The Waltons make a visit to Logan County
The Walton sisters spend Saturday night enjoying Guzzardo’s Italian Villa and Spirited Republic

[April 24, 2023] 

Eight cast members of the iconic television series “The Waltons” made a visit over the weekend to the Logan County Spring Pickers Market at the Logan County Fairgrounds and after spending two days chatting with fans, taking photos and signing autographs, the group left Lincoln with good memories.

On Saturday night as Eric Scott (Ben Walton) hosted a dinner for fans, which included a delicious meal catered by Peggy’s Place, his “sisters” from the TV show found their way to downtown Lincoln and enjoyed two local popular establishments.

The girls from the famous family, Judy Norton (Mary Ellen Walton), Mary Beth McDonough (Erin Walton) and Kami Cotler (Elizabeth Walton) knocked on the first-timers door of Guzzardo’s Italian Villa where they explained they were from Texas and California and did not have reservations. The crew at Guzzardos pointed them in the direction of Spirited Republic, where they enjoyed the atmosphere there until their table was ready at the restaurant.

Each of the ladies talked on Sunday afternoon how much they enjoyed the food and fun at the local hotspots and get this, no one at Spirited Republic even recognized them! As Kami Cotler noted, they don’t always get recognized in public, given that the show ran a long time ago and they were after all young kids on television back then.

The Waltons was a very popular TV show from 1972-1981. Since then there have been some Walton holiday specials on TV and of course, with streaming services the series has maintained its popularity among faithful fans.

Front row from left to right: Mary Beth McDonough (Erin Walton), Leslie Winston (Cindy Walton), Judy Norton (Mary Ellen Walton) and Charlotte Stewart (Ruth Collier).

Back row from left to right:  Eric Scott (Ben Walton), Eric’s real-life wife Cindy Scott, Kami Cotler (Elizabeth Walton), Martha Nix Wade (Serena Burton) and Reen Christie Bula (Marcia Woolery).

And the faithful fans traveled the distance and really showed up this weekend in Lincoln for the opportunity to chat with each and every one of the cast members in attendance.

Not exactly surprising but still heartwarming was learning how the cast of “The Waltons” truly has remained like a family, even after the show went off the air so long ago. The cast members continue to stay in touch and most recently nearly all of them attended the wedding of Eric Scott’s daughter.

It was really nice to have a piece of television history in Lincoln for the weekend.

Not to mention the Spring Pickers Market looked to be a success even though the temperatures were a bit cool both days.

[Teena Lowery]