
The life of a Depression-era family in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains is the subject of this wholesome series. The show is seen from the point of view of eldest son John Boy, who eventually goes to college, serves in World War II and becomes a novelist.

Verdie's daughter Esther (Joan Pringle) arrives with her child, bitter over the frustrations of being a college-educated black woman.

Grandma is visited by a former suitor (Arthur Space); Jim-Bob starts a business with Yancy to produce fuel from alcohol.

Emily Baldwin thinks the Army-officer son of her old love is his father, returned to court her; Elizabeth struggles with adolescence.

The Pearl Harbor attack shakes everyone, especially Mary Ellen, whose husband, Curt, is stationed in Hawaii.