The Waltons - Episode Guide

The Waltons shelter a deaf girl left on their porch by her mother because her father insists on institutionalizing her. While they search for her family, they start teaching her sign language, which she uses to help Elizabeth when an emergency arises.

A traveling carnival comes to Walton's Mountain, but the children choose to sacrifice the money they had saved for it so that Grandma can replace her broken glasses. When the troupe becomes stranded by their dishonest ringmaster, John and Olivia allow them to stay in their barn, and the family is rewarded with a private show.

The Waltons' cow gives birth to a bull calf, which John decides must be sold for truck repair money, much to his children's disappointment. John buys the calf back after he learns the buyer plans to butcher rather than breed it.

John-Boy is anxious to prove himself on a turkey hunt with his father and two friends but finds he can't shoot a turkey, which he equates with premeditated murder. However, he has no trouble killing a bear when it attacks his father.

When John Boy learns that his stories need to be typed in order to be submitted to the various magazines to be published, he turns to the Baldwin sisters to see if he could borrow their father's antique typewriter. He then hides it out in the shed, where Mary Ellen soon finds it and accidentally sells it to the local junk man. After finding out what happened, they try to track it down before telling the sisters what happened.

A meteorite crashes through the roof of the Baldwin sisters' "Recipe" room, which they take as some kind of sign from their dead Papa. Grandpa takes it as a sign of his impending death; Ben takes it as a sign he will win the fourth grade spelling bee. Cousin Polonius Baldwin at first plans to exploit the meteorite for financial gain, then tries to steal their "Recipe machine".

A young preacher comes to Walton's Mountain fresh from seminary, where he has learned the currently popular fire and brimstone style of preaching. He happens to be a Baldwin relative, and after a visit, succumbs to the effects of their "Recipe". His tee-totaler church superior fires him, but after he humbly apologizes to John-Boy for his hypocrisy, Grandpa and John convince the congregation to look at the forgiving side of the gospel and accept him.

A troubled teenager from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, whose father was murdered by a gangster, runs away from the Civilian Conservation Corps to Walton's Mountain. The Waltons take him in and teach him that he can trust some people, and he doesn't have to fight for everything he gets.

A Jewish family moves to the mountain, looking to escape the persecution that forced them out of Germany. Wanting to maintain a low profile, Professor Mann tells his family that they will not practice their faith, much to the dismay of his son Paul, who was looking forward to celebrating his upcoming bar mitzvah.

John's World War I buddy visits. After he accidentally sets off a grass fire, for which Jason is blamed, and wounds the family dog on a hunting trip, John discovers his friend has not been able to put away the horrors of the war and continue with his life.

When John-Boy meets a writer passing through Walton's Mountain, he impulsively asks him to come home to meet his family. Staying a few days and helping in the mill for his room and board, the writer fills John-Boy's head with tales of travels and stories about famous authors he has known. When John-Boy's interest in these tales causes him to shirk his duties at the mill, he begins to question whether he should abandon his own writing aspirations and concentrate on his duty to his family.

John's cousin, her husband and children seek refuge in Walton's Mountain after losing their Kansas farm to the Dust Bowl, but her husband has developed a bad attitude toward misfortune. He has taught their son that the world owes them something. They shoplift from Godsey's store, and stay longer than expected. The son makes advances to Mary Ellen and fights with John-Boy before their departure.

The Baldwin sisters plan to hold a family reunion when their cousin Homer visits, but Homer runs off with their batch of over 100 jars of the "Recipe" intended for the reunion, planning to sell it in Charlottesville. Then, all of their invitations are returned because the intended recipients are either dead or moved away. The Waltons make up for the failed reunion with a family visit to cheer the disappointed sisters.

The Waltons have a contract to pick an apple orchard, but Mary Ellen shirks it to listen to a traveling musician who convinces her that her dreams are more important than her responsibilities.

