Jim M

If you grew up watching The Waltons, you probably remember the way almost every episode ended. The lights would go out, one by one, and voices would drift through the house. “Goodnight, John-Boy.” “Goodnight, Mary Ellen.” “Goodnight, Jim-Bob.” It became one of the most recognizable television traditions of the 1970s. But here's something you might not know: those goodnights weren't just a television writer's imagination. They came straight from creator Earl Hamner Jr.'s childhood. Earl grew up in a small Virginia house with seven brothers and sisters. At bedtime, the children really did call goodnight to one another from their rooms. And sometimes they got a little carried away. Their father had to get up early for work, and there were nights when he'd finally had enough of the chatter and told everybody it was time to stop! Years later, Richard Thomas, who played John-Boy, visited the family home and finally understood how eight children could hear one another so easily. The house was that small. All those years, millions of Americans were watching a little piece of one family's real life. Do you remember saying “Goodnight, John-Boy” along with the television?