| Please note: All the synopses, in this Season have been made by William Atkins to whom I am most grateful. Arthur Dungate, October 1999 |
"This special episode of The Waltons is dedicated to the memory of Will Geer"
Writers: Rod Peterson and Claire Whitaker. Director: Philip Leacock. Music: Alexander Courage.
"For as long as any of us could remember our house had stood in the shadow of Waltons Mountain. We counted time by its seasons, growing up and growing old, and even those of us who went away never really left it. It was a fitting place for my grandfather to be buried, and in the six months since his death we had learned to live with our grief. We never looked up at the mountain without feeling his strength. We were to need it: the year was 1941 and there was a tension in the air that threatened to pull us apart".
Part 1
John admits he still feels ‘awfully empty’ after the death of his father. When he tells Olivia that he is at a crossroads, not knowing what to do, she responds that Grandpa would say, ‘Get on with it.’
Ben shows up with a mustache, like Grandpa’s, hoping to gain more respect. John reminds him that Grandpa was respected, not due to a mustache but because he rarely made mistakes. Erin is anxious to hear from Mr. Pringle about an opening for a secretarial job with his company. As Erin and Elizabeth mop the kitchen floor Olivia answers a knock at the front door. An aggressively handsome man is looking for John Walton who owns, as he was told, one of the biggest lumber operations around. Matt Sarver offers John a lumber order but must decline because it’s too big for his operation. Sarver calls John a ‘two-bit operator’ in a day where he needs men with grit to fill big orders for the war effort. John does not like what he hears.
Erin receives a phone call from Mr. Pringle; she’s been hired. John and Olivia walk to Ike’s while relating his feelings that this may be the last chance to do something big. With the bank wanting their money from a loan that Grandpa secretly took out to pay for Grandma’s hospital bills, a large order from Sarver would help the family’s finances. At the store, Corabeth has moved the pool table, under protest from Ike, in order to open her ‘Ye Cozy Tearoom’. Ike gives Olivia a package from St. Louis. Patsy Brimmer has sent her deceased aunt’s cameo ring knowing Flossie would want Olivia to have it. Ike reminisces about the loss of Zeb and Flossie as Olivia, Corabeth and the Baldwin sisters share the somber moment.
Erin tries to sleep while Elizabeth reads with the light on. When Olivia tucks in her youngest daughter Elizabeth reminds her that next Saturday is Grandpa’s birthday. The two girls remember the flower names that Grandpa taught them. Meanwhile, John is working at his desk trying to figure out how to fill Sarver’s order. He thinks he can get together the other small lumbermen so they can work as one big co-operative.
The next morning John is approved for a bank loan, but tells Ben that he ‘had to put him and Jim Bob up as collateral’. Jason finds Zuleika Dunbar in front of Flossie Brimmer’s old boarding house. She bought the house but will need to remodel before opening. Jason knows that with her vibrant personality she will attract plenty of tenants. John and Ben’s first stop is at Murdock Lumber. Joe Murdock tells John how sad he was to hear about the passing away of Zeb and reminisces about the time he tricked them into moving lumber down the river. John says this contract is on the level and proceeds to tell Joe his plan to join forces with Murdock doing the heavy timber, the Waltons working the two-by-fours, and the others performing their specialties. Murdock eagerly signs the contract. The rest of the day the other lumberyards are signed. With night already upon them, John tells Olivia they successfully signed and sealed the contract from all the lumbermen. The next day he wants to take the bus with her to Richmond in order to sign the deal with Sarver. But Olivia is unable to go because Grandma is lonely with Grandpa’s birthday soon approaching.
John places Ben in charge while he is gone but, while driving him to the bus station, Ben runs out of gas. He’s forgotten to fill the tank. Since Mary Ellen and Erin are both working in Charlottesville, they begin looking for an apartment to share. Mrs. Boren, the landlady, shows them a room complete with compact kitchen, ironing board in a wall, and Murphy bed. Back home, the girls announce they are moving out, much to the dismay of Olivia and Grandma and much to the delight of Elizabeth who now has a room to herself. Jason urges Grandma to practice the piano as a duet, her playing the treble and he playing the bass.
At Sarver’s office John is unable to see the busy boss so tells the secretary to have Sarver call him at the Fairmont Hotel. Later John is told a tale that Mr. Sarver is away at a special meeting in Washington DC. John is frustrated by his inability to see Sarver. He looks out the window to observe a couple walking around a fountain, then stopping for a romantic kiss. He misses Olivia so calls his wife. She does not think she can get away until Grandma brings her suitcase and says ‘Go’.
The first night in their apartment Erin and Mary Ellen finish unpacking and make supper. Erin surprises her sister with a bottle of wine, compliments of Mr. Pringle. While tasting the wine they wonder what the family is doing. They are homesick but won’t admit it. At the supper table Ben gives up trying to finish the order after encountering problems. Grandma motions to Elizabeth to bring a dancing doll that Ben made for her when he was nine years old. Ben remembers the difficulty of the project, until Grandma told him, ‘Don’t give up. Figure it out.’ He realizes what Grandma had in mind and vows to complete the order.
Over the telephone in his hotel room, John finally talks with Sarver who denies he ever made an offer to him and calls John a ‘timber jockey from the sticks’. John is terribly angry when a knock it heard at the door. He finds Olivia standing in front of him and his misery melts as he kisses his wife many, many times.
Part 2
Ben rigs up Jim Bob’s car in order to power the ailing motor of the saw. He can now finish the job after help from his brother and grandparents. With the jukebox repaired Jim Bob sets it up in the living room so he, Elizabeth, and Grandma can dance to it.
John brings flowers to Sarver’s secretary and while she is distracted slips into his office. Sarver looks over the proposal and tells John to bring his wife to dinner tonight. After shopping for a new dress John looks admiringly on his wife with her new outfit and hairdo. He presents her flowers saying, ‘We have a world to beat.’ At the Sarver house, Matt, Betty Lou, and Olivia make a champagne toast to ‘John Walton’. Matt Sarver then offers John the position of Vice President in charge of Lumber Procurement. Olivia suddenly realizes they would have to relocate to Richmond.
While Corabeth serves Miss Mamie and Miss Emily in her tearoom they hear a commotion in the store. When investigating Corabeth finds Ike picking up canned goods from the floor. She belittles her husband who refuses to alter his grocery store to accommodate her business. That night at the Dew Drop Jason listens to Ike talk about how he was called a ‘clod-hopper’ by Corabeth. Ike sings the song You Always Hurt the One You Love. Corabeth walks in to ask her husband to come home so she can show him something. Ike finds the tearoom replaced with his pool table. Corabeth suggests they call the new arrangement Godsey’s Tea & Billiard Parlor. But all that Ike hears is his wife calling him ‘dear’.
John and Olivia discuss the possibilities and the good that can happen with change. On the way home driving their new car they have decided to accept the offer. Back home Ben proudly shows John the contraption that allowed him to finish the order. John compliments Ben and decides to let his maturing son use Grandpa’s tools. Inside the house Olivia likes the jukebox but insists it does not belong in the living room, but rather in a roadhouse. She gives Grandma a locket that can hold Grandpa’s picture. Elizabeth tells her mother that Grandma has decided to celebrate Grandpa’s birthday at his gravesite on the Mountain. At supper John and Olivia tell the family that they will be moving to Richmond while Ben remains behind to run the mill. No one is excited at the prospect, especially Elizabeth who insists she would rather run away than leave the Mountain. In her bedroom Olivia tells Elizabeth they all need to pull together during this time of change. They hear Grandma and Jason sing and play the song, ‘Let Me Call You Sweetheart’.
As Erin and Mary Ellen prepare for bed, Mrs. Boren knocks on the door to tell them their father is downstairs. When Erin opens the door an inebriated Mr. Pringle appears with other things on his mind. When Erin resists Mary Ellen throws him out. They return home after Erin quits her new job.
Jim Bob takes the jukebox to Zuleika hoping she will buy it for her parlor. Without money she offers him a trade. Before going to visit Grandpa on his birthday Jim Bob surprises his mother with a new icebox. On the way to the Mountain John announces that Joe Murdock asked him to head up the co-op that was so successful with the Sarver order. John and the boys plant seedlings around Grandpa’s gravesite. The others clean up the grave while Grandma sits at the spot where she first announced to her husband that she was in the family way. Olivia and John visit the gazebo he built for their twenty-fifth anniversary. John admits he still does not know what decision to make, but feels ‘Pa all over these mountains’.
Around the gravesite Elizabeth tells Grandpa about how fat her pig Jayben is getting for her 4-H project at the upcoming fair. Jim Bob mentions how nice of a spot this is and Erin says she has been thinking a lot of him and G.W. Mary Ellen mentions how John Curtis likes to hold out his hands to all sorts of people and likes to play in the dirt. Ben tells his grandfather that he is using his tools and will take good care of them. Jason plays a song on his harmonica that reminds him of Grandpa. John, Olivia, and Grandma join the children at the gravesite. Grandma says, ‘Old Man, you live in all of us.’ Olivia tells Grandpa not to sit on the porch too much with Martha Corine, Uncle Ben, and Mrs. Brimmer. John tells Grandpa that they have no business moving to Richmond and will stay on Waltons Mountain, probably forever.
"For years to come, in times of doubt and trouble, different members of our family would make the pilgrimage up the mountain to visit Grandpa. He was always there to comfort us, help us make decisions, and to give us the benefit of his continuing love"
Elizabeth: Jim Bob, are you sure the light goes out in the refridgerator when
you close the door.
Jim Bob: Sure, there's a little man down there who switches it off!
Elizabeth: Don't try to kid me Jim Bob I know better than that.
Jim Bob: OK go on down and take a look! While you're down there bring me a piece of
that left-over fried chicken.
Elizabeth: It's all gone Jim Bob.
Jim Bob: Oh come on, who ate it?
Elizabeth: The little man in the refridgerator.
Jim Bob: Goodnight Elizabeth.
Elizabeth: 'Night Jim Bob.
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); Matt Sarver (Michael
Conrad); Betty Lou Sarver (Jay W. Macintosh); Joe Murdock (Lou Frizzell); Mrs. Boren
(Peggy Rea); the Secretary (Sima Conrad); John Curtis Willard (Michael and Marshall Reed);
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"Our years of containment as a family unit were growing to a close in 1941. Everywhere there was a new mobility. New and different people found their way to Waltons Mountain to touch and shape the lives of our family, bringing customs and beliefs that were foreign to us. One such encounter had a special meaning for my brother, Jim Bob".
The Baldwin sisters drive their first cousin’s daughter Mary Francis Conover to their home for a visit. While walking up the front steps Mary Francis notices a kite flying high in the sky and comments that ‘even a kite needs a mooring, or it has no purpose’. Jim Bob is on the other end of the kite until it becomes entangled high in a tree. Mary Francis climbs the tree in order to retrieve the wayward flyer while Jim Bob follows his string to find her stuck in the branches. Jim Bob rescues her but is not very concerned about his damaged kite, now that he is standing lovestruck on a tree branch.
Ben buys supplies from Renshaw & Sons, getting help loading them into the truck by Beau Pauley. Beau needs a job so Ben hires the personable young man. He seems to be a hard worker who likes to continually sing Old Man Tucker. However, after Ben takes supper inside, Pauley sneaks several large gulps of liquor from his hidden bottle.
Mary Francis prays near the water’s shore when Olivia walks up behind her to dig ferns. Olivia comments that the Mountain is a good place to think things through. She asks, ‘Do you pray?’ whereupon Olivia answers, ‘All the time.’ The girl then asks, ‘Do you always get an answer?’ Olivia states, ‘In God’s time.’
John and Olivia bring Grandpa’s chair out in the porch so Grandma can sit and watch the fireflies at night. While Mary Ellen feeds her son Jim Bob walks down the stairs smelling like cheap perfume. To the surprise of the family he says he is going to the library. He doesn’t tell them he is going with Mary Francis to learn about kites. Jim Bob stops at Ike’s for three gallons of gas while his date inquires if a letter has arrived for her. Corabeth learns that she attends school at a Catholic convent. When Corabeth learns from Ike that Jim Bob is with her she says, ‘Jim Bob is going out with THAT Catholic girl?’
At the convent Sister Scholastica and Sister Theresa prepare to drive to Richmond in order to run an errand for Mother Superior. At the fork in the road the adventuresome Sister Scholastica takes the least traveled road that will lead them on a picturesque detour to Waltons Mountain.
Before Sunday services Corabeth warns Olivia that Mary Francis is Catholic and dating Jim Bob. Olivia sternly tells her that she already knows this information and asks Corabeth to pray for understanding.
Jim Bob and Mary Francis fly a kite using the information they gained at the library. Later, they talk about dreams. Mary Francis wonders how Jim Bob can be so sure about wanting to be a pilot. Jim Bob is obviously lovesick when he admits to Mary Francis that he thinks about her all the time.
At Ike’s store Corabeth gossips about the pending invasion of Catholics into the area. Rev. Buchanan does not agree with her assumption but states that if it should happen would welcome the additional religious competition. Suddenly the two Catholic sisters enter the store, complete with their habit, looking for the Baldwin house. While Mary Francis talks with Sister Scholastica about her indecision on becoming a nun, Sister Theresa talks with Miss Mamie and Miss Emily over a cup of tea (presumably without the recipe).
Ben and Beau go out for the evening and end up at the Dew Drop Inn. After drinking too much Beau is thrown out by Jason. Ben decides to drive Beau back to the house so he can keep an eye on his inebriated friend. In the middle of the night Beau wakes up with a craving for more alcohol. Disoriented he nearly destroys the mill looking for his bottle. Finding his stash Beau wanders away. In the morning John finds the mill a shambles and insists that Ben fire the drunk. Ben investigates Beau’s past employment history, finding he begins each job as a good worker but eventually the bottle destroys his performance. Ben gives Beau his walking papers along with a week’s wages. He eyes the money in the envelope then begins singing Old Dan Tucker while walking down the road he has traveled before.
Olivia sees Jim Bob staring off into space. He admits being in love with Mary Francis but unable to speak to her about his feelings. Olivia suggests a letter instead. In the meantime Mary Francis writes a letter to Jim Bob but Sister Scholastica feels a decision of such importance deserves the spoken word. The two meet where Mary Francis tells Jim Bob she is returning to the convent. Like his dream to be a pilot she has realized her calling. Jim Bob presents Mary Francis the letter he wrote professing his love to her. With a kiss on his cheek, Mary Francis says goodbye. With a broken heart, Jim Bob runs off by himself.
"The pain of that time stayed with Jim Bob longer than any of us would have liked. But as it is with any lost love, a healing of the heart takes place and life becomes a thing of wonder again".
Elizabeth: Ben?
Ben: Yes Elizabeth?
Elizabeth: What did you do with that hat like Beau had?
Ben: I threw it away.
Elizabeth: I wish I had it.
Ben: I thought you wanted one like Sister Scolasticus?
Elizabeth: That wasn't a hat, that was a habit.
Ben: Yes that's what Beau had - a bad one.....
Elizabeth: Goodnight Ben.
Ben: Goodnight Elizabeth.
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards): Sister Scholastica
(Jeanette Nolan); Sister Theresa (Mitzi Hoag); Beau Pauley (Bruce French); Mary Francis
Conover (Stacey Nelkin); Rev. Hank Buchanan (Peter Fox); John-Curtis Willard (Michael and
Marshall Reed).
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"I well remember my grandfather speaking of the two ideals he felt so much a part of the human spirit. They were, he said, love and loyalty. During that Autumn of 1941 his ideals were to be well tested by those people fate and a changing times would return to Waltons Mountain. It was a time when our brother Jason most keenly felt the loss of our grandfather".
At the courthouse Jason listens to the case of ‘Boone Walton versus the People of the United States of America’. The judge has found Boone guilty of selling bootleg whiskey when Jason speaks on behalf of the convict. Jason tells the judge that Boone’s life in the mountains is the only one he has known. When the government took it away he was unable to adapt to a new life. Jason is prepared to pay the fine and place him in his custody. In response Boone’s sentence is suspended and he is fined one hundred dollars. Jason takes him home, promising him work at the new co-op headed by John. On the way home Boone sees a billboard stating ‘The Home of Progress – Jefferson County’ and wonders whose progress it is for.
