If I had a remembrance book, I would mark down how it was when we left our little house in the big woods to go west to Indian Territory. We had to go, Pa said, because so many people had come to live in the big woods, there wasn't enough game anymore for him to hunt and he feared we might go hungry. Ma said we might never again see Grandma and Grandpa, or Aunt Docia and Aunt Ruby and Uncle George. Though it made me sad, I still thought it a fine thing to go where there had never been a road before. We'd go where the land was more bountiful, he said, and he sold our house and land and cow, and packed whatever would fit in the wagon. I was glad Pa took his fiddle, for it makes a joysome sound. Mary was afraid to go, but I knew nothing bad could happen as long as we had Pa and Jack. Jack is my best and truest friend and Pa says there has never been a better watchdog. I knew there would be rivers to cross and hills to climb, and I was glad, for this is a fair land and I rejoiced that I would see it.

—Laura Ingalls, Little House on the Prairie, "Pilot"

50 Years of the Ingalls Family ❤️

Little House on The Prairie

Little House on the Prairie (1974)

Caroline Ingalls (Karen Grassle). Little House On The Prairie.

Karen Grassle

Prairie Man: My Little House Life & Beyond by Dean Butler #BookReview #NetGalley #Citadel #Memoir #LHOTP #Television #50thAnniversary #LauraIngallsWilder

If you're a fan of 1970s television show #LHOTP, you'll want to check out Dean Butler's memoir, #PrairieMan. It's heartfelt and honest, and just the thing I needed to read during this #50thanniversary year. #ARC #NetGalley #BookReview #CitadelBooks

Cast just before his twenty-third birthday, Dean Butler joined Little House on the Prairie halfway through its run, gaining instant celebrity and fans’ enduring affection. Ironically, when the late, great Michael Landon remarked that Little House would outlive everyone involved in making it, Butler deemed it unlikely. Yet for four decades and counting, Butler has been defined in the public eye as…

View On WordPress

I imagine seeing Karen Grassle in modern clothing is like seeing a walkaround character with it’s head off.

Karen Grassle

Karen Grassle

Hersha Parady (born Betty Sandhoff; May 25, 1945 – August 23, 2023) Television actress best known for her role of Alice Garvey in Little House on the Prairie.

Parady began her career in television with guest-appearances in Mannix, Bearcats! and The Waltons. Hersha was considered to play Caroline Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie, but lost out to Karen Grassle. Later, in 1976 episode "Journey in the Spring", Paraday played Eliza Anne Ingalls, Charles' sister-in-law. Then, in 1977, she was given the role of Alice Garvey in Little House on the Prairie, which she played until 1980 when her character was killed in a fire accidentally set by Albert Ingalls. After Little House on the Prairie, she made only rare appearances in television, including Kenan & Kel. (Wikipedia)

Melissa Gilbert had a ready answer when asked why fans of Little House on the Prairie always seem to burst into tears whenever they see her in person.

“Because I do! I think it’s just, you know … the show evokes so much emotion in people and made everybody feel,” Gilbert told the crowd Friday at the three-day Little House on the Prairie Cast Reunion and Festival in Simi Valley, CA. “So when they see us, they have the feels, and then the leftover feels from 50 years ago. Now they’re feeling it again through children and grandchildren. There’s this continuity and sense of family. This is a giant family reunion.”

Thousands of people converged upon Simi Valley’s Rancho Santa Susana Park to remember Little House on the Prairie, the Michael Landon starrer that debuted 50 years ago this year. With the promise to see stars like Gilbert, who played Laura “Half Pint” Ingalls, as well as Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson), Karen Grassle (Caroline Ingalls), Bonnie Bartlett (Grace Edwards), Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder) and Linwood Boomer (Adam Kendall), fans waited in long lines to collect autographs, screen old episodes, and take pictures of re-creations of the iconic sets.

Organizers also assembled a mini-exhibit of Little House artifacts, like copies of old scripts, set stills, Little House inspired lunch boxes, and a ’70s Panavision camera that’s similar to the type used by show. There’s even a shirtless photo of Landon setting up a shot.

The most impressive display was not the re-creation of Oleson’s Mercantile or Half Pint’s homestead, however (though plenty of people took turns taking pictures in them). It was Landon’s golf cart that was made to look like a Surrey — a Christmas gift from cast and crew in 1976.

The festival also features lots of panels with the original stars, as well a tributes to Landon (who died in 1991) as well as other Little House stars who have passed. And good news for the attendees who decide to fork over $45 for one-day admission: Besides the one she did Friday, Gilbert also has a panel planned on Sunday, as does Arngrim and Grassle.

There’s even a panel featuring Rachel Linda Greenbush and Sidney Greenbush, the twins who took turns playing Half-Pint’s little sister Carrie. In fact, the crowd on Friday was particularly giddy about the possibility of seeing actors who played wee tots in the original series.

“My brother is here!” exclaimed Gilbert about her younger sibling Jonathan, who played Nellie’s brother Willie on the show. The crowd promptly cheered. “We were just doing a group photo with the entire cast and he walked in. He made the biggest entrance of any cast member. Of course, everybody screamed. I burst into tears. Alison was inconsolable.”