Longtime local thespian, Shirley Knakmuhs — one of the Wilder Pageant’s ‘OGs’ — dies at age 96
The very first Wilder Pageant was held 47 years ago in the Walnut Grove High School gymnasium at a time when acting in the program was all but exclusive to Walnut Grove residents. Shirley Knakmuhs was one of them.
And for the next 16 annual pageant weekends, she embodied the character all Laura Ingalls Wilder fans lovingly know as Mrs. Oleson. Those close to the pageant at that time can still hear as Knakmuhs recited her lines, all the while playing the role as producer and driving force of not only getting the pageant started all those years ago, but building it.
Knakmuhs, a pageant original who could take a pie in the face with the best of them, died Oct. 18 at the age of 96.
“She was the first director, she was the driving force,” said Bill Richards, a longtime pageant staple who might not have known Knakmuhs from the very start, but quickly recognized her as a diverse talent. “She was also the driving force, along with a couple of others, for the museum. Of course, she became Mrs. Olseon … as Errol Steffen says, she was the iconic Mrs. Oleson for us.”
With a big, brassy personality, Knakmuhs fit the Mrs. Oleson bill to a ’T,’ Richards said.
“She loved the pie in the face,” he said. “I don’t know how you can love that every night!”
Knakmuhs, who made some of her own costumes, performed in an era where only a couple of microphones were used, meaning that loud, outgoing stage presence was even more important. Richards said she embraced the Mrs. Oleson character in many ways, and had a striking resemblance to the TV character.
“I think she worked for that,” Richards said. “We worked well together. She said pretty much what was on her mind — she was not nasty about it all; I thought she was a lot of fun to work with. Whatever it took to get that laugh! She set the standard for ‘over the top.’ She worked to embolden what she saw on TV.”
Steffen, who will long be known for his portrayal of Charles Ingalls, was there with Knakmuhs from the pageant’s humble beginnings.
“I’m not sure this is a compliment or not, but she was the quintessential Mrs. Oleson,” said Steffen. “It was just her natural personality. The way Mrs. Oleson was on TV — she just fit that perfectly.”
Steffen called Knakmuhs one of the early drivers of the pageant, since she worked so hard to get the pageant going.
“She was Mrs. Oleson, and Dean Fujan was Mr. Oleson — they were quite the pair,” said Steffen. “Neither one of them would back down from an argument — they had some good discussions on stage.”
In addition to setting the Mrs. Oleson standard, Knakmuhs played the part of Margaret Kennedy for four years and Maria Clark Beadle for two years. In 20232024, she was listed as a Waltzer.
Besides showing off her acting chops every summer, Knakmuhs also helped start up the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, where she at one time worked as museum director. Knakmus also was a member of the Pageant Singers, which formed in 1985. She entertained Wilder fans before performances for 10 years alongside her son, Kerry, and daughter-in-law, Becky.
Services for Knakmuhs will be at 1 p.m. on Nov. 7 at English Lutheran Church in Walnut Grove.