At the residence of the Baldwin sisters chaos is rampant as Miss Mamie and Miss Emily search for something misplaced. Ike who brings their groceries interrupts them. They tell him that a tragedy has befallen them but can not tell him or anybody about it. At the Godsey’s store Corabeth sees Daisy Garner with a young girl stop her car in front of the gas pumps. She wonders why John-Boy and her never married.
Boone joins the men at the mill doing contract work for the U.S. government, the same government that forced him off his land. Inside the house Mary Ellen defends Boone while Olivia and Grandpa take the opposite side. The women are in a fit after talking about Boone when Elizabeth sees Daisy and Melissa Garner walking up to the house. Daisy is returning the engagement ring John-Boy gave her after their correspondence declined since he moved to London. She is moving to New York City after her mother recently passed away. Daisy asks for Olivia’s forgiveness but Olivia says it is not for her to forgive. Although she resents Daisy for not being truthful to John-Boy she invites them to stay the night. Over dessert on picnic tables Boone talks about his days of moonshining. The children have little interest in his tales but Daisy says she likes his stories. Boone returns the compliment saying she must be a fine dancer. Later in the shed Jason sneaks Boone a jug that Grandpa had hid for special people, saying it was a gift from friends. Boone says he would like to meet Zeb’s friends that made the Recipe.
Boone talks with Easter, saying that one bad thing about living a long time is seeing many friends and family die. He craves to see Zeb again, a man who unlike him had the gift of words. Grandma smiles at his words. But the next day Boone is missing. Jason finds him building a still on Waltons Mountain, jeopardizing the family with his illegal activity. Boone rationalizes that he is constructing the still so he can pass his knowledge to the younger Waltons. Jason convinces him instead to go rabbit hunting. While tracking Boone relates the story as to why he sings a particular song. Fifty-three years ago Boone fell in love and married Rose Jameson. They settled in Blue Rock Hollow where their son was born the next year. Sadly, Boone relates how a flood in the spring of 1888 ‘took my home, took my son, took my Rose’.
After convincing Daisy to stay on the Mountain, Mary Ellen settles her and Melissa into her empty house. They talk about the war and their wait for John-Boy and Curt to come home. At Ike’s store Elizabeth tells Corabeth that Melissa is Daisy’s little girl. When Corabeth asks about her husband, Elizabeth says she has never been married. Corabeth insists that Aimee is not to associate with a ‘love child’ so that her daughter is not subjected to ’the tawdry side of life’.
Jason and Boone visit the Baldwin sisters but find them distraught after losing the recipe to the Recipe. Boone comes to their rescue by restoring the proper mix of ingredients. Miss Mamie and Miss Emily reward him with more of the Recipe. After supper the family wonders where Jason and Boone have gone. When Elizabeth asks her mother what is a ‘love child’, the family rallies around Daisy. Then the two men return home drunk and loudly singing. John tells Boone he does not appreciate him getting his son drunk. The next day Jason finds Boone ready to shotgun the billboard that announces new prosperity. Unable to convince him otherwise, Boone blasts the billboard and walks away. Jason whispers, ‘I trusted you’.
Olivia and Daisy walk into the Godsey’s store to convince Corabeth it is unfair to shut out Melissa for a terrible mistake her mother made. Olivia reminds Corabeth that when she and Ike adopted Aimee it did not matter to them what was included in her past. Corabeth reconsiders her feelings and welcomes Daisy and Melissa into the community.
As Jason prepares to leave for the Dew Drop Inn and John and Daisy sit on the front porch, Boone walks up to give Jason the hundred dollars he owes. Boone asks for his freedom and a twenty-four hour head start so he can lose himself in the Blue Ridge where no one will be able to find him. Jason agrees. Daisy kisses Boone on the cheek telling him he is a ‘very special man’. Removing his hat in respect Boone tells Daisy, ‘If you are ever in the mountains and come on the wild rose, pick it for me.’
"The Law never did catch Boone, from time to time he would slip back to visit us. He was always loved and respected as the last Walton who's ways were swiftly vanishing and who's secrets were revealed only to Jason. Boone Walton was killed by a truck while crossing the highway one dark night. He was 87 years old, and was carrying 2 gallons of moonshine".
Jason (singing): While sailing on the ocean, while sailing on the deep, I'll
think of handsome Moses, just as I go to sleep.
John: Goodnight Jason.
Jason: Goodnight Daddy.
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); Aimee Godsey (Rachel
Longaker); Miss Mamie Baldwin (Helen Kleeb); Miss Emily Baldwin (Mary Jackson); Boone
Walton (Morgan Woodward); The Judge (Ford Rainey); Daisy Garner (Deirdre Lenihan); Melissa
Garner (Brandi Tucker);
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
Back to the top"The war in Europe brought to Waltons Mountain a renewed awareness of the frailty of human freedom. We realised that an ocean away people were fighting and dying for independence. In the Fall of 1941 our family was to witness another fight for freedom. It was a fight that would reveal to all of us a new kind of courage"
Olivia is concerned about Mary Ellen overworking herself while studying for her registered nursing degree. Mary Ellen has entered the accelerated program in order to more quickly join Curt.
Sissy is awakened by one of Yancy's chickens pecking her toes. She is upset at his animals freely roaming the house. Sissy tells her husband that she is leaving him, tired of tripping over Tiger. At the Dew Drop Inn Yancy confesses his problem to Ben and Jason. They try to convince Yancy that he is better off a bachelor.
David Spencer awakens Mary Ellen after she has fallen asleep in the hospital's lounge. A nurse suggests she take amphetamines to help stay awake, but Mary Ellen doesn't like the idea. Soon she changes her mind, asking David to give her a few days' supply of pep pills.
Mary Ellen takes her first pill just as Elizabeth enters the kitchen. Several days later, Mary Ellen drops off John Curtis to Daisy Garner, who is occupying the Willard house, so she can take her test. Afterwards, she tells David she is confident about passing. With half the pills remaining, Mary Ellen decides to save them in order to study for her state exams in two weeks. Curt returns on leave to tell his wife that he will not be able to attend his wife's graduation ceremony. When Mary Ellen becomes upset Curt says she must concentrate on her state exams so she can successfully complete against other nurses in order to join him.
Ike presents Yancy with a letter from Sissy. He finds that his estranged wife is going to 'buy herself a divorce'. Ike informs Yancy that he will probably be forced to pay alimony if she gets a high-priced lawyer.
Mary Ellen asks David for another two-week supply of pep pills along with some sedatives. Uneasy about how he got himself into this predicament, David insists this will be the last time.
In the middle of the night Jason can not understand how Mary Ellen can be so wide-awake. In the morning, while Jason is still trying to wake up, Mary Ellen bounces down the steps in high spirits. However, when Erin asks to borrow twenty-five cents, Mary Ellen becomes angry when Erin searches her purse. Yancy visits John hoping to convince him to help with his legal defense. But John is unaware of the legal terms and Ben is too busy to help. Elizabeth informs Yancy that she listens to Mr. District Attorney on the radio and offers her serves as lawyer. Her first act is to visit the Baldwin sisters, whose Papa was a lawyer.
Jason sets up a swing for Daisy's daughter Melissa when Mary Ellen is seen driving up the street. She suddenly becomes dizzy and runs into a tree. She downplays the incident saying nothing is wrong. Daisy confides in Jason that she thinks Mary Ellen is taking pills. Jason doesn't think his sister would do such a thing. However, later Jason asks Mary Ellen if she is taking pills. She admits she is, but will stop once the exam is finished. Jason warns her not to lose her strong-will.
Mary Ellen puts John Curtis to bed after taking one of her sedatives. Later, Olivia returns home to find John Curtis screaming while Mary Ellen sleeps only a few feet away. She convinces her daughter that John Curtis would be better in her bedroom, until the exam is over.
Elizabeth asks Miss Mamie and Miss Emily if their father ever handled divorce cases. They say his sole case was Thomas Brook Roberts who stole a horse in Pennsylvania. His wife was granted a divorce since he was convicted of stealing, and she was granted all the livestock. She decides to look for a loophole.
John and Olivia worry about their daughter's behavior. John prepares to leave for a business trip to see Matt Sarver. Later Elizabeth tells her mother that she is trying to make divorce look terrible to Yancy and Sissy so they will want to get back together.
Mary Ellen finishes studying the night before her exam. She learns, however, that she has no more sedatives. Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, Mary Ellen drives to her house, hoping to find pills. She breaks into the cabinet upon finding the sedatives locked inside. When Daisy hears commotion she asks Mary Ellen if she is okay. Upset at her interference, Mary Ellen slams the door in her face. Suddenly she realizes what is happening to her. She cries out to Daisy. Jason drives her home where she confesses to her mother. Olivia and Jason stay with her while she comes off the drugs. To help her sleep Olivia reads from the book Florence Nightingale that John-Boy gave her when she entered nursing school. Mary Ellen finally dozes off. In the morning John returns to find them asleep in the living room.
Yancy wakes up to find Sissy at the door, returning for her property. He is relieved to find that she doesn't want his pets. Sissy says they will be unable to divorce unless they can find grounds for divorce. They talk about their happy dating days as Elizabeth arrives. She announces that if Sissy leaves for two years, they can divorce by reason of desertion. Sissy kisses Yancy and he kisses her back. She doesn't leave.
Mary Ellen has taken her state exams and now waits for the results. While gardening with her mother, John arrives with the letter. Mary Ellen has passed the test certifying her as a registered nurse. Mary Ellen is unsure if Curt will attend, since he has not responded to her letter of confession. But at the ceremony John brings Curt who apologises for putting pressure on her. He also announces he is being transferred to Pearl Harbor. They can still be together, halfway around the world. When Mary Ellen's name is announced to receive her diploma Curt is brought to the stage to place her nurse's hat upon her head.
"On that day we were not only aware of Mary Ellen's victory in becoming a nurse, but also of a greater victory that she had won. We knew that she had found her strength again, and with it had come a bright re-discovery of freedom".
Elizabeth: I think I'll be a lawyer when I grow up!
Jason: Not a divorce lawyer I hope.
Elizabeth: I might be pretty good at it. I saved Yancy's marriage! Besides, I think
lawyers must have lots of fun.
Mary Ellen: Goodnight Elizabeth!
Elizabeth: They're always writing about the 'party of the first party, and the
party of the second party, and the -'
John: The party's over! Goodnight Elizabeth!
Elizabeth: Daddy, I think it'd be more lawyer-like to say - 'the case is closed'.
Olivia and John: Goodnight Elizabeth.
Elizabeth: Goodnight everyone.
Also appearing -
Ike Godsey (Joe Conley); Corabeth Godsey (Ronnie Claire Edwards); Miss Mamie Baldwin
(Helen Kleeb); Miss Emily Baldwin (Mary Jackson); Yancy Tucker (Robert Donner); Sissy
(Cissy Wellman); David Spencer (Christopher Woods); Curt Willard (Tom Bower); John Curtis
(Marshall and Michael Reed); Daisy Garner (Deirdre Lenihan); Melissa Garner (Brandi
Tucker); Nancy (Alley Mills); the Superintendent (Suzanne DeLapp).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"The approach of a birthday in our family has always been a time of excitement and joy. But there was one notable exception. On Elizabeth's thirteenth birthday it seemed that she wasn't quite sure whether she wanted the clock to turn forward or backward"
Elizabeth is overwhelmed with the conflict of staying a little girl and growing into a woman. While on the front porch the family discusses her moods. Olivia says Elizabeth has been the most mysterious of all her children. As Elizabeth secretly listens, a vase sitting above the fireplace falls to the floor. Without an explanation, John and Olivia look to Elizabeth who is unaware how it broke.
Jason auditions for a radio station that is looking for someone trustworthy to appeal to all ages. They decide on a format where Jason provides advice for the lovelorn. Jason begins his first broadcast saying, ‘Good evening everyone, this is your Cousin George, the man you turn to when you hit a bump on the rocky road of love.’ The family listens to the program with John saying, 'It’s corny enough to be a hit'. When Elizabeth asks what Jason means by ‘forbidden love’ the family laughs at her. Suddenly the telephone rings but no one is there. Elizabeth then walks upstairs where her hair is blown and a picture frame suddenly drops down. When Elizabeth looks into the mirror her image mysteriously becomes clouded over.
Corabeth is also listening to Cousin George on the radio. Afterwards she writes a letter asking help for a ‘lady of breeding’ to improve her husband in the area of culture. After the broadcast Erin runs downstairs to congratulate Jason. Jason says that if the series is a success he will be on the radio three times a week but otherwise will be out a job. Alone in the bedroom Elizabeth again feels the wind blow her hair. Then she sees a stone fly through the open window and land on the floor. When she approaches, it suddenly skids across the floor. Elizabeth screams and the family rushes to her aid. But no stone is found on the floor. In the morning John finds rocks outside Elizabeth’s window and a repairman is summoned to check the telephone. There is nothing wrong but, again, the telephone rings with no one answering.
Jason receives good response from the listeners and is hired by the radio station. Jason learns, however, that he will be answering the letters and writing his own scripts. Without much experience in solving problems of the heart Jason turns to Erin and Mary Ellen for help.
John approaches Elizabeth trying to understand what is bothering her. She admits not knowing who she is anymore. He helps to calm her fears about entering puberty. But as the family listens to Cousin George, Ben mentions that when Elizabeth enters the room static overcomes the radio, and clears up when she leaves. Jason reads ‘Dear Frustrated’ and suggests she expose her husband to poetry and the better things in life. As its author, Corabeth begins playing classical music in the store. She also explains to Ike that the cause of Elizabeth’s problems could be a poltergeist, a mischievous ghost that appears when children are present. Ike tells Olivia, Mary Ellen, and Elizabeth about the belief in ghosts and spirits.
Elizabeth decides to have a party for her thirteenth birthday. Olivia suggests an overnight party on the night before her birthday. While signing up for a music appreciation class, Ike runs into Jason at the Kleinberg Conservatory of Music. Not knowing about Jason’s job, Ike badmouths Cousin George for suggesting he improve himself. Jason recommends that he just refuse what Corabeth wants him to do. Ike says concessions are often necessary to make a marriage work.
Olivia returns from the library after selecting books on poltergeist. Research suggests that strange things often happen to twelve to fourteen year old children with fearfulness about growing up. As Elizabeth attempts to sleep she sees her Raggedy Ann doll change positions. She is scared and hides under the covers.
Corabeth forces Ike to read Romeo and Juliet but, luckily, it becomes time to listen to Cousin George. On this show, however, Jason is unsure about his advice. He finally admits he’s just a country boy with hardly any experience in love. His program is cancelled but the family is proud he admitted his shortcoming and Ike returns to his Detective magazine.
At the party Olivia and John remain upstairs while Elizabeth, Aimee, and the other girls play games in the living room. Aimee decides to tell a ghost story but Elizabeth does not like haunted houses. Before Aimee can begin the lights go out unexpectedly. Then the piano begins to play by itself, the wind blows inside the house, and a chair floats in the air. When the girls scream the family run downstairs. The men try to close the windows while the women calm the girls. Olivia tells Elizabeth only she can stop what is happening by releasing her emotions. She finally admits being scared of growing up and seeing her parents grow old and die. When Olivia reassures her they will be alive for a long time, the house returns to normal.
"Elizabeth's birthday came and went, and none of the strange things that had been happening ever happened again. Were there really poltergeists in the house? Scientists are still looking for answers to questions like that. All we know is that we never found any other explanation"
Jim Bob: Dear Cousin George, I'm goin' to be married next week.
Curt: Congratulations.
Jim Bob: My bride's mother wants to come along on the honeymoon.
Jason: Better find out first if she snores.
Erin: Oh PS, I forgot to mention I'm a midget in a circus, and the man who proposed
to me is the giant. Signed Undecided.
Jason: Goodnight Undecided....
Erin: Goodnight Cousin George!
Elizabeth: Goodnight everyone.
(everyone): Goodnight Elizabeth.
