- Narrator: [narration as John 'John Boy' Walton, Jr. reading from his journal] When I was growing up on Waltons Mountain, the Great Depression cast its shadow over us as it did over everyone but we were more fortunate than most. We were a close-knit family and the house we lived in was as solid and secure as the mountain itself. Because I had always lived in it, I took our house for granted. Then, one hot summer afternoon, I met others less fortunate. Through them I learned the real meaning of home.