Original subtitles

When I was growing up on Walton's Mountain...

I had a tendency to think of myself

and my immediate family...

as the only Waltons.

But that wasn't true.

We were part of a great clan.

There were other mountains and many other Waltons...

who lived farther up in the Blue Ridge.

They were a part of the family...

whose way had scarcely been touched by the passing of time.

We were a family born to share a kinship with the seasons...

always gratefully accepting that which the land gave...

but living in the knowledge that weather

and misfortune could take it away.

One summer, we were to learn that man also...

could take away what the land had given.

I can't remember a picnic I've enjoyed more.

Thanks for taking the day off.

Seemed like a good idea what with school starting so soon.

It's been a fine day.

A day I'll remember in heaven.

Daddy, are we taking the long way home?

Yeah. No point rushing a day as good as this, is there?

No, sir.

That big park and highway we've been hearing so much about.

Be a nice place to drive, if they ever finish it.

Was a nice place to drive before they started it.

It was nothing but a bumpy old road.

This is going to be a fine modern highway.

Come up, Elizabeth.

What's Daddy going through all this dust for?

I thought today was supposed to be fun.

It's interesting, Erin.

When they finish this highway and connect it up...

it's going to be over 400 miles long.

Who needs 400 miles of dust?

There won't be dust when it's all finished, silly.

It's gonna be paved over.

-Mr. Know-it-all! -It's gonna connect up with...

the Great Smoky Mountains, all the way down in Tennessee.

-John-Boy.... -What, honey?

I've got to go to the bathroom.

You want me to tell Daddy to stop the truck?

-No. -Well, why not?

-I don't wanna go in the weeds. -What are you gonna do?

I'll wait.

I had no idea this was coming so near Walton property.

Walton property? Way up here?

Yes, there's some kin of yours, Elizabeth...

no more than a spit and throw from this very ridge road.

Where's everybody going?

Must be, they have to move to make way for the new park.

That road can only lead but one place for them.

Where's that, Grandpa?

To heartbreak from the looks of it.

How far east you cutting this highway of yours?

Two miles this side of Blue Rock Creek.

Blue Rock Creek?

Yeah. You follow the course of the creek

right up to where the dam will be built...

up from the crossing at Jefferson Gap.

Say, mister, you seen an old woman with a grown up son...

they might be coming this way?

Mister, they all look old to me. Even the kids.

They'll be driving a mule wagon

with all hogs and chickens with them.

Your Aunt Martha Corinne and Cousin Boone...

is that who Grandpa's worried about?

They live just this side of Blue Rock Creek.

They're the ones who never come down from the mountain.

And not just ones, they are Waltons.

They're the Waltons who never come down from the mountains.

My oldest brother Henry...

he never come down more than two or three times in his life.

And his widow, Martha Corinne, she's still up there.

All by herself?

No, there's her son Boone and her great grandson, Wade.

Zeb and I were there last year for Boone's wife's funeral.

No sooner had they put her in the ground...

then Boone had cornered Zeb...

and was trying to sell off some of that homemade whiskey of his.

John. John.

-John. -What's the matter, Pa?

So long as we're up here, don't you think we better

stop by Henry's old place?

I'm a little worried now about Martha Corinne.

Pa, it's getting kind of late. How about we do it one day soon?

One day soon may be one day too late.

Zeb, if they'd needed us they would have sent for us.

I think we ought to be getting home, Grandpa.

The children are dead tired and hungry.

How about we do it first thing in the morning?

Alright, if that's the best you can do, John.

You think Aunt Martha Corinne and Boone will have to move?

I don't know. But Pa and me better get there in the morning.

Those mountains have been home to them for a lifetime.

Look.

Looks like you won't have to make that trip.

-Hey, Boone! -Hey, fellas!

Thank heavens. They're right here.

-Come on, Elizabeth. -Boone! You're down here.

We was just up on the ridgeline route...

and they wouldn't let me stop off to see you.

It's been a long while since you all been up our way.

-How are you, Esther? -Boone, Wade.

It's nice to see you, Boone.

For them of you don't know...

meet Wade Walton, my grand boy.

-Been a long time, Wade. -Nice to see you.

You've sure grown.

Wade here has been away with the U.S. Navy.

Yeah, we heard.

You all remember Cousin Boone from up Blue Rock.

How can he be my cousin if he's so old?

I'll explain it to you later.

Zeb, Mama sent us.

And I have a good suspicion why.

She told us to speak with the men of the house.

Let's get to talking.

So this feller, Blake, he's the builder.

The U.S. government sent him in from...

building big roads out west.

"Move on," Blake says.

"You got to move on.

"This here property is condemned...

"for the reasons of making a park.

"Pack up.

"Get relocated," he tells us.

Where to?

Flatlands.

Says the government's building houses down there for us.

You don't choose to move?

Of course Martha Corinne don't choose to move.

She's planted on that land just like a tree.

Others can if they want.

Not us.

I come home from the Navy...

and home is where I plan on staying.

Mama and me...

and Wade and his Vera...

we decided on staying.

Well, I know Martha Corinne well enough to know...

she didn't send you down here just to tell us that.

She's planning to make a stand.

Bless her heart.

She says you blood-kin Waltons.

You ain't going to forget your own folks when they need you.

That's right.

Won't be long before the government

comes trying to move us out.

They done already commenced their blasting up there.

Shaping our mountains to suit their selves.

Martha Corinne says you come up there and fight with us.

You be there tomorrow.

You mean to fight the government?

