Hi everyone,
Only a few notes from people this digest. I suppose it is a busy time of the year over there for some of you. I know that many of our list members are either teachers or students, so I imagine that May gets very hectic as your school year comes to a close. Over here it has plunged into winter very quickly with today being really quite cold. We have finally had some decent rain too which is quite a relief. Everything was getting really dry and brown.

Remember that you newer members might like to drop a line just to introduce yourselves to the rest of the group. Don't forget too, to share any Waltons news that you come across. It was great to have a few of you write and say that Mary McDonough had been on ER recently over there. We are probably a season behind you but the episode will eventually air here too. James (my son) and I have enjoyed watching Ralph Waite as a "baddie" on Murder One too. It was a very interesting character change!

Well enjoy the rest of the digest. Talk to you all again soon, Karen.

From Brenda:

Hi Everyone, I just received my Walton Digest #10 and I enjoyed it just as much as the others. To respond to some of the questions/comments:

Jefferson County: I had assumed that the name was chosen for Thomas Jefferson, not Jefferson Davis. Thomas Jefferson was from that part of Virginia. He founded the University of Virginia, was the author of the Declaration of Independence, and his home, Monticello, is in nearby Charlottesville. I don't think there is actually a Jefferson County anywhere in Virginia, but there is a Jefferson County, West Virginia, which of course was part of Virginia until the Civil War.

Earl Hamner's accent: I also find his accent interesting and unique. I live in West Virginia. My accent does not sound like his. But in some areas of West Virginia, near the Virginia border, people do have that accent. I have also thought that some of the pronunciations sounded Canadian, and have wondered if maybe the original settlers in that area came from the same place in England or wherever that many Canadians also came from.

Walton Actors: I have seen David W. Harper (Jim Bob) in the TV miniseries The Blue and the Gray.

The Homecoming: I think The Homecoming was made as a TV movie before it was decided to have an actual TV series about The Waltons. The movie was a huge success, and probably then the decision was made to make a series about the family. Maybe the actors in that movie did not want to commit to a long-running TV series, so they chose other actors/actresses for those parts.

KAREN'S COMMENT: Thanks for all the news Brenda. I also thought that Jefferson County would have been named after Thomas Jefferson, probably because he is the only "Jefferson" I have ever heard of. :-)

From Rob:

With regards to the children's other acting jobs: David Harper was in a movie called "Fletch" which starred Chevy Chase. Judy Norton used to be in those Celebrity Sports contests, she has recently been producing Dinner Theater.

KAREN'S COMMENT: Thanks Rob. I've never heard of "Fletch" but I have heard of the mini series which Brenda mentioned. I gather David is no longer acting as a profession? Does anyone know what he is doing?

From Beth:

Jefferson County: Thank you Jeff. I hadn't considered that possibility! It just seemed to be odd that they would mention all those other places by their real names, but like you said, Walton's Mountain and the Waltons were not real names either! Thanks for suggesting another possible reason for the name change!

Earl Hamner's Accent: Earl Hamner's accent isn't odd for Schuyler/Nelson Co. Virginia. I am originally from there and also pronounce "house", "out" and "about", etc. as he does. So do all of my friends. There are many people there now who have been transplanted, but those of us originally from the county do speak with that accent. It is not typical of extreme southern Virginia, where I live now, because I get teased very frequently about my accent. My husband, who was born and raised in Martinsville, Va does not speak with the same accent as I. I know of people from Lynchburg that have the same accent though. If you'll research, this is typical of a true southern accent. I don't remember where I heard it or where I was, but a documentary I have seen tells that that is the way a true southerner used to pronounce the "ou" sound. Anyway I guess it has evolved into what it is today.

Waltons Actors: Kami Cotler is a special education teacher in Virginia. I didn't know she was expecting, but I could probably find out easily if she has already had the baby! I also knew that Ben's wife died (does anyone know what caused her death?) but I haven't seen him in any acting jobs.

KAREN'S COMMENT: Again lots of information which I didn't know! Just ask the members on the list and you're sure to find someone knows the answer. :-) Someone on the list wrote and told me that Kami was expecting her first baby in April. I believe that Eric Scott's (Ben) wife died of cancer just before A Walton Thanksgiving went into production, so probably around the early 1990's. She died not long after having their baby. A very sad story isn't it? It seems such a lot of grief to have to deal with at such a young age.

