August 14, 2025 • 54 mins
We’re back from our hiatus and ready to celebrate summer—and nothing says summer in the United States quite like the 4th of July. This year, we’re revisiting "Centennial", a poignant and eerily prescient episode we believe everyone should watch. It's a powerful reminder for those who may have lost sight of the promise of America—both in these turbulent times and in difficult eras past.
Far from your typical holiday celebration, "Centennial", starring the incomparable Theodore Bikel, sneaks up on you like a shadow at sunset—quiet, slow, and suddenly all around you. Its message feels more vital than ever, delving into themes of patriotism vs. dissent, economic hardship and civic disillusionment, the immigrant experience, and the enduring ideals of democracy. In the darkest moments, it’s easy to lose hope—but this episode offers light and perspective to anyone feeling disheartened by today’s world. Join us for a moving and timely conversation.
Then, join us on Patreon, where Alison, Dean and Pamela let you in on future plans for the podcast that we are so excited about!
Links and Resources:Haven’t signed up for Patreon yet? Link is below!PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/LittleHousePodcast
www.LittleHouse50Podcast.com to connect with our hosts and link to their websites.
www.LivinOnaPrairieTV.com Check out the award-winning series created by Pamela Bob, with special guest stars Alison Arngrim and Charlotte Stewart.
Prairie Legacy Productions - the place to go for info about all new Little House events!
To learn more about Little House on the Prairie, Visit www.littlehouseontheprairie.com
Little House 50th Anniversary Bus Tours - www.SimiValleyChamber.org select Little House 50th Anniversary and then Bus Tickets
Facebook/Instagram/TikTok:
Dean Butler @officialdeanbutler
Alison Arngrim @alisonarngrim
Pamela Bob @thepamelabob, @prairietv
Social Media Team: Joy Correa and Christine Nunez
https://www.paclanticcreative.com/
Producer: Tony Sweet
www.ubngo.com
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/little-house-fifty-for-50-podcast--6055242/support.
Far from your typical holiday celebration, "Centennial", starring the incomparable Theodore Bikel, sneaks up on you like a shadow at sunset—quiet, slow, and suddenly all around you. Its message feels more vital than ever, delving into themes of patriotism vs. dissent, economic hardship and civic disillusionment, the immigrant experience, and the enduring ideals of democracy. In the darkest moments, it’s easy to lose hope—but this episode offers light and perspective to anyone feeling disheartened by today’s world. Join us for a moving and timely conversation.
Then, join us on Patreon, where Alison, Dean and Pamela let you in on future plans for the podcast that we are so excited about!
Links and Resources:Haven’t signed up for Patreon yet? Link is below!PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/LittleHousePodcast
www.LittleHouse50Podcast.com to connect with our hosts and link to their websites.
www.LivinOnaPrairieTV.com Check out the award-winning series created by Pamela Bob, with special guest stars Alison Arngrim and Charlotte Stewart.
Prairie Legacy Productions - the place to go for info about all new Little House events!
To learn more about Little House on the Prairie, Visit www.littlehouseontheprairie.com
Little House 50th Anniversary Bus Tours - www.SimiValleyChamber.org select Little House 50th Anniversary and then Bus Tickets
Facebook/Instagram/TikTok:
Dean Butler @officialdeanbutler
Alison Arngrim @alisonarngrim
Pamela Bob @thepamelabob, @prairietv
Social Media Team: Joy Correa and Christine Nunez
https://www.paclanticcreative.com/
Producer: Tony Sweet
www.ubngo.com
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/little-house-fifty-for-50-podcast--6055242/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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(02:43):
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Speaker 1 (02:57):
Oh we're on.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Sorry I missed the countdown. Hello, but heads. Maybe I
missed the countdown. Maybe because I'm a little out of practice.
I suppose we've been on a little summer hiatus for
a little bit. Hello. I'm Pamela Bob. I'm your host. Welcome.
I'm the creator and star of Living on a Prairie.
How y'all doing this summer? I am here with our beloved,
(03:20):
one and only prairie bitch. That's right, Alison Arngram, And
there she is, looking as studious and also, of course,
our hashtag imaginary boyfriend, Dean Butler. How are you, guys.
It's been a minute.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
It has been a minute. Good, you know, basically good.
It's crazy. It's funny. Yeah, no, it's it's been a
it's a crazy time, it really is. And people, it's like,
we're so fortunate to be doing what we're doing, but
it's so it's so exhausting. Sometimes.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Andrew writing a book on top of it.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Yeah, and that's sort of get yeah boy, and uh yes,
and that's a that's.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yes yes, I said, yes.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Yes, yeah. But so many of the things that are
happening now are working their way into the book. So
that's sort of a you know, that's sort of a
good thing from a from a living the Prairie Way perspective.
It gives me the opportunity to think about, you know,
what we're doing, how we're doing it, and you know
how we how it's how I would prefer to be
(04:33):
doing it, or what I like about it and what
I don't like. You know, it's it's those kinds of
those kinds of things. It's all, it's all good in
the big picture. How about you, Allison, You've been busy.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
You've been having adventure Miley, I'm probably gotting a little break,
I think because I've I've done most of my shows
for the year. I think I have two. Yeah, because
I just said, you know, twenty twenty four is we know,
we worked a little bit, all of us, like every
Furco weekend until we fell over. So this year I said,
this is stagger things. And of course still the phone
(05:07):
rang off the hook, is like go here go, here,
go here. But I just finished my fabulous shows in
problenstn and Muscle Jools.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Sounds like it was so much fun.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
It was. If I see another lobster roll, I might
be sick. I love lobster I love lobster rolls. But
one more I will I was Sprout Guild and Claws.
I was, Yeah, Peetown is known for its lobster rolls,
and it's pizza, and it's ice cream, and I think
I'm having a cleanse now after.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
That, Uh, what's what's the best ice cream? And in
Pete Town, I'm just curious.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
I think the ice cream I'm biased and I'm going
to get in trouble because there's a couple of places
that have like homemade ice cream. But I got to
the ice cream over at the Nuthouse Candy Store, which
hast the best nuts and like candy and amazing because
they have Italian ice as well.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Yes, apparently, but there're a lord of thing. I just
learned about this. It's the Italian ice layered with ice cream,
and apparently that's a real Florida delicacy.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
There's there's like five places that homemade ice cream in Provincetown.
It's just like an ice cream orgy. And then the pizza.
The pizza did pick which beat you fight over which
is your favorite pizza parlor there? And then there's the
argument over who makes the best lobster role. I mean,
you could literally just do nothing, eat your way up
and down the street.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
It's and you and your new bff, Parker Posey. Parker
was a bonnet heead. I told you she was a bonnethead.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
You told me I had met her before. It's gonna
be there, and you had met her at a party.
It's spotted head. And so what my wondering eyes appear
in my road is Parker Posy. I was staying with
Ryan Landry, the famous Ryan Landry who produces all these
boots there and is a stitch. And so I get
there and Parker's hanging with him, drop my things, and
she is delightful and indeed, should we sat having tacos
(07:01):
while she grilled me about little less sappery. I gave
her bonnet, of course, and she picked out a beautiful
red one. And later, after this thing we did at
the club, we did this promotion at the show show Girls.
What everybody taels everybody show they're doing, and she had
worn her bonnet and she somehow misplaced him, and she
made our friends got take her back to the club
(07:22):
and searched the place, and when they couldn't find it,
they asked the guy was cleaning up, and he said, oh,
I think I may, I may throw at the trash
was a bunch of stuff on stage, and she made
our friends got jump into the dumpster. She would beat
her bonnet and I said, you could have one hundred bonnets.
I will get you a hundred bonnets I have. She said, yes,
but you didn't have any more of that red one
(07:43):
and I want that color. I want that one, and
she got it. And yeah, she was just she reading
my book and I left a shirt there and she's like, hey,
I'm gonna throw it in the wash and apparently she
ironed it doing Yeah. No, she's he's amazing. I mean,
we did this whole thing on stage with all of
us promoting. She's in the corner. She had a whole
(08:05):
bar set up and was like making people drinks during
the show on the stage. It was hysterical.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
She and she loves be Town and hangs out there
and has a bunch of friends there and loves her
some prairie. He's a great gal.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Well, speaking of speaking of prairie. So I started that
same week in soup Fall, South Dakota at Laura Palooza.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, how was it?
Speaker 4 (08:31):
Which was the You know, I'm always fascinated by the
stuff that comes out at this event, the detail that
people go to, the passion that people have, just love it.
I listen, I mean, I think, listen to Pamela smith
Hill talk about her new book. She thought she was
(08:52):
done with Laura after Pioneer Girl. No, she has another
book in her We need to get a copy and
cover of that book. Yeah, I'm I'm sure, Yeah, yeah, exactly.
I bought a cop. Pamela autographed it for me, so
I've got a copy of her book now. And then
we went to Then we went to we went tod
(09:15):
Smet and we did screenings of Little House Homecoming and Charlotte,
Wendy and I went to the The Long Winter version
of the of the Smet pageant, which is a new script.
I've seen it. I think i'd seen The Long Winter
and else I feel like you and I saw The
Long Winter together a few years ago. Maybe not maybe
(09:36):
it was another book. They do a different book each year.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Longer, but we did see the De Smet pageant is
the whole thing. She gets to grow pa.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
Whole, it's a whole different thing. So anyway, so we
saw that and then we did you know, we did
lots of signings and uh, it was it was hot.
We did readings in the cemetery. We did you know
a fame. Yeah, so they do a cemetery.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Who were I hid behind the tombstone?
Speaker 4 (10:03):
And did you pop out?
Speaker 1 (10:04):
And like, did you a cemetery to where the real
people who lived there who were in the books. And
since they know that Nelly Olsen was based on Genevieve Masters,
tell a Gilbert and Genevieve Masters, I pop up from tombs.
I'm Genevieve Masters and I got to do this whole
thing as Genevieve Masters, who was apparently quite awful, and
(10:26):
it was it was great fun.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
So so anyway, this was so Allison's been in Pete Town,
I was in Sioux Falls and De Smet. We've got
a celebration oriented show to talk about today, Pamela, I
think we should get right to it. Let's let's like
take us to the title, let's go.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
We're gonna do it.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Okay, Well, I'm not gonna take us to the title,
but I will say from the studios of UBM GO
in Burbank, California, this is the Little House in the Prairie.
