If you grew up in the mountains of Virginia, you didn't just watch The Waltons — you knew them. They were your people.

In this episode of The Appalachian Tale, host Jimmy Proffitt shares the unexpected story of meeting six cast members of the iconic TV series when they came to The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for breakfast during Waltons Weekend of the Smokies. What followed was a mill tour, signed copies of his debut cookbook Seasoned in Appalachia, and a conversation about popcorn, sawmills, Nelson County, and the mountains they all share.

Jimmy reflects on each member of the Walton family — the quiet wisdom of John Walton Sr., the spiritual steadiness of Olivia, John Boy's writer's heart modeled after creator Earl Hamner Jr., the fierce tenderness of Grandma Esther, and his personal favorite, Grandpa Zeb, the storytelling, fishing, remedy-knowing mountain man Jimmy admits he might be becoming. He also gives a loving nod to the Baldwin sisters and their strictly medicinal "recipe," Ike and Corabeth Godsey's country store, and the Appalachian words and phrases the show gave him — reckon, youngins, fixing to, took poorly, and mike could — that he still uses today.

He also connects the show's setting of Walton's Mountain in Nelson County, Virginia to his own roots just twenty miles away in Scottsville, and shares the moment cast member Cami Cotler, who played Elizabeth Walton, knew exactly where he was talking about.

And if the Waltons ever come to a screen porch supper? Jimmy knows exactly what he'd ask them to bring.

In this episode:

• The morning the Waltons came to The Old Mill for breakfast
• A character-by-character walk through the Walton family and their Appalachian counterparts
• Earl Hamner Jr., Schuyler, Virginia, and Walton's Mountain
• Appalachian words and phrases from the show: reckon, youngins, fixing to, took poorly, mike could
• Olivia Walton's applesauce cake — and why it's better than his grandma's (sorry, Grandma)
• A teaser for an upcoming episode with Landon Bryant

Keywords: The Waltons podcast, Appalachian culture, Waltons TV show cast, Earl Hamner Jr., Smoky Mountains, Pigeon Forge Tennessee, Appalachian storytelling, The Old Mill Pigeon Forge, Seasoned in Appalachia cookbook, Waltons Weekend of the Smokies, mountain heritage, Southern food podcast, Appalachian words and phrases, Nelson County Virginia