The Waltons (1971–1981): Season 4, Episode 5 - The Boondoggle - full transcript

JOHN-BOY: Of all the people
who visited Walton's Mountain

during my
growing-to-manhood years,

I remember one especially.

Come on, Elizabeth.

He was a man who brought
new ideas to an old way of life.

(HORN HONKING) For a brief time,
his presence stirred the Walton household

and threatened the time-honored
traditions of our quiet community.

Do you want a ride? Sure.

(ALL CHATTERING)

ELIZABETH: Let's
go to Ike's store!

MARY ELLEN: Let's
go to Charlottesville.



Come on, Erin. John-Boy,
you're giving us a ride home?

That's exactly where
we're going, home.

John-Boy, I don't
want to go home.

Now you can start
your chores faster.

(HONKING HORN)

I'll see you later,
John-Boy. All right.

Come on, Elizabeth.
There you go. Reckless!

MARY ELLEN: We're not getting
out until you take us for a ride.

This is a sit-down strike.

Come on, Reckless.

Come on. Get out
of the car, children.

BEN: Not till you make us.

Reckless!

All right, fine.
(GIRLS GIGGLING)



Watch out! Watch out, Ben! Hurry up!
Hurry up! Come on! Hurry up, hurry up!

(SHRIEKING)

(ALL LAUGHING)

There you are. Thanks.

Grandma, can I
do my chores later?

I wanna sell some fish that I
caught before school this morning.

You can do that after
you do your chores.

(SHRIEKING)

I gotta get into town. Come on!

Stop playing around with me.

Mary Ellen, you're
absolutely crazy!

I gotta get into town.

What are you up to?

Would you please tell
Ben to do my chores?

I gotta do a job for
Professor Parks,

so I gotta get into town.
I gotta get cleaned up.

MARY ELLEN: Catch me!

(GIRLS SHRIEKING)

(BELL RINGING)

Hey, Elizabeth.
There's Mr. Bingly.

Zeb, you got that drain
fixed? Abel Bingly's here.

We'd have had an
electric ice box years ago

if he hadn't been
an old beau of yours.

Yeah, well, you notice we
get larger chunks, don't you?

(GRUNTS)

Hi, Mr. Bingly. Hi.

Where'd you learn
how to do that?

Well, I used to travel
with Admiral Byrd.

I had to pick the ice off the
South Pole so he could discover it.

Mr. Bingly, can I
have some chips?

I have some fish I wanna
keep fresh while I do my chores.

Well, you gonna take it in your
pockets, or are you gonna get a bucket?

Thank you.

I'll be home in a couple
of hours, Grandma.

John-Boy, aren't you going
to tell us about your job?

Well, I'll tell you who's
coming to town, Porter Sims.

He's a reporter,
and a few years ago,

he covered the Scopes trial
down in Dayton, Tennessee.

You mean that trial when they tried
to prove that we come from monkeys?

Well, now, what kind of trouble
is this man coming up here...

Oh, no, no. No trouble.
He's gonna write a book.

He's a friend of
Professor Parks',

and I'm gonna be showing
him around the area.

Where's he gonna
stay? Not here, I hope.

Oh, no, no. I got him a room
at Mrs. Brimmer's. Good.

Do you think maybe it'd be
all right if he came for supper?

I don't think he'd
like our plain cooking.

Oh, he'd love it. He'd love it.

John-Boy, what kind of
book is he gonna write?

Well, it's a guide book
to the State of Virginia.

And where is he from? New York.

Well, what's a writer from
New York know about Virginia?

Well, he's with the
Federal Writers' Project.

Sounds like government to me.

Well, it is. It's Works
Progress Administration.

I'll see you in a
few hours. Bye-bye.

(SHOUTING) That's the WPA!

John-Boy! He knows how I feel
about those government shenanigans!

If you had your way, Herbert
Hoover would still be president.

(CHATTERING)

A measurer, get a measurer.

That's it, it's his
game. Come on.

Throw them again.

Cheater. Whatever.

(ALL EXCLAIMING)

(COIN CLINKING)

(ALL EXCLAIMING)

That's great. Come on, mister.

Excuse me.

Excuse me, son. Let
me finish this game here.

Too bad, huh? Excuse me, sir.

You're that young writer fellow

that Professor Parks sent
over to pick me up, huh?

Porter Sims. You're John Walton?

Well, I was expecting
you on a later bus, sir.

Well, I thought I'd take an early
one and just look the town over.

Oh, well, fine. My
car's right over here.

I'm gonna play one more
game and be right with you.

Sure. Let's go.

All right, here I go.