Fiftieth Anniversary podcast in case you didn't know, all right,
(11:16):
coming up today, we are going to celebrate America.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Listen.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
We took July off and part of August, but we
wanted to do something for the fourth of July. I
don't know if you guys did anything the fourth of July.
I did not because I was so tired after a
rehearsal that I had for the show that I was doing,
I went home and conked out. But that's okay. We're
going to recap this episode, Dean. Do you want to
(11:41):
say what it is?
Speaker 4 (11:42):
Boy? I think I may have this. I was up
so late last night doing these rundowns. I think there
are a series of mistakes in here. We may have
to check this, but anyway, today's episode, Season two, episode
nineteen Centennial Wreck. I think i'd never see. This is
one of those episodes that I had never seen, and.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
I didn't remember it that well. I hadn't seen it
in forever.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Yeah, this episode is prescient in a way that very
few Little House episodes are. If one looks at the
world we're living in today and you watch Centennial, it
is a must watch for so many good reasons. You
(12:30):
must watch Centennial again. It's very very special. I was
really not expecting it, Allison, what. Sorry? The program was
directed by William F. Claxton and written by John Hawkins,
of one of Michael's writing mentors back in Bonanza days.
So yeah, no, John Hawkins was a very important presence
(12:53):
in Michael's writing life, and Bill Claxton obviously is just
off the chart. It's wonderful directing these episodes. So Allison,
what is Centennial about? Oh?
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Why, Look, there's a description here.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
And you can chose it if you want to.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
Do you remember this.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Episode well, because you know it was I was in it,
and but that's things. It was nineteen seventy six or
having the vice centennial time, and so they worked in
a lot of things that we were all going through
in the seventies and they're there and so it still rings.
Everyone in Walnut Grove is excited about the upcoming one
hundredth birthday the United States of America, aren't we coming
(13:35):
up in the two fiftieth We are to commemorate the occasion.
The town is planning a community picnic, of course, complete
with games, fireworks, and a brand new flag bowl. Unfortunately,
everyone's spirits plummet in the wake of drastic tax increases,
which create problems for hard working families like the Ingles,
an immigrant family who we never saw before. After because
(13:59):
also the immigrant family the mother and son, Miss Parrah,
And that's right, another immigrant family. In Harriet's Happenings, they're Russian.
In this one they're German and Harriet's happening now, but
it'smen not only plays a little Russian boy and then
play a little German boy, but plays the Russian lady
(14:22):
and then plays they do I don't know, but they're
both really good at it like German Russian. Yeah, we
got it, we can do it. They can. Apparently they're
both capable of being absolutely anybody. Immigrant family you've never
seen before after what we do see after It's happenings
from a different country provide an example of thankfulness and
a reminder that freedom isn't free. After a property tax increase,
(14:44):
lees most of Walnut Grove in New Mood to celebrate.
And you have a fun fact that, mister Shallott, I
have many fun facts about Theodore Bikel Yes.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
I mean what treat I mean talk about wonderful Theodore Biquel.
Such a special actor. Yeah, really special. Another special actor
who was making the first of his two appearances in
Little House, Bill Shallard William Shallard, so the noted character
(15:17):
actor plays Snell who is the assessor. I guess he
is the Yeah, he appears, Yes, the taxman. He appears
again as Reverend Dean Harmon, a former love interest of
Harriet Olsen, in the season six episode The Preacher Takes
a Wife. I worked with Bill Shallard separately from Little House,
(15:39):
and I obviously worked with him during this or was there.
We didn't have scenes together, but you know, Bill Shallard
is an institution on American television, everybody's favorite dad. And
I saw him obviously Patty Duke's dad on The Patty
Duke Show. And I worked with him in The New Gidget.
He played Gidgets Dad, and he was to talk about
(16:05):
Bill Shaller, who always appears to be so buttoned up,
has got or had one of the absolute wackiest senses
of humor. This guy was off the hook nuts when
he but but so I mean talk about Bill knew
what he played. Yeah, you know, he understood what that
(16:30):
was and he brought it. But boy, when the camera
was off you anything could come out of his mouth.
It was. It was really really funny. He was also
a pretty terrific president of the Screen Actors Guild. For
our colleague, Melis, I have no idea.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Freaking figure should I whax about mister.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
Yes, I think we should.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Yes, l one of the most renowned Broadway actors in
the history of Earth, of course, well known for you know, Hello,
Fiddler on the Roof, who he performed more in that
role than any other actor who did Fiddler. He's like
the Yule Breunner of Fiddler on the Roof. He just
like did it forever. But he actually with his big
(17:19):
story on Broadway was with indeed in the Sound of Music.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
Sound of Music, where he played Captain von Trapp.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Yeah, right, so cranky he was Von Trapp. I interviewed
his widow, Amy yes Ginsburg Bequel on my show, The
Allison Argham Show, because uh, there is a book that
he wrote and I pulled it up like City of Light. Yes,
Amy Ginsburg, uh, And it was promoting his book City
(17:47):
of Light, which is about a little boy in because
he was from Austria, not Russia. And yes, hello Nazis.
And absolutely anyone interested in great literature or the Holocaust
or Theodo Raquel needs to go read City of just
recommending it and you can go look up the episode
of the Allison Aringham Show where interviewed Theodore mckuel was
a huge union activist. The stuff he did for charity,
(18:09):
for his fellow actors, for working people, off the charts.
He founded multiple organizations he did and was a huge, huge,
huge Broadway star as well as then a huge movie
star and then TV star. And here he is a
little house in the prairie, just playing this Russian dude
who works at the mill, who's married to the same
woman as the German guy. Later has the same good.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Sure details for they just replaced the dad.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
I've got a different dad to that way. But apparently,
like I said, apparently and Lisa Barrock could switch from
Russia to German accents without baton and I and they
just hadn't.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
And again I wonder how did he end up on
the show, like did he know Michael Landon, did he like,
did he have a connection to the show? Was it
just a random like were they just like, let's try
and see if Theodore Bukel could do this part.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Yeah, well, it's it's it's really quite a wonderful story
and patriotic in a way that you just don't expect
as it starts out.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
You know, you start off with this ly fourth episode
until it's totally a July fourth episode, right.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah, and it's but it's the it's the sort of
the I don't know, as we all go through in
the culture, we have our highs and lows in the
culture and what's going on in the culture. And here
on the occasion, I thought it was really stunning that
Michael chose to do this around the occasion of America's
(19:40):
two hundredth birthday, to talk about the downside of the
frustrations of citizenship and do it. And then and then
with everything that was going on in the world and
in nineteen seventy six, with all the issues that we
(20:00):
have with the economy and well and relations around the
world and so on, and you have this Russian character
wonderfully played by Theodore mckel who's no. One. Another one
of those situations, Pamel that we talk about else, we
talk about all the time. Worthy. You have these great
characters that we've never seen before, will never.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
See again in the Vortex. Correct.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Yeah, but such a wonderful vehicle. This character is such
a wonderful vehicle to convey this message.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Seventy He worked it in because remember when the show
started in nineteen seventy four, we were having a gigantic recession,
which is interesting because they had one in eighteen seventy four.
There was a thing called like the Panic of eighteen
seventy three, where there's a giant financial crisis. Hence why
the Angles kind of sucked for them in eighteen seventy four.
And so nineteen seventy four, oh, book, Look there's the
show and we're having whip inflation. Now we're rationing I
(20:57):
could get by gasoline every other day, comes it because
odd numbered license plates someone and then yeah, we're rationing gas.
Everything sucked. Hamburger Helper really became famous, really caught its
footing in the seventies because that's what people were freaking eating.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Because you got a forward ground beef, right.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
You couldn't get me. I remember the plane wrap in
the white with the blue label. You could get the
plane rat burger because you might be able to afford
that because Brice and needing on. It was insane. This
is that part of the seventies kind of sucked. We're also,
hello Watergate. We just come out of Watergate. Nobody Everybody's like,
what has just happened to our government in our lives?
And well, this gerald Board guy seems nice enough, but
(21:37):
what is happening? And it was just it was a mess.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Well it was the gerald Ford guy who pardoned Richard Nixon,
who was viewed. I think, you know, in retrospect at
the time, I think it was it was an infuriating decision.
I think it was the right decision for the country
in the big picture, but it was it was a
(22:01):
challenging time. I remember sitting in gas lines in nineteen
seventy four. You two weren't you certainly weren't driving at
that time, but I remember, boy, the license plates and
the numbers on the the end license plates, and you
could fill up, you know, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. You know,
it was all of that going on. Gasoline went from
(22:25):
in a very short in very short order from like
twenty five cents a gallon to over a dollar a gallon.
I mean it was and this was shock and we
you know, you just you'd love to see dollar gasoline.
Then that was absolutely horrifying and the shortage of fuel
was stunning for people. This is very allegorical to this
(22:49):
moment where this gentleman discovers our Russian friend discovers that
his property taxes he owes seven years property taxes because
as he didn't realize when he bought the property that
he assumed the tax liability, and so it was shocking
to him. And then when everybody starts getting these things,
(23:11):
what was so wonderful Theodore Biquel's choice to play this
in a way where he's searching for understanding a guy
who doesn't speak the language did well. He counts on
his son to help guide him through.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
And he's studying so hard to he's studying it's so
hard to learn to read English and speak English better.
I mean, he's really it's not like he's just letting
his son do everything for him. He's really wanting to
assimilate and integrate into America. Yeah, sorry, go on.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
But it's like the family's many immigrant families where the
kid speaks fluent English because they're in school and winds
up being the translator for the family. And this is
something millions of immigrant families wind up doing at some point. Yes,
he didn't read the fine print, his English wasn't good
and he didn't realize it said you just assumed years
of taxes, and then everybody else gets screwed too that.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Yeah. Yeah, And what's interesting is, which I think is
really wonderful, is the American citizens reaction to the tax increase.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Which everyone ends up getting.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Every outraged and furious. And you know, Charles becomes the
vehicle for this, the central vehicle for this upset where
he's you know, he's trying to make he's always looking
to scratch out a living, and suddenly the tax man
(24:45):
comes and takes everything out of his pocket and he's
just not feeling like celebrating the fourth of July and
then he's got is Then you've got Mary and Laura
who or Mary who's leading the effort to make the
American flag with the thirty eight stars, but they can't
do it at home because Paus so upset. They've got
(25:07):
to take the flag out somewhere else it's and then
you've got this man who really is going to lose everything.
