I have always connected with The Waltons and how I grew up. I have started rewatching the episodes from the beginning.
It all started from Earl Hamners book; "Spencers Mountain".
Spencers Mountain centers on the trials and tribulations of the Spencers, a poor family living in the Grand Teton Mountains of Wyoming during the early 1960s. As the patriarch of a large and growing family, Clay Spencer is fiercely independent, yet dedicated to his family. While he resists the influence of religion, he struggles to remain faithful to his wife Olivia, to allow his son to attend college, and to build a new home for his family.
The major difference between "Spencers Mountain" & "The Waltons" is the movie adaptation of Spencers Mountain is set in 1960 while The Waltons is set in the 1930's era depression.
"The Waltons" takes place in Walton's Mountain, a fictional town in Virginia. Walton's Mountain was based upon creator Earl Hamner Jr.'s hometown of Schuyler in Nelson County south of Charlottesville, Virginia.
The Walton family, consisting of John and Olivia, their seven children, and John's parents Zebulon "Zeb" Tyler and Esther Walton, struggle to make a decent life during the Great Depression and World War II. The family's story is seen primarily through the eyes of John-Boy, the eldest son and an aspiring journalist and novelist, who serves as narrator. John Walton and his father operate a lumber mill, with the Walton sons helping out in the business as they grow older. Occasional strangers needing temporary shelter for various reasons periodically stay with the hospitable Walton family. The mountain also sustains the livelihoods of a handful of colorful townsfolk, including the Baldwin sisters (two elderly spinsters who distill moonshine that they call "Papa's recipe" or "the recipe", in total innocence of its alcoholic content); general store owners/postmen Ike and Cora Beth Godsey (a distant Walton cousin); Sheriff Ep Bridges; Verdie Foster (a hardworking black woman); and Yancy Tucker (a chicken thief and handyman with big plans but little motivation).
In the signature scene that closes every episode, the family house is enveloped in darkness, save for a light in an upstairs window. Through voice-overs, two or more characters have a very brief conversation, often humorous and related to the episode, and then bid each other good-night. (e.g. "Good night, Mary Ellen." "Good night, John-Boy.".)
[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 10-16-2010).]
In retrospect, my background was closer to "The Cosby Show" than, say, "Good Times." Maybe "The Jeffersons." We lived on "The East Side" as well!
I didn't really connect with rural America until I built the lake house. Over time, I've truly learned to appreciate and value the simplicity of not being in the city 24-7.
