The Waltons

              I've been thinking about The Waltons because Ralph Waite, the father on The Waltons, died last Thursday.   

The Waltons originally ran on TV from 1972 to 1981.  Hallmark Channel has been rerunning the program for many years.  The schedule can be found HERE.  This is how they describe the show: 

The Waltons is based loosely on the childhood of the series creator, Earl Hamner, Jr. in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.  Mr. Hamner was played by Richard Thomas.  Ralph Waite played his father.  

And before I go any further, for those of you who may not know who the Waltons were you can read up on them HERE and at the fan club site HERE.

I watched the program all through the 1970's.  We were living in a townhouse in the outer suburbs of Washington, DC, both working and childless.  I was longing for a more simpler life of being a stay-at-home Mom in a farmhouse with some land, growing my own food, raising a few animals...much like I saw my grandmother in Mississippi doing in the 1950's.  I even kept a scrapbook of articles from the newspaper of other people leaving the "rat race" and heading for the hills just as I longed to.  I think if Ken had been as enthusiastic to do it as I was we would have done it.  Instead, I lived vicariously through The Waltons.  

In 2005 my interest in The Waltons was reawakened when I discovered it was being rerun on the Hallmark Channel.  I started watching it every morning while on the treadmill (and lost 5 lbs!)  That Autumn I planned a trip to the Walton Museum and Hamner homestead in Schuyler, Virginia, not too far off the Blue Ridge Parkway.  This is my scrapbook page on the visit....

As you can read I was disappointed.  The museum was fine, but the little house above was not at all like the one in the TV show and the surrounding area was far different than the show's.  I knew that would be the case, but you know how it is when you're confronted with reality when you have a fantasy firmly fixed in your head!   We stayed at Polly & Jim-Bob's Bed & Breakfast next door.  She had been a good friend to Jim Hamner, a brother, who had lived in the house until just before his death in 2004.  Earl had moved on after the war years to become a TV writer in New York City, then in Hollywood.  Polly regaled us with stories about Jim and gave me a parting gift from her gift shop of a mug that had a photograph of Doris, the matriarch of the Hamner family, and the little house on it.

What appealed to me most about the program was the family life.  They each had their struggles--it was during the depression years.  No one was perfect.  The children often bickered with each other--even the father, played by Ralph Waite, could be short with his children and wife......but he always came back to apologize.  The show always ended with the lights going out one by one in the house as everyone said good night to each other.  Ralph Waite once said that being the father on that program helped him stop drinking.  He was well on his way to becoming an alcoholic, but playing the role of John Walton, a fine, well-respected man, helped him in his recovery.

When Richard Thomas left the show after five seasons, they replaced him with another actor.  It never quite felt right after that, but the show remained popular on the strength of the writing and the other actors.  Then Michael Learned, who played the mother, left, so they had her character get TB and end up at a sanitarium out West.  When Ellen Corby, who played Grandma, had a stroke, they wrote that into the story and brought her back once she'd recovered enough, even though her speech had been affected.  When Will Geer, who played Grandpa, died, they did not replace him.  It was the hardest to take--he was irreplaceable--Will Geer, in his role as Grandpa Walton, represented the best Grandpa anyone could ever wish for.  During all this time we watched the children grow up, from little Elizabeth to John-Boy, as they went off to college, the war, or got married.

The show was so engaging that I felt I was a part of that family, partially because I wished I had such a close-knit family, but also because the characters were real people.  I owe that to Earl Hamner's creative force and the other writers' ability to write a script that rang true-to-life.

Then in October 2006 I saw that Richard Thomas was to headline a play called "Twelve Angry Men" at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore....

I'm not usually one to go to plays nor to go to the expense and trouble of seeing artists perform live, but for some reason I did feel compelled to see Richard Thomas in this play.  I invited my family to come along, so besides Ken, my oldest son and his wife and our youngest son were able to join me.  This is what I wrote in my scrapbook following the performance....

I almost walked past him???!!!  But it all played out to perfection.  Whatever possessed me to get out of the car and walk around the block was not going to be deterred from its mission....

Could my smile get any bigger???!!!  My cheeks hurt afterwards!

I love the pleased look on Richard Thomas' face.  He knew he had his arm around one very happy fan.  He probably got a kick out of my babbling, too.  

In parting, I'd like to say thank you, Ralph Waite, for your years on The Waltons and the important part you played in my life through the years as I watched and rewatched you be the head of that endearing family.  (And thank you, Richard Thomas, for being so gracious. ☺)

Good night, everybody....Goodnight, John-Boy............Goodnight, Daddy....
                          
    
Link to another great site for more information on The Waltons: http://www.rockfish-river.com/en/