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); Aimee Godsey (Rachel
Longaker); Mr. Larkin (Russ Marin); Denby (Patrick Gorman); Telephone repairman (John
Perryman); First girl (Kathy Ritzke); Second girl (Kelly Louise Lynn); John Curtis
(Michael and Marshall Reed);
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Note:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"In the Fall of 1941 the war raging in Europe still seemed remote to most people on Waltons Mountain. But its horrors were growing every day. Occasionally someone would bring the war home to our family by touching our lives in a personal and disturbing way".
Erin and Jason drive up to the long vacant Pembroke house, finding music emanating from inside. Jason knows the Pembroke’s are dead except for a son studying art in Europe. Erin feels eerie about the house.
Corabeth hangs a sign inside the store ‘Church Bazaar Collection Headquarters’ while Erin places an order from Ike. Just after Erin speaks about how boring everything has recently been a handsome stranger enters. He continues to stare at Erin until she finally turns away. Ike learns from the name on his check that the man is Derek Pembroke. He mentions having recently returned from Paris. When Corabeth attempts to persuade the artist to attend a get-together he firmly insists he is here to work, not to socialize.
At the Dew Drop Inn Jason plays to an empty bar, except for Pembroke who is deep in thought. Jason strikes up a conversation with the man who asks the piano player to play any French song. Pembroke sings along but when Jason asks what the words mean, Pembroke painfully remarks, ‘The pleasure of love lasts only a moment. The pain of love lasts for a lifetime.’ The man quickly leaves, distraught by his thoughts.
The next day Erin stumbles across Pembroke painting in the woods. He sees the light from the sun fall onto Erin’s hair and is inspired to paint her portrait. He expresses to Erin, ‘Some people paint beauty, while others are simply beautiful.’ Suddenly the man declares that he smells decay in the clearing and states that ‘Paris is dead, we must forget Paris’. (Is he looking at Erin a few steps away or someone far away?)
When Erin confides to her mother that she is tired of doing the same thing day-in and day-out, Olivia compares her to a Christmas cactus that must be kept in the dark before blooming into a thing of beauty. She poses that her life may be in a stage of darkness waiting for a time to burst into brightness.
Elizabeth and Jim Bob are unsuccessful at trapping a wild bird so settle for a store-bought canary as a pet for Grandma. They name the bird ‘Chirpie’ but, unlike its name, it will not sing despite their many attempts to teach the bird to sing from music on the radio.
Pembroke enters the store requesting more supplies. Corabeth informs him that his check was returned with ‘Insufficient Funds’. The artist shows Corabeth several of his paintings hoping to use them as collateral for credit. Corabeth finds the paintings to be of a ‘brute strength’ that shows the ‘ugliness of war’. She agrees to his proposal stating she will be now open the Godsey Art Gallery featuring the works of their local Parisian artist. When Erin walks into the store she is drawn to the emotion contained within the paintings. Pembroke asks Erin to pose for him, inviting her to his house that night. Erin considers the possibility of seeing the attractive but moody man. Walking to his house she finds it lit by a multitude of candles revealing walls covered by the horrors of war. Pembroke needs her to pose so he can paint her face onto a vacant portion of the wall. Approaching Erin, he kisses her but voices the name Gabrielle. Confused, Erin runs home.
Ike and Corabeth ask Olivia and Mary Ellen to evaluate Pembroke’s paintings. Olivia knows he definitely has artistic talent but Mary Ellen says she would not want those paintings of war hanging in her house. Later, Erin admits to Mary Ellen that she feels in love with Derek, but also feels like running away from him. Mary Ellen thinks that true love would not make her think that way.
Jason convinces Grandma to practice her singing and playing the piano with him. They sing Carry Me Back to Old Virginia. Chirpie finally sings along with the duo much to their delight.
After a typing class at the Rockfish Business School is cancelled, Pembroke forcibly takes Erin to his house, repeatedly calling her Gabrielle and saying he will not lose her again. While at the psycho ward of the hospital, Mary Ellen sees a painting in an office that looks familiar. The doctor says it is from a former patient whom he considers dangerous after refusing treatment. Mary Ellen learns the man’s name is Derek Pembroke. Returning home Mary Ellen finds Erin missing. She relates to John the story just told to her. John decides to search for Erin at Pembroke’s house. While Pembroke paints he has trouble visualizing her face. He suddenly recounts the day he tried to save paintings in the Louvre in Paris while airplanes dropped bombs all around. Penbroke breaks down remembering how Gabrielle died in his arms. Erin tries to comfort him while John and Mary Ellen enter the house. The crying man asks to be taken to a doctor-friend.
"Derek recovered from his breakdown and returned to France to serve with the underground. The old mansion was boarded up, and in time Erin's portrait faded along with her memories of the young artist who had painted it".
John: 'Liv, what ever happened to that old bathrobe of mine?
Olivia: I donated it to the Church Bazaar.
John: Oh it was just gettin' comfortable.
Olivia: No wonder, you've been wearin' it for fifteen years.
John: Any chance of gettin' it back?
Olivia: I'll buy you a new one tomorrow.
John: Ah, new job, new car, new bathrobe. Maybe I'd better start lookin' for a new
wife....
(silence......)
John: 'Liv?
Olivia: Take your hands off me!
'Liv I was just jokin'.....
Olivia: If you want a new wife you just go out and find one and if you were joking
it wasn't my idea of a very good joke and if you want that silly old bathrobe you go down
to the church and get it yourself!<
John: Oh come on - mmmmm.
(kisses)
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Ronnie Claire Edwards); Derek Pembroke (Jared Martin); the Doctor
(Don Dalesandro); the student (Lucia Stalser); the singer (Janine Franklin);
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Note:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"In the Autumn of 1941 the harsher realities of the world beyond Jefferson County seemed remote from the ebb and flow of our daily lives. Although our isolation would soon be shattered, my family, particularly my sister Elizabeth, would find the small joys and sorrows of life on Waltons Mountain, reality enough".
Jim Bob tries to teach Elizabeth how to drive after John lays down the law that she can drive only with a responsible adult and only on the back roads. It does not take long for Jim Bob to lose his temper when Elizabeth does things that to him are obviously wrong. Elizabeth walks home after he calls her a menace.
Corabeth proclaims she would like to transform the mercantile into a glamorous store similar to the one in Doe Hill. She then notices Aimee and Elizabeth wearing white shirts and jeans, insisting that her daughter change into something more appropriate in order to cultivate the tastes of a lady. Elizabeth thinks she is going through ‘the change’ like her mother last year. Corabeth suddenly returns to the past realizing how much of her youth was wasted. She leaves to the back room where she takes a drink from a hidden liquor bottle to calm her nerves. Later, Ike returns home to find Aimee cooking supper, saying her mother is not feeling well. When Ike brings his ailing wife a supper tray Corabeth glides into the room declaring she will become an interior decorator. Ike is not prepared to deal with his flighty wife and quickly leaves for his civil defense meeting. Disappointed with her husband’s lack of interest Corabeth returns to her bottle.
Ben attempts his hand at teaching Elizabeth how to drive. Likewise, he has little patience at her driving abilities. He apologizes for being short-tempered before dropping Elizabeth off at the store. Corabeth and Aimee are off to the Baldwin sisters in order to propose that she decorate their house. The Baldwin sisters serve cookies and tea to Corabeth and Aimee, offering Corabeth a touch of the Recipe along with the hot drink. For the first time, she accepts. When Corabeth states that the community needs an interior decorator, the Baldwin sisters mistakenly believe she means they should assume the role. When Miss Mamie and Miss Emily begin talking to themselves about their new responsibilities, Corabeth becomes incensed at their incorrect assumption. She asks for more of the Recipe, this time without the tea.
Jason continues his attempt to teach Elizabeth how to drive but is also unsuccessful after she drives the car into the lake. Outside the Baldwins’ house Elizabeth tells Aimee that she has run out of teachers. When Aimee tells the Baldwin sisters that Elizabeth has been taking driving lessons, they allow her to drive them to the Walton’s house. Miss Mamie and Miss Emily are much better than the boys in their approach to teaching Elizabeth how to drive. The trip turns out fine except that Elizabeth stops the car after driving through the fence, inside the vegetable garden. John scolds his youngest daughter, saying her driving lessons are over. Miss Emily mentions that Corabeth now intends to open a dancing school in Rockfish.
Ike and Corabeth argue about her impetuous behavior at suddenly signing a contract for her new business. Corabeth finally screams, ‘I am drowning in this Virginia backwater!’ The next day Corabeth asks John to enlarge the dressing room and build a partition for a waiting room in the building rented for her dance studio. When Olivia and John visit the studio they find Ike upset with Corabeth about the costs of opening the business. Ike confesses to John that he is afraid he will either go bankrupt or crazy before all of this is over. John offers the cost of the lumber in exchange for Elizabeth’s dance lessons and will forego the cost of labor. Corabeth confides in Olivia that Ike is very difficult to live with and is not very romantic. Back at the house, John tells Olivia that he thinks Corabeth has a drinking problem because he saw an empty liquor bottle at the studio. Olivia thinks it unlikely but did notice her breath smelled funny.
Corabeth teaches a class of three young girls, afterwards drinking another glass of liquor to calm her nerves. After teaching a class for older children a mother removes her daughter saying she does not believe Corabeth knows anything about dancing. Corabeth takes several drinks after this encounter. Later, Elizabeth and Aimee find her alone and disoriented. Corabeth realizes her venture is a failure and returns to her memories of childhood at Doe Hill. She backs off from the mirror asking, ‘Oh Moma, where is that tall, young man you said would come and find me? Corabeth is obviously inebriated while driving home, causing her to fall asleep and run off the road. Elizabeth is then forced to drive the rest of the way. John and Ike wait for them and, when they finally arrive, question them as to why Elizabeth is at the wheel. Elizabeth says that Corabeth was not feeling well, but Aimee tells the truth, her mother was drunk, passed out, and drove off the road. Privately Corabeth asks John to help escape her situation. John relates a story about a friend who tried to escape the war by being drunk weeks at a time. But when soldiers were almost killed because of the drinking, the friend was forced to get help. John suggests that Corabeth get help for her alcoholism. John then brings in Aimee to show that her daughter still loves her. Now alone, Ike comforts his wife by promising he will help overcome her problems.
"For Corabeth Godsey it was a battle that would last a lifetime, with a few spectacular setbacks before her ultimate success. The weeks and months ahead would sweep us all into the world war we so feared, and for Corabeth, they would hold an extra measure of terror. Her new-found strength would soon be tested, as would our own, against the fury of a greater enemy".
Corabeth: I never noticed before - how tall you really are, Mr Godsey.
(Elizabeth laughs).
Olivia: Are you girls still awake?
Elizabeth: We can't sleep.
Olivia: Try harder.
(other girl): We're trying to decide what color to paint Jim Bob's car when he goes
into the Air Corps.
Olivia: You've got plenty of time to decide now get some sleep.
>Elizabeth: Goodnight.
(other girl): Goodnight.
Jim Bob: What you say about my car?
Olivia: Go to sleep!
Jim Bob: Here wait a minute...
(the girls) :Goodnight Jim Bob....
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); Aimee Godsey (Rachel
Longaker); the Baldwin sisters (Mary Jackson and Helen Kleeb); John Curtis Willard
(Michael and Marshall Reed); the Woman (Bronia Wheeler).
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Notes:
Synopsis by William Atkins)
"In my family one of the earliest truths we learned was the inevitability of change. We saw this in the march of the seasons across the land, and in the sometimes bewildering growth of our brothers and sisters. As World War Two edged closer to us all, the patterns of change accelerated, carrying some of us far from home, bringing others back to the mountain with painful consequences".
John is traveling as his job takes him away from Walton’s Mountain. Around the breakfast table the talk revolves around the old factory that J.D. Pickett, Jr. has converted to a defense plant. Later in the day Olivia finds Verdie Foster waiting at Ike’s store for a letter from her daughter Easter. She is living in New York City working as a successful businesswoman. Ike gives Olivia a letter from John-Boy who is north of England but Verdie receives back her letter returned as ‘moved, address unknown’. Ike proudly displays his new honor roll that shows the names of men from Walton’s Mountain currently in the military. Verdie notices the colored section is separate and at the bottom of the roll. She is disappointed at the arrangement but does not mention her displeasure. Olivia is joining Corabeth and other women to roll bandages for the war effort. Corabeth suggests to Verdie that the colored women could form their own Ladies Auxiliary, but Verdie states they are already doing their part.
Jason and Erin find many local people waiting for jobs at the Pickett plant. J.D. tells Erin to show up for work tomorrow at 7 am. On the way home they are surprised to find Easter walking on the side of the road carrying her baby daughter, Harriet. Erin praises Easter for her ambition and success in the business world, but she reacts by saying, ‘Some of the dumbest people I know have college degrees.’ Driving her home, Verdie is surprised to see her daughter but is then stunned to hear Easter is home to stay. After settling into the house Easter joins her mother for a trip to Ike’s store. Conversation turns sour, however, when Corabeth mentions the squalor present in Harlem. Easter reacts harshly to Corabeth’s words as she speaks of the conflicts and struggles to succeed in a white-dominated world. Verdie is embarrassed by her daughter’s outburst upon seeing the segregated list of white and colored military men on the honor roll.
Erin has problems adapting to the working conditions at Pickett’s. The cigar smoke, noise, and unorganized manner of the assembly line cause her aggravation until she finally quits. At home the family discuss all the people that have already quit at the Pickett plant because of the poor working conditions. Erin wants to introduce Easter to J.D. so she can place the right people into the right jobs.
Verdi is upset with her daughter and wants to know why she is so bitter. Easter finally admits that all of her years in New York City were not what she wrote about in her letters. Even though her college professor said she was brilliant in the area of personnel management and that companies would eagerly need her expertise, no company hired her. Easter found that the way of business did not permit a black woman to possess the power to hire and fire white people. Verdie says, ‘All of these years I’ve been believing a lie.’ Easter found that blacks, whites, and even her husband did not want an educated black woman.
Josh admits to his mother that he is worried because she is not happy. Verdie does not want to ruin his life like she did with Easter’s life. But Josh says he trusts his Moma. In the morning Verdie says to Easter that she is sorry about what happened. Erin arrives to ask Easter to accompany her to the Pickett plant. They attempt to convince J.D. that he needs Easter’s help but he is unconvinced that a black woman can help.
Olivia visits Verdie while she is taking down the laundry from the line. Knowing that Easter has not been a mother very long, Olivia believes that given time Easter will realize, ‘We all dream of better things for our children.’ Later, Verdie tells her daughter that her dream was a good dream and that it still is a good dream. When times were difficult their ancestors fought and got back up when beaten down. Verdie pleads with her daughter to, ‘Get back in the fight!’
Back at the Pickett plant Verdie presents J.D. with her credentials and references. Easter tells J.D. that he has the chance of a lifetime but is losing it by not being able to efficiently organize his workers. J.D. finally admits he has been having problems. Easter says she will work for two weeks and if she has not solved his problems will quit without pay. But if not hired she will go to the government’s Fair Employment Practices Commission and levy a complaint against him. J.D. reluctantly agrees to hire her. As the new Personnel Director Easter’s first act is to hire Erin as her assistant.
At Ike’s store Verdie states that Mr. Godsey is to either place her son’s name in its rightful place or to ‘kindly remove it all together’.
"In those anxious days when the rest of the world seemed to be collapsing under the assault of the Axis powers, my family and our friends were reassessing the attitudes and illusions that had sustained us in the past. Under stress, new insights were revealed, the enduring values were reafirmed, and out of the emotional crucible of the time emerged the strength and confidence on which we could stand to face the critical days ahead".
Olivia: I see you've come back with the same old suitcase.
John: Same old suit, same old husband.
Olivia: Same old wife!
John: Same old house.
Olivia: Same old room.
John: Not quite.
Olivia: What's different?
John: There's a new lump on my side of the bed.
Olivia: You wanna trade sides?
John: How about we just sleep in the middle?
Olivia: Goodnight John.
John: Goodnight 'Liv.
(they chuckle.....)