MAN: Come on, Jeff.
You can beat that stranger.

So you figuring on putting us on the map
the way you did with Dayton, Tennessee?

What do you know about that?

You couldn't have been
more than nine or 10.

Well, truth be told,
I'm not just a student.

I'm a stringer on the
Jefferson County Times.

When I learned you were gonna be coming
out here, I went into the back issues,

and I read those articles
you'd put out on the Scopes trial.

They were really something.

Yeah, we stirred things up
down there in Tennessee.

Made a few people mad, too.

But that's good. I like the way
you've dug into those characters.

That picture you painted
of Bryan was something.

I had no idea he was
that kind of a man.

You really think he just took that
case to get back in the public eye, huh?

Yeah, I do.

That's something.

Son, as a writer,

you should know better than
to take everything at face value.

A writer's gotta look
behind what people say.

I can see that.

Every town's got something
people don't want to talk about.

While you're here, I'm planning
to be with you most of the time.

I hope you understand if there's
times when I have to go to class.

Oh, I manage very well
on my own, thank you.

I think I should be with
you most of the time.

The people around here are friendly
and all, but, well, you never can tell.

There are people who
won't appreciate a stranger

asking them all sorts
of different questions.

Xenophobia.

Huh?

Fear or mistrust of strangers.

Well, yeah, you might run into a
little bit of that xenophobia here,

and I think I ought to tell
you about my grandma

before we go to supper
at the house. She...

Well, she doesn't
exactly see eye-to-eye

with President Roosevelt
on his WPA deal.

She sort of feels it's a waste
of the taxpayers' money.

I'll bet you've heard
that before. Yeah, I have.

SIMS: See, the trouble is there's just
not enough work to go around, you see.

I've been all over this country.

I've heard every argument there is
against Mr. Roosevelt's programs,

and I'll tell you, this
Federal Writers' Project

is one government program
we can all be proud of.

See, trouble is that this country
has lived with falsehood for so long

that some people just
don't want to hear the truth.

Now, if I have my way, this
state guide is gonna tell the truth.

Oh, good.

Mrs. Brimmer. Hi, John-Boy.

I'd like you to meet
Mr. Porter Sims here.

This is the gentleman
that I reserved the room for.

Mr. Sims. How do
you do, Mrs. Brimmer?

And this is my younger
brother Jim-Bob here.

Well, hello, Jim-Bob.

What... Oh, that's a nice mess
of fish you got there, Jim-Bob.

Wish other folks thought so.

What's the matter,
nobody buying today?

Well, when I have fresh-caught
fish nobody wants them.

When I don't, they do.

That's the old law of supply
and demand. What's that?

Supply and demand, that's...

That's when people want something
at the exact moment you've got it to sell.

Well, it doesn't work
very well with fish.

Come earlier next
time, Jim-Bob. Okay.

See you at supper time.

Mr. Sims, I have a nice room at the end
of the hall, right next to the bathroom.

Would you like to see it?

Your home comes highly
recommended, Mrs. Brimmer.

I don't think I have to see it.

Well, good, then I'll get
your bag out of the car.

Why don't you change
out of your school clothes?

Mama won't like
it if you get muddy.

You should've, too.

What are you doing?

This is my ocean.

An ocean has salt in it.

Okay, this is my pond,
like Drucilla's Pond

except it's a little
one. Elizabeth's Pond.

What good is it? It
doesn't have any fish.

I wish it did have fish.

Hey, Elizabeth, I
think I got an idea.

Are you crazy or something?

Come on, you have to
help me get these rocks up,

dam it up.

Well, last time I sat
around a table like this,

I was no bigger
than Jim-Bob there.

Well, Jim-Bob's a
big businessman now.

Yeah, only it's
a fishy business.

Well, at least it's
an honest venture,

not nearly as fishy
as some I could name.

All right, we have watermelon
for dessert. Let's have it outside.

All right. I'd love one.

Mrs. Walton, if you're
referring to my business here,

you're certainly entitled
to your own opinion.

Well, it seems to me the
WPA is just a giveaway program

for... for people that
don't wanna work.

Trouble is there's just not enough work,
honest or not, to go around these days.

GRANDPA: What kind of historical
spots you gonna show him, John-Boy?

Well, I thought tomorrow we might
take a walk down to the cemetery

and the old bridge,
the schoolhouse...

I'll take a look at
your landmarks,

but it's the people I
really wanna get to know.

I wanna talk to them,
get a feel of their lives.

Thank you. Well, that's
a good idea, John-Boy.

Why don't you introduce
Mr. Sims to some of the local folks?

