(5 January 1978)
Writer: Kathleen Hite.
Director: Ralph Waite.
Music: Alexander Courage.
"In memory
now I think to that time in 1940 when the war was in Europe, wide miles across
the Atlantic from the Blue Ridge. A time when its treachery
rarely reached as far as Waltons Mountain. Still, the seeds of distrust
and suspicion were everywhere. They were there for my
sister Elizabeth when she began to keep a journal, such as I had done as a boy.
Her imagination, always vivid, had been joined by a
genuine gift for exageration. So when the rumor
began, Elizabeth was among those who passed it along, bigger than when she had
received it".
With John and Ben
standing over him, Jim Bob attempts to minimize static coming from his
short-wave radio. They hear German voices from the transmission but are
uncertain where it originates. Elizabeth is writing a story, imitating the way
John-Boy wrote, when Grandpa walks in to tell his granddaughter that she even
looks like John-Boy. As Mary Ellen and Erin dance to Guy Lombardo on the radio John and the boys walk into the room. The music is interrupted with a news bulletin declaring that German
forces have evaded the neutral nations of Norway and Denmark. A knock is then heard at the front door where John discovers a man
with a German accent searching for Flossie Brimmer’s house. He is Flossie’s
brother-in-law, Willie Brimmer, who has arrived with wife, Marta, and daughter,
Katrina. While John and Jim Bob take the family to
Mrs. Brimmer’s house Ike and Corabeth discover an old dog while closing the
store.
Preparing for bed,
Olivia says she is chilled to hear about the German invasion and then, closer
to home, to hear the man with the German accent. John only hopes that Elizabeth
will not run these events into the ground. Elizabeth writes in her diary about
how ‘strangers can make a community feel afraid’.
While Corabeth complains
about everything under the sun and Ike moves the pickle barrel, Willie Brimmer
enters the store. He introduces himself and explains that he is looking for
work. Ike suggests he inquire at John’s mill. Buck Vernon wanders into the
store and acts very coldly toward the German-speaking man. Vernon does not like
‘that talk’ and wonders why he moved to Waltons Mountain. As Willie walks to
the mill John and Grandpa complain about the shoddy work the boys did on some
chairs. Upon arriving Willie announces he is a
carpenter who is in need of work. John shows him the chairs that need to be reworked and the desks they make for the army. John
agrees to hire the experienced man and suggests the family move into the vacant
Montgomery place that is about half way up the Mountain.
Elizabeth and her new
friend Katrina play in the tree house while the old dog walks up to the house.
Grandpa knows that Samuel the dog was the long-time companion of Judge Frazier
who died just last week. Vernon conveys his suspicions
about the German man with Sheriff Bridges who is getting a haircut from Charlie
the barber. Ep admits that he can’t arrest the man for
just talking with a German accent.
Jim Bob and the Brimmer
family eat lunch while Willie addresses their problems of being of German
descent at their last home. Later, Jim Bob shows Willie his short-wave radio
hoping he can improve its reception. With Elizabeth looking on, the pair hears
a German conversation. The signal is weak and Willie suggests they move the
antennae to the mountaintop. When Vernon confronts John about the German he
hired, Elizabeth tells him that Willie was listening to German conversations on
Jim Bob’s radio. Vernon is suspicious about the activity and relates this new
information to Ike Godsey. Ike doesn’t believe Vernon
but Elizabeth, having arrived at the store, finds a package addressed to Willie
Brimmer. It is written in German. Vernon continues to
build his case against the German family at Charlie’s barbershop.
Willie arrives at Ike’s
store to pick up a package while Vernon completes repair work. When Corabeth can not find the package she assumes it has not arrived.
Willie telephones Germantown, Pennsylvania to find out what has happened to the
package. He speaks in German to the person at the other end of the telephone. Corabeth finally locates the package but not after Vernon has
listened to the entire conversation. Upon returning home, Willie opens
the box that contains needed medicine for his respiratory problem.
Elizabeth and Katrina
search for Sam but Grandpa suggests they leave the old dog alone. The girls run
off but Grandpa later finds they have locked up the dog. Grandpa turns the dog
loose telling the girls he thinks the dog wants to be left
alone so it can die peacefully and with dignity. Grandpa tells the girls to run
home but he stays and ponders about what he has just told the girls.
A
group of men talk outside Ike’s
store about the new German neighbors. Vernon leads the group into deciding they
can handle the problem themselves. John and Willie work as the gang of men
drive up with clubs in the hands. They tell John he is harboring a spy. Willie
tells the men that just because he speaks a different language he is labeled the enemy. When confronted by the mysterious
package and the speaking of German over the telephone, Willie informs the men
the package contain medicine from his doctor who speaks little English. John
tells the men how foolish they look after chasing a rumor a little girl has
spread.
"Willie, Marta and Katrina Brimmer were
accepted as neighbors and friends in our community. My
parents were able to see that Elizabeth faced her blame, and learned from it.
And though she set aside her journal for a while, she kept forever her
boundless imagination".
Jim Bob: Grandpa?
Grandpa: Ye-es, Jim Bob?
Jim Bob: What kind of dog was Sam?
Grandpa: Hard to say. Best dogs are often mixed breed.
Elizabeth: Is Reckless a mixed breed?
Jason: Well she's one part hound dog and, the rest
we don't know!
Elizabeth: It's too bad Sam was so old,
could have had some puppies.
Jim Bob: Don't start any rumors....
(everybody): Goodnight everybody!
Notes:
The Willie Brimmer
family moved to Waltons Mountain from Germantown, Pennsylvania.
Willie telephones his
doctor at ‘Germantown, Pennsylvania 2346’.
Also appearing:
Ike Godsey (Joe Conley);
Corabeth Godsey (Ronnie Claire Edwards); Willie Brimmer (Mathew Anden); Marta
Brimmer (Ellen Blake); Katrina Brimmer (Tasha Lee Zemrus); Buck Vernon (Barry
Cahill); Fisk (Hal Bokar); Charlie the Barber (Larry
D. Blake); Sheriff Ep Bridges (John Crawford); German Voice (Chris Anders); The
Radio Announcer (John Hiestand).