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); Verdie Grant Foster (Lynn
Hamilton); Josh Foster (Todd Bridges); Esther Grant (Joan Pringle); J.D. Pickett (Lewis
Arquette).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"It is always a special moment when you find something you thought you had lost. But my grandmother had mixed feelings when she rediscovered a childhood friend she hadn't seen for almost fifty years".
John arrives home with the mail and hands Grandma an especially interesting letter postmarked from Richmond. In the letter Marcus Dane, a rejected suitor, writes his condolences about the passing of Zeb. Grandma decides not to respond to her friend whom she has not seen for years.
While filling the car at Ike’s gasoline pump, Corabeth informs Ben and Jim Bob that there is a three-dollar limit because of reduced gas deliveries. The boys realize that gasoline rationing will soon arrive. Jim Bob’s ingenuity finds him asking Yancy to turn his moonshine still into a scientific research project. Jim Bob explains that to possess an unlimited source of fuel, he wants to use the still to produce alcohol to power automobiles.
Marcus Dane unexpectedly calls on Easter. He presents her with a rose plant from his garden called a Blue Girl explaining it ‘captures a bit of the sky’. Marcus tells Easter that J.D. Pickett hired him as an engineering consultant to find ways to improve the plant’s efficiency. He relates to Easter how he lost his wife two years ago. When Easter has trouble speaking, Marcus understands her frustration, telling her that he, too, had a severe stroke five years ago. Grandma invites him to stay for supper where afterwards they reminiscent over old pictures in her scrapbook. Marcus tells the family how mischievous Easter was when a schoolgirl, especially the time she took the clapper out of the teacher’s bell.
The first batch of alcohol is tested at only one hundred proof. Jim Bob informs Yancy that the still requires further improvements in order to achieve a higher concentration.
Elizabeth and Jason find Corabeth modeling new hats she has purchased. They pick up a letter for Mary Ellen from Curt in Honolulu, two bills, and a letter from Marcus Dane. While Grandma plays with Chirpie, Jason plays the piano, and Ben and Jim Bob arm-wrestle, Elizabeth answers the telephone. Erin announces to John and Olivia that Marcus Dane has asked Grandma out on a date, and she has accepted.
Olivia visits Corabeth to buy a new hat for Grandma’s date. But on the night of the event, Grandma has second thoughts. Olivia convinces Grandma that she has the right to go out and gives her the new hat for courage. John and Marcus feebly make small talk while waiting for Grandma. When she enters Marcus presents her with a corsage. As the couple leaves John wonders if he came courting while Olivia assumes that to be his purpose. Marcus takes Easter to dinner, a movie staring Gary Cooper, and for a soda at the Kandy Kitchen. At the soda shop they unexpectedly bump into Jim Bob and Tania Bowman who are also on a date. Grandma is shocked to hear Marcus call himself ‘her beau’ when making introductions.
Jim Bob and Yancy’s second attempt finds the batch to be one hundred ninety proof alcohol, just right for automobile fuel. After successfully running his own car, Jim Bob fills up John’s car with the new concoction. Yancy comments that it’s ‘better to have drunk cars, than drunk drivers’. But John wonders what the government will think about building a still even if it is for making fuel. He suggests talking with Sheriff Bridges. Later, Jim Bob receive a letter from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco stating that, according to their experts, it is impossible to run machinery on alcohol. Jim Bob reasons that it is not illegal, therefore, to make something that does not exist.
At supper the family discuss Grandma’s relationship with Marcus. Elizabeth does not like her grandmother going out on dates. Later, when Marcus arrives he confronts Elizabeth knowing she has shown dislike for him. Elizabeth blurts out, ‘Nobody could take the place of my Grandpa!’ Marcus responds by saying he would never think of that because nobody could ever out-talk, out-work, or out-dance Zeb. Elizabeth warms up to Grandma’s boyfriend.
Marcus gives Easter a present of a little egg keepsake and invites her to Richmond for the weekend in order to meet his friends. He assures her that his housekeeper will make sure everything is proper. In the morning Marcus finds out that Easter has changed her mind. She admits in a letter that her heart is on the Mountain and her love will always be with Zeb. Marcus and Easter agree to remain friends.
"Marcus Dain came to our home many times as the years went by. He always brought with him a warm affection for all of us, but especially for my grandmother, and they remained friends for the rest of their lives".
(noises from the barn)
Ben: What's the matter with Chance?
Erin: Ask Jim Bob.
Ben: What's wrong with Chance, Jim Bob?
Jim Bob: Well I staked her out on the south pasture today, right on the creek where
the big oak is? Well I forgot about the alcohol still. Substream now.
Erin: She's drunk is what's wrong....
(other girl): Goodnight Chance!
(Chance moos....).
Also appearing -
Corabeth Godsey (Ronnie Claire Edwards); Marcus Dane (Arthur Space); Yancy Tucker (Robert
Donner); Tanya Bowman (Lisa Lindgren).
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Notes:
While Jim Bob and Yancy tend to the still, Jason sings a song with the following lyrics:
| I’ve been a moonshiner for twenty long years, I’ve spent all my money on whiskey and beer. Way back in some holler I’ve put up my still, And I’ll make you one gallon for a two-dollar bill. I’ll build you
some taverns, we’ll drink with our friends. I’ll eat when I’m hungry, I drink when I’m dry. |
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"Time's inexorable march brought constant changes and challenges to the people on Waltons Mountain. Happily for us the closeness of our family seemed always to temper life's harsher moments. However a crisp cold Sunday morning in December of 1941 was to bring an event that would sorely test our family and the entire nation".
Elizabeth and Jim Bob post the announcement for Sunday’s service at the First Baptist Church. Jim Bob reads back the notice to Elizabeth saying, ‘Peace: Man’s Gift to Man under God – Dec. 7, 1941’. Elizabeth exclaims 'only eighteen days ‘til Christmas'.
On Sunday, Jason brings the Sunday paper to his father who will be babysitting while the family attends church. While dressing Ben asks Jim Bob to substitute for him at Ike’s civil defense drill so he can go out on a date this afternoon with Cindy. Walking to church Mary Ellen talks with Olivia about her move to join Curt at Pearl Harbor. Behind them, Elizabeth and Erin talk about sneaking to watch the movie Suspicion that according to Luella Parsons is the best movie that Alfred Hitchcock has made. Verdie Foster meets Olivia where they discuss their feelings about waiting for loved ones to return from the war.
After Sunday dinner Cindy, a beautiful girl with long, blonde hair and a bright red convertible, picks up Ben for their date. Olivia tells John that she thinks the girl looks ‘suggestive’. To surprise Mary Ellen with an early Christmas before she leaves for Hawaii, they depart to chop down one of the trees that Grandpa planted. With Jason at a recital and Jim Bob at Ike’s drill, Grandma listens to the Sunday concert on the radio while Mary Ellen and John Curtis pack for their trip. But the program is interrupted by a report that Japan has attacked Pearl Harbor from the air. Upset at the news, Grandma brings Mary Ellen to the radio.
Corabeth interrupts the civil defense drill with the awful news that sends Jim Bob home. At the movie theatre the manager stops the news clip to inform the audience about the attack in the Pacific Ocean. Erin and Elizabeth rush home while Ben interrupts his first date upon hearing the news on the car radio. Jason postpones his piano recital when Professor Collier tells him about the disaster.
John and Olivia are the last to find out the terrible news. Upon hearing, Olivia runs to Mary Ellen, knowing how she must feel. Later Ike, Corabeth, and Verdie join the family in listening to more news about the attack. Mary Ellen later finds the small Christmas tree and wants to decorate it. Olivia says of her daughter, ‘She’s all torn up on the inside, and all Mary Ellen on the outside.’
Jason, Ben, and Jim Bob join their mother on the front porch. She tells her sons that she sees the Mountain as it always looks, but knows nothing is really the same. The boys talk about the wars that Grandpa, their father, and Uncle Ben fought in. Olivia suddenly realizes what this war will mean to her, that her sons will eventually go to war. Grandma searches for something in her dresser drawer but is interrupted by John. Her son says that he will need her strength to move the family through this crisis. The boys talk further about what branch of the service they want to join; Jim Bob wants to join the Air Corp, Ben the Navy, and Jason wonders about his status with the National Guard. John overhears the conversation but tells the boys that for the time being he will need them at the mill because Matt Sarver has doubled all orders in response to Pearl Harbor. All three agree, but Jim Bob still seems more determined than ever to join as soon as possible. The family decorates the tree for Christmas while Jason plays Christmas songs on the piano. Mary Ellen finds the bird’s nest that she first placed on their tree when she was very young.
Mary Ellen is alone in the office when she remembers back to the time her husband first arrived on the Mountain. She reminisces about the quarrels they had and the misunderstanding that occurred between the community and their new doctor. Mary Ellen then looks back to her marriage to Curt and later how her husband had to unexpectedly deliver their first-born son. Erin interrupts her flashbacks to remind her about the upcoming speech by the President. Ike prepares for the broadcast while Corabeth says that she always wanted a son. However, with the war upon them, she is glad she will not have to bear the heartache of having her son fight. FDR formally declares war on Japan saying that yesterday December 7, 1941 will be ‘a date that will live in infamy’. The family listens but wonders where Jim Bob has gone. Verdie arrives at the end of the speech to announce that Jodie was only wounded by a bomb blast. Jim Bob then walks in to say the recruiting office rejected him because he was too young. While in Rockfish Jeb at the telegraph office asks him to give a letter to Mary Ellen. Jim Bob solemnly gives the news to Mary Ellen that Curt was killed while taking care of the wounded. In shock, Mary Ellen sits down with her baby in her arms. The family gathers around her while Grandma leaves for her room. She returns with a letter from Curt addressed to John Curtis. In the letter Curt praises the members of the Walton’s for their individual strengths and informs his young son of the love and kindness within the family. Although John Curtis has been given life and love, everything else, his father writes, you must earn yourself.
"We had always known how strong willed Mary Ellen could be, but those two December days proved her great inner strength. These were the times that would remain in the memories of all Americans who were old enough to grasp the meaning of what had happened on December 7 1941, the day when the world was never again to be the same"
Note: No "goodnights" in this episode.
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley amd Ronnie Claire Edwards); Verdie (Lynn Hamilton);
Cindy (Robin Eisenmann); Curt Willard (Tom Bower); Theatre Manager (Norman Andrews); the
Professor (Sid Conrad); Announcers (Walker Ed, Art Gilmore and Bud Hiestand); John Curtis
Willard (Michael and Marshall Reed).
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"There's a fine moment in our lives when we are young and innocent and our hearts first awaken to the mystery and pain of love. At such a time we can give our love freely, without fear of hurt or pain. The arrival of a new young Minister in town caused my father to witness such an awakening in the heart of my sister Elizabeth".
Andrew March, the new minister, has just moved into the parsonage when he notices a problem with the flooring. John investigates to find damaged wood and a skunk hiding underneath the house. John is able to safely run out of the house but the angry skunk sprays Andy. At the Walton’s Andy is bathed in tomato juice to eliminate the aroma. Elizabeth helps by soaking him with a large container of tomato juice.
While Erin buys more tomato juice from Corabeth, the Baldwin sisters ask for more mason jars for another superb run of their Recipe. When they see Erin, Miss Mamie and Miss Emily ask for help in translating their Papa’s journals and their diaries into a book they are writing. With Andy staying at the Walton’s until the skunk leaves, he eats supper with the family who tries to be overly polite with their religious guest.
Andy and John are fishing when Elizabeth tells her father to call Matt Sarver about a lumber order. He leaves Elizabeth with Andy who agrees to listen while she recites a poem for a school project. Elizabeth repeats the lines from First Love by John Clair but by the time she finishes has fallen in love with Andy.
Andy helps the Baldwin sisters carry their groceries inside the house after their automobile runs out of gasoline. Erin also arrives ready to write down their excerpts on her new notepad. Andy mentions to Erin that a plate of cookies was mysteriously left in his room. He believes Erin likes him. After Andy leaves, Miss Mamie and Miss Emily decide on ‘The Ballad of the Baldwins’ as the title for their book. At the parsonage Andy and Elizabeth still smell the skunk. They talk about ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends, why Andy decided to become a minister, and why Elizabeth earlier wanted to be a writer, but now is thinking of becoming a missionary. When Elizabeth returns home Ben and Jim Bob kid their sister about her crush on Andy. Olivia warns the boys not to tease their sister and mentions to John what their daughter is feeling.
Erin again helps the sisters as they discuss the possibility of turning the book into a movie. Miss Mamie wants Bette Davis to play her, while Miss Emily feels Kathryn Hepburn is suitable for her. Miss Emily decides that Leslie Howard will play her suitor Ashley Longworth, but Miss Mamie is undecided as to whom will play her suitor Octaveous Fairweather. Miss Mamie begins to read from one of her Papa’s journals. For the first time Miss Emily learns that before Ashley was sent away by her father, he wrote her a letter that was hidden where her father believed she would never find it. Miss Emily faints on the spot.
When Andy walks through the front door and finds Elizabeth ironing, he comments that she will make someone a great wife because she is so industrious. Later she writes him a poem and signs it simply “E”. After he reads the poem Andy believes it came from Erin. However, Erin tells Andy that she did not send him anything and her name is not the only Walton girl with the initial “E”. Andy realizes Elizabeth has been the one sending him presents. He asks John for advice on how to deal with his problem. John advises him to level with his daughter but to do it gently. Andy informs Elizabeth that he will be returning to the parsonage. He says they have shared wonderful times together, with him feeling like a little elf has visited him with presents. Elizabeth runs off ashamed that Andy does not feel like she feels of him.
Miss Emily is mad at her Papa for hiding the letter. Tired of looking up at his picture, she takes down his portrait from above the fireplace mantel. However, behind the frame they find the lost letter. Erin reads the letter from Ashley stating that due to her father’s demand he will not return to see her. But as a remembrance he will leave a gift in the tree where they first kissed. In the morning the two sisters and Erin walk to the tree where Ashley carved their initials into the tree. Erin notices that the arrow through the heart points to a hollow in the tree. She finds a cache that Miss Emily says is the ring Ashley wore on his little finger. Even though her romance occurred over forty years ago Miss Emily is overwhelmed by emotion.
Andy tells Elizabeth that too many people are afraid to love or to be loved. He admits enjoying her company and hopes they can remain friends. Elizabeth says that with John-Boy away she could use an older brother. Elizabeth is still upset, though, when she returns home. John tells his daughter that love does not always happen like you want it to happen. He remembers when he fell in love at the age of fourteen to Julie Roper. She had black hair and eyes the color of violets. But she was his history teacher who ran off with someone else at the end of the school year. John says he has seen her turn from a little girl into a young woman. He invites her to dinner and dancing in Charlottesville. With Jason playing the piano John and Elizabeth, in her new dress, dance while Olivia watches her little girl grow into a young woman.
"The passage of time and the support of her family helped Elizabeth overcome the pain of her first bitter-sweet love, and eventually she and the young Minister were to become good friends. Some years later Elizabeth was to find that one love which would grow and endure with the steady brilliance that lasts a lifetime".
Erin: Goodnight Elizabeth.
Elizabeth: Erin did Miss Emily ever put her father's portrait back over the
fireplace?
Erin: Yesterday.
Elizabeth: I think we ought to put a portrait of Daddy over our fireplace.
Erin: Good idea, and then if Mama ever got mad at him, she could just throw him in
the broom closet!
Olivia: Goodnight Erin....
John: Goodnight Elizabeth.
Elizabeth: Goodnight Daddy.
Also appearing -
Corabeth Godsey (Ronnie Claire Edwards); the Baldwin sisters (Mary Jackson and Helen
Kleeb); Rev. Andy March (Sean Thomas Roche).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"Most of the time when strangers appeared on Waltons Mountain they were people who had taken the wrong turn from the main highway and had gotten themselves lost. But the coming of World War Two was to bring many strangers who were actually looking for the mountain, and while we didn't exactly have a traffic problem, we did have traffic. And that's what gave my brother Ben the idea for the boldest venture he had ever attempted".
While playing baseball the kids rush to John and Olivia as they return from a business trip. John tells Ben that Sarver gave Murdock Lumber an order above its capacity so they will help complete the order. However, while John was gone, Ben has subcontracted another order. John is upset at Ben for making the order without telling him. Ben is mad at his father for not allowing him to make decisions on his own.
