Season 9 - Episode Guide

When Ben returns home from the Pacific Theater, he throws John for a loop when he makes an announcement he would like to enroll in college to become an engineer instead of returning to work with his father at the mill. Later, John receives some news from Olivia that her health has taken a turn for the worse and contemplates selling the mill in order to be with her. Meanwhile, as Erin tries to enjoy her vacation, her boss JD is lost without her in the office and as a result, stops by the house on a daily basis to beg her to come back to work early.

Now that the war is over, a restless veteran finds his way to Walton's Mountain and soon befriends Maryellen and almost the rest of the Walton family. As Jonesy and Maryellen become smitten with one another and eventually talk about getting married, Maryellen is in for a surprise when a stranger arrives in town with some unsettling and surprising news about her husband Curt. Jason decides to buy the Dew Drop Inn and is overwhelmed by how much work is needed to reopen it.

As Mary Ellen travels to Florida to find out more about Curtis and why he chose not to return to the Mountain following what happened in Pearl Harbor, Jonesy decided to stay until she returns home and temporarily gets a job working at Pickett. When Erin finds out that J.D. makes Jonesy her boss, she angrily quits, leaving him to find out rather quickly that Jonesy isn't qualified for the job. As a result of the bind he's in Jonesy is able to talk J.D. into rehiring Erin and giving her a promotion and a raise after he realizes how important she is to the company.

On his way to Walton's Mountain, Cindy's father is in a car accident and dies. While going through his papers, Cindy soon discovers that she was adopted. With Ben's help, she embarks on a quest to find her birth mother in order to find out why she was put up for adoption.

Rose's old boyfriend, Stanley Perkins, comes back to Walton's Mountain with a few secrets: being fired from his old job causing him to have a nervous breakdown. As he attempts to settle in on the mountain, Stanley soon fears that a relapse will occur and contemplates returning to the hospital for treatment; only to be talked out of it by Rose and his new friends in town.

Looking for a teaching position at Boatwright University, John-Boy undertakes the job of selling the university's board of directors on starting a television program on campus. While working on his presentation, he gets inspiration from John Curtis. Meanwhile, Rose decides to go on a diet when her competition for Stanley's affections calls her out on her weight.

After finding an old love letter in Ike's belongings, Corabeth furiously accuses him of having an affair and demands a divorce. The Walton family then sets out to try and get the couple to sit down and work things out, only to take sides in laying the blame in the Godsey's problems. Meanwhile, it's Drew and Elizabeth's one year anniversary of dating, and as a result, Drew attempts to pressure her into spending the night with him.