If it comes to that.

You tell Martha Corinne we'll be there.

Bring your rifles.

Lucky they missed your place when they drew up that park map.

They're really serious.

I reckon it's clear that we're obliged to help.

It's clear.

We'll be there. We're not taking any rifles.

I don't see even one rifle amongst you.

Y'all come up here to stick by us...

or to wish us well?

We are here to help you, in whatever way seems best.

We agreed that taking up rifles may not be the best, though

Martha Corinne.

What about you, young Walton? Where do you stand?

Well, I stand with my daddy.

Zeb, you remember Ben Moyer over by Afton?

Vera here is his granddaughter.

Ben Moyer.

Your granddaddy beat me at the North Garden turkey shoot

three times running.

I venture to say that he's no longer with us?

Took with lung disease in 1929.

When Vera's child is born...

there'll be four living generations of Waltons

on this mountain.

I could use some help picking blackberries.

The bushes are just leaning over, they're so heavy.

I reckon you children can do that much for me, can't you?

Yes, ma'am.

I'll allow you to keep what I don't use.

Go with Vera now, she'll get you the buckets in the house.

Can we go looking for arrowheads?

You let us do it the last time.

Up in the Indian camp.

How many did you take home, then?

One a piece. Just like you said.

The rule still stands.

-So get along with you now. -Thank you, ma'am.

Watch out for my pigs. They're feisty.

Okay, we will.

I suppose you're too old for arrowheads and berry picking.

Well, I thought I'd stay here.

You wouldn't if there was a nice young girl going berry picking

now, would you?

Well, I reckon not.

We're here, Martha Corinne, for a council of war.

I think it's high time we got started.

That's prime stuff, Boone.

You've had some of it before.

It's out of that cask I got hid out yonder in the woods.

This white lightning's better than Judge Baldwin's Recipe.

Boone tells me this man, Blake, is contracted to clear the area.

Your not moving is holding him up.

Every day means lost money to him, I expect.

We mean more to ourselves than the numbers on his dollar bills.

Boone thinks this is gonna come down to a shooting fight.

I think that's wrong. You can't win that kind of a fight.

Blake is here last night when we come back from your place.

He's been trying for two months...

for us to take his money so that he can have our land.

He gives us just three days to get out...

and claims that if we don't, the U.S. Marshals will come up

and move us out.

Blake comes up here...

and he looks around...

then he walks over there...

and he says, "Miss Walton, I won't bother you for the salt...

"but I'd certainly enjoy a tomato off the vine."

I told him to help himself.

So he helps himself.

And he starts to carry on about...

how he's eaten tomatoes off the vine...

from 16 of these United States...

and how he does believe that mine is the sweetest of 'em all.

I says to myself he's just trying

to sweet-talk you, old woman.

Then that's when he started telling about his road.

He hunkers down by that tree there...

and he says, "Mrs. Walton...

"two lanes of my blacktop highway...

"are going to come around that curve...

"and cut through those trees, through your house...

"and right smack through your tomato patch...

"pretty soon now."

"Lord," I said...

"you sure are planning the smell of gasoline...

"and rubber tires burning on a hot road

being plentiful around here, aren't you?"

He says, "Yes, ma'am...

"it's the way it's going to be, for a fact."

Well, I think he's the one who's facts are confused.

I wish I knew what Indians were around here, and when.

What tribes were there here?

Miss Hunter said the Shawnees, the Delawares, and the Catawbas.

-They all live around here? -No, they just passed through.

The Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley...

were their hunting grounds.

Where do they live now?

I think the Shawnees are in Oklahoma.

The radio says all are moving from Oklahoma to California.

Not the Indians. They stay on reservations.

Hey, fellas.

Fellas, I got me one. Look at this.

-Did you? -Yeah, look at this.

-Good. -Look at this right here.

Hey.

You government people?

Shucks, no. We're up here visiting Martha Corinne Walton.

We're kin of hers.

What you been trapping?

You here to move her out?

Well, we don't know yet.

-What you got in the sack? -Possum.

You running away?

Highway cleared us out of our old house.

Now Papa keeps moving

looking for a house somebody moved out from.

Found one yesterday.

-Two mile yonder-- -Ain't supposed to tell where.

Maybe the shooting started already.

I don't think so. There's some.

I sure hope John-Boy or Daddy don't get shot.

What about Grandpa?

Grandpa says he's getting so tough

that bullets won't go through him.

I think he's pulling your leg, Elizabeth.

I wish he wouldn't do that.

Mary Ellen, look.

Well, keep still and maybe they won't see us.

-Maybe who won't see us? -Them.

Oh, come on, Elizabeth.

Climb up in the tree. Get her.

Here. Elizabeth, give me your hand.

Ugly pigs. Go away!

Mary Ellen, what are we gonna do?

Help!

I don't think it's gonna work.

I don't want to stay here for the rest of my life.

-I want to go home. -I wish we'd never left home.

We ask no more than to raise our animals...

grow our crops and be left to ourselves.

Now, the time for asking is past.

I never said I disagree with what you feel, Martha Corinne.

It's just...

Maybe there's a more reasonable way to help.

You mean, short of a shooting war, huh?

All I'm just saying there could be a middle road.

Could be that your middle-road thinking...

comes from your spending too much time living close to town

and using your indoor water and electricity.

That may be, I grant you.

You know, if you do have to move, then....

If maybe you do have to move, I'm sure that...

Daddy and Grandpa would be more than pleased...

to have you come and share our mountain with us.