Sure. We got some
interesting people around here.

In fact, if you like,
there's a couple of

real interesting old
ladies you ought to meet.

I wouldn't poke my
nose in too many closets.

Skeletons might
come falling out.

I think he ought to
meet the Baldwin sisters.

Couple of old sisters live down
the way in a big, beautiful mansion.

No, I think a far better idea would
be for me to take you up the...

Farther up the mountain,

the site of our old homestead
before it burned down.

The one your father built. Without
help from anyone, Mr. Sims.

Who are these Baldwin
sisters you mentioned?

Couple of old ladies, come
from a real old Virginia family.

No, all the way up the
side of the mountain,

there are trailing arbutus,

and up above it, the white
dogwood. And I can show you

where the white-tailed deer
come down at moonlight.

That sounds interesting,
Mr. Walton, but about these sisters.

Anyway, their daddy was
a judge, Judge Baldwin.

John-Boy will be far too
busy to conduct you personally.

It's a far better idea if I were to
be the leader in these expeditions.

Pa, we got work
to do around here.

This place don't
run itself, Zeb.

This is old dominion
stuff for us old folks.

I'll meet you at Mrs. Brimmer's at
noon, right during our lunch hour.

Zeb, I would think twice before I
got mixed up in this boondoggle.

Did I hear boondoggle?
What's a boondoggle?

I'll tell you about that.

A boondoggle is when your daddy
gives you five cents to do an hour's work

cleaning up the henhouse,
and you only work 20 minutes.

You mean like the time Ben rewrote
that old book report of John-Boy's

and turned it in without
reading the book?

GRANDMA: Exactly.

How about when Erin gets a
headache when it's time to do the dishes?

Or when you borrow my
sweater without asking me?

Boondoggle!
Boondoggle! Boondoggle!

Boondoggle. Boom-bah! All right.

BOTH: Boondoggle! Boondoggle!
Rah! Rah! Rah! JOHN: All right, easy.

Easy! All right! All right!

All right, all right!
Boondoggle! Boondoggle!

GRANDPA: Look what you
started. JOHN: Easy, everyone!

I'm gonna take Mr. Sims
back to the boarding house.

I was just gonna offer
you another piece of melon.

John-Boy's right. We've
got work to do tomorrow,

but it was a lovely dinner.
BEN: Come on, Jason!

I'll meet you at Mrs.
Brimmer's at noon.

Good luck in your work,
Mr. Sims. Thank you.

I declare, this is the most exciting
thing to happen in a month of Sundays.

This Recipe, one of our
most treasured possessions,

was left to us by
our dear father.

Thank you.

What a lovely home. I
feel history in every brick.

John-Boy?

Oh, a wee bit, yes. Thank you.

To the success of your
venture, Mr. Sims. Thank you.

Hear, hear.

Oh.

Ladies, that is superb.

(LAUGHING)

MISS MAMIE: You are
a man of taste, Mr. Sims.

Won't you sit down?
Oh, thank you.

It has always been our good fortune
to know only the finest gentlemen.

There was once a
young university student...

Your appreciation of the Recipe
merely confirms our first impression.

His name was Ashley...

How do you like Walton's
Mountain, Mr. Sims?

Longworth.

John-Boy has been a
first-rate guide, but I must say

that I have seen nothing
that impresses me more

than what I see right here.

Until this moment, Mr. Sims, I thought
gallantry had gone out of this world.

Yes, with Ashley Longworth.

Sister.

He was a suitor of
mine some years ago.

He took liberties, don't you
know, and Papa told him to leave

and never to come back.

Your father sounds
like a wonderful man.

I would like to have known him.

Oh, but you can, Mr. Sims.

He can?

Sister, see if Mr. Sims would
like a little more of the Recipe.

John-Boy, would you
help me? Of course.

Mr. Sims? Thank you.

MISS EMILY: Are you comfortable
at the boarding house, Mr. Sims?

SIMS: Well, it's not the Ritz, but
then I'm not John D. Rockefeller.

Oh, you.

Sister, what are you doing
with Papa's portmanteau?

Mr. Sims, we've never allowed
anyone to examine Papa's portmanteau.

It contains all his
letters and his journal.

In fact, we haven't read
all of them ourselves.

And his most private papers.

We feel that we know a
gentleman when we see one.

And since you were
brought to us by John-Boy,

if my Sister agrees...

Well, I don't know, Mamie. I...

we would like you to do us the honor
of going through them for your book.

You will treat them
with great care?

And perhaps you'd
like to see Papa's room

and the desk where he
did most of his writing?

SIMS: Oh, well,
I certainly would.