Patrick Kav I've got it in the notes. Sorry I'm
not pronouncing his name properly. It's a very unusual Russian name,
(25:29):
Peta Cow. But anyway, he's trying to find understanding in
all this, and it's grateful because he knows that where
he came from things were so much worse than what
he's facing. And the wonderful conversations that were crafted for
this or John Hawkins writes these wonderful conversations between the
(25:53):
Russian family and the citizens of Walmuck Grove who are
trying to make sense of something that's outraging them, and
and he's helping them to rediscover their patriotism in time
for the four.
Speaker 5 (26:08):
I mean, it really is such a pretty great yeah,
because he probably was swindled also, I mean I kept thinking, oh,
the previous owner knew exactly what they were doing.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Why would they not at least mention that they clearly
they knew seven they may have been there. They were
the ones who didn't pay it seven years, not a year,
seven years, and they went, oh, hey guy, who doesn't
speak but English. Why didn't you buy this farm?
Speaker 4 (26:34):
So?
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Yes, whoever sold them the firm's horrible person.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
It was such an interesting choice of Michael wrote this, right, Michael, No,
this is John John Hawkins.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
Michael, I'm sure re wrote because he wrote everything.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
No, but I'd be interested to know if John Hawkins,
either he or his parents were immigrants, because right before
we started recording, Alison I both said that this episode
made us cry shockingly. And the reason why it made
me cry ooh, okay emotions. I'm going to do the
(27:10):
same craft is because it reminded me of my grandparents
so much. It was a common conversation at their Bensonhurst apartment,
sitting around the kitchen table with my grandmother's homemade you know,
Jewish food, just feeding us, feeding us, feeding us. I
(27:33):
got so fat as a kid because of my grandmother.
But my immigrant grandparents and my grandfather, who was so
I mean, both of them were so traumatized. I mean
they really they escaped you know, Nazi Europe. They their
whole families were dead. My grandfather, who was a Jew,
(27:55):
had to fight in the Polish Army. I mean it
was just awful, and they got over here. And my grandmother,
her trauma was fear, just she was afraid of everything.
Fear based his trauma. And he was a very joyful,
boisterous man. But when it clicked, when it turned, it
was anger. It was anger, anger, anger, And but always
(28:21):
the conversation was America, America, America, How this is the
best country in the world. How they could never be
who they turned out to be had they could never
have the freedoms, the opportunity. And these are people that
came here with nothing, you know, and ended up sending
their four kids for grandchildren to college while they stayed
(28:41):
in their apartment in Bensonhurst. You know, they saved every
penny they worked. My grandfather worked toll the day he died,
literally the day he died, he worked. And so this
immigrant story of true patriotism, of gratitude of and yes
(29:02):
they were angry or traumatized or whatever, but they never
lost hope. And that went onto my grand and that
went on to my father, which is so interesting because
you know how it came out and my dad and
this is so silly. The movie suit, the Superman movies,
the Christopher Reeves Superman movies. My father would ball at
the Superman movies because it embodied patriotism, like that true Americana,
(29:30):
pride for America, helping the little guy. You know, it's
so funny how it comes out, and it happened to
be Superman turned out to be like this really important
thing in my childhood's life because of patriotism. So anyway,
so when that end scene of Theodore, you know, and
(29:51):
Theodore Bihil says he's not angry and he's not bitter,
which he had every right to be, but instead it
was just pure gratitude at what they were, what they
escaped from, and what they were able to be here,
and that's what that's really what got me. And obviously
that's you know, we're having a crisis in our country
(30:14):
now in terms of immigrants, what we think of immigrants,
what's happening to immigrants, and we're losing sight that immigrants
are truly amongst some of the most patriotic in this
country because they know what this country is about and
what they came from. All I know, there's a night
(30:38):
there's the nineteen seventy four parallel to this episode, but
also watching watching this show in twenty twenty five, and
what's going on right now in this country.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Holy Molly, Holy Yeah. In seventy four and this thing happened,
we were okay, it was just a tailent. We're just
starting to realize we're going to get out of Vietnam.
That was just ending Vietnam. It was a drying train.
The gazillions of soldiers coming back from Vietnam completely ptsdy
and hence we had a whole episode about that guy
coming back from Civil War. We had that crisis with
(31:08):
and and you know, Stephen four gerald Ford's son spoke
at the Cherry Blossom Festival and talked about his father's
decision to part Nixon and said he struggled. He was
up all night. It was he was devastated, but he
said he was like, it isn't right, but I have
to do this for the good of the country. This
is the only way we're ever getting out of this.
(31:29):
I have to stop this. Well and just like didn't
want to do it, but I'm going to do this
and people are gonna hate me, and I'm just going
to follow my sword. And it was like hard, so
sad that So the seventies were rough seventies, a rough
man and yeah, I remember they had to change the
signs the gas station, so we didn't have room for
three digits sixty okay, was always ninety nine.
Speaker 4 (31:52):
So it's not why you cried in the episode why.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Did he remember my dad? The Endless History Lessons? Okay,
there were showing flag and well she says thirty seven
stars and Mary goes, oh, wait, Colorado's coming in in
a couple of months, so it's thirty eighth l see
the endless fabulous History lessons. The missus Olsen going, well,
we're okay until she opens her tax bill again.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
It right away because well, you got what you voted for, and.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Then her and Nil's fighting, and I remember so well.
A few years later, we had Proposition thirteen in California,
which froze or lowered property taxes. Now in some cases
said they lowered them rather severely. And speaking of someone
who's in public school who got kind of rooked by
that decision, yeah, it did kind of cut back of
the schools. It was like in many areas, it was
rough and cut some money to schools. Richard and Catherine
(32:40):
argued about this tax property taxes on the set in
front of me about Prop thirteen, and it was exactly
like it is episode.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
Catherine was a close What was the argument?
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Catherine was pro Prop thirteen. Said absolutely, you should absolutely
cut all of the taxes as much as possible. And
Richard said, but it goes to the schools. We have
to pay some property taxes. And she said, I don't
have any damn kids. And they argued over this, and
she thought the taxes are fine to cut and Richard
tip to Catherine, we must think of others. We do
have to pay for the roads in the schools, so
there's going to be a certain amount of breakagere You're
(33:12):
going to have to pay something because we have do
we have a community of people. He sounded like Nell's
and she sounded like the things. But so yes, hearing
them talk again about Texes, I was said, oh, but
I'm watching it, and yes, here is this imp a
grit man who got rupped by the guy who's sold
of the property. And even he says, well, I made
a mistake, like I didn't read the fine print. It's
(33:33):
you know, that's sort of oops, and we're going to
move now. But oh my god, we would have died
if we had not come here. In this incredible which
is Theodore Richel's story. Gosso is his other. But the
Reverend Alden gets up in church and remember, the whole
country's going through upheaval to the point they don't people
don't want to celebrate the fourth of July. Oh, did
(33:54):
we hear any of that this year? Yes, there were
so Here he is in church and there's soapes which
we were in the seventies, and he quotes from Ecclesiastes
where he says, in a day of prosperity, there is
a forgetfulness of affliction, and in the day of affliction
there is no remembrance of prosperity. Oh really, And then
(34:14):
he says, I curse you costume Michael Lander and John Hawkins.
He says, this evil winter of affliction will pass and yeah,
and they go on about it, and then Bequel goes
on about how you know these things happen and the
(34:36):
whole discussion of and Mary Mary goes on our rant,
which yeah, like they start talking about the Civil War
and pause, like really because his brother was in the
Civil War. He's like, no, really, do tell and the.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
Two She's like, we got the Revolution, we got through
the Civil War, Like we will get through this.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
She goes through every history thing, and he's not in
going glad. The small children are lecturing history I lived
through but great, Okay, go ahead, and she's gone. And
she says, every time this country is a horrible horrible
things happened that toward the country part every time we
came through better and stronger. So I was already And
then when the Reverend Aldun said this evil winter of
(35:16):
affliction shall pass, I just had to.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
That here's those things. Also is you know, I think
right now today it feels so hopeless on many levels,
and and you know, you want, you want to believe
in that hope that we will we will come back
from this and we will be better and we will
(35:41):
be stronger and we will be wiser and we will
be united and blah blah blah. And you know, when
you're in the midst of the chaos, it feels so impossible.
But Mary's speech was an absolute reminder of Hey, we've
been through so much, so much, I mean, and you
even just saying which I completely forgot, which is dumb
(36:05):
on my part of you know, in nineteen seventy four,
we were still in Vietnam, like we have been through
so much and It did make me go Okay, maybe
maybe we are going to get through this, and the
hope is that we will be better for it. That
(36:26):
is the hope.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
The what I loved about I did not cry during
the episode.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
I was so surprised I started crying. It was right
at the end.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Man, I loved the episodes. I cry over for the record,
I do cry, But I.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
Was moved by the way that the episode was crafted
so presciently to remind viewers of who we are as
people at what of what our country was, the principles
(37:05):
on which our country was founded. It's a reminder of that.
And we don't know, We really can't know what's going
to happen. But we have to be optimistic. We have
to try and be optimistic that we are going to
(37:26):
come back to some level of balance in our thinking
about these issues. We don't want to get political here,
but if you pay attention to the polling, the politics
may be one thing. But people are not liking the
way this is all going now. I mean not that
(37:48):
everybody know. There are a lot of people who do
like it, no question, but there but but there are
there are a percentage basis many many more people who
are who are are looking at the way things are
going right now and not happy about it, and if
we can, rather than burn it down, if we can
(38:12):
remind ourselves of who we are, and I think episodes
like this, this is just such a perfect episode for
now if we can use if we can be reminded
of the best of what we are as a people,
as a country, as an ideology, as a way of
viewing humanity. It's there, and I just it looked Centennial
(38:39):
is not going to turn the ship of state, obviously,
but it's a nice reminder, sure for us to think about.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
It's sure, and it was a reminder that I didn't
even know I needed. Do you know what I mean?
