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Ep.13 - The Celebration

 
  Original Airdate: December 22, 1977
Writer: Marion Hargrove
Director: Gwen Arner

Description:

  The family works together to fulfill a large order of fence posts so that John can pay off the loan on the new mill and finally be debt free. Ike makes a bad decision on trying to resell 50 refridgerators.

Prologue:

  "Nature I think intended my father to be a dreamer and a poet. Instead, he became the head of a large hungry household. The one thing he feared and despised was debt, and yet it clung to him as devotedly as it clung to all of his neighbors. He tried never to borrow, never to buy anything on time, and never to fall behind on things like taxes and doctor bills. As careful as he was, there came a day in 1940 when he looked at his finances and was astounded by what he found looking back at him."

Synopsis:

Written by Janet Lange
 

John works on some calculations in the office at the lumber mill. He seems confused by what he is seeing. Olivia works in the garden and John walks up and says he has to go to Rockfish but claims nothing is wrong.

John arrives in Rockfish and barely acknowledges the Reverend, he goes to see his friend John Martin and shows him the figures the that reveal after making one more payment John will be free of the bank loan for the mill equipment!

John then runs in to Marcia Woolery they talk about John Boy for a minute. John goes to see a man about fulfilling an order for 300 fence posts. They go back and forth about the order but John wins the contract .

Ike is trying to sell a refrigerator to the Reverend who is not interested. Ike reveals he has 50 refrigerators he bought in an auction. Cora Beth is appalled at the Reverends food choices. She then schemes with Maude and Mary Ellen to try and set up the Reverend and find him a wife.

At dinner the family talks about the fence post order and Daddy reveals how IF they get the order done on time the payment will help get the loan from the bank paid off!

Grandpa, Ben and Jason work on cutting the trees down. Elizabeth brings water and tells them when Daddy is ready for more logs.

Grandpa and Elizabeth take a log to Daddy and talk about being rich.

Mama comes out of the house ready in overalls ready to drive the truck while Daddy and Jim Bob keep working.

Cora Beth waves the truck down and can’t believe that its Olivia driving. Olivia agrees to go with her to measure the new curtains at the parsonage because Cora Beth is afraid if she is there by herself that people will talk. Olivia is all business while Cora Beth is sidetracked by finding Hank a wife.

Daddy pulls up at Ike’s. The bank manager is there and they talk about his loan being paid off. Inside Ike tries to sell refrigerators for $89. He bought them for $14 each and ‘thinks” he is going to make $75 dollars on each one.

The family works hard on the order and eventually rest under the trees until Mary Ellen calls them in for dinner. Mary Ellen tells Erin that Cora Beth is trying to find a wife for Hank.

Back at the saw mill everyone is working hard. Mama comes up and tells everyone to take a break. The boys and Grandpa go off for a swim while Mama and Daddy take a walk and talk about having a celebration. John agrees to a potluck picnic and they spend some time talking to each other about what they might do with some extra money. Olivia says that she'd like to paint the house and see the Grand Canyon, John would like a new truck.

At the store Ike tries to sell Horace an icebox but points out that he has no electricity up on the mountain. John and Jason arrive for gas and Ike still tries to sell John a fridge. John jokes that he would only buy one from a chain store in town. Ike is not happy about being teased by kinfolk. The pressure to sell the fridges is eating away at him.

Daddy and Mama come home saying the contract is done and the loan paid off!!! Time for a burning!!

The celebration picnic is held in front of the house. Jason plays music and sings as family and friends arrive. Cora Beth shows up and says that Ike will be coming. The scene jumps to the store where Ike is still upset about the refrigerators just as the bank manager comes in. Back at the house the Reverend shows up with Marcia Woolery and Cora Beth faints at the sight and is distraught that “the church will never be the same”.

Erin and Marcia talk about John-Boy and how she met Hank Buchanan. Marcia walks away as Mary Ellen steps up to Erin who reveals that she knows who the preacher’s wife will be and it’s not Marcia!

Hank does a speech about being clear of debt and then John lights the papers on fire as Jim Bob sets off fireworks. Everyone is happy and celebrating. Ike desperately arrives and says it’s the end of the world. The refrigerators don’t work and the bank knows and wants their money back now or they will take the store! Cora Beth faints. John and Olivia take her and Ike inside where they talk about the money and what happened. Ike used the store as collateral so he has nothing to borrow on. John Martin talks to John into getting a loan and going back into debt to help Ike and Cora Beth get out of the mess.

They join everyone outside and tell the crowd that they are back in debt. Ike is grateful that John was willing to help them save the store and pay off the bank.

Epilogue:

 
  "And there it was, our parents' great occasion went as quickly as it came, and this that followed was the moment of meaning, the time of celebration. Our parents, like our grandfather on that Christmas morning a hundred years ago, were blessed with one lovely moment of being rich. And perhaps they knew, like my grandfather, that they would never be poor again."

Episode Notes & Interesting Facts:

 
 
  • John's mortgage is with the Mercantile Bank and Trust Company.
  • John Martin Renshaw and his mother own a dry goods store in Rockfish.
  • John Martin has problems with his mother who is inclined to drink at times.
  • Horace Brimley's wife's name is Amy.
  • The two advertisements hanging on the front door of Ike's store are for 'Lambert's Coffee' and 'Fresh Eggs'.
  • Ike paid $14 for each refrigerator and is selling each of them for $89.90.
  • Ike's two-year loan to John Martin's mother, with John's co-signature, is for 5 percent.
  • The payments are $32.90 each month, which is $2.98 less than the old bank mortgage.
  • Macia Woolery cooks at the dry goods store in Rockfish.

Additional Cast:

 
 

 


Joe Conley (Ike Godsey), Ronnie Claire Edwards (Corabeth Godsey), Peter Fox (Rev. Buchanan), Tammi Bula (Marcia Woolery), Jack Manning (J.J. Brendamore), Merie Earle (Maude Gormley), Hal Riddle (Track Superintendent), A. Wilford Brimley (Horace)

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