History Recap / LittleHouseOnThePrairieS9E2WelcomeToOlesonville

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Laura is part of the Town Council, even though women weren't allowed to run for the position (unless there were precedents for Walnut Grove). Likewise, when the schoolchildren drive through the town to give elders who want to vote a ride, Jess Moffett declines and Jenny Wilder invites his daughter to go vote and she accepts it, even though women weren't allowed to vote in Minnesota before the 19th Amendment in 1919.

* PlotHole and SeriesContinuityError: What kickstarts the plot is that the Olesons purchased Lars Hanson's old house and found a bearer's bond making them creditors to U$$14000 from the town treasury. However, Hanson's house was previously donated to become a school for blind and subsequently burned down in "May We Make them Proud", and it's unlikely that he had another house.

* StatusQuoIsGod: Did enyone believe the town would continue to be named Olesonville or that Mrs. Oleson would still have her power over the town? At the end, Nels is defeated in the election, Jess Moffet reveals he's the one who owns the debt and Harriet loses her power, and the only change is that the town now has a mayor.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: The Town Council's reaction to Mrs. Oleson's requests in exchange for not claiming the U$$14000 debt which the town owes her family thanks to her owning the pond, up to and including renaming the town Olesonville, and then Nels' reaction when Harriet starts talking about having a mayor for the town, and him running so they can hold even greater power (a distressed Nels covers his face with a pillow in despair).

* DeusExMachina: After refusing to even get off his rocking chair, Jess Moffett decides to attend the election and, just as Mrs. Oleson was about to retaliate with her pond for Nels' defeat, he winds up revealing that the pond Harriet owned was actually #2, and that ''he'' owned the #1, meaning that the debt was his and she had no power over the town. Then he generously agrees to receive a dollar a year from the debt, so that the town's economy won't be affected by it.
* ElectionDayEpisode: The episode is about the preparations for the first election for Mayor of Walnut Grove, which a power-hungry Mrs. Oleson suggests so she can have her husband run because she obtained the town's pond and will use it to force everyone to vote for him.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Although Lem [=McCary=] is elected the first Mayor of Walnut Grove, he's never seen or mentioned again, and is misteriously absent during the fateful events of "The Last Farewell" when the town is purchased by a tycoon and the townspeople decide to blow it all up, and the mayor position is never brought upon.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Laura is part of the Town Council, even though women weren't allowed to run for the position (unless there precedents for Walnut Grove). Likewise, when the schoolchildren run through the town to give elders who want to vote a ride, Jess Moffett declines and Jenny Wilder invites his daughter to go vote and she acepts it, even though women weren't allowed to vote in Minnesota before the 19th Amendment in 1919.

* DeathByDespair: Mr. [=McCrain=] asks Almanzo to drop by his old friend George Maddox's house, only to find him there dead for days, and concludes that he died of loneliness, after being abandoned by his friends for too long.
* DeusExMachina: After refusing to even get off his rocking chair, Jess Moffett decides to attend the election and, just as Mrs. Oleson was about to retaliate with her pond for the Nels' defeat, he winds up revealing that the pond Harriet owned was actually #2, and that ''he'' owned the #1, meaning that the debt was his and she had no power over the town. Then he generously agrees to receive a dollar a year from the debt, so that the town's economy won't be affected by it.

* RememberTheNewGuy: Lem [=McCary=] is said to be a long-time friend to the late Lars Hanson, but he and his fellow elder colleagues were never mentioned before.

* CoolOldGuy: Lem [=McCrain=] is a cheerful, jovial older citizen who was around when Walnut Grove was first founded by Lars Hanson and, as the people would see, a much more reasonable choice for Mayor.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Although probably unintentional, [=McCrain=]'s speech against the idea of a town belonging to a single person rather than its whole community lampshades exactly the final threat to Walnut Grove in the events of [[Recap/LittleHouseOnThePrairieS10E3TheLastFarewell "The Last Farewell"]], where a tycoon takes possession of the town's land and tries to use it to make Walnut Grove a company town.

* RememberTheNewGuy: Lem [=McCrain=] is said to be a long-time friend to the late Lars Hanson, but he and his fellow elder colleagues were never mentioned before.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Although Lem [=McCrain=] is elected the first Mayor of Walnut Grove, he's never seen or mentioned again, and is misteriously absent during the fateful events of "The Last Farewell" when the town is purchased by a tycoon and the townspeople decide to blow it all up, and the mayor position is never brought upon.