That sounds marvelous. The
only problem is that I have classes,

and if I don't leave
now, I'll be late, so...

John, why don't
you go right ahead?

I've got just enough
time for this little tour

before I have to meet
with your grandfather.

Can you find your way
back to Mrs. Brimmer's?

Oh, no problem
at all. Well, good.

Thank you for
coming by, John-Boy.

Oh, thank you for the sip.

MISS EMILY: Goodbye. Bye.

And we can even show you the citation
that General Lee himself gave to Papa.

But first, another
drop of the Recipe?

Oh, yes.

Here's a bite for
you, Little Mermaid.

Get away, Gilbert.
You've had your share.

There's room for you, Kitty.

Yes! I think I got one.

(SIGHS)

That about does it.

Does a hook hurt, I wonder.

Let's see. Three perch.

Jim-Bob, does a
hook hurt, I said.

Why don't you ask the fish,
seeing as how you can talk to them?

Well, they don't
talk back too good.

Well, you're not supposed to
get friendly with the inventory.

The what? The inventory.

You know, like Ike's store.
Everything he has to sell is inventory.

It's all right here for anybody
who wants to place an order.

After we sell them
are they "outventory"?

(SIGHS)

Come on, we gotta go
find some customers.

Bye.

How was your tour
of the mountain?

Wasn't any tour.

Why not? Sims never showed up.

Watch it, Pa.

I sat around Flossie Brimmer's during
my lunch and he never came around.

Well, I don't understand that.

When I left him at the Baldwin sisters',
he said he was planning to meet you.

You went ahead and took
him over to the Baldwin sisters,

left him there snooping
around, asking questions?

Grandpa, I told you I was gonna
take him over to the Baldwin sisters.

He's a reporter.
He's doing his job.

There's a difference
between writing a guide book

on the State of Virginia
and snooping around

into people's personal lives
like he did in the Scopes trial.

I don't understand why you're
so suspicious of the man.

What, are you afraid he's gonna write
an expose on the Recipe or something?

No, I'm not talking
about the Recipe.

In any old house around
here, there is a lot of history,

and most of it shouldn't
see the light of day.

Well, I can tell you one thing.

Porter Sims is a man with
a great deal of integrity,

and I'm gonna find
out what's going on.

(CAR DOOR SLAMMING) Integrity.

I just don't see how you
can sell fish, Jim-Bob,

when you don't seem
to have any with you.

Well, I'm keeping
them in a holding pond

so they'll be fresh
when you want them.

This is my inventory.

Well, that seems
like a right smart idea.

I could use some of those perch, if
you have any, for my Saturday supper.

Although the way things are
going lately, I never do know

how many boarders
I'm gonna be feeding.

Okay, Mrs. Brimmer,
four perch for Saturday.

Do you want a down
payment, Jim-Bob?

I don't reckon so, Mrs.
Brimmer. Thanks a lot.

Hi, John-Boy.
Business is booming.

Well, I'm glad to hear that.

Mrs. Brimmer, have
you seen Porter Sims?

Mmm-hmm.

About an hour ago, when he
moved out bag and baggage.

Moved out? To the
Baldwins', that's where.

As if they needed a
boarder and I don't.

Oh, I'm sorry about that, ma'am.

I better go over there
and see what's going on.

All that fancy gent
wants is free board

and a bed next to the
Baldwins' Recipe room!

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

John-Boy. Come in.

I'm glad you've come. We
have a most pleasant surprise.

Oh, I know all
about that, ma'am.

Nothing stays a surprise
for too long around here.

John, these good and
lovely ladies have insisted

that I move into
their guest room.

It seemed only fitting since
Papa will undoubtedly emerge

as a central historical
figure in Mr. Sims' book.

We've made some exciting plans.

MISS MAMIE: We're going to have a picnic
at the spring and a genuine fish fry...

MISS EMILY: And a musicale
around the phonograph.

That is, if Sister can remember
where she put Mr. Caruso's records.

Would you care to join
us for supper, John-Boy?

We're going to eat
by the French doors

so we can look out and
watch the sun go down.

MISS MAMIE: That
was Papa's favorite view.

Thank you very much, ladies,

but I think my mom is
expecting me for dinner.

Oh, John, look, please,

tell your grandfather how
sorry I am to have missed him.

Well, we were having
such a wonderful time,

I completely forgot our
appointment. It won't happen again.

Well, he was a
little upset about it.

Oh, dear. I do feel responsible.

Perhaps he would accept a jar of
the Recipe as a token of our regret.

Well, I'm sure he'd accept it.

