The Waltons

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.