MRS. OLESON & ME

 4330

Pt. 1

From my way of thinking the three best television character actors of all time, (not in any particular order), were:

Lucille Ball

Don Knotts

Katherine MacGregor

Katherine MacGregor you ask?

Among the three names I expect 99 out of 100 of my readers recognize the first two, 

...but Katherine MacGregor?

Perhaps only 5 out of 100 would recognize the foregoing moniker, but were I to say Harriet Oleson, well now...

Obviously, her TV name is much more recognizable, (as in "Little House on the Prairie").

All three of my Oscar nominations, (they all appeared in movies also), have gone on to the heavenly hall of fame, and I had no relationship, whatsoever, with the first two on the triune list. 

However, I knew Mrs. Oleson personally... well, at least from a distance.

But to start at the start

For whatever reason, maybe "just a wild hair," around 15 years ago I decided to send a fan letter to Katherine MacGregor. And for lack of any other recourse, I visited her TV daughter's social media site, and asked Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) if she had access to the mailing address of the most hateful woman in 19th century Walnut Grove, Minnesota. (Well, I didn't put it that way).

She did

(Except by this time the elderly actress had moved to 21st century Los Angeles, California).

With a modern aircraft, but without a time machine

But seriously, I wrote my first letter in which I praised Katherine's acting skills, and requested her autograph. (Of course, I was realistic enough to realize that my correspondence might not be reciprocated). 

As it fell together, I could not have guessed how well reciprocated my letter would be.

Pt. 2

Depending on how you look at it, I made one mistake. In my initial letter I referred to a distant cousin who had told me that she had participated in a local California little theater with Katherine MacGregor, and that she knew her well. (To be fair I was only acquainted with this particular cousin through social media, and had never seen her, nor actually spoken to her).

And although Katherine neglected to mention my cousin in her return postcard, she proceeded to do so in subsequent letters.

"Who is this cousin of yours?"

(and)

"I have never met your cousin."

(and)

"We definitely didn't appear on stage together."

Before it was over I had received six letters from the Walnut Grove mom & pop storekeeper; and over the course of two years. Not only so, but she also forwarded an additional letter to my relative. And the vast majority of the verbiage was dedicated to her inability to remember her.

And as you might imagine, sooner, rather than later, I thought,

"Katherine MacGregor has a couple of common traits with her TV alter ego. She is extremely obsessive, and she is vindictive."

(The first trait was, of course, more visible than the second given the nature of the written versus the spoken word).

Did I say, "Depending on how you look at it, I made one mistake?" (I thought I did). But I was speaking hypothetically. I don't look at it that way at all. In spite of the fact that Mrs. MacGregor devoted a great deal of recurring time and effort to the topic of my cousin, I was thrilled to receive so many letters from one of my three favorite television character actors!

They say, "All good things come to an end."

Well, I realized my pen pal relationship with Mrs. Oleson was over when I read the following lines...

"I'm sorry Dr. McDonald. I'm simply too old to continue corresponding with you."

And while I did not respond to her final letter, I thought,

"I'm not the one who kept it going in the first place!"

My illustrious friend lived into her 90's, and has been gone almost a decade. I have retained her letters in my autograph book, and have also scanned them to my e-files. They are among my prized possessions.

Mrs. Oleson was one of a kind. 

For all her flaws, (and don't we all have a few), I miss my friend.

by Bill McDonald, PhD