Episode 17 - The Remembrance

(24 January 1980)
Writer: Marion Hargrove.
Director: Herbert Hirschman.
Music: Alexander Courage.

"On Waltons Mountain, as everywhere else on earth in the later years of World War Two, there was a constant feeling of dislocation and change. Until one weekend in 1944, in the midst of the chaos and confusion, we unexpectedly found a bright sturdy link between ourselves and the way of life we were so swiftly losing. A rich reminder of who we were, what we were, and where".

An elderly man walks up to the house with a suitcase in his hand. Elizabeth offers him a glass of lemonade, which he kindly accepts. The stranger says he has a 'patch of scratch gravel farm across from Methodist Creek' that is behind Big Spruce Knob in Boone County, about forty-four miles away as the crow flies. He announces his name is Zadok Walton, Zeb's cousin, and is here to meet Zeb for a picnic they planned in the spring of 1923. Mary Ellen informs Zadok that Zeb passed away three years ago.

At Camp Rockfish, Jason is nearly run down by a sergeant driving the camp commander's car. The woman yells at Jason for walking in front of the colonel's car.

Zadok takes apples out of his bag that he says 'taste better than they look'. He looks at the telephone saying he has seen them before but never used one. Zadok tells Jim Bob that a lawyer may call him on the telephone, wanting his land and apples. He walks off down the road to Ike's store, wondering if it has changed much since 1918.

Back at Camp Rockfish, Jason again runs into the sergeant while she is studying. As he prepares to compose on the piano, he introduces himself, but she ignores him. He finally succeeds at finding out that the sergeant is named Toni Hazleton. Unable to study she prepares to leave, telling Jason she thinks his composing sounds more like 'decomposing'.

With Zadok supposedly sleeping in the barn, John is awakened when he hears a fiddle being played up on the Mountain. Jim Bob, Erin, and Elizabeth also hear the music, a tune John has not heard since he was a child as young as John Curtis. In the morning, John and Elizabeth eat one of Zadok's apples. He says it is a cross between a wild apple tree and two tame apple trees. In fact, Zadok says one tree grows twelve different types of apples. The family is not sure they believe him.

Jason observes Toni arrive in Colonel Usselbury's car. She is not happy to see him again. When the colonel appears he asks Jason if he has anything better to do. Zadok tells Corabeth some 'crude' stories that Ike remarks is just because he is a hillbilly. John is looking for his cousin, who has just left. A lounger outside the store says he saw Zadok help a stranger look for the city of Westham. At Boatwright University, John finds Zadok looking the place over, especially impressed with their farming department. He tells John that a professor joked about giving him an honorary degree. Back home, Zadok becomes angry when tripping on the front steps. After he leaves, the family discusses his health problems. Ben thinks he came to die but John replies that they will continue to welcome him whatever his reason for visiting. Later, Zadok sings to John Curtis while Erin and Elizabeth wash dishes. John and Jim Bob agree that Zadok is 'fine, it’s the world that has a few shingles loose'. Soon Zadok comes in to say he doesn't think John Curtis is feeling well, so will walk down the road looking for medicine.

At Camp Rockfish, Jason is still having trouble with his composition when Toni appears. Jason says she is 'a vain, spoiled, egotistic brat'. He rushes off (forgetting his composition) but not before admitting, "I'm crazy about you".

Mary Ellen observes something strange on the stove. When she walks to her bedroom she finds that Zadok has given catnip tea and riddleweed root to her son who is ailing. Mary Ellen thinks he has poisoned her baby. But when she tells her father what happened she must mention that the doctor thinks the concoction actually helped. That night, the family hears more music coming from the forest. Upon investigating they find Zadok playing his fiddle along a stream. Zadok says he is saying good-bye to an old friend.

The next day, Toni arrives at the house to return Jason's composition. She tells Jason that if she is crabby it is nothing personal, that she is getting over something. When giving Jason his composition she makes a few comments about the piece. Jason sits down with her at the piano, agreeing with her improvements. When Toni says she is not good with words, Jason begins singing, 'Antoinette', the title of his composition. She can't believe he wrote the song for her. After they sing the song, Jason kisses Toni.

John finds Arthur Harrington, a high-priced Charlottesville attorney, driving up to the house. Harrington announces he is Zadok's lawyer, charging him two bushels of fruit for his services. In the back seat of the automobile are Dean Beck and Professor Bohannon, from Boatwright's Department of Agriculture. They are visiting Zadok to have him sign an old fashioned paper of conveyance. Zadok is gifting his twenty-one acre farm, buildings, and orchards to the university upon his death. The professors say his property is a valuable workshop and laboratory that will be preserved as a living farm. They are especially impressed with one grove of apples that are worth a fortune to the state of Virginia, even better than the Albermarle Pippin. Zadok signs and John cosigns the paper that contains three pages of restrictions.