Famous stage and screen actress Alvira Drummond is invited to stay at the Walton home after her car breaks down in Walton's Mountain. Contrary to the front she puts up; she is out of work and money after her agent, tired of dealing with her "prima donna" attitude. After she learns a humbling lesson, the Waltons help her regain her confidence, then organize a town performance to help her raise money for a train ticket back to New York.

A young girl's father objects to Miss Hunter's teaching Evolution. During a drunken rage he burns down the school and is killed in the fire.

Jenny Pendleton runs away from her father and stepmother, back to her deserted house on Walton's Mountain. Jenny and John-Boy meet and fall deeply in love, but she is soon traumatized by her father's sudden accidental death and ultimately moves away with the stepmother.

Olivia's uncle Cody visits from Cincinnati. He is a bachelor and a bank accountant, near retirement but put out of work by the bank closings. They attempt to cheer him up by introducing him to a lively, spirited local widow, who charms him and he begins to court her. He is discouraged after learning of her four marriages (two divorces and two deaths), but when he hears good news about the banks, he finally resolves to ask her to marry him.

A gypsy family is stranded by a broken wagon during a thunderstorm and break into the temporarily unoccupied Baldwin house for shelter. Despite hostility from others in the community, the Waltons allow them to camp on their property while Grandma tends their sick baby.

When a lumber company tries to claim the Mountain, the family discovers that their ancestors never filed for legal title to their land. They must raise $200 to obtain the deed, and the entire family tries to chip in. Against his father's wishes, John-Boy decides to take time off from school to work in Wheeling. 

When Verdie Grant learns her daughter is graduating from college, she feels embarrassed by the fact that she never learned to read or write. She asks John-Boy to teach her, on the condition that he keeps it a secret.

Local blacksmith Curtis Norton has John-Boy write letters to his prospective bride. When she arrives on Walton's Mountain, life and Curtis are much different than she expected. Meanwhile, Olivia is feeling new pangs for freedom and something "different" in her life.

John-Boy's friend Sarah sees him as a way to escape her "trapped" life with her demanding mother. When John-Boy rejects her advances, she runs off and plans to elope with a townie.

The entire family suffers a crisis when Olivia is stricken with polio. Dr. Vance prescribes the accepted treatment, but Olivia does not get better. John-Boy learns of a new treatment practiced by Sister Kenny and the family tries it to heal Olivia in time for the Easter service.

An elderly widowed neighbor in failing health asks John-Boy to take her to Virginia Beach, but he has plans to take a girl to a dance. He finally breaks his date and takes Mrs. MacKenzie to the shore, where she relives memories of her honeymoon and arrival from Scotland.

Needing some alone time, John-Boy hikes up the mountain to a deserted cabin and finds his friend Sarah Jane Simmons hiding, nine months pregnant. Her mother had placed her with a well-to-do family on the promise they would educate her. But they were only interested in using her as a servant, so she ran away and married a young man who went looking for work with the Works Progress Administration. A rainstorm strands John-Boy and Sarah, and he must deliver the baby.

When Grandpa spends the day with the Baldwin Sisters in order to make some money, he neglects to let anyone know where he is, causing Grandma and the rest of the family worry. Too proud to explain his absence to his wife, she jumps to the conclusion he was off enjoying himself, and orders him onto the couch. Grandpa packs up and leaves, feeling that at his age he doesn't need permission to spend his time as he sees fit. A local dance is the catalyst to reunite the sparring elders.

After doing some repairs at a neighbor's home, John is accused of stealing and selling some antique silver mugs. The fact that he was able to buy new tires for the truck doesn't make things any better for him. But John's pride is hurt and he is angry that his integrity is questioned, so he refuses to explain how he was able to buy tires when he had no money the day before the robbery. John-Boy and Ben do some sleuthing to clear their father's name.

An itinerant worker and his young son stay with the Waltons, causing the son to want his father to give up life on the road.

