A nearby neighbor of the Waltons, Verdie Grant is introduced in this episode, a recurring character who gives us a glimpse of what life may have been like for a black country woman in the 1930's. Verdie is a widow and currently lives with her sister, Alice Perry. She raised a family of five after her husband died. Two daughters are married and two sons are working "steady" jobs, while her youngest daughter, Sarah, (called Esther in a later episode) is preparing to graduate from college. Verdie is a talented seamstress and a trained practical nurse and is asked to care for Erin Walton after Erin's tonsillectomy. Verdie is illiterate and embarrassed to attend her daughter's graduation for fear that she will be asked to sign her name. She asks John Boy to teach her to read and write in exchange for Erin's care. More of Verdie's life is revealed throughout the series
Olivia and Esther (Grandma) are traveling to Richmond, Virginia to attend the wedding of Olivia's niece, Laurie. Laurie's mother is Olivia's sister.
While the family is discussing Olivia's niece's wedding, John Boy is reading Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, first issued in 1855, compiled by John Bartlett from Cambridge, Mass. John Boy was most likely reading the book's 10th edition, published in 1914. John Boy surprises his mother by blurting out a quote by John Heywood (1497-1580): "Wedding is destiny and hanging likewise". Olivia responds, "John Boy, what kind of talk is that?"
While John Boy is helping his little sister, Elizabeth, with her writing exercises, he tries to pique her interest by asking her to think what the letters d-o-g would mean to her when she combines them to spell the word dog. Elizabeth responds that the word reminds her of Dorothy's dog in the book "The Wizard Of Oz" , referring to the children's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", written by American author L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) and published in 1900. The story was made into a Broadway Play in 1902 (much altered from the original story) starring Anna Laughlin as Dorothy, Fred Stone (I) as the Scarecrow, David C. Montgomery as the Tin Woodman and Arthur Hill (II) as the Cowardly Lion. The character of the Wicked Witch did not appear in the play's version of the story.
The beloved 1939 film version of the book premiered 6 years after the 1933 time frame of this Walton's episode, starring Judy Garland (I) as Dorothy, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Jack Haley (I) as the Tin Man, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, and Margaret Hamilton as the infamous Wicked Witch of the West. It's possible that Elizabeth was able to see this film in the Charlottesville theater when it was released, and even more likely that she watched it on her new fangled television when it premiered over twenty years later in 1956.
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