* CallBack: Although it's never mentioned, this episode has a parallel to a line from season 1's [[Recap/LittleHouseOnThePrairieS1E11TheVoiceOfTinkerJones "The Voice of Tinker Jones"]], when Mr. Kennedy speculated that Mrs. Oleson might one day try changing the town's name for "Olesonville". Guess what her third demand from the town is...

* CallBack: Although it's never mentioned, this episode has a parallel to a line from [[Recap/LittleHouseOnThePrairieS1E11TheVoiceOfTinkerJones "The Voice of Tinker Jones"]], when a man speculated that Mrs. Oleson might one day try changing the town's name for "Olesonville". Guess what her third demand from the town is...

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Although Lem [=McCrain=] is elected the first Mayor of Walnut Grove, he's never seen or mentioned again, and is misteriously absent during the fateful events of "The Last Farewell" when the town is purchased by a tycoon and the townspeople decide to blow it all up, and the mayor position os never brought upon.

* PlotHole and SeriousContinuityError: What kickstarts the plot is that the Olesons purchased Lars Hanson's old house and found a bearer's bond making them creditors to U$$14000 from the town treasury. However, Hanson's house was previously donated to become a school for blind and subsequently burned down in "May We Make them Proud", and it's unlikely that he had another house.

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: The town's council's reaction to Mrs. Oleson's requests in exchange for not claiming the U$$14000 debt which the town owes her family thanks to her owning the pond, up to and including renaming the town Olesonville, and then Nels' reaction when Harriet starts talking about having a mayor for the town, and him running so they can hold even greater power (a distressed Nels covers his face with a pillow in despair).

* CoolOldGuy: Lem [=McCrain=] is a cheerful, jovial older citizen, having been around since the town was first founded by Lars Hanson and, as the people would see, a much more reasonable choice for Mayor.
* DeathByDespair: Mr. [=McCrain=] asks Almanzo to drop by his old friend George Maddox's house, only to find him there dead for days and concludes that he died of loneliness.
* DeusExMachina: After refusing to even get off his rocking chair and deciding to attend the election, Jess Moffett winds up revealing that the pond Harriet owned was actually Number 2, and that ''he'' owned the Number 1, meaning that the debt was his and she had no power over the town. Then he generously agrees to receive a dollar a year from the debt, so that the town won't go bankrupt.
* ElectionDayEpisode: The episode is set during the preparations for the election for Mayor of Walnut Grove, which a power-hungry Mrs. Oleson suggests that they do so she can have her husband run because she obtained the town's pond and will use it to force everyone to vote for him.

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: The town's council's reaction to Mrs. Oleson's requests in exchange for not claiming the 14000 debt which the town owes her family thanks to her owning the pond, up to and including renaming the town Olesonville, and then Nels' reaction when Harriet starts talking about having a mayor for the town, and him running so they can hold even greater power (a distressed Nels covers his face with a pillow in despair).

* AuthorityInNameOnly: What the townspeople rightfully deduce that Nels will be if he gets elected for Mayor, as all of his decisions will be determined by his wife.

* ElectionDayEpisode: The episode is set during the preparations for the election for Mayor of Walnut Grove, which a power-hungry Mrs. Oleson suggests that they do after so she can have her husband run, because she obtained the town's pond and will use it to force everyone to vote for him.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: The town's council's reaction to Mrs. Oleson's requests in exchange for not claiming the 14000 debt which the town owes her family thanks to her owning the pond, up to and including renaming the town Olesonville, and then Nels' reaction when Harriet starts talking about having a mayor for the town, and him run so they can hold even greater power (a distressed Nels covers his face with a pillow in despair).

* ElectionDayEpisode: The episode is set during the preparations for the election for Mayor of Walnut Grove, which a power-hungry Mrs. Oleson wants her husband to run, because she obtained the town's pond and will use it to force everyone to vote for him.

* AuthorityInNameOnly/PuppetKing: What the townspeople rightfully deduce that Nels will be if he gets elected for Mayor, as all of his decisions will be determined by his wife.

%%* ElectionDayEpisode

* ElectionDayEpisode