St. Olaf, Minnesota is the surreal fictional home town of Rose Nylund of the American television sitcom The Golden Girls, created by Susan Harris. During the show's seven year run, St. Olaf was only seen twice in flashbacks and once when the girls visited during an episode in which Rose was nominated for St Olaf's woman of the year award. However, the town was nevertheless referred to in almost every episode through Rose's protracted and comic anecdotes about its eccentric inhabitants, bizarre customs, and peculiar history.
Contents |
History
A Norwegian farming settlement in Minnesota, it was according to Rose, "founded by the man who came up with the idea of canning tuna in its own juices" who was celebrated every year with a parade of townsfolk dressed as cans of tuna and jars of mayonnaise. Its population, she related, could all be traced back to the same brother and sister, and are required by law to sign a pledge at the age of 15 to promise they will not do anything "wild, crazy and impetuous," principally to prevent people painting their houses strange colors.
Location
The town, according to Rose's directions, can be reached by train from Minneapolis to Tyler's Landing, changing at St. Gustav (St. Olaf's sister city and dubbed "The City that Never Naps") with the final leg completed by toboggan as the Express Service. You may also fly to St. Gustav, (Beaver Falls requires parachuting out of the plane above it) transfer to a train and then donkey cart service that takes 2-3 days. Additionally, a "Yokel Service" is available for those who wish to be entertained by a family of first cousins playing banjos. A notable attraction of the town is the statue of Blanche Deveraux in Mrs. Oleson Square, built after she decided not to bankrupt St. Olaf by cashing in World War II-era War Bonds issued by the town government to Rose and later purchased by Blanche. St. Olaf is still occasionally mentioned by Garrison Keillor as the neighboring town to Lake Wobegon, Minnesota in his weekly public radio show, A Prairie Home Companion. It is unclear whether or not Keillor sought permission to use the name.
Language
St. Olaf's unique vocabulary include humorous Scandinavian-sounding words to refer to very specific situations. Rose still used them on several occasions. Examples include:
- "Gerkakenaken": The exact moment when dog feces turn white
- "Tutenbobels": rear end cheeks
- "Vanskapkaka": a friendship cake
- "Hupaflagel Cake": A cake that will fall if the slightest sound is made
- "Ugelflugel": Hide and seek for adults
Local customs
- New residents were at one time welcomed by the town council with a customary gesture which involved gathering on the newcomer's front lawn and singing songs while dressed in bedsheets. The tradition was retired after it induced a heart attack in Old Man Smith from Chattanooga, the town's blacksmith, florist and "the town's only black man". After that the Town Council handed out peanut brittle instead, and passes to the local movie theater which they planned to build eventually.
- Other festivals include Pretzel Week, which is kick-started by a barn-dance; the Deep-Root Vegetable Carnival, where townsfolk bob for yams and guess the number of sweet potatoes in a jar; and Hay Day, when citizens gather to celebrate hay.
- During the Wheat Festival, Rose and her husband Charlie went dressed as a Sandwich and their daughter was conceived when they "forgot to put cheese between them".
- When people marry in St. Olaf, the bride's family fill a "Wedding Plate" with food and all the guests eat from it. Delicacies served may include Sverhoeven Krispies, an ancient Scandinavian midnight snack, which in spite of their abhorrent stench apparently taste of a combination of cheesecake, strawberries, and chocolate ice cream. When the food is finished, the couple may begin their wedding night in, according to custom, either a tent or a Best Western motel. At this point the husband should offer himself to his wife on the Wedding Plate.
- In times of drought, St. Olafians, including those who no longer live in the town such as Rose, are encouraged to refrain from sex by the St. Olaf Department of Water and Coffee.
- After weddings, the newlyweds drive in a car with fish tied to the back, and the location where they can't stand the pungent smell is the location where they will live. [1]
- The local doctor treated both the livestock and the people until he tried to neuter the Swenson twins. [2]
- Because of the confusion of facts by a grade school teacher, Mrs. Gunderson, St. Olafians celebrate the 4th of July with a thin omelet on a bun.
Real-life St. Olaf
There really is a township in Minnesota called St. Olaf, but it has been widely speculated that the origin of the fictional town comes from the fact that one of the show's writers had attended Carleton College, St. Olaf College's crosstown rival/neighbor in Northfield, MN.
