On July 4, 1776, our nation was born. The United States of America declared their independence from the British Empire, thus Independence Day was born. One hundred years later, the whole country marked the occasion with a large celebration known as the Centennial. In Walnut Grove, the folks were thinking about doing the same thing. After all, if a big city like Philadelphia can outdo themselves for such a bash, why not a small town like the Grove? At Hanson's Mill there was even more reason to celebrate: a company was building fourteen new turnpikes, which meant more work for them. Needless to say Mr. Hanson, Charles, Edwards and newcomer Yuli Pyatakov were thrilled. Yuli came to America with his family almost seven years ago and they were very happy here. His son Viktor taught him the English language nightly, so they were all getting along fine. Until one fateful day a letter arrived, stating Yuli hadn't paid his property taxes in seven years and he had until the end of the week to pay or else his house would go for public auction. How could this be? Yuli only bought his farm four months ago. However it turns out he isn't the only one. Folks like Baker Makay received a similar letter, even Charles Ingalls. His property taxes were doubled and he was being charged road assessment. Now we know where the government is getting the money to build those turnpikes. Makay was furious and wanted to protest. He and Nels talked about this state of affairs as Harriet overheard and of course felt everybody got what they voted for...until she got her own letter.
Thanks to this bombshell from the government, the folks of Walnut Grove weren't feeling very patriotic enough to hold a Centennial. And who could blame them? A few days later, the county clerk's assistant, Snell, came to town to take protests, and there was a huge line of angry people waiting to tell him a thing or two. Snell began with Yuli, who told him of his situation with the property taxes, only to learn that when one buys land, they assume the taxes. Next it was the Olesons' turn, and because Harriet couldn't keep her mouth shut, their assessment was even higher. Finally, it was Charles' turn. The bastards cleaned him out. Land of the free, my ass. Let's check in on Yuli, he went to the county clerk's office and they were going to take his land away. If you can believe this, someone bought it almost immediately after the fact! That afternoon, Mr. Hanson received word that Makay was going to build a new barn, regardless of tax, and he was calling Charles, Edwards and Yuli back to work, only he couldn't find Viktor to tell his Pa. Just then a new family rode up, asking for the Pyatakov place. They were the new owners. Charles decided to pay Yuli one last visit and sure enough, the new owners were nice enough to let them camp out on the property. Turns out Yuli, his wife Fanya, and Viktor weren't too broken up about their turn of events. Yuli is a man who looks at the glass half full and concentrated on what was available to them rather than what wasn't, giving Charles a whole new perspective. He regained his patriotism and was now ready to celebrate the Centennial. The following Sunday, the Pyatakovs dropped into church to say goodbye. When Yuli overheard Makay put down America, he made a speech on how America is a great country because of all the freedoms one can have. In Russia, they have no freedom at all and they pay way more taxes. So the Centennial was on, they hoisted their new flag atop the pole Yuli made and that night, they enjoyed the fireworks. God bless America.
Sure it can see a little hard to feel patriotic now adays because of all the crap going on in this country: bad leadership, corrupt governments, dictating laws, economic recession, scandals, and unemployment to name a few, and really nobody is trying to find a solution to these problems. Sure times were pretty hard in 1876 and even though today there are several social programs that act as cushions for people who go broke to fall back on, not much has changed. Now about this episode, I believe it was made to correspond with the Bicentennial in 1976, which I unfortunately missed because I wasn't born until 7 years later, but I'm sure it was a blast. The performances in Centennial were very convincing. Michael Landon, Victor French, Theodore Bikel, Karl Swenson, Kelly Thordsen and everyone else were fantastic. If you're a patriotic person, if you love this country, or if you don't, but you love this country but hate its leaders, then you should definitely see "Centennial". It got a little preachy towards the end, but it's still a very solid episodes.
Thanks to this bombshell from the government, the folks of Walnut Grove weren't feeling very patriotic enough to hold a Centennial. And who could blame them? A few days later, the county clerk's assistant, Snell, came to town to take protests, and there was a huge line of angry people waiting to tell him a thing or two. Snell began with Yuli, who told him of his situation with the property taxes, only to learn that when one buys land, they assume the taxes. Next it was the Olesons' turn, and because Harriet couldn't keep her mouth shut, their assessment was even higher. Finally, it was Charles' turn. The bastards cleaned him out. Land of the free, my ass. Let's check in on Yuli, he went to the county clerk's office and they were going to take his land away. If you can believe this, someone bought it almost immediately after the fact! That afternoon, Mr. Hanson received word that Makay was going to build a new barn, regardless of tax, and he was calling Charles, Edwards and Yuli back to work, only he couldn't find Viktor to tell his Pa. Just then a new family rode up, asking for the Pyatakov place. They were the new owners. Charles decided to pay Yuli one last visit and sure enough, the new owners were nice enough to let them camp out on the property. Turns out Yuli, his wife Fanya, and Viktor weren't too broken up about their turn of events. Yuli is a man who looks at the glass half full and concentrated on what was available to them rather than what wasn't, giving Charles a whole new perspective. He regained his patriotism and was now ready to celebrate the Centennial. The following Sunday, the Pyatakovs dropped into church to say goodbye. When Yuli overheard Makay put down America, he made a speech on how America is a great country because of all the freedoms one can have. In Russia, they have no freedom at all and they pay way more taxes. So the Centennial was on, they hoisted their new flag atop the pole Yuli made and that night, they enjoyed the fireworks. God bless America.
Sure it can see a little hard to feel patriotic now adays because of all the crap going on in this country: bad leadership, corrupt governments, dictating laws, economic recession, scandals, and unemployment to name a few, and really nobody is trying to find a solution to these problems. Sure times were pretty hard in 1876 and even though today there are several social programs that act as cushions for people who go broke to fall back on, not much has changed. Now about this episode, I believe it was made to correspond with the Bicentennial in 1976, which I unfortunately missed because I wasn't born until 7 years later, but I'm sure it was a blast. The performances in Centennial were very convincing. Michael Landon, Victor French, Theodore Bikel, Karl Swenson, Kelly Thordsen and everyone else were fantastic. If you're a patriotic person, if you love this country, or if you don't, but you love this country but hate its leaders, then you should definitely see "Centennial". It got a little preachy towards the end, but it's still a very solid episodes.
