MovieChat Forums > Petticoat Junction (1963) Discussion > What would they be doing for a living to...

What would they be doing for a living today?

posted 9 years ago by BiffGG
9 replies | jump to latest

1) Steve.
Two issues with Steve's occupation of a crop duster going forward in time. The first issue is that there are superior technologies and second is arial application of materials is considered less than environmentally friendly. Not much to do in the valley so I see him running a dairy farm.

2) Warren.
Still a conservation officer.

3) Sam Drucker. Yes, Frank Cady is dead but his longevity prompts me to take the stance he could still be around. Sam held on to his store (which had reduced its offerings the last 15 years) until the mid-1980's then closed up. He then went to work for the area Co-op which absorbed a lot of his farm related business. About the same time the US Postal Service eliminated the Hooterville ZIP Code from handling mail so everything goes through Pixley. Sam retires about 2002 and fishes for his retirement hobby. Has a great disdain for chain stores and bypasses the Walmart in Pixley for his needs.

I did the hard ones leaving the girls for others to comment about. Honestly, I see Betty Jo still with Steve but I am sure some have other ideas. I will comment about my own after I see others.

[–] BiffGG 9 years ago

Not that Homer Bedloe would be around or even last into the current century but he is worth a post-series bio. His employer goes bankrupt right at the end of the original series as many railroads did at that time. But Homer had invested well and had his pension somewhat insulated from his employer. He buys an old warehouse and opens a farm supply business complete with farm implement line to sell. There are mixed emotions about that in the community as it sorely needs a business of that type but hates the fact Bedloe is the owner. This was a major provision I came up with in another thread to extend the show or Green Acres. Anyhow, an uneasy peace is achieved and Homer has to play it fairly straight or lose business to a competitor over in Crabwell Corners. In the mid-1980's Homer elects to sell out to a regional Co-op after his farm implement supplier sells out to another manufacturer thus voiding his contract with the original. This is the same Co-op that Drucker goes to work for.

We know that Uncle Joe will loaf until the day he dies so there is not much to speculate about there.

[–] ronaldt49 9 years ago

Uncle Joe may have been dead for a while before anybody realized he wasn't napping and the smell wasn't coming from something that had died under the porch of the hotel.

[–] BiffGG 9 years ago

The first meal Uncle Joe missed would tell everybody that something was up.

[–] FlyboyLA 9 years ago

For the girls:

Betty Jo: I see Betty Jo becoming a working Mom as Steve finally accepts women in the workforce in the 1970s. I see her running the Shady Rest and converting it into more of a B&B as time progresses. As business men tend to go for more chain hotels, Betty Jo keeps the charm intact and Kate's homemade recipes for couples to enjoy for weekend getaways.

Bobbie Jo: Takes over the Valley's newspaper and becomes a more substantial newspaper that covers Hooterville, Pixley, Crabwell Corners and newer developments surrounding the area that's grown significantly over the years. And, she marries Orrin after 10 years of courtship and Uncle Joe's reluctant blessing. He gets soft in his elderly years. They end up buying the Elliott's cottage at a great price after haggling with Mr. Haney and double the size of the house with the Douglas' carpenters taking another 10 years to complete it.

Billie Jo: Follows her musical dreams and gets a record deal in Los Angeles. Marries a famous actor who buys a lot of land and builds a mansion in the Hooterville valley for their getaways from the rat race. With the music scene changing in the 70s to hard rock and disco, Billie Jo loses her contract and goes back to lounge singing to keep her love and passion for music alive.

[–] BiffGG 9 years ago

Not too far from what I said in a now vanished thread about extending the life of the show for a couple more seasons. I had Billie Joe going to Chicago in the other thread and maybe she goes to Vegas where her singing has more of a following ala Wayne Newton. Maybe not a mansion but a nice home that is not typical for the valley. I saw Betty Jo working along side Steve on their farm versus doing her own thing. Bobbie Jo could take over the Hooterville paper but I don't see Sam giving it up for a little while yet. I had her as an insurance agent to give her a way to mingle with people in the valley on a day to day basis. In any event it is not to hard to imagine it the way you stated.
I did not address the Shady Rest the last time but I think it takes somebody with money to revitalize it so I am thinking Dr. Janet Craig with a partner with Uncle Joe as a "consultant."

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] easyrhino 9 years ago

They would all be in prison because they're White, Christian and living in the south guilt free.

Can't have that!

[–] BiffGG 9 years ago

Oops, I need to change Warren to Orrin. The fact I have not seen the show in close to 40 years is showing through.

[–] sjbradford 9 years ago

Uncle Joe: Dead
Sam Drucker: Dead
Floyd: Dead
Charlie: Dead
Kate: Dead

Steve: Divorced from Betty Jo.
The girls: old and retired.