John and Olivia: The Heathen and the Baptist

[bigskygirl]

Yes Olivia, please get permission from John to teach school. *rolling eyes*

[Maherjunkie]

It's a miracle she didn't offer a blow job in exchange for him going to church.

[Blergh]

What was somewhat odd about John and Olivia's bond was that she fully embraced HIS extended family but, apart from one banker uncle and when Cousin Rose and grandkids showed up, he and all their kids didn't show the slightest interest in any of HER family [and Olivia didn't seem to question it]. Even when they put together their Silver Anniversary party and Olivia proposed two brothers attending John flatly said no because they were NOT family.  Also, oddly enough they all informally 'adopted' Olivia's late best friend's daughter named for her  and she considered them her family but she evidently had other folks raise her after her mother's early  death but she didn't consider her caregiver/s to be family.

[DoughGirl]

I wonder if that is how it was in the Hamner family? Olivia also had that one aunt that she ran away to when she was having "the change".

It was also odd that there was talk about Zeb sharing out the land between John and his brothers and John Boy when Cousin Ham wanted to know what happened to his wife Cora's share, but we never hear of the brothers except Ben, who was killed in the war. Who was Cora's daddy? John's brother I guess, but not Ben?

IIRC, in Spencer's Mountain there was s whole parcel of brothers.

[oceanblue]

You're right, there were about 9 brothers.  And Olivia had parents.  

[DoughGirl]

According to Wikipedia, Earl Hamner based Grandma and Grandpa on his maternal grandparents.

Family connections were probably simplified for the tv show but the writers didn't do a great job of tying things together.

Also, oddly enough they all informally 'adopted' Olivia's late best friend's daughter named for her and she considered them her family but she evidently had other folks raise her after her mother's early death but she didn't consider her caregiver/s to be family.

Never really thought about this but I guess she could have been raised to adulthood by her widowed father who may have passed before the wedding leaving only the Waltons as "family".

Livvie sure had a lot of "best friends". There are a few episodes where she mentions "best friends" from her childhood but they're always different people.

Edited August 3, 2014 by DoughGirl

[oceanblue]

And none are ever mentioned again.

[DoughGirl]

John: Serial killer. Did in all his brothers but Ben. That's why they're never mentioned.

What about Cora Beth? She was a Walton cousin so her daddy would be another brother. It just doesn't make sense.

It would have been better to have everyone be Olivia's cousin since we never heard much about them and they could have had anyone pop up without f'ing up the story line. Esther bore three children but only Ben and John are seen/talked about and then cousins come out of the woodwork by the dozens.

Edited August 4, 2014 by DoughGirl

[DoughGirl]

It's a miracle she didn't offer a blow job in exchange for him going to church.

"Sure Liv. If you want to."

[DoughGirl]

More Walton cousins out of the woodwork in "The Quilting". Grandma comes home from visiting Martha Corinne with a batch of squares for Mary Ellen's quilt, lovingly made by cousin so and so and so and so, and another cousin waiting on her own quilting after Mary Ellen has had hers.

Then no family comes to the quilting but Cora Beth.

[Tim McD]

Who was Cora's daddy? John's brother I guess, but not Ben?

 

 

Cora was John's cousin, not niece. Her father would have been one of Zeb's brothers, whom Cora described as an irresponsible wanderer like her husband. Cora's dad gave up his share of the land because he didn't want to be tied down by it. Zeb took that parcel and gave it to John-Boy.

 

Great casting of the part of Cora by the way. That woman had a real Joadesque dust-bowl look.

[DoughGirl]

Cora was John's cousin, not niece. Her father would have been one of Zeb's brothers, whom Cora described as an irresponsible wanderer like her husband.

That fits with the third brother we never hear of, but it still seems strange he's never mentioned when they don't need him for a plot line.

[oceanblue]

When did they say there were 3 brothers?  

[DoughGirl]

When did they say there were 3 brothers?

They don't really. We know there was John and Ben. But in the episode where Esther has the inner ear infection Mary Ellen tries to bring her a tray of food but Esther is up and harangues ME about how she cleared the land the house stands on, etc, and bore three children.

I'm getting confused!!!! As Tim McD says, Cora was John's cousin not niece, so that doesn't work out either. Cora would have to have been the child of Zeb's brother.

Who knows what happened to that third child Esther bore. And I'm thinking about this too much.

I will say that considering what John Boy did with the meadow, they probably should have given it back to Cora.

[Maherjunkie]

She might have been even more money hungry.

[DoughGirl]

If she wasn't, Ham and Jobe certainly were.

To add to the confusion, John has cousin Cora and cousin Cora Beth.

[Maherjunkie]

And Cory, according to grandma.

[Tim McD]

Like DoughGirl said, Grandma said early on that they had 3 kids, but later all mention of the third child ended and they only spoke of John and Ben. In TV parlance this is known as "Chuck Cunninghaming."

 

An early episode also mentioned that Ben was buried on Waltons Mountain (I think we even saw his tombstone), but that later changed to Ben being buried in a military cemetery in France.

[DoughGirl]

I also thought once they said his grave site was unknown?

At least Happy Days never brought in cousins who may or may not have been Chuck Cunningham's children. Or nieces and nephews I guess.

[oceanblue]

It's sweet that you expect continuity from this show.  Really, it is.  Considering that John was originally born in the 19th century, was already married with John Boy on the way when he went to war in 1917 and later didn't graduate from high school because he went to war and looked to be in his late 50's in 1968......

[DoughGirl]

Oh I don't expect it. I just enjoy picking it apart.

;-)

[GrtGzu]

When Grandpa was up in the attic with somebody (can't remember who it was) he was rattling off the names of the kids he and Grandma had - he mentioned "Amy" and only said she died from Scarlett Fever...Could this have been their 3rd kid?

[DoughGirl]

In "The Typewriter", Grandpa asks John Boy to help him with a trunk in order for John Boy to sort through some old letters in search of one that was written on a typewriter. Before taking out the letters, he takes out the picture of "Amy" and says she died of scarlet fever. John Boy doesn't show much interest and they go on to the letters.

[Maherjunkie]

That is unusual for John-Boy.

[DoughGirl]

That is unusual for John-Boy.

I thought so too at first but then later thought it was because he was too self absorbed with his story needing to be typed.

If later he wanted to use "Amy" in a story he'd be hunting up that picture and wanting Grandpa to tell him all about her.

[oceanblue]

If Amy was German he'd be grilling Grandpa about why they let her die.

[DoughGirl]

Or a book, why they burnt her.