- Narrator: [narration as John 'John Boy' Walton, Jr. reading from his journal] A chill settled on Waltons Mountain that first autumn after the conclusion of the Second World War. Mary Ellen had been caught up in a whirlwind love affair that seemed certain to add a new member to the family. But a storm was brewing to the south, a storm that ended her romance and called her to a distant part of the country in search of a man she believed to be dead.
- Jefferson Davis 'J.D.' Pickett: If you're coming in here asking for a raise, you can just forget it.
- Arlington Wescott 'Jonesy' Jones: I don't even work here.
- Jefferson Davis 'J.D.' Pickett: Well, in that case, a raise is out of the question.