I'm just not too sure Grandma
would let him keep it for long.

I'll see you here in the
morning, then, right?

Fine, John. Fine, fine.

Here? Oh, right here.

Good. Good night. Good night.

John-Boy, I don't
know if you've noticed,

but Sister's quite
taken with Mr. Sims.

We'll see you in
the morning. All right.

Good night, now, John-Boy.

GRANDMA: Elizabeth,
get the dishes on the table.

When I add up all the orders I took today,
almost all my inventory is spoken for.

Zeb, will you get your finger
out of the mashed potatoes?

GRANDPA: Just tasting.
Aren't you going to wash up?

I said, almost all my
inventory is spoken for.

JOHN: Oh, that's
real good, Jim-Bob.

Did you sell Gilbert?
Is he spoken for?

You know, Gilbert, he practically
comes up into my hand when I feed him.

Well, I told you not to give
them names, Elizabeth.

Oh, and Kitty, she has
babies. They're not babies.

They're just minnows that
swam through the chicken wire.

Okay, then she adopted
them. I don't care.

Oh, is Kitty spoken for?

You knew we couldn't keep
them when we put them in there.

Who'd you sell them to, Jim-Bob?

Mrs. Brimmer, Corabeth,
the Baldwin sisters.

The Baldwin sisters
ordered the most.

Mr. Sims moved in with them,
and they're planning a fish fry.

What? Mr. Sims?

I thought he was staying
at the boarding house.

Not anymore.

How did he get over there?

Everybody. John-Boy.

Grandpa, I spoke with Porter
Sims today, and he said to tell you

that he's sincerely sorry
about missing your tour stuff,

but he got involved in
some very important research

over at the Baldwin house. Yeah.

Researching the Recipe,
you can count on that.

What is this about him moving
in with the Baldwin ladies?

Well, they're gonna let him

use some of the family's
historical papers and manuscripts,

and so he's gonna be staying
over there while he does his work.

Well, don't be surprised
if his work stretches out

for quite a spell
while he's there.

Honest to goodness,

I don't understand why
you're acting this way.

I brought the man over here for dinner
as a guest to the house the other night,

and you all were so rude
to him I was embarrassed.

Furthermore, he stood me up.

Well, I can't say
as I blame him for it.

Jim-Bob, go tell the children
to wash up for supper.

Truth is, son, not many of us
know this Porter Sims very well.

I know him, and I trust him.

He makes a good
impression, all right.

The Baldwins, those
sweet, innocent ladies,

should be left to their
sitting, sipping and rocking.

We just don't want to
see them hurt, John-Boy.

I just don't understand why everybody'
slooking for trouble, that's all.

Because a man who will
live off the government

wouldn't have any objections to
living off a couple of maiden ladies.

I'll take the responsibility for
whatever happens, all right?

Okay, I'll just be responsible
for whatever happens.

I'm sorry what I said
before about the standing up.

It's just that when
they were here...

You know perfectly well that
they should not be at that house.

JOHN-BOY: How can I become a great
writer if I don't even know how to spell?

"Xenophobia."

It took me quite a while to
find the word in the dictionary

since I never expected
it to start with an "X."

It's also taking me a
while to get used to the idea

that Grandma has a low opinion
of someone I respect very much.

Even Grandpa seemed reluctant

for Mr. Sims to explore
the Baldwin history.

I believe, like Porter Sims, that
we must probe deeply into life

and write honestly about
what we discover there.

John-Boy, will you have
some coffee? A little toast?

No, thank you very much.
I had breakfast at home.

Is Mr. Sims about ready to go?

He should be. Sister
took him a coddled egg.

I insisted. He never
eats breakfast, he says.

Well, that's just because he's
never had anyone to look after him.

What plans do you
have for Mr. Sims today?

Well, I thought maybe we'd go down
the creek to the old battlefield, and...

Well, good morning.
Morning, John.

Did you sleep well, Mr. Sims?

Oh, like a baby.

It must be the mountain air.

And the Recipe.

Yes, quite possibly, Miss Emily.

Hey, John, you know, I've been
going over Judge Baldwin's papers here.

This house has more interesting
history than I first realized.

Told you. Sister, do you hear?

There's one here that shows that
during the War Between the States...

General Lee. President Davis.

Union soldiers.

What? See, that's a find, John.

This is what I want
in that guide book.

Facts that hadn't been
prettied up for history books.

Oh, Sister.

This is a conjecture that
you arrived at from the...

No, no, no. There it is,
documented right there, you see?

What? Papa would never
have allowed such a thing!

Oh, well, if he
hadn't allowed it,

there wouldn't have been treason
charges brought against him.

