Little House on the Prairie - Season 1

The Ingalls family settles on the banks of Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, Minnesota. Charles builds a home for them with his own hands and heads into town immediately to look for work. It is hard enough meeting his financial responsibilities and finding enough time to spend with his family, but the greatest challenge arrives when an unfortunate accident places the Ingalls family in jeopardy.

Laura and Mary are nervous about their first day of school in Walnut Grove, but they are quickly put at ease by the genuine kindness of their new teacher and the majority of their classmates. Later, when their teacher invites the children's families to a special presentation in the classroom, Laura must come up with a plan when she realizes that she is not prepared.

Delighted with his beautiful new wheat crop, Charles is in a position to buy new dresses for his daughters, a warm coat for Caroline, and maybe even some new boots for himself–not to mention an ideal team of horses that the family's newfound financial position can now afford. It all sounds like a dream come true, but the Ingalls receive a shocking wakeup call when a harsh hailstorm destroys the entire crop.

While Charles is traveling in Mankato, he meets up with a drunken Mr. Edwards and encourages his longtime friend to retun with him to Walnut Grove. Isaiah adjusts quickly with the Ingalls, bunks in the barn, and even lands a job at the mill. Caroline sets him up with the shy and reserved Grace Snider.

When a new boy named Johnny Johnson arrives at school for the first time, Laura is immediately smitten. Johnny is a friendly boy and although oblivious to Laura's crush on him, he certainly makes it clear that he is interested in Mary. Even though Mary does not share the same feelings, the "love triangle" is enough to cause tension between the sisters.

Amy Hearn is an elderly Walnut Grove resident whose children don't seem to be trying hard enough to visit her. In an act of desperation, Amy decides that staging her own funeral is the only way to see them again, but it's a scam that she can't pull off herself.

Laura connects with a sweet, shy classmate named Olga Nordstrom, who happens to have been born with a short leg. Charles has an idea that can change Olga's entire life, but the challenge will be convincing the child's stubborn widowed father.

Charles is preparing for a business trip to Mankato, and he wants to turn it into a romantic getaway for him and Caroline. They leave the girls in Mr. Edwards' care, but things don't go quite as planned for everyone involved.

When Miss Beadle is injured in an accident, Caroline is asked to fill in temporarily at the school. While teaching, Caroline sympathizes with Abel McKay – an older student who is quiet, withdrawn, and reluctant to learn.

Feeling guilty for accidentally breaking Laura's beloved china doll, Mary brings home a baby raccoon to smooth things over with her sister. Charles is hesitant to allow Laura to keep the animal, but he decides that it would be all right to make a temporary adoption – a choice that he later regrets.

When Reverend Alden suggests taking up a collection for a new church bell, tempers flare over how the bell should be financed. Proud Mrs. Oleson wants to donate the money and include a plaque with her name on it. Others protest the idea, and both sides threaten to leave the church.

While studying for a history examination in the barn one night, Mary accidentally knocks over a reading lamp. After putting out the fire, a furious Caroline yells at her daughter and forbids her to take the exam. Later, Mary takes a job at the mercantile to pay for some items damaged in the fire, then makes a decision that could further aggravate her relationship with her mother.

The Ingalls family is delighted by the birth of a new baby boy, Charles Frederick Ingalls. But Laura is jealous and refuses to pray for his good health. When tragedy strikes, she is overcome with guilt and receives insight from an unlikely friend.

Fun Fact!
This is one of Melissa Gilbert's "Top Ten" episodes. She has said that the tears at the end of the episode between her and Michael Landon were real. No makeup effects were needed for this touching scene!

Did you know?
The in-town part of this two-part episode was filmed before the "Tinker Jones" episode. You can see that the church doesn't have a bell early in the episode.

With Christmas approaching everyone works hard to make the holidays special. While Mary begins working overtime for the town seamstress, Charles raises extra money by reconstructing some wagon wheels, but perhaps the biggest shock of the season comes from little Laura, whose personal sacrifice will reaffirm everyone's understanding of genuine family love.

Mr. and Mrs. Oleson get into a huge argument and decide to separate. The Ingalls and their friends try to intervene and convince them to settle their differences.

Harriet Oleson's young niece comes to town for a visit and is immediately attracted to Doc Baker. A whirlwind romance follows, and despite their significant age difference, they become engaged – until an unexpected event leaves them both with a critical choice to make.

Several people in Walnut Grove get very sick. A quarantine is set up in the church while the source of the illness is sought.

The Ingalls receive a midnight visit from Will O'Hara, a traveling circus man who, with his irresistibly charming demeanor, persuades Charles to let him set up in front of their home. When O'Hara's "magic powers" nearly cost an appendicitis-stricken Mrs. Oleson her life, Charles asks him to leave town, only to track him down again in the wake of a family crisis.

When a young boy named Graham Stewart arrives at school every day with various bruises, nobody has the courage to do anything -- until his alcoholic father almost kills him in a drunken rage. The Walnut Grove community is reluctant to help, but Caroline encourages them to – for the child's sake.

A college-educated farmer named Joe Coulter moves to Walnut Grove and tells the farmers of a new corn hybrid that will produce good crops, and he agrees to collect everyone's money and take a trip to purchase the corn for everyone. After an accident on the way home, Joe is unable to return on time, causing everyone in town to feel cheated.

Charles decides to bring Caroline and the children along for a springtime trip to Mankato, but on the way back, they must seek shelter from a vicious blizzard. They locate a deserted cabin that allows them to build a fire and get shelter, but problems ensue when Charles must go hunting to feed his family.

Fun Fact!

Today Mankato is a mid-sized city on the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Highway. The highway was first designated in 1995 as U.S. Route 14 from Lake Benton in southwest Minnesota to Mankato in the south-central part of the state. Laura Ingalls Wilder historian John E. Miller wrote a fascinating book called Looking for History on Highway 14.

Johnny Johnson leaves to "see the world," and Mr. Edwards goes with him to keep him out of trouble. Johnny meets up with a girl who is able to trick him out of a lot of money. Mr. Edwards tries to persuade the girl to convince Johnny to return home.

With a Founder's Day event approaching for Walnut Grove, everyone prepares for the celebration, complete with games and heated competition. Everyone in the Ingalls family ends up participating, most notably Charles, who meets an unlikely nemesis in the log-splitting competition.

Fun Fact!
This episode opens with Jack at the creek getting himself a drink of water and then running back towards the house. This video clip is the same opening scene, music and everything, as the opening of the episode "Country Girls".

Did you know?
This episode celebrates the anniversary of the founding of Walnut Grove. The historic town of Walnut Grove was surveyed in 1874 and officially incorporated in 1879.