While filling the truck with gasoline, Ben notices the heavy amount of traffic passing Ike’s store on the way to and from the Pickett plant. Ben suggests to Ike that they open an auto court. Corabeth does not like the idea until Ike reminds her of the extra business their store will receive. Corabeth suggests the name “Corabeth’s Guest Cottages”. When Ben informs his father about joining, John asks what will happen when the war ends. John declines the offer saying he knows how to cut lumber, not how to run an auto court.
Yancy stops by the house to show off his new venture he found in Grit magazine. As soon as he receives his barbering diploma from correspondence school he has a job opportunity in Rockfish. Jason questions Yancy as to whether he can learn barbering through the mail, but Yancy states he has been receiving straight A’s by sending in before and after pictures of his clients.
Jason returns tired from a crowded Dew Drop Inn to tell Ben that people are talking about Franklin Steel building a plant in the area. With the good news Ben asks John to cosign a loan for the auto court. John agrees but tells Ben he needs a full-time foreman. Tired of working for his father, Ben quits the job and moves into Zuleika’s boarding house where he learns that the loan is approved. Corabeth, Ike, and Ben decide to make the auto court part of a new town square next to the store. Because Ike respects John’s judgement he is concerned that John does not like their idea. Corabeth decides to organize a town meeting to popularize their idea. The Walton’s Mountain Boosters’ Club is formed and preparations are made. Ben asks the Baldwin sisters to sell them the land next to Ike’s store. Miss Mamie and Miss Emily discuss their memories of that property but Zuleika says it is their patriotic duty to build an auto court. While John enters the room, the Baldwin’s announce they will donate the land. John says he has checked with the bank in Charlottesville and several real estate people, finding that many auto courts have gone broke in the past. John mentions that the Guthrie Coal Mine provided a boom to their local economy until the coal prematurely ran out. Ike asks for a vote where everyone but John votes ‘yea’ on the proposal.
Ike and Ben discuss placement of the cabins when Corabeth announces that their activities were featured in the Charlottesville Progress. While Corabeth reads the article Ike and Ben notice that the headline states there is a ban on all new construction not essential for the war. At Zulieka’s, Ben nervously waits for news from the War Production Board on whether their auto court is essential. He is later informed that the request has been denied. When he tells the Godsey’s the bad news Corabeth says, ‘We could have turned this wasteland into the garden spot of Virginia while the cash register played a merry tune.’
Erin picks up Ben as he walks along the road. They stop for a car pulling a motor home when an idea pops into Ben’s head. He jumps out and shouts, ‘I’m back in business!’ He tells Corabeth and Ike that there is a freeze on new construction but nothing to prevent them from using existing buildings. Ben discovers that the bank will issue them a thirty-year mortgage of ten percent down, at six-percent interest on several houses from the Guthrie Coal Mine. Ike agrees to sign the mortgage. The first house is moved at four o’clock in the morning with Ike and Ben supervising the operation. While Elizabeth and Jim Bob help with the exterior painting of the house, Ike presents Yancy with his diploma and a barber chair in recognition of his achievement. However, nobody steps up to receive the first haircut from the newly graduated barber.
Jason informs Ben that the new Franklin Steel plant was only a rumor started by a land speculator hoping to raise prices. A special meeting is held to inform the Boosters that Ben tried to cancel their contract with Mr. Gibbs at the bank but was denied. Ben announces he will assume full responsibility for the auto court. However, John mentions that he is sure Ben has considered other ideas, such as an antique store or restaurant. He wonders whether Ben will receive all the profits if he assumes all the debt. The Boosters reconsider their decision and agree to find tenants and share the profits. On the way home, John offers Ben the job of his manager for twenty-five dollars a week plus room and board. Knowing the activities of the auto court will only take part of his time, Ben happily agrees to return to work.
"The important thing about any community is not the grandeur of its buildings but the spirit of its people. Ben and the Boosters continued to work together to help the little town through its growing pains. Ben went back to work at our father's mill, but he had proved he could make good on his own. Waltons Mountain didn't become the largest town in Jefferson County but it did prosper and expand in the years to come. Corabeth's dream of a town square with a fountain did come true. Though it didn't have the splendor that she had envisioned, that cool spring water gave welcome refreshment to home folks and strangers alike".
Jim Bob: Come on Ben turn out the light.
Ben: Pretty soon Jim Bob. When I've finished these plans for some more shops in
town.
Erin: Don't forget a dress shop Ben, and I know Mary Ellen would like a place for
baby clothes.
Elizabeth: Got a movie theater?
Jim Bob: What he'd better have is an undertaking parlor.
Ben: That's awful, Jim Bob. What d'you want one of those for?
Jim Bob: You unless you turn out the light.....
Ben: Goodnight everybody!
Also appearing -
Ike Godsey (Joe Conley): Corabeth Godsey (Ronnie Claire Edwards); Yancy Tucker (Robert
Donner); Miss Mamie Baldwin (Helen Kleeb); Miss Emily Baldwin (Mary Jackson); Zuleika
Dunbar (Pearl Shear); first man (Llynn Storer); second man (Gordon Hodgins).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"The weeks that followed the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor affected our family deeply. It was a time of great anxiety and uncertainty and like all Americans we wanted to contribute to the war effort as best we could. My brother Jason was particularly troubled during this time, he wanted to serve his country but doubts of conscience forced him to face one of the most difficult decisions of his life".
John-Boy has joined up in London, Ben wants to join the Navy, and Jim Bob yearns to be in the Air Force.
Billy Streeter, a buddy from Jason’s old National Guard unit, visits Jason after joining the Army. The lieutenant attempts to convince Jason that he should volunteer now so he can join him and the enlistees from the old unit. However, Jason says he is waiting until graduation from college. Upon telling his parents what happened, John says that young men are needed during times of war. Olivia reminds her husband that they are talking about their sons. Afterwards, Jason goes to Ike’s store for a dollar’s worth of gas. Ike thinks Jason will soon be joining the military. Corabeth doesn’t think so because he is so sensitive.
Jim Bob again attempts to join the Army Air Corp. Sergeant Gates tells him that he is still too young, but to return on his next birthday. On his way out, Jim Bob sees an Army Air Corp insignia among other designs in a tattoo parlor. Wanting desperately to join he decides to buy the tattoo for his right arm. Later, Jim Bob and Ben tell Jason how eager they are to join the war. Jason shows his hesitation much to his brothers’ disbelief. Jason leaves the bedroom to find Mary Ellen reading from an old book of poetry. He tells his sister about feeling a responsibility to sign up but admits not being sure he can kill another human being, even for his country. They continue their conversation after Mary Ellen talks with the chaplain at the hospital. She mentions the Conscience Clause that allows men to state their opposition to killing others so they can participate in war without carrying a gun. Jason says he grew up believing ‘thou shalt not kill’ but knows about the abuse such men are subjected to in the military. Jason wonders if he is a coward.
Jason enters the Recruiting Office to ask Sergeant Gates about Conscientious Objector information. The Sergeant provides Jason with the papers when two local boys enter hoping their papers are ready. Bert and Jeb overhear the conversation concerning C.O. status. As Jason leaves for the Dew Drop Inn Ben confronts him concerning the C.O. pamphlet he found. Ben thinks he is crazy for even considering such a thing. But Jason thinks he is more concerned what other people will say about him and the family. At the bar Bert and Jeb see Jason and begin crowing like chickens. Jason ignores the taunts but Ben forces a confrontation. When Jason intercedes he is knocked down by one of the boys. He refuses to stand up against the two saying that just because they think I’m chicken doesn’t mean I am. But Ben believes it does.
In the morning Olivia sees Jason’s swollen lip. He admits being knocked down because two guys thought he was a conscientious objector. Olivia tells her son that it takes courage to go against the tide. She wants Jason to stay away from the war but also wants him to feel good about himself.
Jim Bob visits Ike to find something to remove the tattoo. When Ike finally forces Jim Bob to show him the tattoo he laughs and says, ‘Your moma’s goin’ to kill you!’ Jason waits for his father to return home so he can talk with him about his dilemma. When John returns they leave for the office where Jason says he understands why killing stock in order to feed the family is necessary. He says killing a man is another matter and does not believe he can do it. Jason admits having nightmares about the times in the National Guard where he had to thrust a steel blade into a dummy during bayonet drills. John admits he had those feelings while in France during World War I but knows that when the time comes his son will do the right thing. He reminds Jason that even though Grandpa was a man of peace he fought in the Spanish-American War. Grandpa felt a debt was owed for those Waltons that fought and died to protect their land and family. Jason decides to spend tomorrow up on the Mountain to think about his decision.
In the morning with Jason already off to the Mountain, Elizabeth screams when she accidentally finds liver on Jim Bob’s arm. Jim Bob confesses he was trying to remove the tattoo with the meat. Olivia thinks tattooing one’s body is disgusting. John tells his son that he will have to live with it for the rest of his life. But John poses to his son the more important question, ‘How are you going to live with your Moma?’
Jason hikes on the Mountain, plays his harmonica, and thinks about what to do. At home Ben feels guilty about what he said to Jason. He decides to go to the Mountain in the morning so he can drive his older brother home. Sleeping under the stars Jason has another nightmare bayoneting a dummy and wakes up in a cold sweat. In the morning he visits Grandpa’s grave. He remembers how his grandfather always said how the Mountain never lies. He tells Grandpa that the world is filled with hate and does not know how he can fit into such a world. On his way home Jason finds Ben driving toward him. Ben tells him he is sorry and will back him up with whatever he decides. Back home Jason tells his parents that Ben took him to the Recruiting Office so he could return the pamphlets. He also announces that he enlisted in the Army but will be able to first finish college.
"Jason had searched his soul and found an inner strength that would help him enter a new phase of his life. Jim Bob's tattoo remained on his arm, a symbol of his youthful lack of judgment as well as his commendable ambition. It is to this day a topic which amuses everyone - except my mother".
Ben: Jim Bob quit tossing and turning will ya?
Jim Bob: Can't go to sleep.
Ben: Well neither can I, not with you spinning around like a whirling dervish.
Olivia: What's the matter, Jim Bob?
Jim Bob: I got to thinking about my Army Air Corps tattoo. What if I end up flying
for the navy as a Marine?
Ben: They really get on you Jim Bob that's what would happen.
Olivia: Pleasant dreams, Jim Bob.
Jim Bob: Goodnight Mama.
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley amd Ronnie Claire Edwards); Sgt. Gates (Hal Bokar);
Lieutenant Billy Streeter (David Hunt Stafford); Bert (Sean Michael Rice); Jeb (Wayne
Northrop); Drill Sergeant (Edwin Owens).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"In the Spring of 1942 the war that engulfed the world beyond Waltons Mountain touched our family in many ways. It was a time of farewells and reunions, shortages and news of battles and places with exotic names like Bataan, Corregidor, Wade Island and Midway. It was a time when my family was to come face to face with the cruelty of war as well as the courage it inspired to overcome its aftermath. It was also a time when Americans everywhere united to contribute to the war effort in any way they could".
Mary Ellen and Erin arrive home with groceries in time to observe Ben and Ike rehearsing for an upcoming USO audition. Jason is accompanying them on the piano after learning that the USO came to the Kleinberg Conservatory looking for talent. The girls also bring a letter from John-Boy who is stationed in the London-Times Building for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. John-Boy is concerned about Mike Paxton, his college roommate at Boatwright College. While in the Merchant Marines his friend was shot down over the North Atlantic, then transferred to the naval hospital near Richmond. After sending several letters John-Boy became concerned after hearing no response from Mike. Mary Ellen volunteers to find out his condition from a doctor friend. After bumping into J.D. Pickett outside the hospital, Mary Ellen is told by Dr. Sanders that Mike is physically ready to leave but mentally thinks people will stare at him confined to a wheelchair. Mary Ellen convinces Mike to visit Walton’s Mountain with hopes of lifting his confidence.
Jason tells Olivia that he is setting time aside from his regular music studies in order to write popular musical arrangements for Ben and Ike. Professor Collier believes he can help Jason become assigned to a band unit within the military in order to entertain the troops. Olivia likes the idea that he would use his talents, like John-Boy, while in the military.
The family is initially shocked to see Mike in a wheelchair except Grandma who is familiar with disabilities. While Mary Ellen settles Mike into the shed Erin suggests he apply for a job at Picketts. Mike replies, ‘Who would hire me?’ Mary Ellen counters, ‘Aren’t you getting tired of feeling sorry for yourself?’ In order for Mike to get around, Ben and Jim Bob build a ramp from the shed to the house. In the morning Mike is surprised to find the new passageway. He navigates the length of the ramp, his first success. Mike then eats a hearty breakfast and says thanks to the family for their help. From her experiences Grandma realizes that Mike needs to feel useful. She insists that Mike help with washing the dishes. John adds that he needs help loading lumber and Olivia wants him to fix some broken items around the house.
The team of ‘Godsey and Walton’ rehearse their In the Mood number for Elizabeth, Erin, Mike, and Jim Bob with help from Corabeth, who created the dance steps, and from Jason, who wrote the musical arrangement. But Mike notices their white shoes performing fancy dance steps, realizing he will never be able to dance again. He leaves unable to watch any more. Erin follows him out and places her hand on his shoulder He is surprised she would even want to touch him. He mentions a girlfriend who does not know what has happened. With his confidence slowly growing, he considers writing to her. They return to the performers before the act is over.
Erin convinces Mike to apply for an open position of supervisor for shipping at the Pickett plant. Although J.D. tells the veterans during his hospital visits that he will do whatever he can for them, he refuses to hire Mike siting safety and insurance reasons. But J.D. says he would reconsider his application if he can drive alone to the plant and walk up the steps to the office. Back at the house John and Mike talk about what happened today. John remembers that during the depression he did not know if he could keep the family together. The only thing he could do was to keep working at it. He suggests the same strategy for Mike.
Ben is very nervous but Ike is cool as a cucumber as they prepare for an audition in front of two USO officials. But when Corabeth announces the team, Ike suddenly freezes up. Mike comes to the rescue when he tells Ike that the two men are small towners just like them. Ike regains his composure and the duo finishes their audition much to the delight of the two USO men.
Mary Ellen suggests that Mike try using crutches so he can practice walking up the stairs to the Pickett Plant. Then, Ike buys the parts and Jim Bob modifies his car so Mike can drive using only his hands. He practices until ready to reapply with J.D. Mike pulls up to the front of the plant and walks up the office steps. However, J.D. resists making good on his promise until the family and Ike praise Mike for his determination and reliability. J.D. finally succumbs to the pressure and hires Mike.
"Mike Paxton and thousands of other handicapped Americans proved their skill and reliability in defense industries throughout the nation during those war years. For my family the reunion of Mike was an inspiration in a time of doubt and fear. For 'Godsey & Walton' it was the first of many appearances at hospitals, camp shows and war bond rallies until Ben eventually went into the service".
Erin: Since having Mike here, it's easier for him to live closer to the plant.
Mary Ellen: Did he get jobs for his friends from the ward?
Erin: Best workers we've got, and they're all living with Mike!
Elizabeth: I don't care, I still miss him and that crazy horn he had.
[Horn honks]
Jim Bob: I just happened to be polishing it.
Ben: Turn out the lights will ya?
Everyone: Goodnight, Jim Bob!
[Horn honks]
Also appearing -
Ike Godsey (Joe Conley); Mike Paxton (Dennis Redfield); John Curtis Willard (Michael and
Marshall Reed).
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"My parents were used to being together, my father's work kept him close to home when we were a young family so there were always times in the day to share a smile or a touch or a special look between them. Now those times were nearly gone. Work took my father away from home more often and for longer periods of time. The separations were hard on them both".