Hit me like like a ton of bricks.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
And this is Bob often takes use. Bob is older
than I am, and I go, wow, you know, everything
is in turmoil and everyone is at each other, so
and he's going, I'm sorry. I know you were child
in the sixty and you did watch the news and
you were definitely worse of it. But I was a
grumb My friends went to Vietnam. I mean we hello,
I was an adult in the sixties. We had need
to Kent State anyone. Hello, Hello, He's like, Hi, I
(39:20):
was alive for all of this. I was there for
all of this. And he says the things that this
country has survived and come out the other side of
He says, just having trouble with the idea of well
everything has gone to hell again, you know? No, And he,
I mean, Bob has almost given me the speech Mary
(39:41):
Ingles did, of yes, and look at all the things
that we've been through and we came out better. And
Mary Ingles is right, and so is the Reverend Alton
and and and yes I did. I've cried several episodes
a little House. I actually do. The Raccoon's the wine
that always gets.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
Me by now.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
But I've watched this when this is brilliant. This is brilliant.
We've had to reduce people to sobs in nineteen seventy four,
and I think that it may should make people cry now.
And it is a fabulous about what are the principles
of our country? And why do we Politics is temporary,
America is hopefully eternal.
Speaker 4 (40:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
And it's not blind patriots either. It's not just like
love your country no matter what it's exactly. It's not
that it's yeah, we have problems.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
Yeah, we let's talk about that. Let's take a question.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
When we come back, quick break, everybody, We'll be right back.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
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presented in part by Visit Semi Valley dot Com. In
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Speaker 3 (41:34):
Hi, everybody aware, back Alison. You wanted to give us
some some good fun facts.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
History, history, history. Like I said, go with Mary whether
it's thirty seven, but to be thirty eight of Colorado. Indeed,
the Russians who came to the US, we are more
familiar with the Russians who came later various programs for
various immigrants after World War two. But who came in
the eighteen seventies that seems kind of early, not even
world War one. And yes, right, yes, after no way,
(42:04):
So why were the Russians here? Absolutely, Russians did come
to the US because there were various pogroms and purges
and terrible things in eighteen hundreds and in the eighteen seventies,
there were enormous number of Yes, Russian Jews, which it
kind of looks like this family might be, But this
family's in Minnesota, so you know who they probably are,
the huge wave of Russian Mennonites and Anabaptists.
Speaker 3 (42:24):
Yes, I assumed that they were Russian Jews until they
you know, they did the prayer at their dinner table,
and then they did the cross, and I went.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Just as the Jews fled persecution in Russia during that
time period, the Mennonites and Anabaptists were also being persecuted
for their beliefs and came in droves, and there's a
whole thing we're talking about which states they tended to
settle in, and when you get out there on the
prairie it's the Mennonites and Anabaptists from Russia, which is
probably what they were.
Speaker 3 (42:53):
Wow, good one, Alison.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
The more you know, seriously.
Speaker 4 (42:59):
There's no question you know we this is yet what announced.
It's a wonderful factor.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
That's really good.
Speaker 4 (43:07):
Thank you for sharing that you know this. This is
such an important aspect of our culture today where there
is this movement to erase our history. That's right, so
that we are not so that we are not accountable
to our history anymore. There's this desire to sweep the
(43:27):
slate clean because maybe the history is a little uncomfortable,
so we don't want to talk about it. The history.
The history is an opportunity for us to make better
understand ourselves where.
Speaker 3 (43:41):
We were were going right, including the Little House on
the Prairie books, which this new book talks all about
of why it's still really important to read these books,
especially as children, because it does show the uglyness of
some of the American experience and we have to learn
(44:01):
from that.
Speaker 4 (44:02):
We have to well, I think, and I think here's
the thing. I think we have learned from it. We
haven't learned from it. It's not a clean sweep learn
from it. But as a culture, we are far more
conscious about things in terms of our human relations with
each other than we were in the eighteen eighties. Yeah,
(44:25):
be far more so, and or the nineteen thirties when
Laura wrote these books.
Speaker 6 (44:31):
Oh my god, Yes, let's I mean, let's take advantage
of that. Let's appreciate the teaching moments that exist here.
Let's not cleanse it. Let's talk about it, because we get.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
Never away, never shied away from history, the Wisdom of
Solomon with Todd Bridges, the Soldier's Return After we did
not shy away from unfortunate things in history, where mistakes
were made and we screwed up, and how we got
through it. Those episodes were some of the best episodes
A Little House when they looked at our history and said, oh, wow,
(45:05):
guess what the eighteen seventies. Do you know what happened? Eh,
this happened, and we talked about it on the show.
Speaker 4 (45:11):
You know, none of the I just would say, of
all these episodes that we've written about in terms of
thematic things in episodes that reverberate today. I don't think
there is no episode of the series, in my opinion,
that reverberates stronger on America today than Centennial. Yeah, it's
(45:38):
very very powerful. I mean, if you are a little
house lover, you need to watch Centennial and think about
it and think about what it means. There's a lot
of good here to be considered.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
I mean, again, in our notes Stein, we have the
major themes which completely correlate today, which is patriotism versus dissent,
and dissenting also can mean patriotism right, economic burdens and
civic disillusionment ding ding ding ding ding Hello, and the
role of the outsider of the immigrant. These are all
(46:17):
things that that are that we are all dealing with now.
And it always seems like we progress, we progress, and
then there are a few steps backwards, and that that
seems to be just what human beings do, right. It's
this isn't a one off. This happens over and over
(46:38):
and over and over, and we just happen to be
in a place where the outsider, the immigrant is being
demonized now and which again sort of completely ignores what
this country was founded on right and it's it's it
(46:58):
is a truly I said in my notes, you know,
so it was a really interesting episode to watch right
now because there are so many of us that feel hopeless,
and so many of us that had a hard July
fourth this year, and I appreciated.
Speaker 4 (47:21):
Did you have a hard life?
Speaker 1 (47:22):
Fork?
Speaker 3 (47:23):
I had a conflicted July fourth this year. I felt
as much as I love this country, but I I
don't know what it's turning into right now. It's turning
into what my grandparents ended up fleeing from, and it's
very conflicting, and not conflicting in the sense of the
love for my country. But what I am watching right
(47:47):
now is things that my grandparents told me about that
I never thought in a million years could possibly happen
in this country today.
Speaker 4 (48:00):
Ever, I agree, And.
Speaker 3 (48:04):
So it's so multi layered of your ancestral history, many
people's family histories, ancestral histories of coming to this country
and why they came to this country, the patriotism and that.
But seeing what's happening here, which is a direct parallel
to things that happened fifty seventy five, one hundred years ago,
(48:30):
is terrifying and I think it's so easy for us
to feel hopeless because it feels like we are so
out of control. It feels like all of these things
are happening and we can't do anything about it. And
that's what it has been feeling like, and that there's
no accountability and that there's no justice, and that we
(48:50):
are the people, but the representatives aren't representing us. You know,
it is so loaded right now. And I this episode
just took me so by surprise, those last ten minutes
of this episode.
Speaker 4 (49:07):
That's the episode. That is the episode, the last Yeah,
and it was it's all to that last ten minutes.
Speaker 3 (49:14):
Yes, I just feel like this entire country should be
watching this episode.
Speaker 4 (49:22):
I think so too. Pamela Allison, you know you've added
a lot here. What's anything interesting for you? On the
fourth of July, I made ice cream. On the fourth
of July, I made I made peppermint ice cream Freshman
and of ice cream and chocolate chocolate chip ice cream,
hand cranking with the salt and the ice and doing
(49:42):
all that. And so there our our Fourth of July
and we had our Red Devil fireworks and you know,
we did all that. So it was a you know,
it was a very much sort of forty for Fourth
of July celebration. It was really it was a nice evening.
Lots of dishes to do, but I wasn't thinking about
(50:03):
I wasn't so much thinking about all the other things.
What was Allison? How about your Fourth of July?
Speaker 1 (50:08):
I made potato salad.
Speaker 4 (50:09):
I make a fight.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
I made potato salad, and we got out the Yes ballpark,
Frank's turkey of course, and fired up the grill and
the tradition of my father before me. It was one
of great barbecuers of all time and absolutely hot dogs
and potato salad and beer. And from up here you
can see all the fireworks, all of the legal you
(50:32):
can see the legal shows, and of course we have
it's Tohunga. So I just set stuff on fire. Terrible
idea because we have the Angelus National forestslike over there.
Stop lighting off the illegal fireworks. One of the worst
best Fourth of July's ever was the Fourth of July
of twenty twenty. It was awful. They well, they canceled
(50:54):
all of the good fireworks shows ones, so everybody just
decided to go set off their own and a lot
of people said in twenty twenty. Well, world's coming to
an end. Yeah, and proceeded to go out in their
yard legal or illegal fire hazard to know, and set
everything off at once. So I was quite shoe from
my patio. Would I just stuffed flying through the air.
(51:19):
And they also knew nobody was coming because all emergency
services were busy. So the CoP's gonna come. Not that really.
I was like, well, I guess it's a show of
patriotism of sorts, but I was pleased people were.
Speaker 6 (51:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (51:34):
People had barties and barbecues and set stuff off because
it said America. Well that's a turtle. That's the big picture.
People are focused on, you know, small, you gotta go
big picture. There are people who've publicly stated that they
would like to dismantle everything and burn it down and
start over. And they said, and I'm going, yeah, no,
I don't want to do that. No, that's not what
(51:56):
I want to do. I actually want to like live here, yeah,
and make it better.
Speaker 3 (52:01):
And that is patriotism, which is dissenting in order to
make things better and fairer or more just and to
fulfill the American promise.
Speaker 4 (52:13):
That's a great place to end.
Speaker 3 (52:14):
Pamela Well, who knew I was so poetic.
Speaker 4 (52:18):
You know, we knew.