While delivering a load of fence posts to a neighbor, John-Boy spots someone he knows stealing a couple of chickens. He keeps the fact to himself and confronts the thief, who agrees to return the fowl. But when the sheriff tells the Waltons that the neighbor was shot by a chicken thief, John-Boy regrets keeping his knowledge to himself, even though he is sure the thief he saw is not capable of shooting anyone. Meanwhile Ben has a crisis of conscience of his own when he wins a poetry contest with something he feel he stole from John-Boy.

With the upcoming fair approaching, Olivia is baking her cake with special icing, Ben is preparing his pet hog for a greased pig catch, and Grandma is finishing a quilt for entry. An old beau of Olivia's, Oscar, is running for political office in Richmond, and plans to make a speech at the fair. Oscar's visit and thoughts about what her life would have been like had she married him make Olivia all the more certain that her life is a good one.

Raised in a local home for orphaned boys, Hobie Shanks couldn't wait to leave the county as soon as he was old enough. But he had pleasant memories of the times he spent with the Waltons. Hobie returns for a visit, and his boasts of being scouted by a major league baseball team thrill almost all the Waltons (and the rest of the community.) Hobie resists the Waltons' pushing him to visit the orphanage where some of the young boys there would see a hopeful future in him, so John-Boy suggests organizing a baseball game with the boys.

While picking berries Erin comes across a fawn without its mother and decides to take it home. Naturally the adults insist she return the creature to the wild, and the local game warden agrees. Meanwhile John-Boy seeks to be the rent collector for a miserly landlord, and learns a lesson by doing so (and he teaches one, too).

One particular Thanksgiving sees John Boy primping because Jenny is returning for the holiday. But an accident in the lumber mill throws a pall over the normally happy holiday as one member of the Waltons winds up in the hospital with a serious injury. Meanwhile the preparations for the big meal continue as Ben gets his chance to bring home the turkey for the first time; and Mary Ellen prepares to star in the school play as Pocahontas.

When Miss Hunter is called away unexpectedly, a substitute teacher with ways of her own takes over.

Grandma finds out she has inherited $250 and decides to share her wealth. Mary Ellen experiments with being a blond and uses Jim-Bob as a test case.

One of Olivia's new pleasures is watching the regular passage overhead of the airplane carrying mail between Washington D.C. and Atlanta. When engine trouble causes the pilot to land in the Walton's meadow, the family puts the pilot up while repairs are being made. Meanwhile the family is busy with plans for Olivia's upcoming birthday, which is causing her to question whether she has really achieved anything during her life.

Working extra at night with Miss Hunter to prepare an essay for a contest, John-Boy allows a school boy crush to become something deeper. But when Reverend Fordwick makes his intentions towards her known, John-Boy becomes jealous and wants to scrap the idea of the essay altogether until Miss Hunter realizes what's been going on and counsels him to persevere.

Growing pains cause havoc on Walton's Mountain. Grandma's upset as her 68th birthday approaches, qualifying her for an "Old Age" pension, and she frustrates everyone by refusing to seek help for dizziness and a hearing problem. John-Boy craves private, quiet space for an office in an attached cabin, but Mary Ellen is told she can use the space as her bedroom. A visiting college boy Mary Ellen encounters at the lake plunges her into confusion when he kisses her, despite being several years older.

Needing a change from the everyday routine, Olivia vents her frustrations one day. To make it up to her John proposes that they take the honeymoon trip they never had and spend a few days at the beach. Since Grandma already had a previous commitment, it is left up to Grandpa to supervise the children while Olivia and John are away.

When an agent for a company which wants to build a resort on Walton's Mountain offers John more money than he ever dreamed of, he is tempted to accept. The hot springs makes the area desirable for a spa, and John knows that his children's futures would be secure if he decides to uproot everyone and sell out.

Jason gets a lesson in life and death when his friend Seth is diagnosed with Leukemia and is given a short time to live. Jason then promises Seth that he learn to play the recorder that he is making his friend.

Olivia finds out she is pregnant and the children set out to make her and the baby a variety of presents. Elizabeth is jealous because she thinks because she is the youngest that her Mom will not love her the same way or will never have any more time for her. 