Young man...

you wasn't invited here to give out with moving day advice.

Boy's just making a suggestion, Boone.

The truth is, Martha Corrine...

you can have all our land you need to clear for your garden...

raise your hogs and chickens.

There's plentiful game up there.

There's best hunting in the world up there year around.

Best fishing this side of Blue Rock Creek.

What do you say, Boone? Martha Corinne?

Boone and me appreciate what you're saying, John-Boy...

but that's your land.

And this is ours.

Yes, ma'am.

Well, I'm not gonna stay up here forever.

Mary Ellen, don't.

Mary Ellen, don't get down there. You'll be bitten.

Don't worry.

Help!

-Help! -Mary Ellen?

-Help! -Come on, fellas, let's go.

Jason, help!

-Jason! -Jason, we're over here.

Come on, Jason. Hurry.

Oh, no.

-Let's go. -Come on.

-Don't get so close, Jason! -Don't worry about it.

-Come on, you pigs. -Get outta here.

-Get out of here. -Move.

Get out of here, you pigs. Come on, go. Go!

You can come down now, scaredy cats.

Oh, shut up, Ben.

Real man-eaters, huh, Erin?

I've heard of people being tree'd by a bear before...

but this is the first time I saw anybody tree'd by a pig.

But you weren't here when they were slobbering and grunting.

You didn't see that one attack me.

Scared by a grunt, huh?

Soohee, pig, pig, pig.

Come on, you pig.

I think we should've left them up there.

-Who's going to give it to him? -Me.

Oh no, you don't. I'm going to give you a spanking.

Lucas Avery.

Old Lucas? State senator?

It's him, alright.

-Martha Corinne. -Where have you been?

Well, I just had to make one more try.

But I'm afraid my colleagues in the legislature

had heard my speech before.

Saving your land is out of my hands.

These here are Walton kin from over in Jefferson County.

Well, I'm pleased to make your acquaintances.

You know about the eviction notice.

It's because of that I'm here, Martha Corinne.

We have to have a talk.

Lucas, I haven't got much time for a lot of talk.

So I went to Blake and asked for some time.

He finally promised that for the three days remaining...

before the notice of eviction goes into effect...

that he'd see there was no more blasting or building

near your property.

In trade for what?

That you go and look at the house the government

is offering you for moving out of here.

Senator, suppose Martha Corrine don't like what they show her

down below of the land, or the little cracker boxes on it?

Mind you, I'm not saying she's gonna go...

but if she does, suppose she doesn't like what she sees?

Well, why not give yourselves a chance?

At least go look at the houses.

You're the only family who won't even do that.

We're agreed on staying here.

Lucas, is this your way of telling that you've given up...

and gone over to the other side?

Martha Corinne, I fought my fight for you.

It wasn't too many years back that you got whatever

you asked for down at the legislature.

Yes, indeed.

And with plenty of votes to spare, I dare say.

But times change and I must now go along with the majority.

And with the law. So must we all. Like it or not.

Now the men in Richmond and Washington...

who create these projects, such as the parks and highways

are looking to help this country's future by building it

out of a depression.

And they truly and honestly believe what they're doing...

will better the majority of people's lives.

It won't better ours.

Martha Corinne, the majority of the people...

does not mean the few hundred scattered

up and down these hillsides and hollows.

Are you saying we don't count for nothing?

No. I'm only telling you what the government already knows.

There's not a family here educated or productive enough...

to earn more than $200 a year.

Then wouldn't it be better to build schools

instead of highways

and clear the land for farming instead of for parks?

That is not the issue right now, young man.

We'd be happy to take you on down...

and show you the houses being offered to you.

You all could stay the night with us.

I think it's all a trick to get us outta here.

We come back, the whole place will be bulldozed to the ground.

Mr. Blake gave me his word. He'd not send his men in...

as long as you're giving thought to the government housing.

We got no reason to believe anything he'd say.

Lucas, do you believe this man Blake?

I can only tell you what he told me.

I went to him for you. For your sake.

Go. Look at the houses, Martha Corinne.

I beg you.

We got our house, Mama.

We don't need to go looking for another one.

That Blake has a mighty long streak of fox in him.

Too long to trust.

Is that your answer?

I'll go look at them.

For Lucas.

You don't have to look at no other houses.

I said I'd go look at them for Lucas.

Well, I think I'd best be going.

Goodbye, Martha Corinne. And thank you.

-Goodbye. -Thank you, Senator.

-Goodbye, sir. -So long, Senator.

Goodbye.

They're angry with me.

More scared than angry.

Being afraid is the most powerful kind of anger.

I think I'd best stay here.

Somebody should see what's going on.

Old man, you'll do no such thing.

Take it easy, Esther. It'll be only for a day or two.

Henry would've done the same for Zeb.

Keeping busy can be comforting, can't it?

Always makes me feel safe.

My life is going to keep on going the same as always.

It's knowing how fresh and clean it's going to smell

when it's dry.

Vera, are you afraid?

What kind of question is that?

People do get afraid sometimes, you know?

Not me.

I got Wade to take care of me.

He makes sure nothing hurts me.

You know, in a few weeks...

John-Boy is gonna be going off to college...

and in my heart I'm very afraid of that.

Why?

Well...

he's gonna become part of a world I know nothing about.

He's gonna meet people who are smarter than me.

People who have been places and can talk about things

I've never even dreamt of.

And I'm afraid maybe I'll...

seem ordinary to him.