Speaker 3 (52:22):
Behind the crass humor, there's you know, sensitive heart. Anyway,
I really I hadn't watched this episode in years, years years,
years years, and I hadn't remembered so much of it,
and so this was such a beautiful re surprise watching
this episode. I'm so glad we did it, even though
we missed airing it on July fourth, actually, but I'm
(52:46):
still glad we're doing it.
Speaker 4 (52:48):
It needs to be this episode every year. Yeah, and
you know we need to watch it all the time.
Speaker 1 (52:55):
Yeah, yeah, fifty.
Speaker 4 (52:59):
Yeah, and you know, we were blessed by the wonderful
Theodore Biquel, who made a wonderful contribution. Thank you, Michael
for putting this man in this position to tell this story.
Just this warm, beautiful heart expressing these ideas was such
(53:20):
an important, powerful and meaningful thing to watch. So really
really fun.
Speaker 3 (53:26):
All right, folks, that's our show today. Taxes, you know,
the American dream.
Speaker 1 (53:32):
Like taxes. I pay exactly.
Speaker 3 (53:41):
Anyway, thank you all for joining us. We're so happy
to be back. Join us on our socials, Little House
fifty podcast or on our website Little House fifty podcast
dot com. We will have all future Little House events
and everything coming up in our show notes or if
you visit the website and our socials are all up
there anyway, Hope you guys all had a great jolyfe
for and we will see you next time. Bob, go
(54:03):
get the wig. Let's fly with the American flag
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Speaker 1 (02:57):
Oh we're on.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Sorry I missed the countdown. Hello, but heads. Maybe I
missed the countdown. Maybe because I'm a little out of practice.
I suppose we've been on a little summer hiatus for
a little bit. Hello. I'm Pamela Bob. I'm your host. Welcome.
I'm the creator and star of Living on a Prairie.
How y'all doing this summer? I am here with our beloved,
(03:20):
one and only prairie bitch. That's right, Alison Arngram, And
there she is, looking as studious and also, of course,
our hashtag imaginary boyfriend, Dean Butler. How are you, guys.
It's been a minute.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
It has been a minute. Good, you know, basically good.
It's crazy. It's funny. Yeah, no, it's it's been a
it's a crazy time, it really is. And people, it's like,
we're so fortunate to be doing what we're doing, but
it's so it's so exhausting. Sometimes.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Andrew writing a book on top of it.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Yeah, and that's sort of get yeah boy, and uh yes,
and that's a that's.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yes yes, I said, yes.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Yes, yeah. But so many of the things that are
happening now are working their way into the book. So
that's sort of a you know, that's sort of a
good thing from a from a living the Prairie Way perspective.
It gives me the opportunity to think about, you know,
what we're doing, how we're doing it, and you know
how we how it's how I would prefer to be
(04:33):
doing it, or what I like about it and what
I don't like. You know, it's it's those kinds of
those kinds of things. It's all, it's all good in
the big picture. How about you, Allison, You've been busy.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
You've been having adventure Miley, I'm probably gotting a little break,
I think because I've I've done most of my shows
for the year. I think I have two. Yeah, because
I just said, you know, twenty twenty four is we know,
we worked a little bit, all of us, like every
Furco weekend until we fell over. So this year I said,
this is stagger things. And of course still the phone
(05:07):
rang off the hook, is like go here go, here,
go here. But I just finished my fabulous shows in
problenstn and Muscle Jools.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Sounds like it was so much fun.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
It was. If I see another lobster roll, I might
be sick. I love lobster I love lobster rolls. But
one more I will I was Sprout Guild and Claws.
I was, Yeah, Peetown is known for its lobster rolls,
and it's pizza, and it's ice cream, and I think
I'm having a cleanse now after.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
That, Uh, what's what's the best ice cream? And in
Pete Town, I'm just curious.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
I think the ice cream I'm biased and I'm going
to get in trouble because there's a couple of places
that have like homemade ice cream. But I got to
the ice cream over at the Nuthouse Candy Store, which
hast the best nuts and like candy and amazing because
they have Italian ice as well.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Yes, apparently, but there're a lord of thing. I just
learned about this. It's the Italian ice layered with ice cream,
and apparently that's a real Florida delicacy.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
There's there's like five places that homemade ice cream in Provincetown.
It's just like an ice cream orgy. And then the pizza.
The pizza did pick which beat you fight over which
is your favorite pizza parlor there? And then there's the
argument over who makes the best lobster role. I mean,
you could literally just do nothing, eat your way up
and down the street.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
It's and you and your new bff, Parker Posey. Parker
was a bonnet heead. I told you she was a bonnethead.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
You told me I had met her before. It's gonna
be there, and you had met her at a party.
It's spotted head. And so what my wondering eyes appear
in my road is Parker Posy. I was staying with
Ryan Landry, the famous Ryan Landry who produces all these
boots there and is a stitch. And so I get
there and Parker's hanging with him, drop my things, and
she is delightful and indeed, should we sat having tacos
(07:01):
while she grilled me about little less sappery. I gave
her bonnet, of course, and she picked out a beautiful
red one. And later, after this thing we did at
the club, we did this promotion at the show show Girls.
What everybody taels everybody show they're doing, and she had
worn her bonnet and she somehow misplaced him, and she
made our friends got take her back to the club
(07:22):
and searched the place, and when they couldn't find it,
they asked the guy was cleaning up, and he said, oh,
I think I may, I may throw at the trash
was a bunch of stuff on stage, and she made
our friends got jump into the dumpster. She would beat
her bonnet and I said, you could have one hundred bonnets.
I will get you a hundred bonnets I have. She said, yes,
but you didn't have any more of that red one
(07:43):
and I want that color. I want that one, and
she got it. And yeah, she was just she reading
my book and I left a shirt there and she's like, hey,
I'm gonna throw it in the wash and apparently she
ironed it doing Yeah. No, she's he's amazing. I mean,
we did this whole thing on stage with all of
us promoting. She's in the corner. She had a whole
(08:05):
bar set up and was like making people drinks during
the show on the stage. It was hysterical.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
She and she loves be Town and hangs out there
and has a bunch of friends there and loves her
some prairie. He's a great gal.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Well, speaking of speaking of prairie. So I started that
same week in soup Fall, South Dakota at Laura Palooza.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, how was it?
Speaker 4 (08:31):
Which was the You know, I'm always fascinated by the
stuff that comes out at this event, the detail that
people go to, the passion that people have, just love it.
I listen, I mean, I think, listen to Pamela smith
Hill talk about her new book. She thought she was
(08:52):
done with Laura after Pioneer Girl. No, she has another
book in her We need to get a copy and
cover of that book. Yeah, I'm I'm sure, Yeah, yeah, exactly.
I bought a cop. Pamela autographed it for me, so
I've got a copy of her book now. And then
we went to Then we went to we went tod
(09:15):
Smet and we did screenings of Little House Homecoming and Charlotte,
Wendy and I went to the The Long Winter version
of the of the Smet pageant, which is a new script.
I've seen it. I think i'd seen The Long Winter
and else I feel like you and I saw The
Long Winter together a few years ago. Maybe not maybe
(09:36):
it was another book. They do a different book each year.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Longer, but we did see the De Smet pageant is
the whole thing. She gets to grow pa.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
Whole, it's a whole different thing. So anyway, so we
saw that and then we did you know, we did
lots of signings and uh, it was it was hot.
We did readings in the cemetery. We did you know
a fame. Yeah, so they do a cemetery.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Who were I hid behind the tombstone?
Speaker 4 (10:03):
And did you pop out?
Speaker 1 (10:04):
And like, did you a cemetery to where the real
people who lived there who were in the books. And
since they know that Nelly Olsen was based on Genevieve Masters,
tell a Gilbert and Genevieve Masters, I pop up from tombs.
I'm Genevieve Masters and I got to do this whole
thing as Genevieve Masters, who was apparently quite awful, and
(10:26):
it was it was great fun.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
So so anyway, this was so Allison's been in Pete Town,
I was in Sioux Falls and De Smet. We've got
a celebration oriented show to talk about today, Pamela, I
think we should get right to it. Let's let's like
take us to the title, let's go.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
We're gonna do it.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Okay, Well, I'm not gonna take us to the title,
but I will say from the studios of UBM GO
in Burbank, California, this is the Little House in the Prairie.
Fiftieth Anniversary podcast in case you didn't know, all right,
(11:16):
coming up today, we are going to celebrate America.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Listen.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
We took July off and part of August, but we
wanted to do something for the fourth of July. I
don't know if you guys did anything the fourth of July.
I did not because I was so tired after a
rehearsal that I had for the show that I was doing,
I went home and conked out. But that's okay. We're
going to recap this episode, Dean. Do you want to
(11:41):
say what it is?
Speaker 4 (11:42):
Boy? I think I may have this. I was up
so late last night doing these rundowns. I think there
are a series of mistakes in here. We may have
to check this, but anyway, today's episode, Season two, episode
nineteen Centennial Wreck. I think i'd never see. This is
one of those episodes that I had never seen, and.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
I didn't remember it that well. I hadn't seen it
in forever.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Yeah, this episode is prescient in a way that very
few Little House episodes are. If one looks at the
world we're living in today and you watch Centennial, it
is a must watch for so many good reasons. You
(12:30):
must watch Centennial again. It's very very special. I was
really not expecting it, Allison, what. Sorry? The program was
directed by William F. Claxton and written by John Hawkins,
of one of Michael's writing mentors back in Bonanza days.
So yeah, no, John Hawkins was a very important presence
(12:53):
in Michael's writing life, and Bill Claxton obviously is just
off the chart. It's wonderful directing these episodes. So Allison,
what is Centennial about? Oh?
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Why, Look, there's a description here.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
And you can chose it if you want to.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
Do you remember this.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Episode well, because you know it was I was in it,
and but that's things. It was nineteen seventy six or
having the vice centennial time, and so they worked in
a lot of things that we were all going through
in the seventies and they're there and so it still rings.
Everyone in Walnut Grove is excited about the upcoming one
hundredth birthday the United States of America, aren't we coming
(13:35):
up in the two fiftieth We are to commemorate the occasion.