Curtis and Ann are unhappy to learn that they are unable to have children of their own. However, an orphan boy visiting with the Waltons shows them that they can still have a family by adopting him.

Strange things are occurring at the Walton homestead. The kids use a Ouija board to ask questions about future events. A small boy staying with the family is to leave soon to meet his father, but events don't turn out as expected.

John-Boy gets ready to graduate from high school in a new suit. When the cow dies John-Boy returns the suit and gets his money back and uses the money to buy another cow. John-Boy graduates in Grandpa's old suit.

A traveling salesman talks Olivia into buying a 5 foot collection of books called The Harvard Classics. He then uses the down payment to buy his daughter a doll.

John-Boy looks to buy a car he will need to get to college. On a tip, he offers to repair the storm damage to the home of a reclusive couple in exchange for the beautiful car they keep in their garage. The man grudgingly accepts but proves unwilling to part with the car because it belonged to his son, who is dead. After his wife threatens to leave him, and John-Boy gets him to talk about his son, he relents.

Grandpa's sister-in-law and her family are being forced out of their home by the construction of The Blue Ridge Parkway. The Waltons go to their land to help defend the homestead. John-Boy is torn between his ideals and the family loyalty.

Note: Beulah Bondi at age 87 won an Emmy Award for her performance in this episode.

Everything seems to go wrong on John-Boy's first day at Boatwright University -- though he makes some new friends, he also leaves an important document at home, and becomes the butt of a cruel practical joke. He also learns about the difficulties of fitting into college life as a freshman beset by upperclassmen determined to make his life miserable. In the meantime, back at the Waltons' Mountain School, Jason hesitantly tries to fill John-Boy's shoes as the eldest of the remaining six Walton children.

John-Boy enters his mule, Blue, in a local race in which Grandpa was the last Walton to win. He finds himself in competition with one of his wealthy classmates, who not only enters a thoroughbred horse but also competes with him for the attention of a female student, Selina, the granddaughter of the race's sponsor. 

When the class guinea pig dies in his care, Jim-Bob can't get anyone to listen to his distress, so he runs away. John-Boy misses a lecture by a famous travel writer to help look for him, but a chance encounter puts a positive spin on the day for them.

John-Boy teaches Olivia to drive so she can fulfill a dream by taking an evening art class at college. She finds herself in a dilemma when young male teacher Joshua Williams becomes romantically attracted to her and makes advances during the class's field trip to a museum. He later comes to their home to apologize to her and John. Mary Ellen says she wants to be a nurse.

Mary Ellen is invited to a Boatwright dance by one of John-Boy's classmates. She buys a handbag from the local junk dealer and finds an amethyst ring inside it. Even though she knows who the handbag's owner is, she rationalizes borrowing the ring for the dance and returning it later. 

John-Boy tutors a football player for an important exam as he is at risk of losing his athletic scholarship. During the exam, John-Boy notices him glancing at his neighbor's test paper. The school's honor code and his good conscience demand that John-Boy, reluctantly, turn him in, but he successfully defends his friend against expulsion. Jason catches Ben smoking cigarettes and tells Grandpa, who sets out to teach Ben a lesson about the bad habit.

After losing money in the financial crash, the well to do and snobby Hanover family from New York City move to Walton's Mountain to take over their abandoned ancestral home. John and Olivia try to teach the idealistic Mr. Hanover and his wife farm living skills, but the spoiled and fresh children quickly make enemies with the Waltons and their friends. 

On a whim, John-Boy decides to enter a 7-day dance marathon after meeting Daisy, a young woman who also enters. Olivia is angry about him entering such a grueling event but eventually comes to terms with the fact that he is becoming an adult, responsible for taking care of himself. 

The publication of John Boy's book of short stories gives John-Boy a swelled head and overshadows Jason's debut as a musician. 

John-Boy gets a job reading to a young blind woman. The woman is hostile towards him and the world in general. She goes to Walton's Mountain and realizes she has much more for which to be thankful.

