Family bonds were stronger than hardships for ‘The Waltons’
Before the world was turned upside-down due to a pandemic, there were many other serious times of struggle in our history but if one family could have survived it all, it would have been the one that hailed from Walton’s Mountain.
“The Waltons,” airing weekdays on MeTV, revisits the highs and lows of the the titled family – grandparents, parents and seven children – all living together in rural Virginia in the time period of 1933-1946. It was then the family faced the many serious challenges of living during the Great Depression and World War II.
John Walton (Ralph Waite) was an extremely hard worker, trying to provide for his family in any honest way possible while Olivia (Michael Learned) kept the household running as best she could with the resources available. The show was based the real-life seven siblings of Earl Hamner, who also served as series creator and narrator for the series.
The show ran for nine seasons from 1972-1981, picking up many awards along the way, and numerous reunion movies followed. The show continues to entertain new generations of audiences to this day and reminds all of us that hard work, family and lots of love can weather anything life throws our way.