And then he might even be a little bit ashamed of me.

If that's what's going to happen

why are you letting him go for?

That's foolishness.

I can't stop John-Boy from going out into the world.

And you and Wade have to be part of that world, too.

You mustn't be afraid to see new things, and to learn new things.

So that you can make a better life for yourself.

So that your child can have some of the good things

this world has to offer.

My child will have a good life right here.

You don't want any part of the outside world

because it frightens you.

And that's alright. You can admit to the fear.

But you mustn't let it stop you.

You mustn't let it keep you from going ahead.

You and Wade could be...

new pioneers.

That's not what me and Wade want.

Jim-Bob, will you quit eating all the berries? You, too, Ben.

They're good!

If you eat them all, we won't have enough to make ice cream.

-Here we go. -I don't want to sit inside.

I want the air.

John-Boy.

-Yes, sir. -I want you to do something.

I want you to stay here and keep an eye on Grandpa.

Me?

Yeah. Try to keep him from getting a gun in his hands.

You really think maybe it's gonna come down to guns?

His temper's up.

Try to keep him from doing anything foolish, alright?

Okay.

Looks to me some of the men folk in this family...

are going to become a lot better acquainted.

I ought to charge you time-and-a-half

for bringing me up here after sundown.

You scared of them Waltons?

They would just as soon shoot at you as look at you.

Martha Corinne included.

I've been shot at before.

Now, don't get spooked.

The Walton's cabin's clear the other side of the mountain.

They can't see us over here.

You know, I heard something about you promise Lucas Avery...

you was gonna wait.

Word sure gets around up here. How'd you find that out?

Everybody's cousin to everybody else up here.

Just who are you cousin to? Lucas Avery or Boone Walton?

I'm cousin to whoever's paying me.

-How come you can't wait anyway? -I'm losing money.

That's reason enough.

Yeah, well...

don't expect me up here tomorrow to work no plunger.

I understand they got kin up there from Jefferson County.

Yeah, well, I got a United States Marshal with me.

And that's just a whole lot better than kin.

-Let me try. Can I hold it? -Okay, be sure to keep stirring.

Here.

Okay, mix it up good.

We should get a cloth. Somebody get a cloth.

Is it spilling?

Okay, next step.

Ice.

-Keep your fingers out, Ben. -Give me some more salt.

-Let Elizabeth try now. -She won't be able to do it.

That's the way, honey.

That looks good.

Now, let's see. Who's gonna get the first lick?

-You? -Me.

No, I think we should start with the youngest first, don't you?

Here you go, Elizabeth. Watch out.

Good? Careful.

How is it, Elizabeth?

Your blackberries make the best ice cream in the whole world.

The whole world?

Taste and see.

-She's not the youngest. -I know, you are.

-Hey, I'm not. -It's my turn.

-Give me a lick of that. -Now, wait.

Give that to your father. Give me a lick of that.

Let the children go first.

-Anybody want some? -I do.

You can't have it.

It's a nice fire.

You married?

Me? Married? No, I'm only 18.

I'm 19.

Well....

How'd you get in the Navy, being so young?

I lied to them. I lied to them about how old I was.

I wager you've seen a good deal of the world.

Right smart.

Better put in some more wood.

These are wonderful. Who did these?

-Wade. -Really?

Yeah.

He carved this old lady in Japan.

And this rooster's a toy he's making for the baby.

And this is the aircraft carrier he served on.

Saratoga.

-He's still working on it. -Who's this?

He carved this fine lady from a picture he saw in a magazine.

And that over there is Boone.

Yeah?

He doesn't look any too happy to be behind that plow, does he?

He's more for hunting and fishing...

make his own whiskey.

Here, I'll get that. Those are beautiful.

We all have something we do best at.

I'm cutting wood in the morning. You want to come with me?

Sure, anything I can do to help.

I met Henry Walton at the mill where my daddy worked...

down on the James, just there above Scottsville.

He was your grandfather's oldest brother.

He was 11 and I was 10.

He and his daddy had come down to sell their corn.

Didn't Uncle Henry fight with Stonewall Jackson?

He was one of the generals that Henry fought for.

Jason, why don't you get that picture of Uncle Henry

-show Aunt Martha Corinne? -Oh, sure.

I'd rather hear about the spinning wheel.

Me, too.

The spinning wheel.

Well, it came to me from my mother for a wedding present.

Come to the house and I'll show you how it works.

-Can we, Mama? -Please?

I'd love to see you girls spin wool.

Here he is.

Tell us about Uncle Henry fighting in the war.

Well...

I was 15...

and Henry was 16 when we were married...

and he went down to the mill...

to work with my father on the James for a while.

And then the war broke out.

And he chose to join up with Stonewall Jackson.

But after Stonewall Jackson was killed at Chancellorsville...

he got his orders to join up with another general by the name

of...Jubal. Jubal Early.

Well, it was about two years later...

one fall night...

a soft rain was falling...

a rooftop lullaby, I call it...

and Henry came home.

We had heard how General Custer was hanging the Confederates...

so I'd about given up any hope of ever seeing Henry again.

But he was home and I was gloriously happy.

We came up to the mountains...

and we placed our boundary stones...

and together we built our home.

Boone was born to us...

and a boy named for his father.

He died in infancy.

Well, I ploughed and I planted...

and I chopped my share of firewood...

and when time came for hog-butchering

I was there, too.

We all shared in the work of our land.

Until...

that road builder came and brought his park

to my doorstep...

my family had always known a peacefulness.