It's John's turn to become restless, deciding to take a job in a machine shop in Norfolk, 90 miles away, planning to return on weekends. This frustrates Olivia, and his absence is felt by the entire family, including John-Boy, who is encountering some academic problems at Boatwright. 

A neighbor who moved away five years earlier returns to his abandoned house, saying his wife will be coming soon. The Walton women and a friend clean up the house in anticipation of her return. But then the man's son arrives with the news that his mother died two years ago, and his father has not accepted this. Also, Elizabeth has an imaginary friend.

When Grandpa has a heart attack and becomes depressed not long before his birthday, his family and friends set out to lift his spirits and restore his will to live.

Ben borrows John-Boy's car to take his girlfriend Nancy to a secret meeting with her mother, who left home several years ago. Nancy swears Ben to secrecy because she is afraid of her embittered father finding out. The good deed gets Ben into serious trouble when a joyrider temporarily steals the car and has a hit-and-run, and the victim records the license number. 

Following the death of her mother, John's cousin Corabeth arrives on the mountain to visit family. It doesn't take long for Ike to fall in love, resulting in John working on setting the pair up. Meanwhile, John-Boy arranges to have Erin's picture taken after she shares how left out she feels being a middle child.

John-Boy encounters a sassy but unprincipled girl whose selfish ways cause hard feelings and suspicion toward Danny, Jim-Bob's friend.

Grandpa and Grandma feel cut off and disrespected by the family and decide to move away to be caretakers of another farmhouse. Without Grandpa, John is forced to hire a millhand, who proves clumsy and incompetent. After the grandparents encounter problems with the malfunctioning cookstove, radio, clock, sink, and lacking transportation, Grandpa finally swallows his pride. He agrees that they can move back, to the relief of the family.

Wedding plans for the daughter of a friend go awry when the mountain custom of kidnapping the groom gets out of hand.

John wants to expand the mill and call it Walton and Sons, but Jason wants to study music. He tries to get a scholarship. John-Boy is told he should write a novel.

Grandpa wins first prize in the church raffle: a statue of a young woman, donated by the Baldwins. The statue is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem Annabel Lee, but bears a resemblance to Grandpa's old girlfriend. Grandma recognizes it, which causes strife. One of John-Boy's stories, a thinly veiled and somewhat unflattering portrayal of the Baldwins, has been accepted for publication. Still, he must decide if publishing it would be worth the hurt it would cause to Mamie and Emily.

Sally Ann Harper has eyes for Jason but Ben falls in love with her. Grandpa and John enter a billiard competition at Ike's store.

John and Olivia make plans for their 20th wedding anniversary, John-Boy falls in love with an older woman and decides to leave the mountain with her.

Things are looking up on the mountain, and the Waltons take a $500 bank loan to buy faster mill equipment. When Grandpa and then John fall ill, the family faces missed deadlines and may lose their home. John-Boy pushes himself and everyone else too hard, trying to keep up. Eventually, he and Jason decide they must give up their dreams of college to work and help the family until the community comes to their aid.

Following the death of her husband, Cousin Olivia visits the family, looking for a way to grieve her unexpected loss. When Elizabeth's cat dies while delivering a litter of kittens not long after Olivia's arrival, the two young women turn to one another deal with their grief.

When Jim Bob starts to wonder if he was adopted by the family because of how everyone is making fun of his interests, he soon learns the truth surrounding his birth when he starts investigating what happened when he was born.

When a piece of mill equipment breaks and there's no money for John to fix it, Olivia decides to take a part-time job as a dressmaker to help pay the bills. When her designs are a hit with the wealthy women in town and she is given the opportunity to work full time, Olivia is thrilled at the prospect. However, it doesn't take long for her to start missing all the time she's missing to spend with her family and ultimately has to make a decision of what she wants to do. Meanwhile, Maude Gormley, a neighbor of the Walton's, is less than thrilled when her son made a decision for her to move into a retirement home without consulting her first.

