A mountain has no need for people
but people do need mountains.
We go to them for their beauty...
for the exhilaration of standing closer
to mysterious skies...
for the feeling of triumph that comes from having labored
to reach a summit.
And I remember a day in the 1930s
when I went to Walton's Mountain...
in search of manhood.
John-Boy!
What am I gonna do for eggs if you murder
my best-laying hen?
-Just practicing, Mama. -Just practicing.
I figured it's time I started doing my share of the providing.
Your daddy provides me for the table.
Why don't you wait till next year?
Mama, other boys younger than me go hunt.
One Walton man banging away at turkeys is plenty.
Let the other one tend to things at home.
Mama, I'm going on that hunt tomorrow...
and I'm gonna bring me back...
the biggest turkey gobbler on that mountain.
What's the matter with you, girl?
You could've made me pull the trigger, kill Mama's best layer.
That old hen's so tough a bullet wouldn't crease her.
-Let me show you my crack shot. -That things's loaded.
Pow-pow-pow! Turkey on the table!
Come on, give it back before it goes off and kills somebody.
John-Boy, don't shoot any baby turkeys tomorrow, okay?
Don't worry, that gun he's using is so old...
he's not likely to hit a turkey of any size, except by accident.
Hey, Jason. Hey, Sprocket.
Daddy, when you gonna quit calling me Sprocket?
Reckless, get off. What do you want me to call you, son?
How'd that get started in the first place?
Charlie Sneed named you that when you were just a wee baby.
-The name kind of stuck. -I'm not a wee baby anymore.
No, son. I guess you're long gone from that.
Good job.
Little lint still down there. Better go after it.
Yeah.
Daddy, when you shoot a turkey, does he die right away?
If your aim is true. Right, John-Boy?
Your brother's gonna be a good hunter, Jason.
And next year, you can go with us.
-Okay? -Yes, sir.
-Hi, Mr. Godsey. -Hi, Mr. Godsey.
Look it here. More customers than I've seen all day.
I'm the customer. I want to make another payment.
-Hi, Mr. Godsey! -Hi, Elizabeth.
Another payment? You sure have been busy, haven't you?
-17 cents. -How did you earn it this time?
I sold three combs of wild honey for five cents apiece...
and got a two-cent tip from Miss Mamie Baldwin.
How do you like that? 17 cents. Okay.
That's 17, plus the $2.63 that you've already paid in.
That comes to $2.80.
Only 20 cents more, and it's all paid for.
-Can I hold it for a minute? -I don't see why not.
It's more yours than mine right now.
Just wait till G.W. sees this.
I'll be able to handle anything G.W. throws at me.
-See you tomorrow, Mr. Godsey. -The big day.
-Hey, G.W. -Hey, Mary Ellen.
Tomorrow I'll be making the last payment on the catcher's mitt.
-Hello, Mary Ellen. -Hey, Martha Rose.
-The candy, G.W. -Yeah, sorry.
-$0.2 of peppermints, please. -Okay, G.W.
If you'd like to come with me when I pick up--
G.W., I want you to look at this dress.
Isn't that the sweetest dress you've ever seen?
If you say so.
We can take turns using the mitt, G.W.
Wouldn't I look like a dream walking in this dress, G.W.?
You'd be something.
Here you are. Two cents' worth of peppermints.
How much is this dress, Mr. Godsey?
$2 and 98 cents, and worth every penny.
Peppermints, G.W.
I'm gonna tell my daddy to just buy me this little dress.
That's exactly what I'm going to do.
It's a beauty alright.
Mary Ellen, are we going home?
Yeah, sure.
Nothing to keep us here.
-Goodbye, Mr. Godsey. -Goodbye.
More pie, John?
No thanks, honey.
I think I can save some room for all that turkey
we figure to eat tomorrow.
-Do it again. -Please, Daddy.
You sound just like a turkey.
-I'm the flock's Rudy Vallee. -All you need is a megaphone.
Wish I was going hunting with you boys tomorrow.
We're gonna have fun. Why don't you come along?
No, I think I'll just stay home with my old sweetheart.
My hunting days are about over.
You brought home more game than three men in your time, old man.
Did I ever tell you boys about the time...
I brought down four turkeys with one shot?
-No, Grandpa. -How'd that ever happen, Papa?
Well, there were these four turkeys...
three beauties, sassy hens just sitting up there...
roosting on one branch, all together.
All lined up. I took a bead on them and....
pow!
One, two, three.
But you said four, Grandpa.
So I did.
Those three of them bunched up together, they was easy.
