Thursday, April 28, 2011

Simple Pleasure: The Waltons

Every Thursday, Dayle, in Texas, hosts Simple Pleasures at her blog, A Collection of This and That.

It is a series of posts that was created by Dayle to remind people "to stop, to look, to listen, to slow down and pay closer attention to the simple things in life."

Here's my simple pleasure for this week:

Call it corny or call it lame, this week's simple pleasure, for real, is watching re-runs of The Waltons on the Hallmark Channel.


                                                                 Olivia, the Mom               



                                                                 John, the Pop


The show has no sex, no violence,  and no "f" words yet it captures the hearts of thousands of people. It's just the simple story of a large family and all the catastrophes, struggles, joys, and experiences they have on the mountain where they live. To me, it is the epitome of heartwarming.



                                              John Boy, the asiring writer (played by Richard Thomas)


It's family drama at its best.  It takes place in a simpler time, has great values and morals, and spins tales that mesmerize. Why can't they make shows nowadays that are as endearing as the Waltons?




                                                   Grandpa Zeb ("gruff exterior, soft heart")


                                                              Grandma (Matriarch) Esther

There are seven Walton  kids, each with his or her own unique, distinct personality: (John Boy, Mary Ellen, Jason, Jim Bob, Ben, Erin, and Elizabeth); a charming, pretty, but tough mom, Olivia, and a simple,honest,  hard-working pop, John;  and tough ol' bird  but loving, Grandma Esther, and warm-hearted jokester, Grandpa Zeb, all living in a big old house in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virgina. Okay, admittedly, I love every single one of those characters!

The series ran from 1972 to 1981 and racked up quite a few Emmys. Earl Hamner, Jr., a professional writer,  created the show based on his own life experiences growing up in a family of eight children near Schuyler, Virginia.  In the Waltons series, John Boy, the eldest son (played by Richard Thomas), is also an aspiring writer.


The colorful Baldwin sisters                                                                                Little brother, Jim Bob



                                                                                          














                            Cora Beth Godsey, Ike's wife



Ike Godsey, general store proprietor


The show has an entire host of great characters who can make a viewer laugh, cry, and sometimes do both in one show.  For instance, who could forget the Waltons cousin, Cora Beth, and  the colorful character, Ike Godsey, (he runs the general store) and the totally zany yet charming spinster Baldwin sisters, Mamie and Emily? 

Grandpa Zeb is said to have a "gruff exterior and a soft heart." He plays an endearing part as well as his wife of more than 50 years, Esther.

The Waltons is a true simple pleasure for me. Forget the movies, forget going out to dinner, forget going shopping, if the Waltons are on the Hallmark station, I'm there!

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE WALTONS?    DO YOU LIKE TO WATCH RE-RUNS OF THE SERIES?

32 comments:

Angel said...

You too???!!! I have definitely found a kindred spirit! Yes, I LOVE the Waltons and catching the reruns really takes me back. I agree that we need more of this kind of wholesome family entertainment. Matter of fact, I was planning on highlighting this show in an upcoming post and was doing a little research just today on Mr. Hamner. FYI, the show sometimes shows up on INSP (The inspirational channel). Happy Walton Watching! :)

Heather said...

Oh, I watched three hours of episodes on Saturday....not wanting to get up and make some dinner, I just wanted to keep going and going and going. I've always loved the Waltons....and Little House on the Prairie, too :)

quiltjude said...

Oh such lovely programs weren't they? everyone happy, no rush rush like now days. bring those days back I say!

Anonymous said...

It is still one of my favorite shows!

Thank you for this....a nice memory The Waltons :)

Maria

It's Just Dottie said...

I love them,also.

Trish said...

They were fantastic!
A lovely family show that I miss.
Thanks for the memories :-)
blessings..Trish

BECKY said...

I loved them when the show first came on, and I like watching the reruns, too! My favorite OLD show, though, has always been The Andy Griffith Show...but it's gotta be the ones in black and white, and with Barney! When he left the show, that's when I left it, too!

