It may be another bad crop this year, seeing as how wheat's all they got and there's no market for it. Industrialization and all that crap. However, local farmer Joseph Coulter has created a new strain of corn that will stand up against the elements and maintain its freshness. Therefore, wheat is out and corn will now be in. Their new money crop. And what a guy Coulter was, he'd get Charles and all the other farmers the seeds at cost and all he hoped to get out of it were some new friends. They don't make guys like him anymore. Next day, Coulter headed off to Minneapolis to acquire the seeds while the local farmers began preparing their fields. Looks like everything is finally going to work out for these poor families. Nothing could possibly happen that would dampen their spirits. En route home from Minneapolis, Coulter encountered a very steep grade and suddenly found his horses going much too fast. He fought for control, but it did no good as that barreled down that hill. All of a sudden the horses broke free, sending Coulter and his wagon out of control and right over the edge. Fortunately Coulter wasn't killed in the wreck, although he may wish he had because half his shipment of corn seeds were gone.
Coulter's overdue return only added to the mounting tension back home. Farmers Jorgenson and Kennedy figured Coulter either for dead or he ran off with their money. Charles, however, was confident that the cornman would cometh. Days and nights passed. No sign of Coulter. So while the rest of the men complained, Charles decided to do something about it and ride out to try and find Coulter. Little did he know that the elusive farmer was a few miles outside of Minneapolis, his legs trapped under his overturned wagon and constantly having to fend off the crows, lest they eat what little seed corn was left. His only companion was the wooden rocking horse he bought for his unborn child. So while Charles launched his one-person man hunt, hot-headed Jorgenson was at his wit's end and old Ledbetter decided Coulter's wife Trudy should share some of the blame. The potential lynch mob staked out Oleson's all day as Trudy, along with Mary and Laura, came to purchase flour. They chastised poor Mrs. Coulter, however when Mary literally put the fear of God in them, they shut up. When running from the mudslinging, Trudy suddenly collapsed beside the road. Running while pregnant isn't such a smart idea. Thankfully Doc Baker got to her in time. She'll be okay, however Trudy was an emotional wreck and needed to be watched, for fear she may do something harmful that would jeopardize her pregnancy. Caroline and the girls swore to keep an eye on her. Meanwhile, Charles finally found a lead on Coulter. His team had been picked up by a local man, Ed Stacy. He told Charles where he found them, so he raced off in the opposite direction and thankfully, he finally discovered the wreckage. The mob of crows lead him to it. He discovered the wounded, malnourished Joseph Coulter. After he recovered, he and Trudy decided to move on. They refused to stay in a place where people who claimed to be his friends would mistreat his wife and show such ingratitude for what did for them. And who could blame them? Well, Jourgenson, Ledbetter, Kennedy and the rest realized what huge jackasses they'd been and they all pitch in and plow the Coulters' field. I don't know if this caused them to reconsider moving, but whether it did or not, we never see or hear from them again.
Very tense episode, I must say. It shows how one thing can lead to another, in this case: anticipation leading to impatience, leading to fear, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and such. Ward Hawkins turned in a great script and Leo Penn did a fine job as directing. Alan Fudge was terrific was Joseph Coulter. He was really an underrated actor in his day. He even portrayed a soldier who thought he was Jesus on M*A*S*H, and should have won an Emmy. Also good were Michael Landon, Art Lund as Jourgensen, Julie Cobb as Trudy, Lew Brown as Ledbetter, and Karl Swenson as Hanson, who made a very rousing speech to the crowd of angry farmers towards the end, and I just wish that little snot hadn't interrupted him. Ted Gehrig has a nice cameo, and he will go on to play Ebenezer Sprague in Season 2. So if you like Little House, you like corn, and you like tense situations and great performances, then Money Crop is for you.
Coulter's overdue return only added to the mounting tension back home. Farmers Jorgenson and Kennedy figured Coulter either for dead or he ran off with their money. Charles, however, was confident that the cornman would cometh. Days and nights passed. No sign of Coulter. So while the rest of the men complained, Charles decided to do something about it and ride out to try and find Coulter. Little did he know that the elusive farmer was a few miles outside of Minneapolis, his legs trapped under his overturned wagon and constantly having to fend off the crows, lest they eat what little seed corn was left. His only companion was the wooden rocking horse he bought for his unborn child. So while Charles launched his one-person man hunt, hot-headed Jorgenson was at his wit's end and old Ledbetter decided Coulter's wife Trudy should share some of the blame. The potential lynch mob staked out Oleson's all day as Trudy, along with Mary and Laura, came to purchase flour. They chastised poor Mrs. Coulter, however when Mary literally put the fear of God in them, they shut up. When running from the mudslinging, Trudy suddenly collapsed beside the road. Running while pregnant isn't such a smart idea. Thankfully Doc Baker got to her in time. She'll be okay, however Trudy was an emotional wreck and needed to be watched, for fear she may do something harmful that would jeopardize her pregnancy. Caroline and the girls swore to keep an eye on her. Meanwhile, Charles finally found a lead on Coulter. His team had been picked up by a local man, Ed Stacy. He told Charles where he found them, so he raced off in the opposite direction and thankfully, he finally discovered the wreckage. The mob of crows lead him to it. He discovered the wounded, malnourished Joseph Coulter. After he recovered, he and Trudy decided to move on. They refused to stay in a place where people who claimed to be his friends would mistreat his wife and show such ingratitude for what did for them. And who could blame them? Well, Jourgenson, Ledbetter, Kennedy and the rest realized what huge jackasses they'd been and they all pitch in and plow the Coulters' field. I don't know if this caused them to reconsider moving, but whether it did or not, we never see or hear from them again.
Very tense episode, I must say. It shows how one thing can lead to another, in this case: anticipation leading to impatience, leading to fear, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and such. Ward Hawkins turned in a great script and Leo Penn did a fine job as directing. Alan Fudge was terrific was Joseph Coulter. He was really an underrated actor in his day. He even portrayed a soldier who thought he was Jesus on M*A*S*H, and should have won an Emmy. Also good were Michael Landon, Art Lund as Jourgensen, Julie Cobb as Trudy, Lew Brown as Ledbetter, and Karl Swenson as Hanson, who made a very rousing speech to the crowd of angry farmers towards the end, and I just wish that little snot hadn't interrupted him. Ted Gehrig has a nice cameo, and he will go on to play Ebenezer Sprague in Season 2. So if you like Little House, you like corn, and you like tense situations and great performances, then Money Crop is for you.
