The Richest Man in Walnut Grove
We have been enjoying Little House on the Prairie on Amazon Prime for the past little bit. We recently watched episode one of season two titled “The Richest Man in Walnut Grove”. It was such a moving and profound episode about working hard, doing your best, becoming self-reliant, and avoiding debt by only paying “cash on the barrel”.
Their family went through some financial challenges and weren’t able to be paid for two months worth of their hard work. As a consequence, they weren’t able to pay off some debt to the Oleson family. The two Oleson kids bullied Laura and said harsh things about her dad like how he smelled like a horse, was worthless, and couldn’t find a decent job. This resulted in hurt feelings between the families and a deep motivation to work together to pay off the debt as fast as they possibly could and only make future purchases with cash.
The most touching part for me was when Charles Ingalls found his daughter Laura crying in the barn after a rough day at school. Charles Ingalls’ response to his daughter is the reason I have grown to love this show so much and the wholesome and divine principles and messages it shares. This is the dialogue they had:
LAURA: They said awful things. Dumb things. They said that you couldn’t get a decent job and that all you could do was clean up after the animals and that you smelled bad.
CHARLES: Well… They were right 2 out of 3. And I do clean the stables. When I come home from working all day, I don’t exactly smell like a bottle of lemon verbena, now, do I? Well, do I?
LAURA: No.
CHARLES: All right, then. And as for the decent job, now, that is something else. Any job a man can do to make his way in this world is a decent job as long as he works hard at it and does his best. You know, God didn’t put sweat in a man’s body for no reason. He put it there so he could work hard, cleanse himself, and feel proud. Don’t you ever forget that. Hard-working folks only smell bad to some folks who have nothing to do but stick their noses in the air. I think you and I know who they are, don’t we?
LAURA: (nodding)
CHARLES: All right. Here’s those tablets Miss Beadle wanted you to have. You make sure you use them, young lady.
LAURA: I will.
CHARLES: Now, you know they say cleanliness is next to Godliness, so while I’m down at the creek getting a little closer to God, why don’t you go in the house and help Ma with supper?
LAURA: I will.
CHARLES: All right.
LAURA: Pa?
CHARLES: Yeah?
LAURA: I just love you so much.
Little House on the Prairie, Season 2, Episode 1 – “The Richest Man in Walnut Grove” (32:45)
The episode concludes with the family’s hard work paying off. They were able to come together and collectively work to paying off their debts as fast as they could and did so in a shorter amount of time than expected. They were able to proudly hand over the cash together as a family to pay off their debts and make other expenses with “cash on the barrel”. As they exit the store, Nels Oleson visits with Charles Ingalls on the porch of the Olseon’s Mercantile Store and praises him for having such an amazing family. He acknowledged that he has been very fortunate throughout his life with money, but stated that he thought that “Charles was the richest man in Walnut Grove”. Charles responded, “Nels, I know that I am.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley has given some great council on the importance of avoiding debt. I love these quotes and council from him on things that truly matter and the importance of avoiding debt:
Being humble means recognizing we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others.
— Gordon B. Hinckley
That which comes easily departs easily. That which comes of struggle remains.
— Gordon B. Hinckley