But the fourth, an old tom turkey...
he was roosting on another branch on another tree.
As soon as he heard the sound of my shot, that set him hustling.
And durned if he didn't fly right smack-dab into my shot...
just as I dropped the third one.
Grandpa..
Something's at the chickens.
John-Boy, you come with me.
The rest of you stay put.
Excuse me, honey.
John-Boy, load up.
Load up?
I told you to stay put. Now, get inside.
I didn't want to say anything.
I want to tell you something. This is just between you and me.
-Do you understand? -Yes, sir.
-Bear at Nickerson's last night. -A bear?
Big bruiser. He killed a calf.
-Rafe shot at him. -He hit him?
Don't know.
I'm going inside. You be careful, you hear?
See anything?
Probably just a nighthawk or an owl.
I didn't want to say anything inside to upset the others.
I knew you and me could handle it.
I reckon.
It's a warm feeling to stand off and look at your home...
to know your wife and loved ones are inside, safe and warm.
You'll know one day.
Must've been what it was like before things got so civilized.
I mean, a man standing between his family
and anything that might hurt them.
I'm real proud you're going with me on the hunt tomorrow.
I know.
A man's first hunt should be something he remembers
all his life.
I asked Charlie and Hawthorne to go along
because they're good old boys.
We're gonna have a solid gold, 100% good time.
Hundred percent.
We better get in or your mama will send out a search party.
Now, remember this bear's between you and me.
-Don't forget. -I won't.
Maybe I've killed without knowing.
A spider or a frog or something I've stepped on.
It's knowing that I'm gonna take life from something...
that treasures life as much I treasure mine.
It's the planning ahead...
going looking for it, hunting for it that makes it murder.
I'm right sick about it...
and I'm right scared of tomorrow.
I'm also scared of what my life is going to be like if I fail.
-Yeah. -Mary Ellen. Let me in.
I think I'm having a heart attack.
-Heart attack? -It keeps going wham!
It stops for the longest time, and I think I'm suffocating.
How did it start?
I've been trying to go to sleep, trying to figure out things.
-What kind of things? -A boy likes a girl one day...
and the next day he's off chasing some other girl.
I know what kind of heart trouble you've got.
G.W. Haines heart trouble. Right?
I don't know what he sees in her.
She can't catch, can't run, can't throw.
Screams if she sees a woollyworm.
Not more than a week ago, G.W. was making fun of her.
What happened?
Well, sister, there comes a time
when boys like girls to be different.
And G.W. may be at exactly that point.
Where a fancy dress is more interesting
than a great catcher's mitt?
Well, he might still like the catcher's mitt...
but he'd rather see the girl in a fancy dress.
Did I leave my harp in here?
No. I don't know, Jason. Look around.
Alright.
-You got a safety pin, John-Boy? -Look over on the dresser.
The strings in my pajamas broke.
Can I sleep in here, John-Boy? There's a mouse under my bed.
Hmm-mm.
-Hey. -Hm?
What are you writing?
Stuff. Go on to bed.
John-Boy, will you kiss me good night?
Sure, honey. Good night. Go on to bed now.
Now, what's it doing under here?
Play something pretty, Jason.
What is this, a family reunion?
Go on writing, John-Boy. You're not bothering us.
Oh, no? But you are bothering me. Now go to bed, all of you.
But you said I could stay.
Well, I am now saying that you can go.
What do you think I am, an old mother hen? Go on, scat!
Go on, scat!
Out!
-John. -Hm?
Have you noticed the chicken house lately?
Hmm-mm.
There's a hole in the roof big enough to sling a cat through.
I'll get to it as soon as I have time, Liv.
Come a good rain, I'm gonna have a flock of wet, droopy chickens.
I certainly would like to have that roof fixed.
Why couldn't John-Boy stay home and fix it?
Now, Liv.
I can't make him stay home.
He's been looking forward to this hunt for weeks.
Not looking forward.
Dreading.
That's natural.
Going up in the mountains with seasoned hunters...
like Charlie, and Hawthorne, and me.
He wants to prove himself a man in front of men.
He didn't ask to stay home, did he?
No.
He says he wants to go...
but I'm not sure he's telling the truth.
He's never in his life killed a living thing.
Liv, he's gonna do just fine.
There's more to being a man than shooting turkeys.
That's for sure.
But part of being a man is providing food
for a hungry family.
Did you see him practicing all day today?
Practicing is one thing.
Coming face to face with a living creature
and having to kill it is another.
And he's so heart-bent to please.
He's a good boy, Liv.