The town is planning a community picnic, of course, complete
with games, fireworks, and a brand new flag bowl. Unfortunately,
everyone's spirits plummet in the wake of drastic tax increases,
which create problems for hard working families like the Ingles,
an immigrant family who we never saw before. After because
(13:59):
also the immigrant family the mother and son, Miss Parrah,
And that's right, another immigrant family. In Harriet's Happenings, they're Russian.
In this one they're German and Harriet's happening now, but
it'smen not only plays a little Russian boy and then
play a little German boy, but plays the Russian lady
(14:22):
and then plays they do I don't know, but they're
both really good at it like German Russian. Yeah, we
got it, we can do it. They can. Apparently they're
both capable of being absolutely anybody. Immigrant family you've never
seen before after what we do see after It's happenings
from a different country provide an example of thankfulness and
a reminder that freedom isn't free. After a property tax increase,
(14:44):
lees most of Walnut Grove in New Mood to celebrate.
And you have a fun fact that, mister Shallott, I
have many fun facts about Theodore Bikel Yes.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
I mean what treat I mean talk about wonderful Theodore Biquel.
Such a special actor. Yeah, really special. Another special actor
who was making the first of his two appearances in
Little House, Bill Shallard William Shallard, so the noted character
(15:17):
actor plays Snell who is the assessor. I guess he
is the Yeah, he appears, Yes, the taxman. He appears
again as Reverend Dean Harmon, a former love interest of
Harriet Olsen, in the season six episode The Preacher Takes
a Wife. I worked with Bill Shallard separately from Little House,
(15:39):
and I obviously worked with him during this or was there.
We didn't have scenes together, but you know, Bill Shallard
is an institution on American television, everybody's favorite dad. And
I saw him obviously Patty Duke's dad on The Patty
Duke Show. And I worked with him in The New Gidget.
He played Gidgets Dad, and he was to talk about
(16:05):
Bill Shaller, who always appears to be so buttoned up,
has got or had one of the absolute wackiest senses
of humor. This guy was off the hook nuts when
he but but so I mean talk about Bill knew
what he played. Yeah, you know, he understood what that
(16:30):
was and he brought it. But boy, when the camera
was off you anything could come out of his mouth.
It was. It was really really funny. He was also
a pretty terrific president of the Screen Actors Guild. For
our colleague, Melis, I have no idea.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Freaking figure should I whax about mister.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
Yes, I think we should.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Yes, l one of the most renowned Broadway actors in
the history of Earth, of course, well known for you know, Hello,
Fiddler on the Roof, who he performed more in that
role than any other actor who did Fiddler. He's like
the Yule Breunner of Fiddler on the Roof. He just
like did it forever. But he actually with his big
(17:19):
story on Broadway was with indeed in the Sound of Music.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
Sound of Music, where he played Captain von Trapp.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Yeah, right, so cranky he was Von Trapp. I interviewed
his widow, Amy yes Ginsburg Bequel on my show, The
Allison Argham Show, because uh, there is a book that
he wrote and I pulled it up like City of Light. Yes,
Amy Ginsburg, uh, And it was promoting his book City
(17:47):
of Light, which is about a little boy in because
he was from Austria, not Russia. And yes, hello Nazis.
And absolutely anyone interested in great literature or the Holocaust
or Theodo Raquel needs to go read City of just
recommending it and you can go look up the episode
of the Allison Aringham Show where interviewed Theodore mckuel was
a huge union activist. The stuff he did for charity,
(18:09):
for his fellow actors, for working people, off the charts.
He founded multiple organizations he did and was a huge, huge,
huge Broadway star as well as then a huge movie
star and then TV star. And here he is a
little house in the prairie, just playing this Russian dude
who works at the mill, who's married to the same
woman as the German guy. Later has the same good.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Sure details for they just replaced the dad.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
I've got a different dad to that way. But apparently,
like I said, apparently and Lisa Barrock could switch from
Russia to German accents without baton and I and they
just hadn't.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
And again I wonder how did he end up on
the show, like did he know Michael Landon, did he like,
did he have a connection to the show? Was it
just a random like were they just like, let's try
and see if Theodore Bukel could do this part.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Yeah, well, it's it's it's really quite a wonderful story
and patriotic in a way that you just don't expect
as it starts out.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
You know, you start off with this ly fourth episode
until it's totally a July fourth episode, right.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah, and it's but it's the it's the sort of
the I don't know, as we all go through in
the culture, we have our highs and lows in the
culture and what's going on in the culture. And here
on the occasion, I thought it was really stunning that
Michael chose to do this around the occasion of America's
(19:40):
two hundredth birthday, to talk about the downside of the
frustrations of citizenship and do it. And then and then
with everything that was going on in the world and
in nineteen seventy six, with all the issues that we
(20:00):
have with the economy and well and relations around the
world and so on, and you have this Russian character
wonderfully played by Theodore mckel who's no. One. Another one
of those situations, Pamel that we talk about else, we
talk about all the time. Worthy. You have these great
characters that we've never seen before, will never.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
See again in the Vortex. Correct.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Yeah, but such a wonderful vehicle. This character is such
a wonderful vehicle to convey this message.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Seventy He worked it in because remember when the show
started in nineteen seventy four, we were having a gigantic recession,
which is interesting because they had one in eighteen seventy four.
There was a thing called like the Panic of eighteen
seventy three, where there's a giant financial crisis. Hence why
the Angles kind of sucked for them in eighteen seventy four.
And so nineteen seventy four, oh, book, Look there's the
show and we're having whip inflation. Now we're rationing I
(20:57):
could get by gasoline every other day, comes it because
odd numbered license plates someone and then yeah, we're rationing gas.
Everything sucked. Hamburger Helper really became famous, really caught its
footing in the seventies because that's what people were freaking eating.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Because you got a forward ground beef, right.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
You couldn't get me. I remember the plane wrap in
the white with the blue label. You could get the
plane rat burger because you might be able to afford
that because Brice and needing on. It was insane. This
is that part of the seventies kind of sucked. We're also,
hello Watergate. We just come out of Watergate. Nobody Everybody's like,
what has just happened to our government in our lives?
And well, this gerald Board guy seems nice enough, but
(21:37):
what is happening? And it was just it was a mess.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Well it was the gerald Ford guy who pardoned Richard Nixon,
who was viewed. I think, you know, in retrospect at
the time, I think it was it was an infuriating decision.
I think it was the right decision for the country
in the big picture, but it was it was a
(22:01):
challenging time. I remember sitting in gas lines in nineteen
seventy four. You two weren't you certainly weren't driving at
that time, but I remember, boy, the license plates and
the numbers on the the end license plates, and you
could fill up, you know, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. You know,
it was all of that going on. Gasoline went from
(22:25):
in a very short in very short order from like
twenty five cents a gallon to over a dollar a gallon.
I mean it was and this was shock and we
you know, you just you'd love to see dollar gasoline.
Then that was absolutely horrifying and the shortage of fuel
was stunning for people. This is very allegorical to this
(22:49):
moment where this gentleman discovers our Russian friend discovers that
his property taxes he owes seven years property taxes because
as he didn't realize when he bought the property that
he assumed the tax liability, and so it was shocking
to him. And then when everybody starts getting these things,
(23:11):
what was so wonderful Theodore Biquel's choice to play this
in a way where he's searching for understanding a guy
who doesn't speak the language did well. He counts on
his son to help guide him through.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
And he's studying so hard to he's studying it's so
hard to learn to read English and speak English better.
I mean, he's really it's not like he's just letting
his son do everything for him. He's really wanting to
assimilate and integrate into America. Yeah, sorry, go on.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
But it's like the family's many immigrant families where the
kid speaks fluent English because they're in school and winds
up being the translator for the family. And this is
something millions of immigrant families wind up doing at some point. Yes,
he didn't read the fine print, his English wasn't good
and he didn't realize it said you just assumed years
of taxes, and then everybody else gets screwed too that.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Yeah. Yeah, And what's interesting is, which I think is
really wonderful, is the American citizens reaction to the tax increase.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Which everyone ends up getting.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Every outraged and furious. And you know, Charles becomes the
vehicle for this, the central vehicle for this upset where
he's you know, he's trying to make he's always looking
to scratch out a living, and suddenly the tax man
(24:45):
comes and takes everything out of his pocket and he's
just not feeling like celebrating the fourth of July and
then he's got is Then you've got Mary and Laura
who or Mary who's leading the effort to make the
American flag with the thirty eight stars, but they can't
do it at home because Paus so upset. They've got
(25:07):
to take the flag out somewhere else it's and then
you've got this man who really is going to lose everything.
Patrick Kav I've got it in the notes. Sorry I'm
not pronouncing his name properly. It's a very unusual Russian name,
(25:29):
Peta Cow. But anyway, he's trying to find understanding in
all this, and it's grateful because he knows that where
he came from things were so much worse than what
he's facing. And the wonderful conversations that were crafted for
this or John Hawkins writes these wonderful conversations between the
(25:53):
Russian family and the citizens of Walmuck Grove who are
trying to make sense of something that's outraging them, and
and he's helping them to rediscover their patriotism in time
for the four.
Speaker 5 (26:08):
I mean, it really is such a pretty great yeah,
because he probably was swindled also, I mean I kept thinking, oh,
the previous owner knew exactly what they were doing.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Why would they not at least mention that they clearly
they knew seven they may have been there. They were
the ones who didn't pay it seven years, not a year,
seven years, and they went, oh, hey guy, who doesn't
speak but English. Why didn't you buy this farm?
Speaker 4 (26:34):
So?
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Yes, whoever sold them the firm's horrible person.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
It was such an interesting choice of Michael wrote this, right, Michael, No,
this is John John Hawkins.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
Michael, I'm sure re wrote because he wrote everything.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
No, but I'd be interested to know if John Hawkins,
either he or his parents were immigrants, because right before
we started recording, Alison I both said that this episode
made us cry shockingly. And the reason why it made
me cry ooh, okay emotions. I'm going to do the
(27:10):
same craft is because it reminded me of my grandparents
so much. It was a common conversation at their Bensonhurst apartment,
sitting around the kitchen table with my grandmother's homemade you know,
Jewish food, just feeding us, feeding us, feeding us. I
(27:33):
got so fat as a kid because of my grandmother.