Well, I couldn't want it anywhere else.

Well, if you'll excuse me...

I promised myself that I'd be fresh in the morning...

when I go to look at new property...

for the first time since 1865.

Thank you for talking to us.

Thank you for a taste of the best ice cream in the world.

-I'll walk you upstairs. -Goodnight.

Goodnight.

I'll be ready to go first thing in the morning.

Ready to go, Zeb?

Morning, Boone.

Hey, what are we using for bait?

All I had to do was turn one shovel full of dirt

behind that pig pen...

and I got enough worms for two days of fishing.

Good. I'm counting on a mess of fish for supper.

You gonna get them.

I think it's been too long since you been up here to fish.

Maybe you forgot what good fishing there is down there at

Blue Rock Creek.

Wade, did you notice if they took any guns with them?

Not that I know of.

What are you mother-henning that old man for?

You been watching him like a chicken hawk.

Who, me? No, I'm just looking out for him, is all.

Here, let me help you with that.

I fixed you bread and honey sandwiches and filled your jar.

Thank you.

Vera...

Blake or any of his men come around, you come get me.

I heard some blasting earlier as I was out collecting eggs...

but it was far away to the west.

Now you make sure those two old men clean their own fish

when they get home.

Don't let Grandpa Boone talk you into doing his work for him.

The wood you'll be cutting today be for our baby's cradle.

Jason, I'm leaving you in charge here.

Keep an eye on these children.

Yes, sir. You all hear that, everybody?

-Sure, we heard. -Don't worry. We'll be good.

I'm not sure we ought to leave those children alone.

Now, Livie Willy, you hover over this brood...

how they ever gonna learn any sense of responsibility?

We're gonna be gone most of the day, I expect.

So you all be on your best behavior.

Bye-bye!

-Bye! -Goodbye!

Okay, get in the house and get those rooms cleaned up.

-What? -Why now?

Listen, I'm the daddy around here. Go!

Ben, you help me dig the weeds, come on now.

-I'd rather clean my room. -Come on, I'll race you there.

It is all mighty peaceful up here at Blue Rock Creek.

Yeah, but not for long.

Not once that dam goes up.

That does grieve me, however

to think they didn't have a dam up here...

before that last big flood your own boy's house

floated downriver.

That dam ain't gonna help nobody.

'Cause there ain't gonna be nobody living here.

Trouble with us, Boone, is...

we've spent half of our lives in the last century.

I sure missed you, Zeb.

We don't hunt and fish like we used to no more.

No, I haven't been here as much as I'd like to...

what with these hard times.

About the only thing I know up here is the time of day.

No, siree, I've to keep my nose to the grindstone...

to help my son feed that big family of his.

When I wake up of a morning, I ask myself:

"What am I going to do today?"

That's the glory of it, Boone, the freedom to choose.

Yes, sir.

I say, "What do I want to do for myself today?

"Do I wanna hunt?

"Do I wanna fish?

"Do I wanna cut timber?

"Or do I wanna make a little whiskey?"

You know, Zeb...

I do just what pleasures me the most.

Now how many fellers in this world can say that?

Not many, Boone. In all these days and years, not many at all.

Wade, did you ever think of selling those things you carve?

-You're attesting I should? -Well, sure.

I think a lot of people would be interested in buying them.

You really think so?

Why not? They're good.

Sure hope people start buying my stuff.

What do you make?

I'm a writer.

What do you write?

Stories, mostly about the family.

What made you be a writer?

Well, what made you start carving those figures?

Martha Corinne says it's in the blood.

Says our people have always had a streak

and that's what makes us good...

at playing the fiddle, making a picture, carving wood.

It's in the blood.

That's really something to think about, isn't it?

You and me with the same blood.

In you, it makes a wood carver. In me, it makes a writer.

It's like a tree. Same sap flowing into different branches.

That's a writer for you.

Wade, when you went out to join the Navy...

did you always know you'd be coming back here?

First, I had to see the other man's world.

His countries and his cities.

This is my country.

And it won't be long before I build my own home to prove it.

Henry David Thoreau says,

"It's as fitting a thing for a man to build his home...

"as it is for a bird to build its own nest."

If you'd like, after we finish up here, I'll take you there.

-Show you what I mean. -Sure, I'd like that.

This morning when I woke up...

I had this feeling like it might be the last time I ever said

"What am I gonna do today?"

Looks like Mr. Blake's done prove that feeling out for me.

Only thing in his favor, is he stayed on

that side of the creek, and he went back the way he come.

He's just scouting the territory.

Now he knows the way he's coming back.

And these spigots, they can give you hot water...

or cold water, any amount you want.

That's hot, alright.

And the bathtub, that does the same thing...

and you can have the easiest bath that you ever had.

And you can have them as often as you want.

Remember the day we got our first bathtub?

I sure do. Forgot those Saturday night baths quick enough.

We still got that galvanized tub?

Yeah, it's in the cellar somewhere.

Oh, my. Got to watch out for that.

That's bad luck to look in a mirror at night.

Well, I tell you that getting our first bathtub

was more exciting to me than getting our first truck.

In the summertime, Boone always takes his soap...

and bathes down in Blue Rock Creek

the same Henry and I always did.

Electric light. There's the switch. You turn it.

It's a nice, big house.

They didn't waste much time building it, either.

Let's take a look at the kitchen.

Look at that. Green linoleum.

And it's brand new.

-Linoleum? -It's to protect the floor.

Wish I had some new linoleum in my house.

