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The children play baseball in the front yard waiting for their parents to return from Richmond. Mama and Daddy arrive home with a number of orders for the sawmill. Ben informs his Daddy that he has finished up the previous orders and it is ready for work. John is upset that Ben awarded a sub-contract to a mill that can't delive in time. He is disappointed with Ben and has half a mind to fire him.
Ben fills the truck with fuel at Ike’s. He airs his grievances about his father with Ike. He also notices an increased number of cars driving past the store. Ike says that things are quite busy at Pickets Defense Plant. He suggests the idea of opening an AutoCourt with Ike. They then discuss the idea with Corabeth and to convince her they suggest it can be named after her.
Later that evening Jason returns home from the Dew Drop Inn. He finds Ben in the kitchen eating the last piece of pie. They share the piece and theirs complaints of the day.
Ben tries to convince his Daddy to get involved with his plan to build an Auto Court. John is against the idea and wants his son to stay focussed on his job as the foreman in their Mill and not to moonlight on other tasks. Ben fills that the only option then is to quit working at the mill so that he can focuss on his new idea. Reluctantly John agrees to sign for Ben’s loan stating that he is old enough to make his own mistakes.
Ben moves in to Zuleika Dunbar’s Boarding House. He gets a phone call from his Mama telling him that the bank called and have approved his loan.
Ben and the Godsey’s discuss the plans to build the AutoCourt. Ike is not happy that John won’t support the idea. Corabeth on the other hand has aspirations of expanding the plans to include a town square complete with a library, a tea room, a music hall and a fountain. They hold a meeting that evening at Godsey Hall with the community to start a Booster Club. At the meeting Ben announces that they have voted to start a Boost Walton’s Mountain Club. The land that they want to build on is next to the store but owned by the Baldwin sisters. They are reluctant at first to sell the land as it holds many treasured memories for them but in the end decide to gift it to support the was effort. John arrives and takes a seat in the back. Ike asks him to explain his position on the matter. John make many valid points about how a Boom is usually followed by a bust and he doesn’t want to see his friends lose their money. Ben challenges him on all the points and then Ike asks to call it to a vote. Everyone except John votes in favor of the development.
Ike and Ben discuss that plans in the back of the store. Corabeth rushes in with a copy of the Charlottesville Progress and reads the article she submitted to the paper about their plans. While she reads Ben and Ike read the front headline of the paper that announces a ban on all non essential war time construction.
Ben makes a plan to appeal the War Production Board but is turned down. He then comes up with a plan to move the cottages from the old Guthrie mine. Ike and Ben arrange to have the first one moved to it’s new position beside the general store. They employ Jim-Bob and Elizabeth to help spruce up the cottage with paint.
Jason stops by the store to tell Ben that the news of a Franklin Steel Plant being built in the area was a rumor created by a land speculator trying to raise the price of the land he was trying to sell. The booster club holds a meeting to discuss the downturn of events. Ben announces that the bank is going to hold them accountable for the costs that they have incurred so far. The community rebels against their responsibility to pay the bank. Ben states that he will take on the full responsibility himself. His Daddy steps in and convinces the crowd that if Ben takes on the full responsibility himself then any profit he makes will be his to keep. John suggests that their could be many uses for the building and tenants. The crowd thinks about it for a moment and then decides that they want to still be a part of any profits that could come from their venture. They all agree to continue on with the plan. John drives Ben home and they discuss the possibility of his return to the mill. John agrees to give him free room & board plus $25 a week.
The community holds a grand opening of the new development on Walton’s Mountain and although it’s not the water fountain she hoped for a drinking fountain is installed for Corabeth.
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