John is forced to work away from the family for extended periods of time as orders pile up from Matt Sarver. Olivia is concerned about his health from the strenuous hours demanded at the job. Olivia’s worry is also complicating her own health. As Grandma teaches Elizabeth how to cook, Mary Ellen sorts clothes and Jim Bob complains how his girlfriend Tanya is always trying to change him. That night while Olivia waits on the front porch for John to return, Jim Bob drives up. He is carrying an accordion that Zuleika Dunbar gave him after clearing her attic. Jim Bob is determined to learn how to play it in order to prove he can do something besides fix machinery. Erin tells her mother not to worry but notices how hot her hands feel. Olivia blames it on ‘just hot hands’. But, in her bedroom Olivia realizes something is not right.
In the morning John returns at the crack of dawn. He wakes up Olivia as he makes noise while preparing the coffee. She rushes downstairs to greet him. John has all sorts of things to tell her but is too tired to remember what they are. Later in the morning Mary Ellen sees her mother sitting outside and wonders what is wrong. Olivia asks her daughter if she knows of a good doctor in Charlottesville. She wants John to see a doctor. After John sleeps for a couple of hours Jason and he talk over a cup of coffee. Jason realizes his parents are not comfortable apart so suggests that he take her with him on his next trip.
The family sees their parents off as they travel to Charlottesville. After John completes his business he discovers Olivia in a dress shop. He suggests that casual wear would be appropriate for the surprise trip to Virginia Beach. John is embarrassed, however, when the sales woman begins to undress the mannequin.
After eating a sparse supper in their hotel room John kisses Olivia’s forehead to find it hot. Olivia suggests that they first go to Alberene to visit Dr. Caldwell, Aunt Kate’s physician. John says they both must go. She agrees. After John’s examination he tells Aunt Kate that the doctor said he is fine but should not act like a twenty-year old. After Olivia’s visit the doctor reports she is fine but that he performed some precautionary tests. As John and Olivia leave Aunt Kate and Dr. Caldwell exchange worried looks.
At Virginia Beach John fishes from the surf while Olivia collects various seashells. They run on the beach but, all of a sudden, Olivia can not catch her breath. She decides to lay down while John returns to fishing.
At home Ike and Corabeth drive up in their motorcycle and sidecar to bring food to a family they think is starving without Olivia’s cooking. Corabeth presents her Cousin Sue Ellen’s Savory Stew but is surprised to learn that her cousin also gave the recipe to John’s side of the family. In the barn, where Jim Bob has been forced to practice his accordion, he admits to Jason that he would like to learn to play a romantic song for Tanya. Jason agrees to help him learn a simple tune. Inside the house Elizabeth realizes why her sponge cake has not turned out quite right. Grandma’s secret recipe is a touch of the Baldwin ladies’ Recipe. Elizabeth must promise she will not divulge the secret.
John and Olivia return home with John tanned and rested. But Mary Ellen notices that her mother has lost weight and is still looking tired. While unpacking they see Aunt Kate unexpectedly drive up to the house. When John arrives to greet Kate she tells Olivia and John that Dr. Caldwell’s tests show the early stage of tuberculosis. Olivia is stunned by the news. She is even more shocked to learn it will be necessary for her to stay in a sanatorium located near Alberene in order to receive proper rest, quiet, and medicine. Olivia runs out of the house as the children wonder what is wrong. John and Aunt Kate tell the children the bad news. John comforts Olivia as she stares off toward the hills. The planned picnic is still held but the talk around the table is forced. Olivia reassures the family that even though she is leaving in the morning she is comforted to know that Grandma and John will be taken care of while she is gone. Jim Bob presents her with a going-away present as he plays Beautiful Dreamer on his accordion.
In the morning Olivia prepares to leave with a sad family staring on. She says there will be no good-byes, but to imagine it is just like any morning with her off to Ike’s for groceries. Jim Bob can not hold back and hugs his mother. Elizabeth, Erin, Ben, Mary Ellen, Jason, and Grandma follow with hugs. On a cloudy morning with lightly falling rain, John watches Aunt Kate drive Olivia off to an uncertain time apart.
"It was a sad day, the first of many long lonely days for our father and for all the family. But eventually the time did pass and my mother was cured of her frightening illness. Not surprisingly she endured it all with great courage, and whenever one of us would falter and feel sorry for ourselves we could always recall Mama's voice saying - Now, none of that, I won't have it!"
Elizabeth: Daddy?
John: Yes, Elizabeth?
Elizabeth: When Mama's with Aunt Kate, she's not too far from the shore is she?
John: No, just a nice drive.
Elizabeth: I hope you'll take me, next time. I keep listening to the Conch Shell.
I've heard the ocean a lot, I'd just love to see it again.
John: Some fine day Honey we'll do that. Goodnight everybody!
Everybody: Goodnight Daddy!
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); Aunt Kate Grover Daly
(Neva Patterson); Dr C.W. Cauldwell (Booth Colman); Sales lady (Barbara Tarbuck).
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"Along with the rest of the country, 1942 brought great upheaval to Waltons Mountain. Each day the news from the battle fronts grew more and more grim while here at home defense plants worked around the clock to produce the weapons of war. In our home we suffered a personal tragedy for our mother was away recovering from a serious illness. It was a time of great trial for each of us, but especially for Jim Bob".
Mary Ellen finally turns off the radio, not wishing to listen to the grim events of the war. The family wonders why Jim Bob missed supper, another worry after running with rowdy friends since Olivia left. Elizabeth is collecting fireflies for a school project much to the dismay of Erin. After Jim Bob drives up Mary Ellen confronts him about his reckless ways. Jim Bob retorts, ‘You’re not my Mama!’ John scolds his youngest son after receiving a warning from his teacher about horsing around. John warns Jim Bob that he got a rowdy reputation when he was about the same age and couldn’t escape it for years.
Elizabeth is now trapping luna moths in a cage on the front porch. Corabeth is nearly run over by Jim Bob as he and Tinker drive in front of Godsey’s Hall. She rushes to tell John about Jim Bob repeatedly driving too fast. Jim Bob drives up to catch the end of Corabeth’s scolding. He apologizes saying his brakes are not working well. John tells Jim Bob to immediately fix them. Grandma notices that Jim Bob is working with only a jack holding up the car. John yells to properly brace the car. Suddenly the car gives way trapping Jim Bob underneath. The family pulls him out, fortunately uninjured. John exclaims, ‘Someone up there is watching out for you!’ Later Jason talks with Jim Bob about what happened. Jim Bob believes the incident is a sign from God but Jason thinks his brother was saved due to the shape of the car’s underbody.
Early Sunday morning Jim Bob visits Rev. Bradshaw, the new Baptist pastor. At Sunday services the minister announces to a shocked family and congregation that Jim Bob wants to become a minister. That afternoon Elizabeth finds Jim Bob reading from the Book of Leviticus. While Elizabeth learns to become a scientist, Jim Bob seeks the path of religion.
Ben attempts to convince Jim Bob to join him on a sinful night on the town. Ben sheepishly explains to Grandma after overhearing them that he was only joking. Grandma presents Jim Bob with the Bible she received as a girl. He reads the inscription, ‘To our beloved Easter on the day of your baptism, July 11, 1883. Love, Mama and Papa.’ Jim Bob says it is the best gift he ever received because she believes in him.
Jim Bob visits Professor Hoadley at Boatwright College in order to prepare for his Bible studies. But the Professor states that he will first need a four-year undergraduate degree before being considered for the seminary. Jim Bob is disappointed that he can not proceed straight to graduate studies in the ministry. Professor Hoadley believes Jim Bob should reconsider his vocational choice.
When Jim Bob returns home he confesses the difficulty that he encountered at the college. Deciding to eliminate all of his worldly possessions he presents Ben with his car. Later he gives Erin his short-wave radio and Elizabeth his aviator cap. He also tells Elizabeth she should decide whether to be a Baptist or a scientist. She responds back that she thinks she can be both.
In the morning Elizabeth’s crickets have escaped. The children make a ruckus trying to catch them so John reminds them they need to work together while their mother is gone. At the same time Jim Bob leaves the house after deciding to forge his own way. But in front of the Baptist church Jim Bob runs into Tinker who has been drinking all night. Tinker convinces Jim Bob that he needs to be saved and leads him into the church. But Tinker confuses Jim Bob on just how he is suppose to be a righteous man. When Tinker calls him ‘high and mighty’ Jim Bob takes a swing at him. Tinker then accuses him of fighting in church.
The family finds the note that Jim Bob left. John thinks it might be best just to let him go. But Grandma feels guilty for providing the Bible passage that he used as an excuse to run off. John comforts his mother saying Jim Bob is only hurting because his Moma is gone. Elizabeth finds a luna moth inside her cage, but it is dead. She decides that Jim Bob was right, that living things should not be kept in jars and cages. While releasing her insects Elizabeth finds Jim Bob on the banks of the little pond. John approaches to tell his son that all jobs are equally important. Jim Bob says that he was told to become a preacher when his life passed before him, as he lay trapped under his car. Finally Jim Bob confesses that he feels if he had been a better person then Grandpa might not died, Grandma might not had a stroke, Curt would not been killed, and his mother would not gotten sick. John reassures Jim Bob that a person can not blame himself for things that happen in life, that it is not correct to place yourself at the center of life.
"Although Jim Bob never beacame a preacher his deeply religious experience added an important dimension to his life, and to his relationship to our father. In the years to come his faith became a source of strength to all those who knew him".
Ben: Thanks for fixing my car, Jim Bob.
Jim Bob: Whose car, Ben?
Erin: Jim Bob, will you show me how to work my shortwave radio?
Jim Bob: I didn't know you had a shortwave radio Erin.
Elizabeth: My new goggles are great for sealing up my insects, Jim Bob. They make
me look like one!
Jim Bob: Your goggles, Elizabeth?
Ben: Now Jim Bob, you know that God loveth a cheerful giver! Second Corinthians,
Chapter 9 verse 7.
Jim Bob: Yes, but what the former preacher giveth, the former preacher taketh away.
Jim Bob Chapter 1, verse 2.
Everyone: Goodnight Jim Bob....
Also appearing -
Corabeth Godsey (Ronnie Claire Edwards); Professor Hoadley (Ivor Francis); Tinker (Tony
Moran); Rev Bradshaw (Nolan Leary).
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"In 1942 the coming of spring to Waltons Mountain brought a keener appreciation for all living things than ever before. With the rest of the world in chaos, here we felt a sense of life renewing itself. For my sister Mary Ellen it was a time when she was emerging from a painful winter and struggling to achieve a renewal of her own".
Mary Ellen returns to nursing but is anxious about leaving the family to fend for itself. When Corabeth unexpectedly arrives with a bouquet of flowers she is concerned about who will take care of John Curtis. John reassures her the family will take turns caring for the baby. That night while Elizabeth and Jason give John Curtis his first piano lesson, Ben walks in after shooting photographs. When Erin walks downstairs in her short shorts, she poses for Ben sitting on the piano stand. Mary Ellen returns from her first workday, just in time to help Elizabeth put John Curtis to bed.
In the morning John Curtis will not eat his breakfast. John samples the apricots and understands why he is so fussy. Later John Curtis is handed over from Elizabeth to Jim Bob to Ben who takes him along to pick up his pictures. Ike has already viewed the pictures and suggests Ben submit them to the Charlottesville Register. Ben leaves John Curtis with Corabeth while he drives to the newspaper.
At the hospital Mary Ellen sees Joanne nervously waiting outside the emergency room. Her son Kimmi accidentally drank poison while she left the kitchen to answer the telephone. When Dr. David Spencer enters the hallway Joanne becomes hysterical upon seeing his facial expression. Mary Ellen rushes home but no one knows who is babysitting her son. Corabeth finally walks up with John Curtis. Mary Ellen vows never again to leave him out of her sight. After church services the Godsey’s are told that Mary Ellen will not return to work. Ike then informs Ben that one of his pictures is featured on the front page of the paper. Ben rushes home to see it. John has just spoken over the phone with an upset Olivia who has also seen the picture. With Erin looking over his shoulder Ben finds that the picture is of Erin posing in the skimpy outfit with the heading ‘Jefferson County Cutie’. John is very angry with Erin and Ben for letting this happen.
Mary Ellen explains to John that medicine was a bond she and Curt shared. She realizes now that John Curtis is her only connection with her husband. John warns Mary Ellen not to make John Curtis her whole life. Erin is excited about receiving letters mostly from lonely soldiers at Camp Lee. When John and Elizabeth drive to the army base in order to finalize a barracks contract John becomes angry when observing Erin’s picture tacked to Lieutenant Clarke Oler’s cabinet. He admits that the soldiers have adopted her as the ‘Sweetheart of Camp Lee’.
Mary Ellen becomes angry when she sees her siblings playing football with John Curtis as the football. Jason yells that they used to do the same thing with Elizabeth ‘and you carried her’. Elizabeth adds, ‘and it didn’t hurt me!’ Ben does not think John Curtis will ever be rid of his Mom’s apron strings.
Ike announces that Erin has received a new record of forty-two fan letters. However, Corabeth is writing a letter to the newspaper protesting the ‘demoralizing influence of pin-up photography’. Ben apologizes to Erin for getting her into trouble with their father. But Erin likes the attention she is receiving and is responding to every letter. David Spencer visits Mary Ellen, attempting to convince her to return to the hospital. David states that John Curtis can not fill the void of his father.
While visiting Rockfish with her father Erin is recognized by two soldiers. Private Wallace approaches her and envelops her in a kiss. John catches the perpetrator stating that even though he is wearing a man’s uniform he is tempted to spank him. Later, John reinforces his belief that Mary Ellen should not make fear a foundation for being a mother. He says that John Curtis has ‘to fall down to learn to walk’.
Erin buys fifty stamps while Ike tells her that another two hundred seventy six letters have arrived. Erin has received letters requesting her appearance at Camp Lee but John refuses to allow her to go. Lieutenant Oler arrives in order to convince John to allow Erin to visit the camp. He assures John that Erin is thought of as the ‘beautiful girl next door’ and if a soldier tries anything three hundred well trained infantrymen will come to her rescue. John maintains his stand until Mary Ellen says, ‘who is being overprotective now?’ John finally relents but holds the Lieutenant personally responsible for his daughter’s safety. As Erin is driven away Mary Ellen and John realize John Curtis is missing. Mary Ellen frantically searches the house and the outside. John tells Mary Ellen that ‘you can’t keep life from happening to John Curtis’. They finally find the youngster on the bridge above Drucilla’s Pond. John rescues his grandson.
"Mary Ellen and John Curtis survived their morning in the woods and during this crisis Mary Ellen found the strength to start letting go of her son. Once again she was sharing John Curtis with us. As the years went by, the bond between mother and son continually deepened, nurtured not by fear but by trust and love".
Jason: Hey Erin, how did you entertain the troops?
Erin: I smiled a lot.
Ben: Did you kiss any of them?
Erin: Goodnight Ben....
Jim Bob: Goodnight Mary Ellen, goodnight John Curtis.
Mary Ellen: Shhh! He's asleep!
[baby cries]
Jim Bob: Not any more!
Mary Ellen: Goodnight everyone.
[baby cries]
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); David Spenser (Christopher
Woods); Jo Ann (Carol Jones); the Private. (David Hinton); Private. Wallace (Kevin Lee
Miller): Lt. Clarke Oler (Kip Niven).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"For as long as we could remember, Ike Godsey's general merchandise store had been the social center of our community. Friendships were forged over loaves of bread, the place was a clearing-house for news, rumor and often as not, gossip. Adventure in those days was having a nickel to spend and time to gaze into the candy counter for as long as we liked before making a selection. Little did we know then, how much that store and its occupants meant to us until one terrifying day in 1942".
Ike has suffered a severe heart attack. He is under the care of Dr. David Spencer who tells Ike that he should fully recover with the proper amount of rest. However, Corabeth is still very worried because doctors also told her father he would recover from his heart attack, but died a month later. While Ike remains at the Rockfish Hospital Elizabeth works at the store. When Erin finds that twelve dozen loaves of bread have arrived she checks Ike’s usual amount. Jim Bob has misread Ike’s instructions of twelve loaves.
