St. Olaf, Minnesota
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St. Olaf, Minnesota is the surreal fictional home town of Rose Nylund of the sitcom The Golden Girls, created by Susan Harris.
Seen only twice in flashback during the show's seven season run, 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.
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.
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 customs include Pretzel Week, which is kick-started by a barn-dance, and the Deep-Root Vegetable Carnival, where townsfolk bob for yams and guess the number of potatoes in a jar.
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 Spearhuven 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.
The town, according to Rose's directions, can be reached by train from Miami to Tyler's Landing, changing at St. Gustav (St. Olaf's sister city) 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.
Real-life St. Olaf
Although there really is a township in Minnesota called St Olaf, it is unlikely the writers of The Golden Girls had it in mind as Rose's birthplace. One of the writers of the The Golden Girls was a Carleton College graduate. Carleton College is located in Northfield, Minnesota and has an intense rivalry with St. Olaf College, also in Northfield. The writers also poked fun at nearby Gustavus Adolphus College located in St. Peter, Minnesota by naming St. Olaf's sister city St. Gustav. St. Olaf is the patron saint of Norway.
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