I wish I could hold back time...
keep these happy days...
my children with me...
young, innocent.
You know...
if you keep your children young and innocent...
you'll rob them of what we've found.
Look here, steel in them firing pins
just as good as the day I bought it in '02.
Old man, you decided to go after all?
No, I'm just caring for it.
Yes, sirree. It's as good as the day I bought it.
There they are.
Here we go.
Charlie and Hawthorne. Those old boys are right on time.
Any kind of a hunt or an open bottle, then Charlie Sneed's
first to cross the line.
Charlie Sneed's a sociable type, Mama.
-Good morning, men. -Morning! Morning!
Beautiful day. Praise the Lord!
Sprocket, are you as good as your daddy?
Charlie, he's decided he wants to be called by his right name.
Okay. John-Boy, are you as good as your daddy?
Oh, that boy's gonna be alright.
Don't go calling out like that where I can't see you plain.
I'm liable to mistake you for the real thing.
Good morning, Mr. Walton. You coming with us?
Morning. Not today, Hawthorne.
I'm taking potatoes. Got plenty of things to do around here.
Where did you get this old blunderbuss, John-Boy?
That's an old one my daddy used to have.
You mean this old beanshooter still works?
Little off at sight and it kicks like a mule, but it's alright.
Any turkey that comes around you will at least
have a sporting chance.
I reckon.
-Morning, Charlie. -Hello, Livie.
-Hawthorne. -Morning, Mrs. Walton.
-Thank you, Mrs. Walton. -How's your family, Hawthorne?
Oh, hungry 24 hours a day and growing like weeds.
-Mine, too. -You know, the Gospel says...
"A man does not live by bread alone."
I preach it because I believe it.
My kids need bread and meat.
And a preacher's pay doesn't pay for neither.
-Hope you get a turkey today. -Thank you, Mrs. Walton.
John-Boy, this being your first hunt, I aim to wish you luck.
-Thank you, Grandpa. -But you'll need more than luck.
Take this.
That's your gun, Grandpa.
That way, I figure I aim to be part of this here hunt. Take it.
-Thank you. -Use it well, son.
Let's go.
Reckless, settle down.
I could use a cup of coffee, Grandpa.
- How about you? - Hmm-mm.
-Come on, John-Boy. -I'm coming, Daddy.
Pick them up, boy! Pick them up!
-What am I doing running? -This is uphill.
Your daddy started it.
What are you trying to do, John? Give me a heart attack?
I just felt like lifting my heels.
No law says you have to do the same, Charlie.
I swear, that fireplace will be standing long after all of us.
Your great-great-granddaddy built that fireplace.
-You know that, John-Boy? -Yes, sir.
You ever seen him, Daddy?
No. He died long before I was born.
Papa knew him, though.
He said he was the biggest man he ever saw.
Coming to this country with nothing but a mule, a plow
and a rifle.
They built men in them pioneer days all right.
Big men, Charlie.
A man had to be his own carpenter, doctor
hunter, undertaker... you name it.
Been me, I'd gone back and got on the first boat headed
for the old country.
I expect a few of my folks did exactly that.
You joke about that, Hawthorne?
John, my folks had to learn to laugh to keep from crying.
Well, you can't blame that on any of my family.
I come from a long line of horse thieves.
Charlie, you know you come from a long line of farmers...
and you know it well.
Don't spoil my reputation.
A girl wouldn't look at an old dirt farmer...
but she'd dance all night with a good-looking horse thief.
Right, let's load up and hunt turkey.
-That what you say, boy? -Yes, sir.
Is this okay, Mary Ellen?
Perfect.
You all are learning real fast.
When are Jim-Bob and me going to know enough...
so we can go into the business for ourselves?
You're still apprentices while I teach you the junk business.
Ought to be ashamed of yourself, Mary Ellen having Jim-Bob
and Elizabeth collect stuff and you getting the money.
It's fair, Erin. We'll all get to use the mitt.
Yeah, when she and G.W. Haines aren't playing with it.
Elizabeth, just look at your hands!
That's what soap is for, Miss Prissy-Pants.
-I'm going to tell Mama on you. -Go ahead, Miss Dainty-Drawers.
Mama, Mary Ellen's got Jim-Bob and Elizabeth working for her.
She's got Elizabeth just filthy, and now she's calling me names.
Mary Ellen, how can you possibly manage so many things at once?
I'm a good organizer, Mama.
Listen to the noise of that wagon.
It's like having your own band.
Mrs. Walton, good morning.
Good morning, Jake.
So...