John visits Ike at the hospital with a present from the Baldwin sisters. Both thirsty men think it is a jar of the Recipe, but the gift turns out to be a pair of binoculars. Miss Emily and Miss Mamie believe Ike will appreciate its use in order to watch birds from his window. Ike questions John about his store, worried whether enough food is arriving due to food rationing, especially of sugar. Ike is calmed to hear that the store is being properly cleaned and run by Elizabeth and the other Waltons. Ike admits to John that he wants to quickly return to the store but Corabeth insists he take it easy. While convalescing Ike has drawn his will that he now asks John to hold. Ike has made John his executor leaving everything to Corabeth except his fishing poles and guns that he has left to Jim Bob and Ben. Ike tells John that he loves him and that he has been the best friend he has ever had.
Corabeth wheels Ike outside the hospital for the first time since his illness. She admits being lost without him, which makes Ike feel it was worth having the heart attack just to hear her say those words. Corabeth suggests they move to a small cottage on the beach so she can care for him. She passionately asks Ike to sell the store and leave the Mountain so what happened to her Daddy will not happen to him. Ike is stunned, unable to say anything.
Ben and Jim Bob rig up a contraption to make molasses from wild sorghum, a substitute for sugar. They are forced to turn the mechanism themselves after earlier selling Old Blue to Clarence for fifteen dollars. When Clarence rides up on the mule, they ask to buy him back. Clarence says Old Blue is the best mule in the county and he could not possibly part with him for less than eighteen dollars. Ben finally agrees to the price. Later, Ben tells his father he should do less strenuous work because he could have a heart attack like Ike. John tells his son what Grandpa told him that he would rather work than do nothing.
Two businessmen look over Ike’s store while Elizabeth watches on. When Erin walks in during her lunch break at the Pickett plant, she thinks they want to buy the store. Elizabeth does not believe Ike would ever sell his store. That night Jim Bob and Ben pour eight gallons of molasses into jars after boiling down eighty gallons of sorghum. With the price of molasses at about thirty cents a gallon they do not think it was worth their efforts. Erin answers the telephone to find that Ike returns home tomorrow.
Ike, Corabeth, and Mary Ellen drive up to the store. Ike gazes upon the sign ‘General Merchandise – Ike Godsey, Prop.’ not believing he would ever see it again. The Walton’s children greet Ike inside. He learns that Erin has improved his paperwork according to her business books, Jim Bob and Ben have produced molasses to sell, and Elizabeth has performed most of the work at the store. But Ike and Corabeth sadly tell the group they plan to sell the store and move to Virginia Beach. Bill Snyder soon arrives to tell Ike he will buy the business and replace the wood porch and flooring with cement and linoleum, level the second floor for more space, remove the pool table, and other assorted moderizations. At the news that the store will never be the same, Ike refuses to sell stating he would rather die a storekeeper than live in a rocking chair. Corabeth does not understand when Ike says he can not wash his whole life down the drain. Ike adds that he would rather work and live with dignity on Walton’s Mountain than wait to die at Virginia Beach. Realizing Ike’s world revolves around his store, Corabeth places his work apron around her husband.
"Because Elizabeth had proved herself so capable during Ike's absence she was hired to work in the store while Ike continued to recuperate under Corabeth's watchful eye. Ike Godsey lived for many years after his heart attack and his deep commitment to his store became an example to all of us of courage and devotion, of victory of the human spirit. Ike's gone now, but the store is still there, it's become a landmark. How Ike would have loved that! Goodnight Mr Godsey!"
Jim Bob: Daddy?
John: Yes Jim Bob?
Jim Bob: It's hard for me to breathe.
John: Does your chest hurt?
Jim Bob: Sort of. I think I'm having a heart attack.
Jason: I think he's having a sorgum attack. He ate 5 pieces of corn bread
covered with syrup....
John: Is that right, Son?
Jim Bob: No Sir, I had eight pieces.
John: Goodnight, Jim Bob....
Jim Bob: Goodnight everybody!
Also appearing -
Ike & Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley & Ronnie Claire Edwards); David Spenser
(Christopher Woods); Maude Gormley (Merie Earle); Ed Whipple (Lew Brown); Bill Shyder
(Stanley Grover); Clarence (Kenny Marquis).
Note:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"In early 1942, with the advent of a war, the world was taking on a different character, seemingly becoming a stranger to itself. At the same time our family was to witness similar changes in the personalities of some of those we were close to on Waltons Mountain"
Erin is looking for a pencil to help the Baldwin sisters write more of their memoirs. John suggests she help with his memoirs of ‘Wild John Walton’. Elizabeth is feeling the pains of growing up. While shaving her legs Jim Bob enters the bathroom to say that, 'Chris Mosely gets whistles from the boys about her figure'.
Miss Mamie and Miss Emily discuss how much of their autobiography should be devoted to Ashley Longworth. While Erin walks to the Baldwins she is splashed with mud from a passing car. A tall, handsome military man apologizes, saying he did not see her. Erin discovers that he is driving to the Baldwins. Upon offering her a ride he introduces himself as Ashley Longworth. Erin stares after hearing the name. When Erin introduces Ashley to the sisters, Miss Mamie is stunned, saying to him that 'you're the image of your father’. Miss Emily faints at the sight of her Ashley Longworth, believing him to be her long-lost suitor. Upon being revived Miss Mamie comforts her sister while Erin pours Ashley a cup of the Recipe. Miss Mamie attempts to tell Miss Emily that this Ashley is her Ashley’s son, but she will not listen. Ashley and Erin talk with a strong undercurrent of romantic thoughts running between them.
Elizabeth goes to Corabeth for advice on whether or not she needs to wear a brassiere. Corabeth is shocked at the question, sidestepping an answer. Later John is upset when only Erin and Elizabeth are able to sit down for dinner on time. While Erin announces that Ashley Longworth, Jr. is visiting the Baldwin sisters Jason and Ben rush to the table followed by Mary Ellen and Jim Bob. John announces that to keep the family together he will become the ‘chief cook and bottle washer’ and cook them a Sunday turkey dinner with all the fixings. While Erin and Mary Ellen dress for church they decide to invite the Baldwin sisters and Ashley for dinner. Miss Emily prepares for church by wearing her hair and choosing a dress appropriate to the times when her dear Ashley came to call.
The family is surprised to discover that John is a good cook. John admits there is nothing to cooking, he just does not want to do it everyday. Ashley and Erin volunteer to wash the dishes in order to be alone. They both admit interest with the other. Ashley asks to see her tomorrow night before he leaves.
Elizabeth is troubled with how she looks; sometimes wanting to be a woman, sometimes a little girl. John compares her feelings to a butterfly struggling to escape its cocoon. John says she has the 'in-betweens'.
Ashley drives through the countryside, taking a shortcut recommended by Miss Emily. Ashley attempts to tell Miss Emily sometime important, but she continues to believe he is her true love. Trying to turn around, the car becomes stuck in a mud hole. Ashley searches for help. Erin waits for him to arrive, crying herself to sleep when he does not appear. John calls Olivia to tell her about his concerns with their daughters, even though he will visit her tomorrow. Olivia reassures John that she will take care of Elizabeth's problem.
In the morning John is off to see his wife. While Erin and Mary Ellen eat breakfast Ashley enters to explain why he missed their date. Erin refuses to listen until Mary Ellen says, 'Quit being stupid!' They take a walk while Ashley explains the problems that forced him away from her. When Miss Mamie tells her sister that Ashley has already left the house, she is sure he has gone to their special place, the tree where he hid her ring. Arriving at their secret place, Miss Emily observes Erin and Ashley kissing. She runs away shocked at what she saw. Ashley explains to Miss Mamie what happened. She tells him to leave.
John returns with a present of a camisole for Elizabeth from her mother. Erin explains to Miss Emily that her kiss with Ashley was just like when she kissed Ashley's father many years ago under the same tree. She tells Miss Emily that Ashley has a gift for her. When Miss Emily confronts Ashley she knows that his father is dead. She admits he has been with her all these years. Ashley says that his father married late in life but told him of his first love, Miss Emily. Ashley presents her with a letter that his father wrote to her before he died. Erin and Miss Mamie are relieved to know she has returned to the present. Ashley kisses Miss Emily on her cheek and leaves with Erin. Miss Emily remains with her memories saying, 'Life does flow merrily on, does it not?' Miss Mamie responds, 'I think that is what it is supposed to.' While Miss Mamie pours some of the Recipe, Miss Emily privately reads her treasured letter from her only love, Ashley.
"In the days to come, Miss Emily and Miss Mamie looked forward eagerly to Ashley's letters and occasional visits. The final words from his father to Miss Emily were never included in the Baldwin's memoirs but were locked forever in Miss Emily's heart".
Elizabeth: Are you writing another letter to Ashley Longworth, Erin?
Erin: What if I am Elizabeth? He writes very nice letters to me!
Elizabeth: I think I kinda like the sound of it.
Erin: Of what?
Elizabeth: What your name might be - 'Erin Longworth Junior'!
Erin: Goodnight, Elizabeth....
Elizabeth: Goodnight, 'Junior'!.....
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); the Baldwin sisters (Mary
Jackson & Helen Kleeb); Ashley Longworth Jr (Jonathan Frakes).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"In the early months of 1942 it seemed as if the only thing that didn't change was Waltons Mountain itself. The mountain was the one thing that endured in a time when all else was in turmoil. Old friends went into the service or into defense work. America was on the move and newcomers came and went. One such stranger set off a series of shock waves in our house, with the first one coming at about 3 o'clock in the morning of a fine spring day".
Ben loudly blows the horn of Cindy's red convertible as they drive up to the house. The family rush downstairs in time to see Ben carry his new bride over the threshold. The couple announces they were married in Elkton, Maryland where a marriage license is not required. Grandma joins the stunned family as they are introduced to Cindy for the first time. Cindy tells them that she did not have any brothers or sisters yesterday, or even a grandmother. She informs them that she loves Ben with all of her heart and soul. Before leaving to the shed for their wedding night, Cindy throws her bouquet. It lands on the floor but Elizabeth quickly picks it up. After leaving John fumbles awhile, then says, 'Well, she was really pretty, wasn't she, Ma?' Grandma responds, 'Oh, boy!' They return to bed wondering why Ben did such a crazy thing.
Over breakfast the family discuss what happened. After going their separate ways, Ben walks inside. Mary Ellen pours him a cup of coffee before leaving to awaken her son. John asks, 'What in the hell do you think you're doing?' Ben tries to explain but John is more worried about how Olivia will react. John insists he call her immediately before she hears it from someone else. John winces as Ben tells Olivia that he just married Cindy. Afterwards, Ben fixes Cindy breakfast in bed while talking about their new life together.
Ike learns about Ben and Cindy from Miss Fannie. He tries to tell Corabeth but she is more interested in the Alexander Browning estate at Doe Hill. During her childhood its fountain with large, white marble basin and cascading waterfall emanating from the god Pan enchanted her. Now, the estate is up for auction and Corabeth instructs Ike to buy the fountain. When Ike tells Corabeth the news about Ben, Corabeth exclaims, 'Oh, poor Olivia!' She goes directly to the telephone to learn more from Fannie Tatum.
John explains to Ben that the family is not angry with him, but hurt that they were left out. Cindy returns from picking up her possessions, telling her Aunt Susan about the marriage, and sending a cable to her father. Cindy unpacks a record player that she bought. Ben becomes upset at its huge price. Cindy says she used her allowance but Ben informs her that she will live only from his earnings. Mary Ellen hears their first fight, then watches as Ben stomps out. Mary Ellen listens to Cindy, then tells her that the family is preparing a special dinner for them. Inside the house, John finds Grandma wrapping a present for Ben and Cindy. He is surprised to find her accepting the situation. Grandma explains that Zeb would have accepted them, and so will she. Grandma looks at her husband's photograph and says, 'Old fool!'
That night the couple receives a photograph album from John, a sampler from Grandma, and a wash basin, bathtub, and toilet from Jim Bob. Ike and Corabeth come calling late asking to borrow John's truck. When Corabeth asks Mary Ellen that they wish to congratulate the newlyweds, she firmly says, 'I wouldn't!' In the shed, Ben and Cindy dance to romantic music.
In the morning Cindy is putting up curtains when Ben finds out that the material was reserved to make a new tablecloth and that Olivia's sewing machine became broken. Ben says to ask him before doing anything. Cindy begins to feel that Ben is telling her what to do, rather than letting her make her own way. Ike returns to tell his wife that he bought the fountain for fifteen dollars. Corabeth can not believe the price and, when seeing it, insists it is not her fondly remembered fountain. Ike compares its minuscule size with monkey bars that look lower as one grows in height. Corabeth says to remove it, but Ike has other ideas.
Work is caught up and Ben likes how Cindy has transformed their new home, so tells her they are going out to supper and a movie. Cindy rushes to take a bath but forces everyone to wait for her. Ben finds a 'line that reaches to Rockfish' and speaks harshly to Cindy. The family thinks he is being too hard on her. Cindy is mad at continually being ordered around and drowns out Ben's yelling with her record player. John advises his son that he and Cindy just need more time together and more space between them.
Ike secretly sets up the fountain to surprise Corabeth. When Ike leads her to the mystery, Corabeth finds water majestically cascading down from her fountain through a three-tier pedestal. The image brings back her dreams.
In the morning Ben announces that Cindy is leaving. Grandma tells Ben to 'listen' and 'come' as she walks to the shed. She tells Cindy to 'love him'. Cindy admits she does, but compares him to her father as 'loud and bossy'. When Grandma takes the broom in her hand, Ben advises her that telling Cindy to take the broom to him, like she did to Grandpa, will not work. But when Grandma says 'old fool, young fool', Cindy lays down the law telling Ben that their life must be 'theirs' not just 'his'. Ben finally realizes his mistake.
"The newly-weds kissed and made up once again, this time it took and the marriage went well for both Ben and Cindy. To this day in their house, there's a broom in the corner of the kitchen and Grandma's sampler on the wall - God Bless Our Home".
Cindy: Goodnight Ben.
Ben: Goodnight Mrs Walton!
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); Cindy (Lesley Winston).
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"The absence of a loved one can make the days seem endless and the nights all the darker, especially in spring when the weather is gentle and moonlight stirs the heartstrings. During my mother's illness our family sorely missed her presence and without her my father was a lonely vulnerable man".
Coming home after a late shift at the hospital Mary Ellen sees her father waiting for everyone to return. Jason soon returns from the Dew Drop Inn informing them that Thelma sold the business and moved to California. He is worried how to pay expenses for the last few weeks before graduation if the new owner does not rehire him.
The next morning Jason drives to the Dew Drop in his best suit to learn his fate. He walks in to find the new owner, Mrs. Callie Jordan. She can not believe Thelma paid so much for his piano playing until she hears him perform. Mrs. Jordan hires Jason on the spot. She is also thinking of remodeling the place by extending the bar and enlarging the dining room. Jason suggests she use his father's lumber business to make the improvements. Callie calls John by name, even though Jason has not mentioned his name.
Outside Ike's store, Cindy and Elizabeth realize that the soldiers have no place to go during their off-hours. Elizabeth recommends using Godsey Hall as a canteen. They walk inside to persuade Ike to donate the space. Ike eagerly agrees but Corabeth must be convinced. Cindy suggests Corabeth could become the hostess. She is pleased by the role. The family plans the formation of the canteen over dessert.
John prepares to visit the Dew Drop in order to talk to Mrs. Jordan when the family kids him about the good-looking lady owner. When John enters the establishment he waves at Jason and walks up to the bar. Callie asks Jason to play Oh You Beautiful Doll, one of John's favorite songs. Callie calls out 'Johnny'. In response John yells out 'Callie May', not believing whom he is seeing. While they hug Callie says, 'Yes, Callie May is back in town!' John and Callie spend the night talking about 'the good old days'.
In the morning Callie walks into Ike's store. Ike does not recognize her until she mentions Miss Tate, Ike's favorite high school teacher. After she leaves, Ike remembers that John dated Callie May after Olivia's parents objected to her seeing him. John makes suggestions concerning the remodeling, but Callie has other ideas. They get into a big argument, just like when they were dating in high school. On the way out Callie throws a beer mug at John, barely missing him. John declares, 'You always did have a lousy aim!'