But my immigrant grandparents and my grandfather, who was so
I mean, both of them were so traumatized. I mean
they really they escaped you know, Nazi Europe. They their
whole families were dead. My grandfather, who was a Jew,
(27:55):
had to fight in the Polish Army. I mean it
was just awful, and they got over here. And my grandmother,
her trauma was fear, just she was afraid of everything.
Fear based his trauma. And he was a very joyful,
boisterous man. But when it clicked, when it turned, it
was anger. It was anger, anger, anger, And but always
(28:21):
the conversation was America, America, America, How this is the
best country in the world. How they could never be
who they turned out to be had they could never
have the freedoms, the opportunity. And these are people that
came here with nothing, you know, and ended up sending
their four kids for grandchildren to college while they stayed
(28:41):
in their apartment in Bensonhurst. You know, they saved every
penny they worked. My grandfather worked toll the day he died,
literally the day he died, he worked. And so this
immigrant story of true patriotism, of gratitude of and yes
(29:02):
they were angry or traumatized or whatever, but they never
lost hope. And that went onto my grand and that
went on to my father, which is so interesting because
you know how it came out and my dad and
this is so silly. The movie suit, the Superman movies,
the Christopher Reeves Superman movies. My father would ball at
the Superman movies because it embodied patriotism, like that true Americana,
(29:30):
pride for America, helping the little guy. You know, it's
so funny how it comes out, and it happened to
be Superman turned out to be like this really important
thing in my childhood's life because of patriotism. So anyway,
so when that end scene of Theodore, you know, and
(29:51):
Theodore Bihil says he's not angry and he's not bitter,
which he had every right to be, but instead it
was just pure gratitude at what they were, what they
escaped from, and what they were able to be here,
and that's what that's really what got me. And obviously
that's you know, we're having a crisis in our country
(30:14):
now in terms of immigrants, what we think of immigrants,
what's happening to immigrants, and we're losing sight that immigrants
are truly amongst some of the most patriotic in this
country because they know what this country is about and
what they came from. All I know, there's a night
(30:38):
there's the nineteen seventy four parallel to this episode, but
also watching watching this show in twenty twenty five, and
what's going on right now in this country.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Holy Molly, Holy Yeah. In seventy four and this thing happened,
we were okay, it was just a tailent. We're just
starting to realize we're going to get out of Vietnam.
That was just ending Vietnam. It was a drying train.
The gazillions of soldiers coming back from Vietnam completely ptsdy
and hence we had a whole episode about that guy
coming back from Civil War. We had that crisis with
(31:08):
and and you know, Stephen four gerald Ford's son spoke
at the Cherry Blossom Festival and talked about his father's
decision to part Nixon and said he struggled. He was
up all night. It was he was devastated, but he
said he was like, it isn't right, but I have
to do this for the good of the country. This
is the only way we're ever getting out of this.
(31:29):
I have to stop this. Well and just like didn't
want to do it, but I'm going to do this
and people are gonna hate me, and I'm just going
to follow my sword. And it was like hard, so
sad that So the seventies were rough seventies, a rough
man and yeah, I remember they had to change the
signs the gas station, so we didn't have room for
three digits sixty okay, was always ninety nine.
Speaker 4 (31:52):
So it's not why you cried in the episode why.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Did he remember my dad? The Endless History Lessons? Okay,
there were showing flag and well she says thirty seven
stars and Mary goes, oh, wait, Colorado's coming in in
a couple of months, so it's thirty eighth l see
the endless fabulous History lessons. The missus Olsen going, well,
we're okay until she opens her tax bill again.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
It right away because well, you got what you voted for, and.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Then her and Nil's fighting, and I remember so well.
A few years later, we had Proposition thirteen in California,
which froze or lowered property taxes. Now in some cases
said they lowered them rather severely. And speaking of someone
who's in public school who got kind of rooked by
that decision, yeah, it did kind of cut back of
the schools. It was like in many areas, it was
rough and cut some money to schools. Richard and Catherine
(32:40):
argued about this tax property taxes on the set in
front of me about Prop thirteen, and it was exactly
like it is episode.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
Catherine was a close What was the argument?
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Catherine was pro Prop thirteen. Said absolutely, you should absolutely
cut all of the taxes as much as possible. And
Richard said, but it goes to the schools. We have
to pay some property taxes. And she said, I don't
have any damn kids. And they argued over this, and
she thought the taxes are fine to cut and Richard
tip to Catherine, we must think of others. We do
have to pay for the roads in the schools, so
there's going to be a certain amount of breakagere You're
(33:12):
going to have to pay something because we have do
we have a community of people. He sounded like Nell's
and she sounded like the things. But so yes, hearing
them talk again about Texes, I was said, oh, but
I'm watching it, and yes, here is this imp a
grit man who got rupped by the guy who's sold
of the property. And even he says, well, I made
a mistake, like I didn't read the fine print. It's
(33:33):
you know, that's sort of oops, and we're going to
move now. But oh my god, we would have died
if we had not come here. In this incredible which
is Theodore Richel's story. Gosso is his other. But the
Reverend Alden gets up in church and remember, the whole
country's going through upheaval to the point they don't people
don't want to celebrate the fourth of July. Oh, did
(33:54):
we hear any of that this year? Yes, there were
so Here he is in church and there's soapes which
we were in the seventies, and he quotes from Ecclesiastes
where he says, in a day of prosperity, there is
a forgetfulness of affliction, and in the day of affliction
there is no remembrance of prosperity. Oh really, And then
(34:14):
he says, I curse you costume Michael Lander and John Hawkins.
He says, this evil winter of affliction will pass and yeah,
and they go on about it, and then Bequel goes
on about how you know these things happen and the
(34:36):
whole discussion of and Mary Mary goes on our rant,
which yeah, like they start talking about the Civil War
and pause, like really because his brother was in the
Civil War. He's like, no, really, do tell and the.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
Two She's like, we got the Revolution, we got through
the Civil War, Like we will get through this.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
She goes through every history thing, and he's not in
going glad. The small children are lecturing history I lived
through but great, Okay, go ahead, and she's gone. And
she says, every time this country is a horrible horrible
things happened that toward the country part every time we
came through better and stronger. So I was already And
then when the Reverend Aldun said this evil winter of
(35:16):
affliction shall pass, I just had to.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
That here's those things. Also is you know, I think
right now today it feels so hopeless on many levels,
and and you know, you want, you want to believe
in that hope that we will we will come back
from this and we will be better and we will
(35:41):
be stronger and we will be wiser and we will
be united and blah blah blah. And you know, when
you're in the midst of the chaos, it feels so impossible.
But Mary's speech was an absolute reminder of Hey, we've
been through so much, so much, I mean, and you
even just saying which I completely forgot, which is dumb
(36:05):
on my part of you know, in nineteen seventy four,
we were still in Vietnam, like we have been through
so much and It did make me go Okay, maybe
maybe we are going to get through this, and the
hope is that we will be better for it. That
(36:26):
is the hope.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
The what I loved about I did not cry during
the episode.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
I was so surprised I started crying. It was right
at the end.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Man, I loved the episodes. I cry over for the record,
I do cry, But I.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
Was moved by the way that the episode was crafted
so presciently to remind viewers of who we are as
people at what of what our country was, the principles
(37:05):
on which our country was founded. It's a reminder of that.
And we don't know, We really can't know what's going
to happen. But we have to be optimistic. We have
to try and be optimistic that we are going to
(37:26):
come back to some level of balance in our thinking
about these issues. We don't want to get political here,
but if you pay attention to the polling, the politics
may be one thing. But people are not liking the
way this is all going now. I mean not that
(37:48):
everybody know. There are a lot of people who do
like it, no question, but there but but there are
there are a percentage basis many many more people who
are who are are looking at the way things are
going right now and not happy about it, and if
we can, rather than burn it down, if we can
(38:12):
remind ourselves of who we are, and I think episodes
like this, this is just such a perfect episode for
now if we can use if we can be reminded
of the best of what we are as a people,
as a country, as an ideology, as a way of
viewing humanity. It's there, and I just it looked Centennial
(38:39):
is not going to turn the ship of state, obviously,
but it's a nice reminder, sure for us to think about.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
It's sure, and it was a reminder that I didn't
even know I needed. Do you know what I mean?
Hit me like like a ton of bricks.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
And this is Bob often takes use. Bob is older
than I am, and I go, wow, you know, everything
is in turmoil and everyone is at each other, so
and he's going, I'm sorry. I know you were child
in the sixty and you did watch the news and
you were definitely worse of it. But I was a
grumb My friends went to Vietnam. I mean we hello,
I was an adult in the sixties. We had need
to Kent State anyone. Hello, Hello, He's like, Hi, I
(39:20):
was alive for all of this. I was there for
all of this. And he says the things that this
country has survived and come out the other side of
He says, just having trouble with the idea of well
everything has gone to hell again, you know? No, And he,
I mean, Bob has almost given me the speech Mary
(39:41):
Ingles did, of yes, and look at all the things
that we've been through and we came out better. And
Mary Ingles is right, and so is the Reverend Alton
and and and yes I did. I've cried several episodes
a little House. I actually do. The Raccoon's the wine
that always gets.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
Me by now.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
But I've watched this when this is brilliant. This is brilliant.
We've had to reduce people to sobs in nineteen seventy four,
and I think that it may should make people cry now.
And it is a fabulous about what are the principles
of our country? And why do we Politics is temporary,
America is hopefully eternal.
Speaker 4 (40:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
And it's not blind patriots either. It's not just like
love your country no matter what it's exactly. It's not
that it's yeah, we have problems.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
Yeah, we let's talk about that. Let's take a question.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
When we come back, quick break, everybody, We'll be right back.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
The Little House on the Prairie fiftieth Anniversary Podcast is
presented in part by Visit Semi Valley dot Com. In
the movie and television capital of the World, See Valley
is the television home of the og Little House on
the Prairie television series, and people come to Seene Valley
from all over the world to feel the Little House Love.
