Walton’s Mountain, An American Treasure

By Jim Dooley 

Good night Mary Elisabeth.  Good night Ben.  Good night Grand Pa.  One by one the old farm house lights were turned out except for John Boy’s.

There were many constants which caused us to dream back about our own years of growing up with large families.  Dad would always get out early for work at their sawmill after a big breakfast with the family. In the evening when the girls were setting the table, Grand Pa would sit at the dinner table in his spot, usually picking at Grand Ma about something silly. Many stories were spun with this setting.

Story after poignant story left us smiling or crying or both.  Then the writers and producers stopped doing the things necessary to keep the series alive.   In my humble opinion, the cancellation of The Waltons will be recorded in history as the termination of an irreplaceable masterpiece of Americana.   Hollywood’s depiction of our family unit will likely never be that tightly knit again.  Sadly, we ain’t on Walton’s Mountain anymore.

Do today’s seniors know what a legacy they have to share with the current generation?  Most of today’s teens don’t know that grandparents really did stay at home with their kids until God was ready to take them home.  Nurturing that can only come from grandparents is being tragically  diminished because we aren’t involved as much as we used to be.  Blame it on a faster pace, two parents working to support the family or a dozen other societal changes.  What can be done?

There are no easy answers but the fact is we should find ways to help nurture our grands and great grands.  “Have You Hugged Your Grandchild Today” bumper stickers are fine but not much help if you don’t get out to drive.  It’s tough to get the babies over to your house for the weekend if you’re two hundred miles away.  OK, there’s always the telephone.  Our little ones do call frequently and we love it.  As a matter of fact, we have recorded many of their messages so we can hear them whenever we like. No sweeter voices in the world.

Recording brings me to my point.  Your stories and gift of words can be recorded very easily.  A modern marvel called the camcorder is perfect for recording yourself and giving to the kids.  It’s the perfect tool for capturing the essence of “the way it was” on your Walton’s Mountain.  Tell them about riding your horse to school or hitching ol’ Ned up to the buggy and going to the store for groceries.  Drawing water at the well and out house stories are naturals.  You all have memorable memoirs. Get it?

Don’t miss the opportunities available at family gatherings to record your stories.  And don’t be vain.  Get over being camera shy.  Those are characters lines.  Remember … if you’ve done this and it’s comes time to cancel your show, you will have left an irreplaceable masterpiece of Americana.