- Narrator: [narration as John 'John Boy' Walton, Jr. reading from his journal] When I was growing up on Waltons Mountain, the Great Depression touched our lives in many ways. Jobs were scarce, new clothes were rare, food was simple and mostly homegrown. What we had, we shared. My father taught us by his quiet practice that sharing was our first duty and happiest privilege and on one occasion I had the opportunity to share an unforgettable experience with a lady who was trying to hide a secret.
- Elizabeth Walton: [after Jim Bob's appendectomy and Erin's tonsillectomy] Everybody gets to go to the hospital, get something tooken out except for me!
- James Robert 'Jim Bob' Walton: Daddy?
- John Walton, Sr.: Yeah, Jim Bob?
- James Robert 'Jim Bob' Walton: Will you wake me when you get up in the morning?
- John Walton, Sr.: Sure thing. Big plans for tomorrow?
- James Robert 'Jim Bob' Walton: Um hmmm. Elizabeth and I are gonna dig a hole straight through to China and I wanna get an early start.
- John Walton, Sr.: Good night, Jim Bob.
- James Robert 'Jim Bob' Walton: Good night, Daddy.
- Verdie Grant Foster: Plenty of people around here would like to put Verdie Grant in her place! I built my whole life on cheatin' 'em out of that satisfaction! I kept to the limits your kind laid out for me, but I did it with so much style none of them could put me down! None of them! 'Til I trusted you.
- John-Boy Walton: Well, maybe that's because you think writing's a chore, something you have to do instead of something you want to do.
- Elizabeth Walton: It is a chore.
- John-Boy Walton: Well, it doesn't have to be, it shouldn't be. For me it's magic.
- John-Boy Walton: Look, there are 26 letters in the alphabet. Only 26 letters. But you can take those 26 letters and put them together in different combinations and you can make thousands of words. You can share those words with other people. And then if you're good enough at it, you can make them laugh and cry; you can tell them you love them.