Grandpa and John Boy are relaxing in the hot springs flowing down the mountain when two "surveyors" come along, showing an interest in the pure, hot springs.
A short time later, one of the men, a Mr. Harmon stops at the Walton home and tells John he's thinking of retiring and would like to buy the mountain for $5,000 as a retirement home for himself and his wife, who would really appreciate the hot springs. John says "I wouldn't sell this place for $100,000." A day or two later, Mr. Harmon returns and tells John he is actually working for a firm that would like to build a big hotel and utilize the hot springs, something like Warm Springs, Georgia, where President Roosevelt vacations, he mentions. I found myself thinking more of Hot Springs, Arkansas, having visited this huge vacation spot of a century ago three different times.
Mr. Harmon has a much better offer for John--$25,000 AND he can keep his house and sawmill, they would build only on the mountain near the springs. This has him considering such a thing. Given average earnings in the mid-1930s, and how hard we see him working at feeding his family--11 mouths to feed and clothe, counting his parents--it's easy to see why anyone would find the offer alluring. At that time, the average well-paid worker in a factory, etc. would not earn $2,000 a year. John and Olivia figure the interest off that money would bring in $1,000 per year.
Not only that, but Mr. Harmon suggests John could be employed at the hotel as a fishing and hunting expert for the guests, and could thus earn another $1,750 per year plus tips that would likely be even more than that.
John is not sure what to do and is frustrated that everyone just keeps telling him they will back whatever decision he makes. We see the others talking about some of their feelings, mostly great memories of growing up on/next to the mountain. We do not get a clear feeling for how they feel about the proposal.
How this was resolved was interesting. Anyone who has watched later episodes knows they did not wind up living next to a large hotel, nor wind up relatively rich. I have to say that had I been a friend of John, I would have advised him to take the offer.
My point would have been that he would have some security, far more than he ever dreamed of, for future financial needs. As far as his children's heritage--looking at the career plans of his children--as expressed inn prior episodes of the show--it would seem that few, if any, of his children plan to stay in the area after they grow up. In fact, that happened to the Hamner family in real life--all except one moved away.
Thinking about John's likely continued struggles for years of making ends meet, with the likelihood of less help available from Zeb, and his grown-up boys turning to other interests, it would seem that taking the risk of a huge life change, while having $25,000 in the bank to live off, would be a good decision for the future of his family.
I imagine lots of viewers of this episode find themselves thinking what they would do if given a similar opportunity--given some strong attachment to where they now live. If you rent or move a lot, then this would not be an offer that takes any time to think over. But if you put it into a scenario similar to what John Walton encountered, it's easy to see why it was such a tough decision for him.
A short time later, one of the men, a Mr. Harmon stops at the Walton home and tells John he's thinking of retiring and would like to buy the mountain for $5,000 as a retirement home for himself and his wife, who would really appreciate the hot springs. John says "I wouldn't sell this place for $100,000." A day or two later, Mr. Harmon returns and tells John he is actually working for a firm that would like to build a big hotel and utilize the hot springs, something like Warm Springs, Georgia, where President Roosevelt vacations, he mentions. I found myself thinking more of Hot Springs, Arkansas, having visited this huge vacation spot of a century ago three different times.
Mr. Harmon has a much better offer for John--$25,000 AND he can keep his house and sawmill, they would build only on the mountain near the springs. This has him considering such a thing. Given average earnings in the mid-1930s, and how hard we see him working at feeding his family--11 mouths to feed and clothe, counting his parents--it's easy to see why anyone would find the offer alluring. At that time, the average well-paid worker in a factory, etc. would not earn $2,000 a year. John and Olivia figure the interest off that money would bring in $1,000 per year.
Not only that, but Mr. Harmon suggests John could be employed at the hotel as a fishing and hunting expert for the guests, and could thus earn another $1,750 per year plus tips that would likely be even more than that.
John is not sure what to do and is frustrated that everyone just keeps telling him they will back whatever decision he makes. We see the others talking about some of their feelings, mostly great memories of growing up on/next to the mountain. We do not get a clear feeling for how they feel about the proposal.
How this was resolved was interesting. Anyone who has watched later episodes knows they did not wind up living next to a large hotel, nor wind up relatively rich. I have to say that had I been a friend of John, I would have advised him to take the offer.
My point would have been that he would have some security, far more than he ever dreamed of, for future financial needs. As far as his children's heritage--looking at the career plans of his children--as expressed inn prior episodes of the show--it would seem that few, if any, of his children plan to stay in the area after they grow up. In fact, that happened to the Hamner family in real life--all except one moved away.
Thinking about John's likely continued struggles for years of making ends meet, with the likelihood of less help available from Zeb, and his grown-up boys turning to other interests, it would seem that taking the risk of a huge life change, while having $25,000 in the bank to live off, would be a good decision for the future of his family.
I imagine lots of viewers of this episode find themselves thinking what they would do if given a similar opportunity--given some strong attachment to where they now live. If you rent or move a lot, then this would not be an offer that takes any time to think over. But if you put it into a scenario similar to what John Walton encountered, it's easy to see why it was such a tough decision for him.
