Gossipy telephone operator Fanny Tatum was originally played by long-time character actress Dorothy Neumann in season one's fifteenth episode, "The Actress". Ms. Neumann is replaced here by Sheila Allen who fills the role periodically through the remainder of the series.
John reveals that Grandma is originally from Fluvanna County, Virginia.
The headline on the front page of the Blue Ridge Chronicle, "Chestnut Blight Threatens Timber Industry," refers to the disastrous chestnut blight of the first half of the 20th century. The blight was introduced into North America in 1904 and by 1940 most American chestnut trees had been wiped out. In Appalachia, chestnut lumber was the preferred species for log cabins, posts, poles, flooring and railroad ties and the decimation of the chestnut tree was devastating to the timber industry and rural economies.