While following the Rockfish River through the woods and further onto the mountain, I easily imagined that we were actually driving John Walton’s 1923 Ford Truck.
Eventually I spied the watering hole.
Would Reverend Fordwick arrive accidentally drunk?
On this hot day many kids were swimming in the river.
Then we passed by a quarry, which is extremely important to Earl Hamner’s story…more on that later.
Here is a souvenir from the quarry I purchased at one of the gift shops.
Suddenly we reached the crossroads.
Surprise! At the crossroads is the Hamner (Walton) house!
Turning right, we drove up the road a short ways to the high school where the Hamners attended school.
(Earl Hamner is the creator of The Waltons, based on his family. John Boy represents Earl Hamner.)
The high school was decorated as much as possible like the television show, going all the way into making them look like stage sets.
I’ll never forget John Boy churning butter while eating an apple on Christmas Eve, in The Homecoming.
He disobediently brought it into the living room to join the family to listen to the radio skit with the family.
I was flabbergasted to find a replica of the Baldwin Ladies’ recipe making machine in the same room as Mama Walton’s kitchen!
Mama had choice words about the recipe, and of course the little old ladies had no idea what “the recipe” actually was, and of course the men folk didn’t mind a nip now and then.
Apparently, there was a huge brew-ha-ha in the local community about this…which is why the Walton house and gift shop have absolutely no affiliation with this high school/museum.
When we asked the little old ladies at this museum about the house, they clammed up.
Oh, how a radio such as this played center stage in some of the story lines…especially as the Waltons listened to the news, hoping John Walton had not been on the bus that had overturned. (The Homecoming)
Earl Hamner said Richard Thomas made a better John Boy than he did.
I always wondered why there was never any mention of nearby historic neighbor, Thomas Jefferson.
In a separate room were lots of extra artifacts.
My favorite was this wedding gown from the 1930’s.
Then we went to Ike Godsy’s Store, also located in this museum.
It was filled with all kinds of fascinating assortments…and also served as the gift shop.
On the one wall were all the post office boxes.
Nearby where lots of post cards, of which I purchased two, one for me and one for my mom.
I wrote a note on both and addressed them, then took them to the cashier to purchase.
She added a stamp to them and mailed them for me, saying they’d arrive with a special postmark.
This is a daybook, which I found intriguing because daybooks are highly popular in the 18th century. This one is from a General Store in Howardsville, Virginia dated from 1956-1957.
War rations…
Need pincurls?
Toys…that the Walton children were rarely able to afford!
Hats galore!
Just waiting for the Baldwin sisters to come in to try some on…and then walk off without buying a single one!!! (I couldn’t believe that scene from The Homecoming!)
Then we went to the gift shop below the house where I bought a biography on Earl Hamner, the creator of The Waltons, based on his family life here in Schuyler, in Jefferson County, Virginia.
Then we walked down the hill to the Baptist Church where Grandpa rang the bell to welcome in Christmas. (The Homecoming)
