Petticoat Junction

Homer Bedloe, trouble-shooter for the C&F W Railroad, is sent by railroad president Norman P. Curtis to the little community of Hooterville to find out why a branch line doesn't connect with the main line. The branch line carries the "Cannonball" train, and is vital to the Shady Rest Hotel, run by Kate Bradley, her three grown daughters and "Uncle Joe" Carson. If Bedloe succeeds in shutting down the Cannonball, Kate faces ruin. John Ashley appears as passenger Fred.

Kate uses a combination of charm, subterfuge, and wiles to prevent Homer Bedloe from catching the Hooterville Cannonball and getting to Pixley in order to initiate proceedings that would permanently terminate the train's operation. She has to keep him at the Shady Rest long enough to convince him that the Cannonball is an integral part of the valley's life. When all else fails, Kate gets Sam, the Hooterville Jack of all professions, to scare Bedloe into changing his mind.

C&F W Railroad President Norman P. Curtis is incensed that ace troubleshooter Homer Bedloe utterly failed to scrap the Hooterville Cannonball. Taking matters into his own hands, he decides to do it himself, incognito. Although Curtis doesn't intend on appearing as such, he comes across to Kate and others in the valley as a hobo after he takes a tumble in a field, ripping and dirtying his suit and losing his wallet in the process. But, he has a change of heart when he experiences Kate's hospitality and kindness.