From Lee:

Hey Marlene, that was great info on genealogy. I believe that the argument over the mountain is in Founders day. It is also where Jason plays his song Appalachian Portrait. I was wondering if anyone knew if the actor that plays Jason (I am a bad Waltons fan I dont know his real name off the top of my head!) wrote that song or not. It was really pretty. Too bad they couldn't have shown pictures of the real Appalachia's. A California lot is just not the same.

Anyway, the episodes I found Baldwin cousins in are as follows:

1. The Typewriter: Raymond the writer, Elvira with bats, Marvin with Fleas.
2. A new one for the list is Rev. Fordwick's mother. She was a cousin, mentioned in The Sinner. They Refer to Rev. Fordwick's mother, Sarah, as their cousin on Uncle Elwood's side of the family.
3. Cousin Octavia, mentioned in someone else's letter, was in The Hostage. She used to work for the government. She was also a shoplifter.

Now to those that seem miffed that some of US are to occupied with the time line. The time line is flexible I agree, throughout the regular series. It fudges by a year or two. But the leap of 10 years to bring the family into the sixties, does change the make up of the show. You have to admit that the times people live in affect them and help create the kind of people they are. To have them is the 60s, no older than what they were in the 50's changes their history in a way. It means Elizabeth never knew the war or the Depression. It bothers me mostly because the Waltons were a great deal like my mother's family, nearly hitting the time line perfectly. So when they make such a large change in time combined with the missing children and extra children it changes who this family is. (The disposable children are what really bug me!) Okay. I am rambling. It is not that I am obsessed with the timeline. I love the show and its continuing story. It is just an interesting thing to look for while watching and saying yes, I remember when my Mother or Father talked about when that happened. It just makes it more real. So while some of us dwell on the trivia of time line, don't condemn us for having different interest in the show than you do. We are just having fun. :0)

So..... for those that JUST FIND THE TIME LINE INTERESTING!!!!! In The Ceremony Earl Hamner Jr. says in is opening narration that "nearly 40 years ago" this was in 72 so the episode is in 32 or 33, This fits into the previous dates I have found for the 1972's time frame. Well, enough from me this week!! Great to see the growing list.

Good night John Boy.....

KAREN'S COMMENT: Thanks for the letter Lee...again full of interesting information for all of us Waltons fanatics. Actually I have managed to see the latest movie, "A Walton Easter", at last as a copy was very kindly sent to me by one of the members on the list. It was wonderful to be able to see it and finally understand all the comments which have been made.

The thing that has struck me over the last 2 movies (and I haven't seen the 1993 one) is that by the time we catch up on all that has been happening with each of the families, and follow through with the events taking place during that special (i.e. John Boy's wedding, the birth of the twins) we seem to have moved away from the very poignant moments that tended to happen throughout the series such as how Erin reacted to G.W.'s death or how the family coped with the house burning down. Perhaps I would like to see more "every day" moments in the specials, as opposed to "special events". I also think that it is important to include the children's families and the neighbors such as the Godsey's and Yancy because it is the interaction between all the people of Waltons Mountain which made the show so good.

In the 1982 movies we saw the difficulties between Erin and Paul because she was being pulled between her husband and her family. Jonesy and Mary Ellen were trying to come to terms with her not being able to have the children they both wanted. These sorts of problems rounded the story lines well, I feel, and I think perhaps they are missing in the later movies. I'm not sure if I've explained this very well but hopefully you get the gist of what I mean! :-)

From Marilynn:

Waltons Actors: I know THE LOVE BOAT wasn't a show which won critical acclaim, but it did have an episode in which Mary McDonough was a guest. Her character and another single lady were on their first cruise. Mary McD's character was wrestling with whether or not she should give in to the advances of some young man. She finally decided that this was too important to waste it on just anyone.

KAREN'S COMMENT: I don't think I've seen this episode, although I have seen plenty of other child stars from other shows pop up on The Love Boat. If she was a guest here she might also have done a Fantasy Island one as well, as the actors often seemed to appear on both.