Treason charges? Against Papa?

Mr. Sims... Surely, Mr. Sims,
you must be mistaken.

No, it's spelled out right there,
but then you knew about that.

You... you said
you'd read his papers.

Well, not all of them, Mr. Sims.

Oh, Sister, surely
there's been a mistake.

Well, you've reached
the wrong conclusion.

I mean, don't you think you might
have made a mistake, Mr. Sims?

Yes, quite possibly. Here, let me
have the paper back, Miss Mamie.

Papa's papers are very
old. You've misread them.

Oh, dear me!

"For harboring
Yankee soldiers...

"Charges against..." Oh, my!

"Captain Matthew Baldwin,

"charged with treason
against the Confederacy."

(CRYING)

Can it be true,
Sister? Now, now.

Don't you jump to any
conclusions like that, Miss Mamie.

You just take it easy.

Yankee soldiers?

Yankee soldiers in this house!

Oh, Sister!

I am wounded to the
very core of my being.

John-Boy, in the Pembroke
table, the smelling salts.

Oh, yes, yes.

Is there anything I
can do, Miss Mamie?

You can tell Sister it
was all a joke, Mr. Sims,

a cruel Yankee joke.

I wish I could, Miss Emily.

Here. Oh, Sister.

There, there.

MISS MAMIE: That's better.

I'd like to go to my room. Yes.

Sister.

Just to think that Papa would
be accused of such doings...

You're not well,
Sister. Come lie down.

Thank you, John-Boy.

They gave me
their father's papers.

I thought surely
they knew about this.

They gave you their
father's papers 'cause

they thought the state guide
was gonna make him a hero.

Well, it can, John-Boy, a
most colorful historical figure.

Mr. Sims, this is Virginia.
What you have told those ladies

puts a blemish on their
daddy's memory forever.

They idolize their daddy.

He brought them up to have a
sense of family pride and family honor,

and you've told them that
he violated the very things

that he taught
them to believe in.

John! Now, you said
you admired my writing.

Would you still admire
it if I falsify the story?

I don't know.

(SIGHS)

I don't know.

I admire your writing, and
I've admired reading the things

that you've written about other people
and other skeletons you've rattled,

but these are two ladies
that I love very much.

I don't know if I agree
with you about this.

Then what do you propose?

Well, I don't know
what to propose.

I just know that you can't just
publish an accusation like that

about a man who has... who has no
chance to defend himself or anything.

I mean, how do you know
how the trial turned out?

All right, John, let's go find
out how the trial turned out.

Throw that awful thing away.

Of course, dear. No
doubt, it's a forgery.

No doubt.

Still, I wonder why
Papa would've kept it.

Would you close the
draperies, please?

The light makes my head throb.

John-Boy's car is still here.

I wonder,

should we have him take
Mr. Sims back to Mrs. Brimmer's?

No!

Indeed, we don't want him to
talk with any of our neighbors.

If the rumor gets out, Sister,
we're in extreme disgrace.

You're right as usual, Mamie.

Is this all there is?

Well, it's everything
except his personal letters.

There's not one
scrap of paper here

that says whether he
was convicted or acquitted.

The answer is that the war
ended before they had a trial.

Oh, that's great. So
the accusation stands.

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

I'm looking for the
headache powders.

Sister always kept some down here
so she wouldn't have to climb the stairs.

Can I help you look?

Odd.

Sister always could put her hands
right on them whenever I took a spell.

How is she, ma'am?

I fear she's in a
decline, John-Boy.

She says it hurts right here,

and her head pounds so she can
scarcely stand her own breathing.

I think I better go get
Doctor McIvers in, all right?

Oh, no, John-Boy. No.

Sister and I have agreed.
Not a soul must ever know

what Mr. Sims found
in Papa's portmanteau.

You must promise me.

Sure, if that's what you think.

Since the headache powders
seem to have taken wings

and flown away,

I believe I'll make Sister a little
hot tea and put some Recipe in it.

Why don't you let me
do that, Miss Emily?

I seem to be responsible
for what's happened.

Well, perhaps.

After all, she was fond of you.

It may comfort her to know
that you're being helpful.

I'm feeling rather
poorly myself.

Would you mind
fixing me a little, too?

Certainly not.

Well, this seems to be
the end of the road here.

Well, those papers aren't gonna
tell us what we need to know,

but I can think of someone
who might be able to.

I'm gonna get on
back to the house.

I'll be back here first
thing in the morning.

If you need me before then,
you come get me, all right? Okay.

Grandpa, what are you up to?

