Petticoat Junction
 Nobody
- but nobody - looked as good swimming in a water tower as the Bradley
girls.
Hooterville (fnarr fnarr!) might not have had a lot of city slicker accoutrements,
but with a sturdy water tower and swimmers like those, small town life
just couldn't have been that bad . . .
Widow Kate Bradley ran the Shady Rest Hotel, with the help of her
aforementioned daughters, and the Shady Rest was about the only place a
visitor to Hooterville could find room and board.
City folks dropped by
to catch their breath from their hectic city-life pace, because let's
face it, nothing much was ever happening in Hooterville.
Except that Kate was always butting heads with Homer Bedloe, the head
honcho at the C.F. & W Railroad, who wanted to retire the services
of the town's beloved steam engine train, the Cannonball.
And since the
rambling old train was the town's usual transport to Drucker's General
Store, thanks to engineers Charlie and Floyd, plenty of Hootervillians
were up in arms. Except for Uncle Joe - he was too lazy to be up in
anything.
Petticoat Junction made its debut one year after the hick
hi-jinks of The Beverly Hillbillies hit TV. Clearly, folksy
Americana was charming viewers and CBS wanted writer-producer Paul
Henning to keep working his charm mojo.
Two years after Petticoat debuted, CBS added Green Acres
to its small-town repertoire - a show about a big city businessman who
chucked the fast lane so he could buy a farm near Hooterville.
There was plenty of interplay between the two shows, and Green
Acres characters Newt Kiley and handyman Eb Dawson made regular
appearances on Petticoat Junction.
But that was just the
beginning of Petticoat Junction's casting developments. In the
fall of 1966, handsome pilot Steve Elliott crashed near town, and after
he was convalesced at the hands of the Bradley sisters, he married Betty
Jo.
After actress Bea Benadaret passed away during the 1968-69 season,
actress June Lockhart (formerly mom to Lassie's Timmy) came to
town as Dr. Janet Craig. And the actresses who played the Bradley
sisters shuffled around a number of times, though good looks and water
tower frolic capabilities were never sacrificed.
Even though the show's ratings were never quite as high as they were
in its pioneer year, Petticoat Junction was one of CBS's staple
shows during the 60s. Quirky, small-town life has always had a niche in
television, and this cheekily-named municipality helped make sure that
niche never stopped charming viewers.
Petticoat Junction bore at least three other titles - Ozark
Widow, Dern Tootin' and Whistle Stop - before making
it onto the air.
One of the best-remembered characters was Higgins the dog (merely
called "dog" on the show), who was brought out of retirement
after the series was no longer in production to launch a career as famed
movie mutt Benji.
Come ride the little train that is rollin' down the track to
the Junction
Forget about your cares it is time to relax at the Junction
Lotsa curves, you bet 'n even more when you get to the Junction
Petticoat Junction
There's a little hotel called the Shady Rest at the Junction
Petticoat Junction
It is run by Kate, come and be her guest at the Junction
Petticoat Junction
And that's Uncle Joe, he's a-movin' kinda slow at the Junction
Petticoat Junction
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