I always feel suffocated when I get down here in the flatlands.

Lungs just won't take the air down here.

Should be about 20 acres.

Flat.

I'd say half of it was cleared.

Henry always told me when we came to the mountains...

you live with your land...

and you die with your land.

I'm building our house here.

That is beautiful.

Build a home, raise kids...

be in love with your woman.

Let me show you where everything's gonna go.

Okay.

Chimney and the fireplace go right here.

Bedroom's right here.

And the parlor is gonna go right here.

What's over here?

You're standing in Vera's kitchen.

Salvaged my mama's old Eagle stove from the flood.

The fanciest and best of cooking stoves, for its day and time.

If you turn around, and go to your right...

you'll be standing in my workshop.

What a place for an artist to work!

Artist?

Look here, John-Boy.

From here, to this sapling...

is where one mountain boy breaks

with a long tradition of outhouses.

Indoor plumbing?

With a bathtub, and a sink, and a toilet.

I saved enough money from the Navy

to buy the pipes and the fixtures and I'm gonna plumb.

I'll do that myself.

People work all their lives to build their dream house.

You think that's all it boils down to, don't you?

-A dream. -I'd hate to think that.

Maybe if writers and wood carvers ran this country...

instead of lawyers and politicians, we'd be better off.

Well, amen to that.

I'll thin out the trees in this direction

so as we can sit on the porch...

and see clear to the Shenandoah Valley.

Wade!

Something's wrong.

Blake's got bulldozers at Blue Rock Creek pointed this way.

Does it look like they're moving in?

I don't think they're coming up here to go fishing.

If they got one this far, the others ain't far behind.

So, it was a trick.

-You need more proof now? -We've been lied to.

That's right. We're wasting time here, so let's get.

You think it's gonna come to shooting, Grandpa?

More than likely.

I swear, I feel like the clock's been turned back 100 years.

It's like stories I've heard about feuds and grudge fights...

and warring mountain clans.

I'm gonna be starting college soon and here I am in the hills

and somebody's ready to push a rifle into my hands.

John-Boy, you follow that gully on down...

till you hear the splashing of Blue Rock Creek.

You go on down till you smell the gas from the main highway...

and thumb your way on back to Walton Mountain.

-I can't do that, Grandpa. -Why not?

I'm not gonna leave you up here alone.

Besides, I've gotta figure this out in my mind.

Just what would you do if this was your home?

I don't know. Maybe I could understand it then.

There's no difference. Same place, Walton land.

This is fought-for land.

Walton blood has been staining this ground...

and Walton sweat has cleared and cultivated this land.

And we owe a debt to those Waltons buried on the hill.

My brother Henry is buried up there.

And his widow Martha Corinne is likely to go there pretty soon

if they try to take this place away from her.

It's blood that joins us, John-Boy.

You and me, and your daddy, and Boone.

I know, that's true. I felt it with Wade.

I think maybe what you got to do...

figure out just how much of a Walton you are.

Wade.

Your daddy at home?

He took Martha Corinne up to look at some houses.

They ought to be back right soon, though.

-I'll wait. -Alright.

To give up my home...

would be giving up a good part of myself.

I know how you're feeling.

We faced the same when they made us an offer for the mountain.

No, it wasn't the same, Esther...

because you had a choice of accepting or not.

You're right. I guess I was just looking to comfort you.

Moving away doesn't mean that you have to stop caring...

or feeling about what your life has been.

They can't take that away from you.

Wade is my great-grandson.

And, some day, that house and that land

that we saw today can be his...

and his children's.

But Wade is counting on building his own home in the mountains.

And Boone, well, he's a proud, stubborn man...

but he's got a right to be selfish about

the life he's lived and known.

And you?

I don't like a house that's built by strangers.

It don't mean that it couldn't be fixed up...

and made right livable...

into a home.

He could at least tell us what this is all about.

-Why did you get a tattoo? -Because I wanted one.

Going to a tattoo parlor was part of being in the Navy.

For me, anyways.

There was a tattooed lady in the carnival

at Charlottesville.

Mama wouldn't let us look, but I peeked.

She had snake tattoos.

-What kind of snakes? -Poisonous.

Easy. Easy there.

-Lucas double-crossed you. -How?

-The blasting's started. -Blasting? How close?

-Coming our way. -Now, hold on.

You all heard Lucas give his word.

Looks to me Lucas and Blake had it all planned.

They wanted you off the mountain so they could move in.

Let me go see Lucas.

Any government people come to the house?

Not yet.

Well...

I'm gonna go home where I belong.

Mary Ellen, come help me pack.

Yes, ma'am.

-How do you know it's Lucas? -I know.

For a minute you almost had me talked into that house.

Now, I'm sure this thing can best be settled with Lucas.

Now, you go with John to see him.

Let me tell you all that I am no puppet on Lucas Avery's string.

And I dance no tune to Blake or the government.

You wait here, I'll go see him.

You tell Lucas for me, he's a liar.

Welcome home, Martha Corinne.

-Isn't my daddy with you? -John Walton's leaving it to us.

Has Blake been back?

I reckon we'll be seeing him soon enough.

Come in, Martha Corinne. Rest yourself.

I want to hear all about it.

-Mr. Blake? -Who wants him?

John Walton Junior.

He's gone into Brightwood.

-When do you expect him back? -Not before morning.

You wouldn't know what he plans on doing, come morning?

Blake don't tell us his plans.

Well....

Then would you give him a message for me, please?

