But I'm nothing but orderly with my DVD watching so I'm starting from the beginning with "Little House: Look Back to Yesterday," which featured Albert's leukemia diagnosis and his decision to return to Walnut Grove to die. Definitely a tear-jerker!
But it's not the episode that I'm writing about today. I'm actually writing about the city of Burr Oak, IA. As fond as I am of "Little House on the Prairie," it's not a show that I binge-watch. There are a few episodes that I really enjoy (like the one where Mrs. Oleson buys into a restaurant franchise), but I have a hard time sitting down to watch many of the other episodes.
All that's to say, I couldn't remember why the Ingalls family left Walnut Grove between seasons 8 and 9. More importantly, I couldn't remember where they went. But then after Albert learned that he was dying, he made some comment about not wanting to die in Burr Oak, but instead he wanted to return to Walnut Grove.
Which made me laugh so hard. Because this is what we saw at the beginning of the movie when Charles and Albert decided to visit Minnesota:
And this is what Burr Oak actually looks like:
Here's the thing: I spent my teen years and my early twenties living near Burr Oak. It was never the bustling city that you see in that top photo. And I totally understand that the town has lost much of its businesses over the 150 years since the Ingalls family lived there.
In real life, the Ingalls family worked at the Masters Hotel, which is the site of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum that attracts visitors from all over. There is a tiny tourist center that once served as a joint post office/barber shop and later served as a bank. There is another business in town that once served as a mercantile and restaurant, but I don't think it's actually in business at the moment. Besides the museum, Burr Oak currently has a lot of houses, a church, and a large cemetery to the south of town.
But it's never been had anything in it that looks anything remotely similar to the Burr Oak from the old "Little House on the Prairie" show! Then again, "Little House" isn't known for its historical realness as opposed to his Midwest charm and values. Which is why Burr Oak proudly proclaims its "Little House" connection!
Incidentally, I visited the gift store while in Burr Oak last summer because I wanted to read about Laura's Iowa adventures. I found a children's book called Old Town in the Green Groves, which wasn't written by Ingalls Wilder herself but instead Cynthia Rylant. It told the story of the Ingalls' move from Walnut Grove to Burr Oak after their Minnesota homestead got wiped out by hungry grasshoppers. I keep meaning to write a review of that book. Needless to say, the Ingalls family wasn't overly fond of the Masters Hotel or of living in town. They earned enough money to pay off their debts and then ran away towards their next frontier adventure as quickly as possible!