John invites the gentlemen to their picnic. Ike and Corabeth can't believe the Zadok is giving an endowment to the school. When they ask what he is giving Boatwright, Elizabeth says, 'an apple'. At the picnic, Zadock tells that family that he "ain't met one of you I didn't like" and gives his oldest friend to this trusted branch of the family. He presents the one-hundred-eight-year-old fiddle that was owned by Roan Walton to John. He says Roan was his Granddaddy and John's Greatgranddaddy. John hands the fiddle to Jason, the musician of the family. He plays Zadok's favorite ballad Old Rosin the Beau while Zadok and the family sing along.

"Cousin Zadok had the picnic that had been pledged to him 21 years before. And having found our family suitable custodians for the fiddle, he left it with us when he departed on Monday morning. My father wanted to give him a ride back to Big Spruce Knob, but he set out on foot. He said, It's such a pretty day, I think I'll walk!"

Elizabeth: Daddy?
John: Yes Elizabeth?
Elizabeth: You reckon Cousin Zadok's home by now?
John: I don't expect it matters Honey. He just seems to enjoy traipsin' around.
Elizabeth: Caucasin'.
John: And Calahootin'.
Elizabeth: It's almost as good as having Grandpa back with us, wasn't it.
John: Almost.
Elizabeth: Goodnight Daddy.
John: Goodnight Honey. Goodnight everybody!

Notes:

Sergeant Antoinette 'Toni' Hazleton first appears in this episode. She will later become Jason's wife and Lisa Harrison will later become Jon Walmsley real-life wife.

Toni is taking two classes from the Armed Forces Institute.

The Walton children are first cousins twice removed from Zadok Walton.

Zeb is younger than Zadok. They grew up together. Zadok knew Easter.

Zadok lives in Boone County on a 21-acre plantation. Zadok is gifting his farm, buildings, and orchards to Boatwright University upon his death.

Zadok gives a 108-year-old violin that was originally Rome Walton’s violin to John, who gives it to the musician in the family, Jason.

Zadok says his name originally came from the Bible, The First Book of the Kings, verse eight, 'But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men, which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.'

Easter is visiting relatives in Buckingham County.

Jim Bob is painting Grandma's room while Rose is away.

Zadok says he hasn't seen the mercantile store since 1918, which would make it twenty-six years ago. Zadok and Zeb last got together in 1923, twenty-one years ago. Therefore, 1934 is the year. Zadok also mentioned he has not slept on Walton's Mountain hay for seventy-five years, making it the year 1869.

One of Zadok's favorite sayings is 'Good news will keep and bad news will hunt you down.'

Jason's composition 'Anttoinette' contains these words:

Ever since the day I first met you, honey.

Nothing I do is quite the same.

And I'd love to have the pleasure of your company,

'cause you're just as pretty as your name.

Antoinette. Antoinette.

You're the kind of woman who's not easy to forget.

Won't you say you'll stay.

Won't you say you'll stay.

Won't you say you'll stay.

Antoinette.

The words to the song Old Rosin the Beau can be found at: http://www.westville.org/Newsletters/Four/ATunesHistory.html.

Zadok sings to John Curtis a variation to the song The Darby Ram, whose verses can be found at: http://www.smsu.edu/folksong/maxhunter/0271/index.html

Cousin Zadok mentions that Zeb's mother was named Edzula (not sure of the spelling), and that Rome Walton was "John's Great Grand-Daddy".

The stranger says he has a 'patch of scratch gravel farm across from Methodist Creek' that is behind Big Spruce Knob in Boone County, about forty-four miles away as the crow flies. He announces his name is Zadok Walton, Zeb's cousin, and is here to meet Zeb for a picnic they planned in the spring of 1923.

Information about the Albemarle Pippin apple is found at: http://www.vintagevirginiaapples.com/apples/pippin.htm

Also appearing:

Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards), Cindy Walton (Leslie Winston), Zadok Walton (Woodrow Chambliss), Toni Hazleton (Lisa Harrison), Dean Beck (Ivor Francis), Arthur Harrington (Harry Busch), Colonel Usselbury (Ross Elliott), Professor Bohannon (John Furlong), The Lounger (Llynn Storer), John Curtis (Michael and Marshall Reed).