- Narrator: [narration as John 'John Boy' Walton, Jr. reading from his journal] Looking back across a span of forty years, the sharp edges of the Great Depression have worn away. In memory, the period seems a happy time. Yet, when we lived them, they were trying years and I remember a time when our family's pride and our integrity were challenged in a manner that was new and shattering to all of us.
- Mary Ellen Walton: [referring to a magazine ad] Well, if there's really a Depression, who could afford to buy things like these? Look, a 1934 Nash Sedan. $760.00! Who can ever save up that much money?
- 'Grandma' Esther Walton: Jim Bob! Jason! You're playing cards in this house?
- Jason Walton: Well, it's not a gambling game Grandma.
- John 'John Boy' Walton Jr.: Well, I don't see anything too evil about Go Fish, Grandma.
- 'Grandma' Esther Walton: Go Fish today and Poker tomorrah! The evils of gambling can put down roots in shallow ground!
- Olivia Walton: I think I just figured out why John won't explain himself.
- The Grandfather: I just put a new leg on this here chair.
- 'Grandma' Esther Walton: [to Olivia] Why?
- The Grandfather: Because it's falling apart, like us!
- 'Grandma' Esther Walton: I was talking to Livvie!
- Mary Ellen Walton: I wonder if Stuart Lee Claybourne knows how gorgeous I've gotten.
- Jason Walton: [mimicking Mary-Ellen in an exaggerated southern belle voice] I wonder if Stuart Lee Claybourne knows how gorgeous I've gotten.
- Mary Ellen Walton: [grabs Jason by the collar, brandishes fist] You want a bloody lip?
- Jason Walton: Oh mercy me Stuart Lee!
- Narrator: The Depression lingered on, and there were other bad spells, but we lived through them, too. And as each year ended, it was difficult to recall the hard times we'd come through. Looking back, I realize now that the real bounty placed before us each day was the love we had for each other. It shaped our lives, fed our souls, and crowned our happiness.