catching a husband and she is soon pushing Nellie in the direction of Almanzo which infuriates Laura. The restaurant adds a breath of fresh air to the series and Nellie’s inept management adds a lot of humour. The arrival of the telephone gives Harriet the opportunity to eavesdrop on the town and her meddling reveals a long kept secret that almost destroys the marriage of Jonathan and Alice Garvey.

Away from the restaurant, we get to see more of the Ingallses extended family as Caroline’s stepfather stays at the farm after the loss of his wife in Author! Author!. Caroline was eagerly anticipating the arrival of both parents but her quiet grief is heart-wrenching when she realises her mother has died on the journey. Initially, it appears as if the episode is going to be a repeat of Journey in the Spring which featured Charles’ widowed father, however Frederick Holbrook (Barry Sullivan) is persuaded to write down his memoirs for publication as his stories delight the younger members of the family. It is actually quite interesting to note that Laura Ingalls Wilder came from a family where many were writers. We also get a different view of Charles and Caroline when they attend a class reunion in Whatever Happened to the Class of ’56, however I doubt class reunions were a thing in the 19th century and how come their friends all became rich?

Charles and Caroline finally become grandparents when Mary gives birth to a son Adam Charles Holbrook Kendall but tragedy is just around the corner in May We Make Them Proud when Albert and his friend, Clay (Bill Calvert), accidentally leave a smouldering pipe in the basement of the blind school. The subsequent fire soon engulfs the school and claims the lives of Alice Garvey and Adam Jr. A distraught Mary suffers from a breakdown, while a guilt-ridden Albert cannot come to terms with his actions. When the truth is revealed, Albert runs away and the second part of the story focuses on Charles and Jonathan trying to find him. While the fire was an accident, I didn’t like how this tragic story suddenly became all about Albert and he is forgiven far too easily.

The final episodes turn the attention to Laura who is offered a teaching position two weeks shy of her sixteenth birthday in Sweet Sixteen and Eliza Jane asks Almanzo to drive Laura to and fro each weekend. The braids disappear forever as Laura opts to put her hair up and the relationship between them shifts as Almanzo begins to see her in a new light. When Almanzo escorts Laura to the church social, they share their first kiss but Charles is adamant they cannot marry until she is eighteen. However, the fledgling romance is in danger in He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not as Almanzo does not want to wait two years to marry her and accuses Laura of being a little girl for not standing up to her father. Almanzo decides to leave town for a while so Laura concentrates on helping Adam and Mary re-establish the blind school in Sleepy Eye.

In contrast, Cupid aims his bow squarely at Nellie when Harriet hires Percival Dalton to teach her how to cook and manage the restaurant as it is losing money. While Nellie is resistant to the idea, she finds herself falling in love with Percival when he tells her she is pretty and refuses to be cowed by her temper. A starry-eyed Nellie shocks everyone with her change in behaviour but she is devastated when Percival tells her it is time for him to leave. When Nellie tells Percival that she loves him, they decide to get married. At their wedding, Charles tells Laura she can marry Almanzo when she is seventeen.

Further Reading

Explore the characters and books that inspired the series

  • Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon)
  • Caroline Ingalls (Karen Grassle)
  • Laura Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert)
  • Carrie Ingalls (Lindsay Sidney Greenbush)
  • Grace Ingalls (Wendi & Brenda Turnbaugh)
  • Albert Quinn Ingalls (Matthew Labyorteaux)
  • Nels Oleson (Richard Bull)
  • Harriet Oleson (Katherine MacGregor)
  • Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim)
  • Willie Oleson (Jonathan Gilbert)
  • Mary Ingalls Kendall (Melissa Sue Anderson)
  • Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer)
  • Dr. Hiram Baker (Kevin Hagen)
  • Reverend Alden (Dabbs Greer)
  • Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olson)
  • Alice Garvey (Hedda Parady)
  • Andy Garvey (Patrick Labyorteaux)
  • Almanzo Wilder (Dean Butler)
  • Eliza Jane Wilder (Lucy Lee Flippin)
  • Joe Kagan (Moses Gunn)
  • Hester-Sue Terhune (Ketty Lester)
  • 6.01 Back to School Part 1
  • 6.02 Back to School Part II
  • 6.03 Family Tree
  • 6.04 Third Miracle
  • 6.05 Annabelle
  • 6.06 Preacher Takes a Wife
  • 6.07 Halloween Dream
  • 6.08 Return of Mr. Edwards
  • 6.09 The King is Dead
  • 6.10 Faith Healer
  • 6.11 Author, Author
  • 6.12 – Crossed Connection
  • 6.13 Angry Heart
  • 6.14 The Werewolf of Walnut Grove
  • 6.15 Whatever Happened to Class of ’56
  • 6.16 Darkness is my Friend
  • 6.17 Silent Promise
  • 6.18 May We Make Them Proud Part 1
  • 6.19 May We Make Them Proud Part II
  • 6.20 Wilder and Wilder
  • 6.21 Second Spring
  • 6.22 Sweet Sixteen
  • 6.23 He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not Part I
  • 6.24 He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not Part II
  • 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.
  • ALMANZO JAMES WILDER was born on 13 February 1859 in Burke, New York, and was the fifth of six children born to James Mason Wilder and Angelina Albina Day. He married Laura Elizabeth Ingalls on 25 August 1885 and they had two children, Rose, born in 1886, and an unnamed son in 1889. Almanzo died, aged 90 years, in Mansfield, Missouri, on 23 October 1949.
  • ELIZA JANE WILDER was born on 3 January 1850 in Burke, New York, and was the third of six children born to James Mason Wilder and Angelina Albina Day. After teaching for several years, Eliza Jane married twice, first to Thomas J. Thayer, in September 1893 and their son, Walcott Wilder Thayer, was born in 1894. Eliza Jane died, aged 90 years, in Lafayette, Louisiana, on 1 June 1930.
  • PERLEY DAY WILDER was born on 13 June 1869 in Burke, New York, and was the youngest of six children born to James Mason Wilder and Angelina Albina Day. He married Elsie Lilian Merritt and they had six children. Perley Day died, aged 64 years, in New Kinder, Louisiana, on 10 May 1934.

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