(41:00):
Is the home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, celebrating
the legacy of an iconic American who embodied the can
do spirit of California. Visit Semiye Valley a warm, friendly
community that knows how to make their guests feel welcome,
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(41:24):
See Valley is hometown America in the Los Angeles Basin.
For more information about your Semi Valley visit, go to
visit see Valley dot com.
Speaker 3 (41:34):
Hi, everybody aware, back Alison. You wanted to give us
some some good fun facts.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
History, history, history. Like I said, go with Mary whether
it's thirty seven, but to be thirty eight of Colorado. Indeed,
the Russians who came to the US, we are more
familiar with the Russians who came later various programs for
various immigrants after World War two. But who came in
the eighteen seventies that seems kind of early, not even
world War one. And yes, right, yes, after no way,
(42:04):
So why were the Russians here? Absolutely, Russians did come
to the US because there were various pogroms and purges
and terrible things in eighteen hundreds and in the eighteen seventies,
there were enormous number of Yes, Russian Jews, which it
kind of looks like this family might be, But this
family's in Minnesota, so you know who they probably are,
the huge wave of Russian Mennonites and Anabaptists.
Speaker 3 (42:24):
Yes, I assumed that they were Russian Jews until they
you know, they did the prayer at their dinner table,
and then they did the cross, and I went.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Just as the Jews fled persecution in Russia during that
time period, the Mennonites and Anabaptists were also being persecuted
for their beliefs and came in droves, and there's a
whole thing we're talking about which states they tended to
settle in, and when you get out there on the
prairie it's the Mennonites and Anabaptists from Russia, which is
probably what they were.
Speaker 3 (42:53):
Wow, good one, Alison.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
The more you know, seriously.
Speaker 4 (42:59):
There's no question you know we this is yet what announced.
It's a wonderful factor.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
That's really good.
Speaker 4 (43:07):
Thank you for sharing that you know this. This is
such an important aspect of our culture today where there
is this movement to erase our history. That's right, so
that we are not so that we are not accountable
to our history anymore. There's this desire to sweep the
(43:27):
slate clean because maybe the history is a little uncomfortable,
so we don't want to talk about it. The history.
The history is an opportunity for us to make better
understand ourselves where.
Speaker 3 (43:41):
We were were going right, including the Little House on
the Prairie books, which this new book talks all about
of why it's still really important to read these books,
especially as children, because it does show the uglyness of
some of the American experience and we have to learn
(44:01):
from that.
Speaker 4 (44:02):
We have to well, I think, and I think here's
the thing. I think we have learned from it. We
haven't learned from it. It's not a clean sweep learn
from it. But as a culture, we are far more
conscious about things in terms of our human relations with
each other than we were in the eighteen eighties. Yeah,
(44:25):
be far more so, and or the nineteen thirties when
Laura wrote these books.
Speaker 6 (44:31):
Oh my god, Yes, let's I mean, let's take advantage
of that. Let's appreciate the teaching moments that exist here.
Let's not cleanse it. Let's talk about it, because we get.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
Never away, never shied away from history, the Wisdom of
Solomon with Todd Bridges, the Soldier's Return After we did
not shy away from unfortunate things in history, where mistakes
were made and we screwed up, and how we got
through it. Those episodes were some of the best episodes
A Little House when they looked at our history and said, oh, wow,
(45:05):
guess what the eighteen seventies. Do you know what happened? Eh,
this happened, and we talked about it on the show.
Speaker 4 (45:11):
You know, none of the I just would say, of
all these episodes that we've written about in terms of
thematic things in episodes that reverberate today. I don't think
there is no episode of the series, in my opinion,
that reverberates stronger on America today than Centennial. Yeah, it's
(45:38):
very very powerful. I mean, if you are a little
house lover, you need to watch Centennial and think about
it and think about what it means. There's a lot
of good here to be considered.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
I mean, again, in our notes Stein, we have the
major themes which completely correlate today, which is patriotism versus dissent,
and dissenting also can mean patriotism right, economic burdens and
civic disillusionment ding ding ding ding ding Hello, and the
role of the outsider of the immigrant. These are all
(46:17):
things that that are that we are all dealing with now.
And it always seems like we progress, we progress, and
then there are a few steps backwards, and that that
seems to be just what human beings do, right. It's
this isn't a one off. This happens over and over
(46:38):
and over and over, and we just happen to be
in a place where the outsider, the immigrant is being
demonized now and which again sort of completely ignores what
this country was founded on right and it's it's it
(46:58):
is a truly I said in my notes, you know,
so it was a really interesting episode to watch right
now because there are so many of us that feel hopeless,
and so many of us that had a hard July
fourth this year, and I appreciated.
Speaker 4 (47:21):
Did you have a hard life?
Speaker 1 (47:22):
Fork?
Speaker 3 (47:23):
I had a conflicted July fourth this year. I felt
as much as I love this country, but I I
don't know what it's turning into right now. It's turning
into what my grandparents ended up fleeing from, and it's
very conflicting, and not conflicting in the sense of the
love for my country. But what I am watching right
(47:47):
now is things that my grandparents told me about that
I never thought in a million years could possibly happen
in this country today.
Speaker 4 (48:00):
Ever, I agree, And.
Speaker 3 (48:04):
So it's so multi layered of your ancestral history, many
people's family histories, ancestral histories of coming to this country
and why they came to this country, the patriotism and that.
But seeing what's happening here, which is a direct parallel
to things that happened fifty seventy five, one hundred years ago,
(48:30):
is terrifying and I think it's so easy for us
to feel hopeless because it feels like we are so
out of control. It feels like all of these things
are happening and we can't do anything about it. And
that's what it has been feeling like, and that there's
no accountability and that there's no justice, and that we
(48:50):
are the people, but the representatives aren't representing us. You know,
it is so loaded right now. And I this episode
just took me so by surprise, those last ten minutes
of this episode.
Speaker 4 (49:07):
That's the episode. That is the episode, the last Yeah,
and it was it's all to that last ten minutes.
Speaker 3 (49:14):
Yes, I just feel like this entire country should be
watching this episode.
Speaker 4 (49:22):
I think so too. Pamela Allison, you know you've added
a lot here. What's anything interesting for you? On the
fourth of July, I made ice cream. On the fourth
of July, I made I made peppermint ice cream Freshman
and of ice cream and chocolate chocolate chip ice cream,
hand cranking with the salt and the ice and doing
(49:42):
all that. And so there our our Fourth of July
and we had our Red Devil fireworks and you know,
we did all that. So it was a you know,
it was a very much sort of forty for Fourth
of July celebration. It was really it was a nice evening.
Lots of dishes to do, but I wasn't thinking about
(50:03):
I wasn't so much thinking about all the other things.
What was Allison? How about your Fourth of July?
Speaker 1 (50:08):
I made potato salad.
Speaker 4 (50:09):
I make a fight.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
I made potato salad, and we got out the Yes ballpark,
Frank's turkey of course, and fired up the grill and
the tradition of my father before me. It was one
of great barbecuers of all time and absolutely hot dogs
and potato salad and beer. And from up here you
can see all the fireworks, all of the legal you
(50:32):
can see the legal shows, and of course we have
it's Tohunga. So I just set stuff on fire. Terrible
idea because we have the Angelus National forestslike over there.
Stop lighting off the illegal fireworks. One of the worst
best Fourth of July's ever was the Fourth of July
of twenty twenty. It was awful. They well, they canceled
(50:54):
all of the good fireworks shows ones, so everybody just
decided to go set off their own and a lot
of people said in twenty twenty. Well, world's coming to
an end. Yeah, and proceeded to go out in their
yard legal or illegal fire hazard to know, and set
everything off at once. So I was quite shoe from
my patio. Would I just stuffed flying through the air.
(51:19):
And they also knew nobody was coming because all emergency
services were busy. So the CoP's gonna come. Not that really.
I was like, well, I guess it's a show of
patriotism of sorts, but I was pleased people were.
Speaker 6 (51:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (51:34):
People had barties and barbecues and set stuff off because
it said America. Well that's a turtle. That's the big picture.
People are focused on, you know, small, you gotta go
big picture. There are people who've publicly stated that they
would like to dismantle everything and burn it down and
start over. And they said, and I'm going, yeah, no,
I don't want to do that. No, that's not what
(51:56):
I want to do. I actually want to like live here, yeah,
and make it better.
Speaker 3 (52:01):
And that is patriotism, which is dissenting in order to
make things better and fairer or more just and to
fulfill the American promise.
Speaker 4 (52:13):
That's a great place to end.
Speaker 3 (52:14):
Pamela Well, who knew I was so poetic.
Speaker 4 (52:18):
You know, we knew.
Speaker 3 (52:22):
Behind the crass humor, there's you know, sensitive heart. Anyway,
I really I hadn't watched this episode in years, years years,
years years, and I hadn't remembered so much of it,
and so this was such a beautiful re surprise watching
this episode. I'm so glad we did it, even though
we missed airing it on July fourth, actually, but I'm
(52:46):
still glad we're doing it.
Speaker 4 (52:48):
It needs to be this episode every year. Yeah, and
you know we need to watch it all the time.
Speaker 1 (52:55):
Yeah, yeah, fifty.
Speaker 4 (52:59):
Yeah, and you know, we were blessed by the wonderful
Theodore Biquel, who made a wonderful contribution. Thank you, Michael
for putting this man in this position to tell this story.
Just this warm, beautiful heart expressing these ideas was such
(53:20):
an important, powerful and meaningful thing to watch. So really
really fun.
Speaker 3 (53:26):
All right, folks, that's our show today. Taxes, you know,
the American dream.
Speaker 1 (53:32):
Like taxes. I pay exactly.
Speaker 3 (53:41):
Anyway, thank you all for joining us. We're so happy
to be back. Join us on our socials, Little House
fifty podcast or on our website Little House fifty podcast
dot com. We will have all future Little House events
and everything coming up in our show notes or if
you visit the website and our socials are all up
there anyway, Hope you guys all had a great jolyfe
for and we will see you next time. Bob, go
(54:03):
get the wig. Let's fly with the American flag
Speaker 1 (54:14):
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