Now that Mary Ellen is 17, Grandma takes it upon herself to keep the mountain tradition alive by hosting a quilting for her. As a result, Mary Ellen and Grandma stubbornly butt heads because Mary Ellen doesn't want to partake in the custom. John Boy soon makes her see how selfish she's been acting and gets her to participate in it.

As Erin begins a new job as a telephone operator with Fanny Tatum, a misdiagnosis by nursing student Mary Ellen results in Grandma ending up in the hospital, needing a lifesaving operation.

After losing his scholarship, Jason gets a job at the Dew Drop Inn, playing music at night to pay his tuition. He then gets an idea to visit the parents of his late friend Seth, in order to talk Red into getting back on stage for a benefit show. Meanwhile, after spending some time with the Walton family, Yancy Tucker works up the nerve to propose to his girlfriend, a barmaid at the Dew Drop.

When Mary Ellen announces her engagement to Dr. David Spencer, the family is surprised. On the day of their engagement party, they get an unexpected visitor: Dr. Curtis Willard, looking to take over the practice of Dr. Vance. Mary Ellen is soon hired by the new doctor to help him get acquainted with his new patients, and as a result begins to have doubts about her relationship with David. Elsewhere, Jim Bob begins a relationship with Mrs. Brimmer's niece, Patsy.

While the wedding preparations continue, Mary Ellen finally shares her hesitation to be married with David and as a result, calls things off. As the residents of Waltons Mountain fear that Dr. Willard ran off with the money raised from the hard luck dance, John Boy starts to investigate Curtis' past employment with a mining company and is able to track him down. Upon their arrival back on the Mountain, Mary Ellen and Curtis have a confrontation and ultimately get married by Rev. Fordwick.

John and Olivia are getting ready to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary and they're trying their best to surprise one another on the big day. Meanwhile, as the younger children wonder what to get their parents as a gift, Mary Ellen finds herself trying to stave off temptation when she goes back to work, only to discover her old fiancé is working at the same hospital as her.

Looking to learn more about her family's history, Verdie asks Jason for help. However, through the course of their investigation, they learn some painful truths about her grandfather and how he was born into slavery. Meanwhile, Elizabeth becomes a pen pal with a soldier from a nearby base.

Mary Ellen's plans to join Curt at Pearl Harbor are halted after Japan's attack on the Naval Base.

When the family discovers that the new owner of the Dew Drop Inn is an old girlfriend of John's, they worry that John will get tempted to start things back up with her again. Elizabeth, Cindy decide to open a canteen for the Soldiers at Camp Rockfish.

When a German POW escapes from a nearby camp and hides out on Walton's Mountain, he befriends Jeffrey, and in turn helps the boy find the true meaning of Christmas.

After an encounter with a GI, Ben is annoyed with what he feels to be preferential treatment in regards to being deferred in the draft to work at the mill. After getting into trouble with their respective families, Jeffrey and his friend Josh Foster get in trouble gambling. When Josh gets caught trying to steal their winnings out of Ike's store, Jeffrey starts to feel guilty when Josh has to deal with all the fallout.

While home on furlough, John Boy has a hard time trying to remember when he was shot down with his friend Stewart while flying over Belgium. Ike looks to John for help when he gets drafted by the Army.

When a Mexican-American paratrooper who Curt saved at Pearl Harbor arrives on the mountain to personally deliver a medal awarded to Curt, things get off to a rocky start when bigots start picking on him due to his heritage. While there, Mary Ellen helps him work through his anger and the pair become close. Meanwhile, Corabeth crosses paths with an old beau who is preparing to go overseas with his Army unit.

It's the end of the school year on Walton's Mountain and Jim Bob will be graduating. When teacher Corabeth informs him that as long as he passes an upcoming test, he'll have the highest grades in his class and will be the valedictorian. However, Jim Bob is less than thrilled the prospect of having to stand up and give a speech and contemplates failing on purpose so he won't have to. Then on graduation day, Corabeth panics when she can't find Jim Bob and his classmates, only to have a surprise when they eventually arrive in time to receive their diplomas.

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.