Trish said...

Hi Susan..I'm back again!
I haven't seen any re-runs where I live here in Australia.
But I think I'll try to find out if DVD's are available :-)
I'd love to watch them again!
Trish

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Yep! Used to be one of my favorite shows to watch. I also used to like to watch Nick at Nite while I ate a big bowl of cream of wheat. Simpler times indeed! Have a great day. Tammy

Courtney said...

Oh my goodness, yes! I LOVED the Waltons when I was growing up. We were still able to catch reruns on a regular basis and we watched them as a family. I've probably seen every episode. What a wonderful show.

Linda said...

I loved this!!!! Thanks for posting this and bringing back some nice memories..... G'nite John-Boy!!

Southern Gal said...

Yes! I watched The Waltons when it came out on television and followed it faithfully every week. My older two watched reruns in the 90's. My youngest is just now discovering this family with reruns. Love that he loves it, too!

Nikki (Sarah) said...

I love the waltons.....and scrolling through looking at the characters was great.

Bookie said...

I followed the show when it was on and have the DVD collection. When I watched Mary Ellen get married, I cried like a baby. They were family at times when our families were a problem. They were escape when our days were too full of tiresome things. They were peaceful and lived principaled lives, capturing how things lives used to be lived. Wouldn't it be nice to see a series now where the parents weren't buffoons?

Karen Lange said...

I haven't watched the Waltons in a long time. Always enjoyed the show. Perhaps I need to take some time and catch some episodes soon!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Karen

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

I need to see the re-runs...and yes I remember them well, but I need to share them with my family...great simple pleasure

Debbie said...

I've been watching them too! When I saw one of my favorites last week (Easter one with Liv and the polio) I cried as if I didn't know the story by heart.

I often think what a better world we would live in if there were more Waltons around.

Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes said...

Occasionally I'll watch the Waltons, being #1 of 7 kids I feel like I walked in their shoes, so to speak! LOL!!!

diane stetson said...

Don't know that show...don't watch tv much at all and don't have the Hallmark channel ..guess I'm missing out!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

What a great show! I loved the Walton's and it was such a family show. I watched this with my girls when they were young. Always good lessons to learn and the "goodnights" are legendary! Good Night John Boy!

Kay K said...

I love those old shows ... we need more like them for todays shows

Kathleen said...

I loved the Waltons. I used to watch them on a Monday night when my little girl was in bed. She wasn't very good at going to sleep at bedtime but when The Waltons were on I made sure she was in bed and fast asleep for 8 o'clock so I wouldn't miss the start of the show! That must have been around '77. A great Simple Pleasure for sure.

Dayle ~ A Collection of Days said...

Susan, I love this. Isn't that a great show?

Jodi said...

I love the Walton's! My family rented every season from the library this past winter and watched them all. Fantastic show!

Kathy said...

These are rare programs - worth watching over and over again - one of our favorite things too,
Kathy

Anonymous said...

I watch The Waltons every day after work..My daughter thinks I'm nuts, but everything you said is absolutely true. I get so sick and tired of all of the garbage on tv..it is so refreshing to watch these re-runs once again...

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Susan, I am with you! I loved the Walton's and each character. I haven't seen the show in a long time.

Good night, Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Susan -

Ah, sweet memories! I loved that show. It's hard to find anything family friendly on TV today. (I don't have cable.)

Blessings,
Susan :)

Chatty Crone said...

I loved this show - just loved it.Have you seen John-boy grown up - he hasn't aged a bit! Has grown up twins of his own.
At Cracker Barrel they sell the series there now if you have $40.
Love,
sandie

La Tea Dah said...

It was always a treat to watch the Waltons. I was a busy student during most of those years, so didn't watch much television, but when it did it was on the top of my list.

Christine said...

Great characters.
Great stories.
Great times.

The Old Parsonage said...

Are you kidding me I have the entire series on DVD!!! I LOVE the Walton's!

Leann

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