The title of this episode "The Five Foot Shelf" refers to a set of Harvard Classics that Olivia decides to buy from a traveling peddler/con-man.
The collection that he was selling was real enough. Harvard professor Charles Elliot created the five-foot shelf of books: "to afford a good substitute for a liberal education to anyone who would read them with devotion."
The book that Mr. Reed gives to John-Boy is The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini, which was volume 31 of the 50 volume Harvard Classics. Cellini (1500-1571) was a Florentine sculptor and goldsmith.
The Walton family attempts to sit down and listen to Fibber McGee and Molly. Fibber McGee and Molly was one of the most successful radio sitcoms of all time. It ran from 1935-1959 and starred real-life husband and wife team of Jim and Marian Jordan.
The poem that Grandpa reads is "Jenny kiss'd Me," an 1838 poem by Leigh Hunt.