I reckon we could do that.

Tell him that my father and Sen. Avery are trying...

to work this thing out together...

and that we need a little bit more time?

-Your daddy's gone off, huh? -He's off with the senator.

Would you please give Mr. Blake that message for me?

-Yeah. -Yeah, okay.

Thank you.

I just come by where you were supposed to be standing guard.

There's nothing but a rifle standing up against the tree.

-Where've you been? -I went to see Blake.

-You did what? -I tried to see Blake.

You mean you went to the enemy's camp to see that rattlesnake?

Grandpa, I was trying to get us more time.

You make it sound like I'm a turncoat.

Anyway, I didn't see him. He's gone to Brightwood.

Your rifle's still standing there against that pine tree.

-You intend picking it up? -Not when I don't have to.

No.

We'll take over now, John-Boy.

Best thing you can do is go downhill, get your breakfast.

-Come to breakfast, John-Boy. -Okay.

-Got some hot biscuits for you. -Thank you.

That's fine, thank you.

Tell me about this college you're going to.

Boatwright University in Westham.

Judging by how you spoke up to old Lucas...

asking why they didn't build schools instead of highways...

I'd say education do right well by you.

I hope I can do as well by it.

I never had that kind of schooling but...

I find that if you keep a close watch on the world...

what's in it, you can learn a lot.

I found a lot of little worlds in this big one.

Little watery world in Blue Rock Creek...

in a quiet pool there...

and there's worlds underground when you turn a shovel of dirt.

Maybe if I had books...

I could understand more about these little worlds.

Maybe you'll explain when you come back and are educated.

I could lend my books to you if you like.

You can read them for yourself.

Well, that's very kind of you.

I'd like to start with history.

And then one on plants.

You think you'll be studying much about plants?

Well, we'll eventually get around to it, probably.

I vow...

I might not die ignorant after all. Eat your breakfast.

I thought I'd get started on the house.

I got biscuits and gravy.

Warm when I left the house but got cold coming up here.

I've been thinking about the furniture.

How does black walnut sound to you?

You always did have your eye on that stand of walnut...

by your granddaddy's place.

It's good hard wood, Vera. Finishes up real pretty.

Got to sit down.

The baby didn't sleep much last night.

Such a kicking, I never before felt.

Real sound sleeper today.

How long do you think it'll be before they try coming for us?

No later than tomorrow would be my guess.

Wade, I want you to drive your truck down the road

to the end of my property line.

Not one inch past it, you hear?

Turn it sideways so it'll block the road.

And I don't care whether it's a CCC boy...

United States Marshal, or Blake himself.

The first person that crosses my property line...

is gonna get a load of double-o-buck for his trouble.

Aunt Martha Corinne...

couldn't you just hold your fire until my daddy gets here?

Hold our fire and be flattened by one or more bulldozers?

Why does it have to come to that?

What way have you got in mind, boy?

Well, we can talk!

Both sides are gonna be face-to-face with each other.

Now is the time to work something out.

You don't know Blake.

All I'm saying is that we don't have to shoot right off the bat.

It may come to that. I'll grant you, it may come to that.

But even if it does...

I don't think that we should be the first to pull the trigger.

I'll depend on what men of my family want to defend my land.

Wade, go!

Questions, John-Boy?

It won't work.

Alright, Blake. We'll be there by 9:15.

They started blasting again.

-Double-crossed us all. -Why?

Something about having to revise his time schedule...

on the current stretch of road.

Claims it's gonna take much longer, cost more money.

Money out of his own pocket. "Money talks," he said.

Is there anything we can do to stop it?

The law is on his side.

Finish your breakfast. We're going to Richmond.

They can bring more men with guns than you'd ever imagine.

That's up to them.

What good is it gonna do you to shoot one of them...

if Boone or Wade or any of us gets killed in the bargain?

That's one of the things you won't learn in college.

The cost of defending your own property.

Grandpa, are you willing to gamble your life on that?

I'm here.

Up here...

we all have said...

the days of our lives are numbered

like the pages of the Bible.

I cannot believe you think it's as simple as that.

There's never been one of us...

able to determine the days of our living

and the time of our calling.

Are you just going to accept that?

If you can't carry a gun...

the least you can do is help with the lookout.

You're all fools.

I will not have you talk like that about your elders.

I have a right to speak my mind in this family...

and that woman's gonna sacrifice her kin.

You have no call to refer to your kin as fools.

-Grandpa, you're wrong! -You think they're right.

-I do not think they are right! -Because, if you do, go home...

or better yet, go join them!

I do not think they're right!

Right there.

There's a U.S. Marshal waiting, too.

Zeb, what do you think?

They're not doing much. Just sizing up the situation.

They're leaving.

Next time, they'll be coming right for us.

He's right, Grandpa.

Sen. Avery, we've been over this ground before.

There's nothing we can do.

Very well. We'll take our case directly to the governor.

I suggest you contact the police and the local sheriff's office

and instruct them to supervise an orderly and peaceful removal

of Martha Corinne Walton and her family.

Excuse me, sir. Is it possible for a citizen to say something?

I don't wish this to sound callous...

but Mr. Walton should know...

we've been through the emotional ringer on this issue before.

The chair recognizes Mr. Walton's privilege

as a citizen to speak before us.

Thank you, Senator.

You see, you gentlemen may not understand why we're here.

You're city folk, and we're here to talk about mountain people.

Now, just a minute, Mr. Walton...

what has that got to do with it?

It's got a lot to do with it, Senator.