Oh, Esther claims there's
worms in the cabbage.

Can I talk to you
about something?

What's up?

Well,

I think I have a pretty good
idea why you didn't want Sims

to do too much research
over at the Baldwin house.

Dug up something, huh?

What do you think?

Oh, I told you there's all
kinds of secrets in old houses.

Well, he's sort of been going
through Judge Baldwin's old papers.

Found out.

What do you think he found out?

Treason.

That's it.

Oh, Methuselah! Knowing him,

he'll be letting the whole
world know about it.

The thing about it is that the papers
that we went through don't say anything

about how the trial turned out.
So I thought maybe you'd know.

I mean, was he convicted? Did
they let him off? What happened?

Oh, so far away and long ago,

the war ended. The
military kept it a secret.

I don't think it ever did
come to trial. Oh, great.

Yes, but I do know if it ever
gets to be common knowledge,

those dear ladies won't
be able to live with it.

I know.

You keep your eyes on that Sims.

If I went over there, I wouldn't
trust what might happen to him.

Well, I'm going over there
first thing in the morning.

You're not gonna say anything
about this to anyone, are you?

Oh, no, no.

Miss Emily?

Miss Emily?

Yes?

It's me, John-Boy.
May I come in?

I'm sorry, John-Boy, but
Sister and I aren't receiving.

Neither of us slept
a wink last night.

Is Mr. Sims here?

Perhaps he's in his room.

I haven't seen him,
and I don't care to

since he brought disgrace
to our family. Sister says

perhaps it would be best if we'd close
our doors and never come out again,

like Miss Havisham
in Great Expectations.

Never come out, John-Boy.

Miss Emily.

Miss Emily, I'm gonna go get
my mama and my grandma.

I've implored Sister to
take some nourishment,

but even the Recipe
has lost its flavor for her.

Good.

My chicken broth will be a sight
better for her than that Recipe.

Let's cheer up this place
and open those curtains.

No, no, no.

Please, Mrs. Walton.

I vowed never again
to see the light of day.

Now, Miss Mamie,
you don't mean that.

You gotta hurry up and get well.

Jim-Bob told me you're gonna
have a fish fry for Mr. Sims.

I'm afraid Sister will never get
well if you talk about Mr. Porter Sims.

Livie, let her rest.

How are they, Mama?

They are not good.

Something's going on around
here, and I'd like to know what it is.

I think it has to do
with that Mr. Sims.

He's been drinking
that Recipe, hasn't he?

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

Come in.

Come in.

John. John.

Boy, I was really passed out.

Yeah, looks to me like
you'd have good reason to be.

(CHUCKLING) Recipe, huh?

No, no, I had a nightcap
about 5:00 this morning.

Mr. Sims, I'm gonna have
to ask you to leave here.

John,

not long ago, some reporter was
trying to describe a WPA project

that didn't make much sense to
him, so he called it a boondoggle.

You know what that really means?

It's just an expression
that the pioneers used.

It simply means

anything that's made
up out of leftover scraps.

Mr. Sims, what you're doing here
may or may not be a boondoggle,

but I've known Miss Mamie
and Miss Emily Baldwin

ever since I was a little boy,
and they've been very kind to me.

Now, their lives may not seem to
you to be as real as yours and mine,

and they may be made
up of scraps of memories

and some Recipe and
a little bit of fantasy,

but their feelings are real.

And when they feel hurt,
and when they feel shame,

that's real.

You still don't want me
to write about their father.

This isn't the Scopes
trial, Mr. Sims.

I know that, John.

And I also know that I'm not the
hard-nose reporter I was back then.

I've grown quite
fond of those ladies.

Then what value could you possibly
attach to this one scrap of information

about Judge Baldwin?

The value of honesty.

Even if being honest means that
you're gonna hurt these two people?

Look, John, from here, I
go to another community.

I look into more of this
glorious past of Virginia.

Now, what would you
have me do, John?

Falsify every bit
of information I get

just to protect the vanity
of the people involved?

Is that how you'd like this...

This panorama of history
painted for Virginia?

What would you do, John?

I'll pick you up in the morning
and take you to the bus depot.

Okay, John.

John.

I'm sorry it turned out
this way, for both of us

and certainly for them.

So am I, Mr. Sims.

ELIZABETH: Bye, Little Mermaid.

Bye, Gilbert.

Bye, Kitty, take
care of the little ones.

Elizabeth, what are you doing?

What'd you do that for?

I couldn't let you
sell my friends.

Well, you knew we were
gonna do that in the beginning.

Yeah, well, that was
before Kitty adopted

those little fishes that
came through the fence.

