There was an episode in Apple"s Way (perhaps it was the first episode) in which George Apple (Ronny Cox) who has just moved his family from the big city to "Appleton, Iowa", has heard that an old, historic tree in town is about to be cut down. George goes up in the tree and sits there for days (as I recall) so that the tree can"t be cut down. As I recall, he wins, and the tree is spared. His main reason for doing this is to demonstrate to his kids that one should stand for the principles one believes in, (or sit, in this case). Was it corny? Sure! But it put across some great values, too. Like the Waltons, it had a message of decency and good values which we could stand to have more of today. One interesting point: the eldest boy in the series (played by Vincent Van Patten, Dick Van Patten"s son, went on to become a highly ranked tennis player in the 70"s and 80"s, I think. Anyway, it was a good show, good cast, and I"d love to see those episodes again.

--Dave

How about that episode where Stephen got run over while on his bike and then the tornado came? Hey, it was much more EXCITING than the Waltons... Ronny Cox kicked a__ over Ralph Waite.

--Christ0pher

I remember watching "Apple's Way" on Sunday evenings as a kid. It was produced by Earl Hamner, Jr, the same man who produced and created "The Waltons", therefore, it was a very wholesome program. I was a super huge fan back then, but caught a few episodes on TV Land a few years ago in rerun, finding that it really wasn't as good as what I thought it was back then. Still, I wish I had recorded every episode, because it consumed my teen years - I was in love with Patti Cohoon, who played the oldest daughter, Cathy Apple. Many of the characters in the program reminded me of my own family. The Apples lived in Appleton, Iowa and George Apple (the father played by Ronny Cox) had moved his family back to his "home" from California, where the family encountered such things as a tornado, an airplane crash at Thanksgiving, and an entry into the country fair! The house was a dreamhouse with a waterwheel and pond in the front yard. "Apple's Way" may not have been the best of writing efforts...at least not by today's standards, but it was a decent program and sure beats the "reality" shows of today.

--David Callihan