John calls Olivia but does not mention Callie May, much to the dismay of the girls. Later they all go to Godsey Hall in order to decorate the canteen. While discussing that John is lonely and at 'that dangerous age', Cindy mentions that Callie has 'been around'. Mary Ellen and Ben start calling their father 'Grandpa' to emphasis his family responsibilities. But Mary Ellen says, 'He doesn't look like a grandfather.' Ben responds, 'He doesn't think like one either'. John delivers lumber to the Dew Drop whereupon Callie suggests they race to Ike's store. John takes a less traveled road to beat her. Corabeth observes the two racing to the store. John asks what his prize is for winning. Callie begins to show him but John says he 'better settle for a soda'. Inside the store Ike, John, and Callie reminisce about playing hooky. Callie describes in detail the time she and John privately went to the old swimming hole on a very hot day in the spring.
Opening day of the canteen brings in no soldiers. Finally a man arrives asking for a beer. When he finds only soft drinks and sugar cookies, he leaves for the Dew Drop. While John baby-sits he receives a call from Callie asking him to look over the remodeling plans she just received. Entering the house, she admits how often she imagined what it would have been like living here. Callie realizes that 'Olivia is not gone, she's here.' John agrees. Mary Ellen arrives to find them sitting on the sofa. But Callie jumps up when Mary Ellen says all the soldiers at the canteen were going to the Dew Drop. After leaving, Mary Ellen tells John that she knows what it is to be lonely and that old memories are not always buried as deep as we think.
Jason walks into the Dew Drop to practice the piano. John walks out after agreeing to look for fixtures with Callie. Jason mentions that the canteen is closing because only a few soldiers visited. She later enters the canteen to suggest using it as a home-away-from-home. She agrees to contribute money to the new venture. They remodel with a ping pong table, cards, checkers, and old furniture from around the community.
Outside the Dew Drop Ike confronts Callie, saying her first two marriages failed because the men did not measure up to John Walton. On Saturday morning John finds Callie not wanting to go to Richmond. She had planned on stealing him from Olivia, but after getting to know his family could not go through with it. John says, 'We could have had a good life together, but we went down different roads.' He tells Callie that Olivia means everything to him, but they can still be friends. He convinces her to go shopping in Richmond with Ben, Cindy, Mary Ellen, and John-Curtis.
"Callie May Jordan became a respected member of the community and a good friend to all our family, young and old".
Mary Ellen: You still awake, Daddy?
John: Hitting the old pillow pretty quick, Honey.
Mary Ellen: Everybody's back from the canteen and Jason got home half an hour ago.
John: I know. I've been reading Corabeth's book tonight - Faithful to the End.
The other one is better.
Mary Ellen: The Constant Heart I just finished it, it's worse.....
John: Goodnight Mary Ellen.
Mary Ellen: Goodnight Daddy.
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); Callie May Jesse Jordan
(Dorothy Tristan); Cindy Brunson Walton (Leslie Winston); John-Curtis (Michael and
Marshall Reed); the Sergeant (Christopher Carroll); Soldier #1 (Wyatt Knight); Soldier #2
(Daniel Zippe).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
"Although my brother Jim Bob loved the mountain as much as the rest of us, since childhood he had dreamed of heights beyond its summit. Now, in the Spring of 1942, as those dreams appeared to be within his reach, it seemed that he was finding new energy and purpose. If we were disappointed, it was only because Jim Bob was quietly building to a crisis that would turn his life in a different direction".
A paper airplane flies down from Jim Bob to his father's feet. John observes that the airplane is shaped from an English paper with a grade of 'F' on it. He finds that Jim Bob is flunking English and is performing poorly in his other school classes. Elizabeth suggests he get help from Corabeth. Jim Bob does not like the idea but is forced to call her.
Sergeant Chuck Turner, Curt's boyhood friend, visits Mary Ellen after getting a pass from Camp Rockfish. At the same time, Jim Bob and Ben are locating a blade for the power saw when a Charlottesville policeman stops Jim Bob for running a stop sign. Ben argues with the officer who then forces them to the county court house after noticing Jim Bob is driving on an expired license. Mary Ellen invites Chuck for supper while Jason and John wonder what has delayed the boys. They finally arrive but Jim Bob is upset after failing the eye test when applying for a new driver's license. He now realizes that without 20/20 vision he will not be able to become a pilot in the Air Corps. At supper Mary Ellen tries to bring Chuck and Erin together. Jim Bob leaves the table early, obviously still upset. John follows him to the tree house where he relates a story about a circus that came to town when he was ten years old. Wanting to attend the circus young John performs various jobs to earn the necessary twenty-five cents. But in the morning he finds that the circus had left a day early. Later that night Grandpa brings his disappointed son a telescope in order to look at the nighttime sky. John relates to Jim Bob how small his problem felt after looking at the immense sky. John tells his son not to give up his dream.
Mary Ellen takes Jim Bob to Dr. Canfield for an eye examination. While waiting Mary Ellen runs into Chuck at the library. He is checking out a book on building houses in order to be ready for the post-war construction boom. Mary Ellen is reading the book Mardi Gras Summer. Later Jim Bob tells Mary Ellen that he has astigmatism and will need glasses. Jim Bob tears down his flying-related pictures and model airplanes. While looking on Jason suggests that his younger brother become a navigator or maintenance officer. Jim Bob asks him how he would feel if he tuned pianos but no one would allow him to play one. Jim Bob takes his unwanted possessions to Buck Vernon's junkyard where he is offered two dollars fifty cents. Wondering why Jim Bob is not asking more money, he raises the price to three dollars. When Buck finds out Jim Bob has given up his dream he offers Jim Bob five dollars, promising to keep his possessions in case he changes his mind. On the way out Jim Bob notices a propeller hanging from the wall.
In the morning Chuck calls Erin for a date. She accepts because he is Mary Ellen's friend. Jim Bob walks downstairs to announce he is quitting school saying there is no point to return. He has decided to join the army. John refuses to sign his enlistment papers and forces him back to school. Jason tries to convince Mary Ellen to start a social life but she refuses, stating that she is now a widow with responsibilities.
Corabeth tells John that she hopes Jim Bob will resume his studies. She also tells John that Miss Winfield, the schoolteacher, hopes he can return to school after feeling better. John is surprised to learn all of this. As Corabeth leaves, John confronts Jim Bob who becomes angry at her for butting in. He tells Corabeth that everyone laughs at her for her pompous ways. She leaves hurt by his words. Jim Bob admits that he has been visiting recruitment offices in the area. In desperation at his son's lying and back-talking John reluctantly signs his recruitment papers. Jason comforts his father telling him he made the right decision.
In the morning Jim Bob prepares to enlist. Mary Ellen hands him his new glasses but he refuses to wear them. John says he does not feel good about what his son is doing but shakes his hand and hugs him. On the way to Rockfish Jim Bob finds Corabeth stranded beside her car. Jim Bob offers to fix her flat tire and she coldly accepts. At the house Chuck arrives for his date but Erin has forgotten. Mary Ellen tries to hurry her up. She learns that Erin is not really interested in Chuck but suddenly realizes she thinks highly of him. While changing the tire Corabeth says she would hate to see him give up his whole dream. Corabeth realizes what people say about her but has always dreamt about becoming a ballerina or tragic actress. When she found herself clerking in a general store she had to find a way to keep part of her dream alive. By speaking a French phrase or quoting Shakespeare she is fulfilling part of her dream. She advises Jim Bob that if he wants to fly he must find a way to do it, and not allow a pair of glasses to stop him. Jim Bob kisses her on the cheek. Instead of Erin walking downstairs for the date, Mary Ellen appears at the foot of the steps. Chuck is pleased, all along wanting to go out with Mary Ellen.
As the couple pulls out of the driveway, Jim Bob arrives with a propeller in his car. He announces his intention to build an airplane so he can gain experience as a mechanic for the Air Corps. While wearing his new glasses, Jim Bob shows John a picture of the airplane.
"Jim Bob failed English that term, but with Corabeth's help he managed to catch up in summer school. He never did excel in literature and he never flew for the Air Corps, but he hung on to his dream and one glorious day after the war the airplane that he had built on Waltons Mountain carried him briefly into the sky, and all of us were there to cheer him on".
Jim Bob: Goodnight Daddy, goodnight Jason.
Jason: Goodnight Jim Bob, goodnight Erin.
Erin: Goodnight Jason, goodnight Elizabeth.
Elizabeth: Goodnight Erin, goodnight Mary Ellen.
[silence....]
John: Mary Ellen?
Erin: She's not home yet....
John: Oh Lord...... goodnight everyone.
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); Chuck Turner (Kevin Geer);
Buck Vernon (Barry Cahill); the Deputy (John Lawrence); Dr Canfield (Jerry Hoffman);
John-Curtis (Michael and Marshall Reed).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
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"In our house all of us had that strong and very personal link with other generations, so that past and present sometimes blended with unexpected results. None of us knew from what ancestral source my brother Jason's love of music had sprung, just that it built up in him until it had to be expressed. As he neared Graduation, Jason found himself returning to that source for inspiration, and it was nearly to prove disastrous".
Grandma looks on as Jason despairingly struggles with his final music composition before graduation from the Keinberg Conservatory of Music. Elizabeth does not understand the title Polyphonic Overture; thinking it sounds too stuffy. Adding to Jason's frustration, Ben and Cindy are loudly talking in the living room. After complaining about the commotion, Jason blares out, 'Just leave me alone'. He leaves for the Baldwin house as Miss Mamie and Miss Emily discuss how they will preserve their historical artifacts and, especially, to whom they will pass on 'The Recipe' when they die. The sisters let Jason use their piano to compose. As they watch and listen to him their attention turns again to the organization of their memories. Jason indicates that with these troubled times many people are worried about preserving the past. The Baldwin sisters suggest they share their relics of the past with the community.
At Ike's store Miss Mamie and Miss Emily discuss with Corabeth, Ike, and Mary Ellen their plans to 'salute and preserve the past' in a Founders' Day. The special event would be a gathering of all families who first settled the area. Corabeth suggests a committee composed of herself, the Baldwin sisters, and Mary Ellen.
John finds Jason in the barn trying to develop his composition. Jason admits he feels limited by the rules imposed by his professor. John suggests he listen to his own voices. The family talks about Founders' Day, except Grandma and Jim Bob who do not like the idea. Grandma is against including within the festivity her precious diary of Rome Walton, the first pioneer and first Walton to settle the Mountain.
Miss Mamie and Miss Emily find a document they believe to be the oldest one they possess. The letter states that their Papa's great-great-grandfather Fitius Lewis Baldwin left Culpepper County to become the first settler of the Mountain in Jefferson County. The sisters now believe Walton's Mountain should have been named Baldwin's Mountain. Late in the night Elizabeth finds Jason struggling at the piano. He reminisces of the trouble that John-Boy faced while writing his first novel. Elizabeth reminds her brother that John-Boy wrote about the things he knew and cared about. The uncertainty Jason has been facing lifts as he asks Elizabeth to listen to an unfinished composition that focuses on familiar surroundings. Jason has found his way as he erases the old title, renaming the new composition Appalachian Portrait.
In the morning John finds a rejuvenated Jason still working at the piano. Over breakfast the family discusses the feature entertainer for Founders' Day. Grandma walks over to Jason and indicates her choice. Everyone agrees that Jason's composition is perfect for the day of remembering. Ike and Corabeth's search over family records finds that Isaac Edelbert Godsey homesteaded on the first mountain of size due west of Scottsville in Jefferson County. The entry proceeds to say that a full year passed before another settler arrived. The Godsey's now believe Walton's Mountain was erroneously named.
The Baldwin sisters ask advice from Ike and John about to whom they should leave the formula to their Recipe when they die. After the two agree to help, Miss Mamie and Miss Emily enter the store for a committee meeting. Over tea the committee members argue who really was the first settler in the area.
Jason shows his new composition to Professor Bowen who is outraged that it ignores the formal musical conventions he assigned. Jason invites him to Founders' Day but the professor couldn't care less about attending the function. After supper Jason tells the family that his professor may flunk him because his composition is too contemporary for his tastes. The family also discusses the claims of the Godsey's and the Baldwin's. When family pride comes in doubt Grandma produces the diary of Rome Walton. John reads the passage where Rome confronts his second freezing winter on the Mountain in the year 1766. During this year Rome writes where Fitius Baldwin arrives with the finest whiskey he had ever tasted. A later excerpt tells where Isaac Walton took supper during Rome's tenth year on the Mountain.
John and Elizabeth invite Professor Bowen to Founders' Day. He does not listen to John but Elizabeth gives the professor the book Walton's Mountain, saying it describes what her father was trying to say.
At Founders' Day the Baldwin sisters announce they will donate their house as a Founders' Hall for a collection place of all the community's artifacts. John welcomes everyone to the special event. He says it is not really important who was the first settler in the area, but it is more important that families have lived and worked on the Mountain for generations. At this time Professor Bowen arrives now aware of Jason's feelings. John introduces Jason who uses his music to express his memories of Walton's Mountain.
"There is something within us that tells us all we will ever know about ourselves. There is a destiny that tells us where we will be born, where we will live, and where we will die. Some men are drawn to oceans, they cannot breathe unless the air's scented with the salty mist. Others are drawn to land that is flat, and the air is sullen and as leaden as August. My people were drawn to mountains, they came when the country was young and they settled in the upland country of Virginia that is still misted with a haze of blue which gives those mountains their name. They endured and they prevailed, through flood and famine, diphtheria and scarlet fever, through drought and forest fire, whooping cough and loneliness, through Indian wars, a Civil War, a World War, and through the great Depression, they endured and they prevailed. In my time I have come to know them -
Grandpa, in memory I touch your face, a distance from me now, I feel you near. The
Coyote will disappear from the earth, and the whooping crane will follow the passenger
pigeon, but you will endure through all of time. Grandma, I touch your hand, and when I do
I touch the past. I touch all the small ships that brought us to this country, and all the
strong brave women who faced a frontier and made it home.
(Olivia and John) - Strength and love came together here, so not the same they did not
seem a pair, bound together they were so much one, all I ever want is what they've had so
long, and lived so well.
(Jason) - A brother with an alien name, the ancient Jason went searching for the Golden
Fleece, our Jason makes voyages every day, and never leaves the mountain.
(Mary Ellen) - A first baseman grown to wife and mother, soft and stronger as she grew.
(Ben) - A temper always at the ready hides the best of him, but I know my brother as my
friend.
(Erin) - A pretty girl deepens into beauty, impatient for time to pass and bring her love.
(Jim Bob) - His head most often in the clouds causes the rest of him to stumble, but
seldom really fall.
(Elizabeth) - A little sister full of wonder and far enough behind to be a joy.
(Ike and Corabeth) - And closest family were our neighbors, linked to us in ties as strong
as blood.
(The Baldwins) - Gentility and graciousness lived there too, the past flowing into the
present, the present blending with yesterday.
I have walked the land in the footsteps of all my fathers, back in time to where the first one trod, and stopped, saw sky, felt wind, bent to touch mother earth, and called this home. This mountain, this pine and hemlock, oak and poplar, laurel wild and rhododendrum, home and mountain, father, mother, grow to the sons and daughters to walk the old paths, to look back in pride, in honored heritage. To hear its laughter and its song. To grow to stand and be themselves one day remembered. I have walked the land in the footsteps of all my fathers. I saw yesterday and now look to tomorrow".
Elizabeth: Daddy?
John: Yes Honey?
Elizabeth: Was Rome Walton my great great great great grandfather?
John: Well let's see - he was Pa's great great, great grandfather, so that makes
him your - no, that's wrong there's too many greats.
Elizabeth: But don't you know, Daddy?
John: Why don't you look it up in the family Bible, Honey?
Elizabeth: That's great, Daddy, really great!
Everybody: Goodnight Elizabeth.....
Elizabeth: Goodnight everyone.
Also appearing -
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); the Baldwin sisters (Mary
Jackson and Helen Kleeb); Professor Bowen (Dean Jagger); Cindy (Leslie Winston); John
Curtis (Michael and Marshall Reed); Music Student (John Dayton); Radio announcer (Hank
Stohr).
Special guest: Grandma (Ellen Corby).
Notes:
(Synopsis by William Atkins)
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