Fish don't adopt fish.

Well, Kitty did.

And I got to thinking
about Mama and us kids.

What would we do if someone took
Mama away from Walton's Mountain?

(SIGHING)

Well, the least you could do
is help me tell the customers.

You're gonna get it
when we get back.

Come on, Reckless. Come on.

You sure look mad.

What's the matter with you?

You look like the bottom
fell out of the fish business.

Got no fish to sell.

Elizabeth let our stock loose.

Oh, I see.

Well, she'll probably make somebody
a wonderful mama someday, so...

I guess.

Problem is we haven't been
able to tell all our customers.

Nobody's home. Mrs.
Brimmer, the Baldwins.

Wait a minute! The
Baldwins aren't home?

Wasn't anybody there?
Wasn't Porter Sims there?

I'm supposed to pick
him up in half an hour.

We knocked on the door,
but nobody answered.

Door was open, though.
It was really strange.

Well, thank you.

Daddy! Grandpa!

I think something's wrong
over at the Baldwin place.

Let's get over there.

Miss Mamie, Miss Emily?

John Walton.

Hello?

Miss Mamie?

Miss Emily?

It's John Walton.

Is everything all right?

John Walton, I'm
so glad it's you.

I was afraid it was
that Mr. Sims again.

He's been trying to tell
us more lies about Papa.

May I come in? Of course.

But you must forgive Sister.
She's had a terrible shock.

Where is this Sims fellow?

Wouldn't put it past
him... (SHUSHING)

Hiding out somewhere.

He's gone.

Probably down in the
Recipe room, swilling away.

He left me a note.

What?

He's going to the
Rockfish bus depot. Where?

The bus depot.

Well, that's good riddance.
I'll go tell the ladies.

Wait a minute.

Ladies, there's something I
think you ought to know about.

I guess Grandpa told
you Porter Sims is gone.

Well, he worked all
night on this thing,

and he went through some
of your daddy's old letters,

and he found something
pretty important.

He wrote what he thinks ought to
go into the state guide. Oh, dear.

John-Boy, I think the ladies have
heard quite enough about Porter Sims.

Grandpa, I think they
ought to hear this.

Mamie.

Well, if you say so, John-Boy.

Good.

"In the battle of Rockfish Creek
during the War Between the States,

"a gallant young Confederate
officer, Captain Matthew Baldwin,

"later a distinguished
Virginia judge,

"performed a most
heroic and unselfish deed

"that nearly brought
him disgrace.

"Recuperating at home from
his own serious battle wounds,

"Captain Baldwin made his way

"to the nearby battlefield
to help the wounded.

"He brought back to his house the injured
of both Confederate and Union forces.

"Having been seen
helping Union soldiers,

"the Captain was later
mistakenly charged with treason.

"However, many of the survivors
from both the North and the South

"wrote letters to thank
him for what he had done.

"These letters were to have been
used as evidence in his behalf,

"but the war
ended and the trial,

"which undoubtedly
would have exonerated him,

"was never held.

"Perhaps Captain
Baldwin's humanitarian act

"symbolized the healing
of the deeper wounds

"that the nation had suffered.

"His stately house
and proud daughters

"hold honored positions
in the community."

Sister, I do believe your
color is coming back.

Well, I'd like to see that.

You are indeed yourself again.

A great burden has
been lifted from my heart,

and I have you
to thank for that.

Porter Sims, too.

Oh, most assuredly.

I fancy that had we met in a
shower of swirling autumn leaves...

But you didn't.

Quite true.

Mr. Porter Sims.

Rather a fine name, isn't it?

Oh, Sister.

All right, ladies, I'll be seeing
you after school tomorrow.

Mamie, congratulations.

Thank you, Mr. Walton.

Goodbye.

JOHN-BOY: Their
family honor restored,

the Baldwin ladies returned
to their happy yesterday world,

cherishing the memory of
another gallant gentleman caller.

The guide books for all the states
have become valued historical references,

and when Walton's Mountain was
mentioned in the volume for Virginia,

Grandma never again
referred to it as a boondoggle.

ELIZABETH: John-Boy, who would
want to read a book about Virginia?

JOHN-BOY: Well, a lot
of folks would, Elizabeth.

People who are
coming to visit here

and anybody who wants to
know more about the state.

GRANDPA: And, of course,
we'd all like to have Santa Claus

read the Virginia State
guide, now, wouldn't we?

All right, Grandpa, why would
we like to have him read it?

Well, that way we could say,

"Yes, Santa Claus,
there is a Virginia!"

(GUFFAWING)

Night, everybody.