You see, these folks up there, they settled those mountains...

long before any of us were born.

And their ways haven't changed

since they come over from the old country.

Martha Corinne Walton is one of them.

You must admit, Mr. Walton...

that progress is a vital part of life in these United States.

Yes, sir, Senator.

I admit that.

But it's hard for this old lady

who has a little vegetable patch...

slaughters 3 or 4 hogs a year,

and takes a little game from the mountain.

It's hard for her to understand anything about progress.

And it's got to be awful frightening...

for her to be asked to move to the city...

especially since she hasn't been asked to move...

since her husband come back from the war in 1865.

Frightening it may be, Mr. Walton...

but it hardly justifies taking arms against the Government.

That's true, Senator.

But you see...

these folks up in the mountain...

they don't spend much time reading books.

And they don't spend much time talking about what's justified.

All they know is, they got a little bit of land...

and it's their land.

And they feel like it's slipping out from under them

and they don't understand.

Now, what we're talking about here is old age and home...

and a place against your idea of progress.

Now, those young folks up there...

they may not like the idea...

but they still can change, they can adjust.

They may even be glad it happened.

But there must be some way that those old folks...

can spend their few remaining years up there.

Martha Corinne Walton is only one of them.

There's a whole bunch of them up there

and they're just as frightened as she is.

And they're as likely to react to that fear with violence.

I hope they don't have to do that.

They deserve to spend their remaining days in peace...

without fear.

Dear...

President...

Roosevelt.

The law says...

your people...

can come here...

today...

and pack me off...

my land.

I will fight them...

as hard...

as I am able.

Should I lose...

and be moved away...

please...

have your...

government...

bring me back...

to be buried...

when I die.

I wonder how many deputies they think it will take

to flush us out.

I don't know how it's gonna turn outfor us today, Henry.

But, I do know...

we could use you being here.

We'd stick close together.

We always did when trouble looked us in the eye.

Today would be a whole lot easier...

if it was just a shoat, or a Sunday chicken

these folks was after.

Lord...

but I wish it would be easy trouble.

It isn't enough they tear apart mountains.

They can't leave nothing alone.

Not mountains, not trees, not people.

Mrs. Walton...

I got something here you better listen to.

"Mrs. Henry Walton...

"be it hereby known that notice of eviction...

"on your property and dwelling is in effect...

"as of this day.

"That you and all said persons residing...

"on this property shall immediately and peacefully...

"legally vacate all land...

"and dwellings...

"belonging to you."

You may, of course, read this yourself.

Blake, go back.

You're not coming on my property.

Let's go, Marshals.

I can't do this.

Where do you think you're going?

-I gotta talk to him once. -No kin of ours is running out.

I'm not running out on you, Boone. Please, Grandpa.

-It won't work. -If it doesn't, I'll be back.

John-boy!

Stop!

Outta the way before you're hurt.

-I wanna talk to you. -I'm through talking.

Mr. Blake, think about this. They're not bluffing.

Well, that makes us even.

None of this would've happened if you'd kept your word.

Grandpa!

Hold your fire.

-No! -My boy.

Johnny! Johnny!

No! No!

-Grandpa, are you alright? -Are you hurt, Son?

Me? I'm fine. I'm....

-I've been shot. -Oh, no.

Oh, no.

Just put down your rifles.

No, sir.

Don't tell me no. I can have you both

in convict's clothes by sundown.

I'd rather be in the ground by sundown.

What happened?

John-boy's been hurt.

-It's alright. -Get him to a doctor.

Let's get him out of here. Easy, Son.

It's alright. It's alright.

It's starting to hurt now.

It's okay.

Daddy?

Lucas, what result with the Governor?

We didn't see the Governor until early this morning.

He turned us down.

No more bloodshed.

-We'll do as we're told. -Not me!

We'll all do as we're told.

Mama?

You can leave now, Mr. Blake.

We'll do our own packing.

I reckon I'd better go in and get Martha Corrine.

Ma'am.

I'm through with that.

I'd like to make a gift of it to your sisters.

I'm sure they'll appreciate that.

Now don't try to lift it by yourself yet.

No, I'll have Grandpa help me with it.

Ma'am, they're all loaded, just waiting for you.

Well, I wanna leave this room as clean as it was...

the first day we moved in.

Henry was a shy man with a woman.

He didn't lift me over the threshold...

the way a bridegroom is supposed to.

But when we came into this room...

I wore lilac...

and he smelled of bay rum.

He'd been to the barbershop that morning.

The house is gone now along with the animal shelters

and the out buildings.

The forest has grown up...

and there is no sign that once a man and a woman...

struggled there to raise a family

and make a life for themselves.

Only the tiny graveyard endures

not far from where the house itself stood.

With Martha Corinne's eviction from Blue Rock Creek...

our link with our pioneer past was broken...

but it remains with us today...

in our heritage, in our history, and in our pride.

Martha Corinne died in 1939.

She was buried beside her husband and infant son.

Wade and Vera settled in the southwestern part of the state

where Wade built their home, and began a career...

which saw him become one of the country's most talented

wood carvers.

Boone Walton was killed by a truck...

as he crossed the highway one night in 1943.

He was carrying two gallons of moonshine.

Mama, you promised me that song and you forgot.

First thing in the morning, Elizabeth.

I'd sleep better if I heard it now.

You, too, Daddy.

Goodnight, Mama and Daddy.

-Goodnight, Elizabeth. -Goodnight, Elizabeth.