The Waltons repeatedly showed us how the Walton family and many others got through the "Hard Times" but still managed to treat people nicely and follow the law. This episode was designed to show that some people who weren't really bad lost sight of the important things in life and began to feel that because of the unfairness of their situation, it seemed acceptable to take advantage of others.
Early on, we see a family of three, riding in a beat-up truck, almost causing an accident with Yancy Tucker's truck by going through a stop sign. The strangers are actually cousins of the Waltons, who stop in at Ike's before getting to the Walton home.
Inside the store, we see the father, Ham Denby, order some cheese and crackers and two pops, while talking with Ike at his counter, as teenage son Job stuffs three apples inside his pockets, with his own body and his father's blocking any view Ike would have. Ike stuns him by saying the total will be 34¢. When Ham balks, Ike sternly explains that he is counting 9 cents for the three apples in the boy's pockets. The man pays and the boy apologizes.
Outside, Ham yells at his son for being so clumsy in his theft attempts, until Job reveals that he was slicker than the man inside (Ike) suspected, showing a slab of bacon and two canned goods.
The family arrives at the Walton home, and they "proudly" present the bacon, canned goods, and the apples to their hosts. The mother of the visitors, Cora is a cousin of John's and everyone is polite to them, although there are early indications of the trouble to come. The Waltons are told that Ham is expecting a letter with a job offer from Newport News and that they plan to stay until the end of the month, or two weeks at most.
The visitors cause many problems, stealing more from Ike's, reading John-Boy's journal, inducing one of the Walton children to smoke a cigarette, and more. Along the way, Grandpa teaches John-Boy about when there are times to avoid a fight and times when you need to fight.
Conversations we see between Ham and Cora let us see that Ham is bitter over the Dust Bowl causing him to lose his Kansas farm and he feels he is owed something. He thinks John has had it easy because he was given his property while Ham has so little. We see that he learns about "John-Boy's meadow"—area ripe for farming that Grandpa gave to John-Boy that will not be used by him, as he aspires to be a writer, and Ham begins scheming to get the Waltons to give him the land, feeling he deserves it.
Cora emerges near the end stronger than she had been in directing the course her family takes and we are told that they wound up farming in New York State. We see that she is tired of pulling up stakes every time things get tough and moving about as they have been doing.
There were a couple of funny scenes unrelated to the plot that helped this show shine. I thought the "lesson" about how tough times can cause people to lose sight of what's right was really well-written. I liked seeing how the Denbys were welcomed even though they were clearly causing problems and weren't fooling anyone with the story about the job awaiting Ham.
In minor matters, we hear John-Boy and Jason both call the storekeeper "Ike." I think all the previous episodes had all the children, including John-Boy, call him "Mr. Godsey." John says at one point that he is thinking of giving up pipe smoking. Mary Ellen complains that "I'm going to be 13 forever." I got a laugh over a brief bit where she is playing catch with someone about 10 feet away, who tosses her the ball and even with her big catcher's mitt, Mary Ellen drops it like she has never caught a ball in her life. I know anyone can drop a simple toss, but it struck me as funny because they repeatedly made it clear that she, more than anyone else, was a top-notch baseball player.
Early on, we see a family of three, riding in a beat-up truck, almost causing an accident with Yancy Tucker's truck by going through a stop sign. The strangers are actually cousins of the Waltons, who stop in at Ike's before getting to the Walton home.
Inside the store, we see the father, Ham Denby, order some cheese and crackers and two pops, while talking with Ike at his counter, as teenage son Job stuffs three apples inside his pockets, with his own body and his father's blocking any view Ike would have. Ike stuns him by saying the total will be 34¢. When Ham balks, Ike sternly explains that he is counting 9 cents for the three apples in the boy's pockets. The man pays and the boy apologizes.
Outside, Ham yells at his son for being so clumsy in his theft attempts, until Job reveals that he was slicker than the man inside (Ike) suspected, showing a slab of bacon and two canned goods.
The family arrives at the Walton home, and they "proudly" present the bacon, canned goods, and the apples to their hosts. The mother of the visitors, Cora is a cousin of John's and everyone is polite to them, although there are early indications of the trouble to come. The Waltons are told that Ham is expecting a letter with a job offer from Newport News and that they plan to stay until the end of the month, or two weeks at most.
The visitors cause many problems, stealing more from Ike's, reading John-Boy's journal, inducing one of the Walton children to smoke a cigarette, and more. Along the way, Grandpa teaches John-Boy about when there are times to avoid a fight and times when you need to fight.
Conversations we see between Ham and Cora let us see that Ham is bitter over the Dust Bowl causing him to lose his Kansas farm and he feels he is owed something. He thinks John has had it easy because he was given his property while Ham has so little. We see that he learns about "John-Boy's meadow"—area ripe for farming that Grandpa gave to John-Boy that will not be used by him, as he aspires to be a writer, and Ham begins scheming to get the Waltons to give him the land, feeling he deserves it.
Cora emerges near the end stronger than she had been in directing the course her family takes and we are told that they wound up farming in New York State. We see that she is tired of pulling up stakes every time things get tough and moving about as they have been doing.
There were a couple of funny scenes unrelated to the plot that helped this show shine. I thought the "lesson" about how tough times can cause people to lose sight of what's right was really well-written. I liked seeing how the Denbys were welcomed even though they were clearly causing problems and weren't fooling anyone with the story about the job awaiting Ham.
In minor matters, we hear John-Boy and Jason both call the storekeeper "Ike." I think all the previous episodes had all the children, including John-Boy, call him "Mr. Godsey." John says at one point that he is thinking of giving up pipe smoking. Mary Ellen complains that "I'm going to be 13 forever." I got a laugh over a brief bit where she is playing catch with someone about 10 feet away, who tosses her the ball and even with her big catcher's mitt, Mary Ellen drops it like she has never caught a ball in her life. I know anyone can drop a simple toss, but it struck me as funny because they repeatedly made it clear that she, more than anyone else, was a top-notch baseball player.
