That Silvered Reflection
A Little House on the Prairie Story
Written by: FossilQueen1984
Author's notes: I have always wondered what the show would have been like if the Olesons had been the ones who were poor, and the Ingalls were wealthy. That said, I am far more familiar with the books. I am also taking slight liberties with both the TV show and the books to fit my story, so please do not take offense that Albert and Laura are twins as are Freddie (Charles Jr. in the show) and Carrie. Also, the italicized poem is one that I wrote for this story.
Dedicated to TheWritersFool for inspiring me to write this.
Chapter Soundtrack: Main theme from The Reivers- John Williams
Chapter 1: The Wagon Train West to Walnut Grove
That silvered reflection
Smirking back at me
How I loathe it,
That sinister parallel self.
Were I rich, I would be poor.
Were I poor, I would be rich.
Sincere and kind I do not need you,
I only rely on myself, a heavy cross
To bear for the coddled and unloved.
The wagon train trails running west from Saint Paul out to the well-established towns of Walnut Grove and Winoka were well known as they were also used by any number of lumbering stagecoaches used to deliver the mail and dry goods via mail order businesses and catalogs from the industrial centers further south such and Cincinnati and Chicago. For many struggling urban families, the chance for a plot of land in the fresh air was a chance to start over. For many, instead of trawling for fish out on the great lakes or spending your days risking limbs (and lungs) unwinding streams of cloth and ribbon in the many mills or factories looming in the overbuilt industrial districts. Not to mention rubbing elbows with those immigrants. What self-respecting American would lower themselves to such a level? Unfortunately, many had no choice because of the lack of education and/or life circumstances.
Pamphlets told of the variety of jobs men could get to support their families, lumber mills, the railway, cowboys, ranchers, farm labor, etc. Of course, with all the euphemisms and glowing praise of prairie life, it was foolish to such claims at face value. Even if you were in town, you had to deal with cowboys, prostitutes, rough people, and even then the standard of living was not always high. There was dust everywhere, blazing heat waves, blizzards. The chances for crop failures, Indian raids, maimed limbs, and dying with a doctor close by were all parts of everyday life. Yet, this did not deter the determined American Pioneer spirit and in the spring of 1872, Nels Oleson replied to a legitimate advertisement for a job at the lumber mill out in Walnut Grove.
He would not be travelling alone, his wife, Helen, and their two children, Nellie and Willy, would also be joining him. It was not a decision Nels had not made lightly. He had worked as the foreman at a shoe factory before the workers had gone on strike. He had been sympathetic to their grievances, 14-hour days six days a week was far too much. As a result, he had gotten laid off. This had a bitter blow to his wife, who demanded he either get another job, or she would take the children and leave him! Nels was a kind, softhearted man but he had no backbone, so he quickly gave in to his wife demands. It was sheer luck he found the ad, and the quick turn around time had the Olesons leaving St. Paul less than a week later.
Unlike many of the other families who were grateful for the opportunity to start a new life, the opinions and attitudes of the remaining members of the Olesons truly left something to be desired. Helen Oleson was a proud, manipulative shrew who took great delight in spoiling and coddling her children (even when money was tight) and making everyone else's life a living nightmare, whether through gossip, broken promises, or even the threat of social blackmail. Thankfully, most folks saw right through this and avoided her as much as possible. To be sure, her children were not much better. Nellie, the eldest, had been treated like a princess from the moment she was born. Now that she was seven years old, she acted like a miniature tyrant, pinching and hitting other little girls whenever she did not get her way. She could whine and lie as well as her mother. She was also incredibly vain, as she had gold ringlets and was forever tossing her hair in such a way that her golden hair would ripple like wind blowing across a pond. As a result, she was insecure and greedy with who gave her attention and woe to anyone, adult or child, who crossed her and was told off by Nellie. Willy was a bit better; he was also bratty and spoiled, but he was kinder and sometimes opposed his sister. This did not happen very often though.
You would think Mrs. Oleson would have been proud and loved her children for turning out more like her than their father, but you would be wrong. Helen Oleson, at her very center, was a selfish woman, and had great difficulty loving anything other than herself. She merely saw her children and husband as pets, attachments to herself and not part of anything larger. This was incredibly sad because while her children and husband loved her very much, Helen very rarely displayed anything more than surface-level affection. It was doubtful if she ever said "I love you" to either of her children beyond toddlerhood.
It was late March when the wagon train carrying the Oleson family to Walnut Grove, and it was seen as God's blessing. After a bitterly cold winter, spring was a tad early and the lovely weather was making the journey surprisingly early. There was enough grass for the cattle to eat, the river levels were still low enough to ford easily (for the most part), and any Indians around were merely looking to trade or act as guides in exchange for food and supplies, not weapons.
By mid-April, the Oleson's were about two days away from arriving at their new homestead a little way outside Walnut Grove, and the scenery appeared to come straight out of a painting by Mary Cassatt or Degas. The wildflowers were beginning to bloom, and their lush colors stood out from the light green grass. Birds flew overhead and their sweet trilling lightened the hearts of the small family. As they were enjoying the scenery, Helen commented, "I do hope there is an orphanage in Walnut Grove, it simply won't do to have our Nellie and Willy go around doing chores like commoners, it'll be much more sensible to have an orphan do all the work." Back in St. Paul, Helen used orphans regularly as maids-of-all-work.
Nellie laughed joyously at the memories, "Oh yes, they were fun to boss around. Goodness, some of them were so uppity! That is until you beat them, isn't that right, Mother?" Tossing her ringlets so they glistened in the sunlight, she smiled snobbishly at the memories. Willy nodded in agreement, he did not think the beatings his mother had inflicted were fair, but then again, the orphans had not been doing their work, so it served them right!
The rest of the trip was uneventful, so when they reached the coach station, everyone unloaded and there was a tall, red-haired man waiting for them at the station. He asked some uniformed men to load the Oleson's belongings into his horse-drawn cart. Nodding to them, he introduced himself. "Welcome to Walnut Grove, I'm Mister Edwards, the mover. You must be the Olesons."
After everyone had been introduced to one another, they all loaded into the cart. As they drove along the road, Helen asked, "Mr. Edwards, what sort of commerce is there in Walnut Grove?" She was told the current population was about 2,500 people living within the town limits, there were two schools, one for the local children and another one for the blind. There were two saloons and three chuckwagons for all the ranchers who kept cattle to the south where the grass was hardier. Walnut Grove had two churches, one Catholic and one Methodist. There was also a doctor and dentist's office, a courthouse, a green grocer's, a dry goods store, a feed and hardware store, three different cloth and dressmaking stores, half a dozen tailors, and various other small businesses needed to keep a town running. As befitting an established town, all the stores were made of brick and glass, with slate tile roofs. The sidewalks were paved, and the streets were wide and tree lined. It helped the town was founded in the 1780's.
"That just about does it for an overview of Walnut Grove," Mr. Edwards explained as his wagon went up a slight hill and rounded a corner. There in front of them was a modest, two floored wooden house with a fenced garden. Mrs. Oleson could make out a green vegetable garden and a well-kept chicken coop. Those sorts of chores the children could do, she had done those herself as a child. It was the cooking, cleaning and other domestic chores that could be left to pathetic orphans and other distressed urchins.
Nels beamed, "What'd I tell ya, Helen? Isn't this place lovely?"
For the first time in over a month, Helen felt genuinely happy. "Yes, this is perfect."
Willy and Nellie were also excited. If there was a school, that meant they could be mean and manipulate the other children. They could not wait for their new life to start.