I know the line of fact/fiction was blurred sometimes between Earl's real family background and what happens with the Walton Family. Does anyone know, did Earl's father really operate a sawmill during the Depression? Did his grandparents actually live in the same house with his family like Zeb and Esther did?
This is an interesting subject. I wonder about this myself. I know that it is not all a true story and ment to be that way. It is based on Earl's family. I think some of the episodes were things that actually happened. Hope somebody else on here can tell us.
Actually it's true because it based on his family. His father lost his job as a machinist during the Depression Era and set up a small sawmill by the barn on their property.
Two sets of grandparents were living with them.
In real life 'the recipe' which was distilled by a pair of elderly neighbors, a widow and her maiden daughter but on the Waltons show the characters is played Helen Kleeb and Emily Jackson as the Baldwin Sisters.
Actually it's true because it based on his family. His father lost his job as a machinist during the Depression Era and set up a small sawmill by the barn on their property.
Two sets of grandparents were living with them.
In real life 'the recipe' which was distilled by a pair of elderly neighbors, a widow and her maiden daughter but on the Waltons show the characters is played Helen Kleeb and Emily Jackson as the Baldwin Sisters.
I had thought maybe the old lady moonshiners were real because it was in the books, the Spencer movie and the series. I wonder if Earl wrote the episode of Andy Griffith where there were two old ladies making moonshine?
I "think" in the book the grandparents lived near them not with them. but I could be wrong...it's been awhile since I read the book. I don't think I could live with my in laws. Olivia did get angry with grandma on a few occasions, but overall they complimented each other. My favorite is when Grandma says something like "I did not say anything that the two of you weren't thinking." I think it came from the Dust Bowl Cousins. Loved Grandma for her sharp tongue.
River A high station in life is earned by the gallantry with which appalling experiences are survived.
I don't think many people could live with grandparents, in-laws, etc. nowadays -- it's a different time. WE NEED OUR SPACE !!!
Back then, it was quite common, I think. Certainly was good for a family's finances..... On my father's side of the family, there was a lot of folks living with relatives. My dad, his brother, and his parents lived with his father's parents and there was frequently another family member living with them, usually a sister of my grandmother (she had 7 of 'em !)..... In fact, almost every part of Dad's family had relatives living with them. Hard for us to imagine, isn't it?
Actually, relatives living together is common in that part of the country, VA, SC, etc. #1 daughter married a SC military man and his family always had the grandparents living with them. Daughter told me it was a southern tradition. I kinda like it, but the grandparents would definitely need their own space, like a finished basement with small kitchen area, their own bath, etc.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8
Here where I live in rural Kentucky lots of families live together. Two houses down are the grandparents, parent, and son. Next door between us is another son with his wife, their daughter and her baby and husband. It seems to be very common.
When I went to the reunion, I visited The Hamner House and the guy that ran the store and took care of the house told us that the house that is right next door on the left is the one that the Grandparents lived in. They did not live in the same house but next to each other and actually it was Earl Hamners MOTHERS parents that lived next door.