An aspiring preacher (Cleavon Little) enters a boxing match in order to win enough money to build a church on Walton's Mountain.
John is apprehensive about facing his highly successful classmates at his 25-year high-school reunion.
When an investigative reporter, arrives at Walton Mountain to write a historical guide to the State of Virginia, he uncovers a secret that angers the rest of the community.
Jason stretches himself to the breaking point to prove his self-worth.
Some emotional entanglements follow when John-Boy invites a woman wing-walker to stay at the Walton home.
Erin and Mary Ellen compete for the attentions of a visiting forestry student; Olivia cares for a foster child.
Olivia is a substitute teacher at Walton's Mountain School; John-Boy's old flame, Marcia, returns with her new fiance.
When a young widow comes to stay in their home, the Walton children learn a hard lesson about how to cope with another person's grief.
After he helps with the filming of a writer's experiences with the Waltons, John-Boy is offered a job in New York.
Grandpa is stricken by a heart attack and is desperately despondent about his condition; the entire Walton family makes every effort to restore his will to live.