The Ingallses receive word that Grandma and Grandpa Holbrook, Caroline's parents, were on their way from Wisconsin to pay them a visit. Laura and Mary hadn't seen them since they lived in the Big Woods and were babies, and now they'd becoming to see grown girls, and ironically, Mary was with child. Charles went to greet them at the train station, and the Holbrooks' visit got off to a very tragic start. Mrs. Holbrook had passed away during the journey, as Charles was informed by the conductor as they unloaded her complimentary casket. The old man, Frederick, had pretty much lost the will to live following the death of his wife. He just sat up there in the soddy, full of self-deprecation and misery. Nothing more to live for. Albert meanwhile was assigned to read Silas Marner, a book that bored him to death, so he turned to Grandpa Holbrook for some help. Frederick regales him on how he used to cheat in school and other amusing anecdotes from days of old, and so they went for a walk together. This in turn finally brought Frederick out of his funk and got him to come eat with the family for the first time. After supper, Frederick continued to entertain the kids with stories and anecdotes from the good old days. Why, he had enough to fill a whole book... now there's an idea. After some convincing, Frederick agreed that making a remembrance book for future generations to read was an excellent idea and set to work writing it the very next day. For days and nights on end, Frederick committed to paper everything from the deepest bowels of his memory, which Charles, Caroline and the kids got an enormous kick out of. It was some funny stuff, it's just too bad we, the audience, are not allowed in on the jokes. Anyway, Charles thought it was good enough to be made into an authentic book, so he sent it off to a publisher, and lo and behold, they liked it! Frederick Holbrook's autobiography would be published and he would be remembered.
While the Ingallses celebrated the night away, Mary was experiencing insomnia and persistent hunger, which prevented Adam from getting any sleep either. She had a craving for the cold chicken downstairs, and knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep until she was satisfied, Adam went downstairs to get the bird, only to discover his wife was fast asleep upon his return. Oh well, no need to let that chicken go to waste; Charles receives Frederick's contracts from the publishers a few days later. Being unable to understand the fancy dancy writing, he took it to Eliza Jane, who pointed out that the publishers wanted the Ingallses to pay THEM to publish the book, instead of the other way around. They wanted a whole 32 simoleons to publish it! Now what? Crush the old man's spirit just as he was getting back on his feet? Charles couldn't find it in his heart to do it, so his plan was to raise the money and pay the piper. Trying to sell his plow was a no-go. The hardware guy was only willing to give him $12.50 for it. But then he took a good look at the mint condition farm tool and upped it to $13.00; Albert and Laura try their hands at panhandling, telling sob stories to get a few hand-outs. Hey, it was for a good cause. Caroline put in extra hours at the restaurant, of which Nellie was none too receptive. Well, it all literally paid off and they were able to order the books. They arrived soon after, now the only step remaining was to sell them. They showed one to Harriet at the mercantile, but the fat bitch declined after reading only two pages. Nels tried to protest, but remembered that he'd lost his cajones the day he said "I do." So it seemed hopeless...until Albert managed to con Harriet into buying the books by claiming there was a story about Caroline naked, and so she bought every copy. But when Harriet actually got to the part Albert was talking about, the incident happened when Caroline was a baby. Harriet was dismayed and Nels thought it was funny as hell. Now why would Harriet want to be reading about Caroline naked anyway? I sense some undertones here. Maybe some secret longing? Um, better not go there. On the lighter side of the news, Mary was going into labor. It's a boy! Little Adam Charles Holbrook Kendall. The Holbrook was a nod for Grandpa, so he'd have another little something in the world baring his name. You never saw a happier fellow. He went back to Wisconsin to begin his life anew, and passed away two years later, but the world would always remember Frederick Holbrook, who left a heck of a legacy.
I'm trying not to sound mean or cynical here, but the ending of this episode was pretty ironic. The baby was given Frederick's namesake so he'd have something to be remembered by through a new generation, and then the poor baby dies a few episodes later, probably in the worst way, so he wasn't around long enough for anyone to connect him to Frederick. The episode in question is "May We Make Them Proud", and I can assure you they did not. Barry Sullivan turned in an outstanding performance as Frederick Holbrook, a revered old man looking for the world to remember him after he's gone. Everybody else in the cast was terrific as well. This episode was slow to start, but once it got to the midpoint, it really took off. I guess there was a lot of exposition that needed to be disclosed before we got into the meat of the story. I recommend it to fans of the show and people who can relate to Frederick and are looking for a legacy of their own to leave behind.
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