-You've been busy, Mary Ellen? -Yes, sir.
Remarkable. Really remarkable.
Where do you find such things?
If I told you, you wouldn't have to buy them from me.
If I ever thought of taking in a partner
she'd be my first choice.
I'll give you 12 cents for the lot.
-25 cents. -15 cents.
Mama, look.
Don't get in the rain in that thing.
Jake, you've been nice to me.
See it's gonna be reasonable.
22 cents.
22 cents!
If that's the way she treats a person who's been nice to her...
17 cents. I'll lose money, but money isn't everything.
Mama, Jim-Bob's my husband.
20 cents and the parasol and hat.
I should make her a partner before she ruins me.
Alright. 20 cents.
The parasol and the hat.
Thanks, Mary Ellen!
Five...
ten...fifteen.
It's nice to know the richest girl in the county.
Sixteen, seventeen.
And when I'm bankrupt, don't feel too bad.
Eighteen...
nineteen...
twenty.
Thanks, Jake. I'll help you load the stuff on the wagon.
Why don't you come in for a cup of coffee, Jake?
I wouldn't mind. I had cider with Ike...
lemonade with the Baldwin sisters--
What's new with Miss Emily and Miss Mamie?
-They saw a bear last night. -A bear?
They found blood, too.
-Means he's wounded. -A wounded bear, Mama.
Likely it's gone into the hills to die.
Don't worry. Don't worry.
Ah!
I think I've turned my ankle.
Don't appear to be no broken bones.
Test your weight on it.
-Hurt bad? -It's okay.
Look, son...
this isn't the only turkey hunt we'll be having this year.
No use suffering.
-I'll go back to the truck-- -I can make it.
Don't want you hurting yourself.
Daddy, I'm counting on getting a turkey
and I'm gonna be just fine.
Some crime been committed up there?
I was just sneaking off to the store, Mama.
Without a word to anyone?
I sort of wanted to go by myself. It's more dreamy.
As well as selfish not to take your brothers and sisters.
Mama, I never get to be alone.
It is harder to dream in a crowd.
-Go on. -Thanks, Mama.
Reckless, what're you doing here?
You're supposed to be tied up, boy.
What's he doing here?
Look, Daddy, it must've been a rabbit.
What's left of it.
Bobcat, most likely.
-Or a fox. -Hawk.
Whatever killed it, didn't eat all of it.
I expect it was a fox then.
A fox will kill just for the fun of it.
I've seen a fox many a times worry a rabbit to death...
like a cat will a mouse.
Not many animals kill for the sport of it, though, Charlie.
Don't it give you a little quiver
when you pull the trigger, though, John?
No, sir.
I'm just thinking, meat on the table.
Now, Reckless, how'd you get out here, boy?
How'd you get out, huh?
What're you doing up here, you old hound dog, you?
You alright, son?
Hundred percent.
Come on, Reckless, durn you. Why don't you just get on home?
Go on now. Get!
Get! Go!
Sweet potatoes.
Thought they'd go real good with turkey.
You're worse than John, roasting your turkey before it's shot.
There's an old tom turkey up on that mountain.
Must be near as old as I am.
I sure hope they don't bring that one.
Be tough as shoe leather.
If there's a turkey up there, John'll bring it back.
Don't sell that boy short, neither.
He has a Walton way with a gun.
We are getting close.
You alright?
-He's your boy, John. -No mistaking that.
This being John's first hunt...
why don't we let him take the first shot?
-Certainly. -Couldn't be no other way.
A plague take that worthless son of Satan.
A few seconds more...
and you'd have had yourself the granddaddy of all turkeys.
Don't fret. You'll get another chance.
Now, boy. Now.
Now.
What happened?
I just can't do that.
You know, the first time I was ever in water over my head...
Papa decided it was time I learned to swim...
so he threw me in.
I'm not forcing you into deep water before you're ready
am I, son?
You see, I am...
I'm just trying to understand, maybe help you understand, too.
You know how I feel about killing just for the sport
of killing, don't you?
I know.
I'm not one of the most churchgoing men in the world.
But to me...
life is a mystery.
A sacred mystery.
Part of that mystery seems to be the struggle
we all have to stay alive.
To keep life in ourselves and in those we cherish...
sometimes we have to take life.
That's the way it is with all living animals
right down through the whole chain of life.
To me, that's what this hunt's about.
Does it make any sense to you at all?
It makes perfect sense to me.
You want to try again? I'm not forcing you. I'm just asking.
Daddy, I don't think it would make one bit of difference.
I've found out about myself now...
and I'm not like you or Grandpa.
I'm just cowardly, and I've shamed you.
Now you stop talking like that.
You stop talking like that now.
Not shooting some old turkey don't make you a coward.
Sometimes it takes a sight more guts not to do something...
if it goes against your feelings.
You're a Walton.
You're a Walton man...
and you've never done nothing yet to shame me.
You understand?
I just don't know how I'm going to explain to Grandpa.
Grandpa understands a lot more than you think he does.
Well...
Charlie and Hawthorne want to keep going, probably.
Well...
You mind if I just head on home?
Charlie, Hawthorne...
Well fellows, I reckon I'll be heading on home now.
Ankle troubling you, son?
No, Charlie, not exactly.
John-Boy don't owe us any explanations.
No.
Y'all can stand around and jaw if you want.
Me, I'm going after that turkey.
It is a strutting beauty, for sure.
Okay...
I'll see you at home.
I'll be danged if I'm not almost as excited about this day
as you are, Mary Ellen.
It seems like I've been working right along with you...
during all these weeks.
Fact is, I think I'm more excited about it than you are.
You are excited, aren't you, Mary Ellen?
Oh, I'm excited.
Well, it's yours.
All yours.
Guess anybody wearing this dress would be bound to look pretty.
I don't think it would look too good with a catcher's mitt.
Catch doesn't seem to be the game G.W. wants to play anymore.
Mr. Godsey, since the price is the same
can I have this dress instead of the mitt?
You want this dress?
Yeah.
Mary Ellen, open this door at once.
What are you doing in here with the curtains drawn?
What's that you got on?
A new dress, and I hate it.
Look at me, Mama. Just look at me!
I'm looking.
Did you ever in your life see anything so pathetic?
That dress, it's....
It's not your style. It doesn't bring out your best features.
That's for sure. I'm a freak.
I better go run off with a carnival.
I'm not like other girls at all.
Mary Ellen, you are not a freak.
You're a fine-looking girl.
Next door to being beautiful.
You only say that because you're my mama.
Honey, listen...
trying to be somebody she's not never makes a person happy.
You're Mary Ellen Walton, not Martha Rose Coverdale.
That's for sure.
If you like yourself, others are gonna like you, too.
-Even boys? -Especially boys.
Mama, how come you're so smart and I'm so dumb?
Come look in the mirror.
Do you see anybody dumb in there?
Mama, would you help me get out of this thing?
- Sure. - If I take it right back...
Mr. Godsey will let me trade it in for my catcher's mitt.
Reckless.
Reckless! What happened, boy?
What happened?
I got you, Reckless. Here we go.
Here we go.
Down here.
That's alright. Easy, boy. Easy.
Easy, Reckless.
Daddy?
You there? I'm here.
Daddy?
Daddy? You there?
John-Boy...
don't move.
Stay right where you are, John-Boy.
You're a good man to have around.
Grandpa's gonna have a new story to tell.
Is Reckless okay?
Yeah.
Everybody's gonna be just fine.
- Mighty good turkey. - Hmm.
Kids seemed to think so.
Tomorrow we'll have a nice turkey hash.
Then turkey soup.
When do we get the bear steak?
What do you care? You can't chew it.
I'll be found trying.
That was the biggest bear...
I've ever seen in all my born days on the mountain.
One minute, Daddy would be on top
the next minute, the bear would be on top.
There was one time I lost you altogether.
But I thought I was a goner, I'll tell you.
Yeah. He's brought down with your gun, Grandpa.
A good gun is a good gun. It's the man behind it that counts.
And when it's a Walton like John-Boy....
Livie, these men will be sitting here bragging all night...
if we don't take the dishes away.
Where did Mary Ellen get to?
Mary Ellen is with her boyfriend.
That's right, I forgot.
Boyfriend? Mary Ellen?
She's too young for a boyfriend.
Come here and take a look.
Good pitch, G.W.
That's G.W. He's no boyfriend, he's just a friend.
Have to start somewhere.
I became not a hunter, but a writer.
And I hope a source of some pride to my father.
For to be a good hunter or a good writer
one must know why he hunts or why he writes.
And the why of it all, for me, lies in that house...
and in the memory of voices that rise in the night...
and will sweetly haunt my life forever.
John-Boy.
-What do you want, Elizabeth? -You asleep yet?
-Not yet. -What're you doing?
Thinking.
I'm proud you killed the bear, John-Boy.
Me, too.
Good night, John-Boy.
Good night, honey.
In a moment
some scenes from the next episode of The Waltons.
[theme music]