O'Donnel's, a new supermarket, has just opened in Pixley. Sam hasn't had a customer since it opened. Even Uncle Joe goes to O'Donnel's to check it out. While there, Joe manages to annoy Mr. O'Donnel. Kate and the girls are still loyal customers of Sam's. Sam starts to have anxiety attacks and doesn't recognize Kate and Betty Joe. Kate and Doc Stuart convince Sam to take a two week vacation. Kate and the girls agree to look after the store for him. They decide to reorganize the store. Kate briefly leaves Joe in charge of the store and he puts in an overly large grocery order. This could cause irreparable damage to both the store's financial health and Sam and Kate's sanity.

The Governor announces that he will make a grassroots tour of the state. Uncle Joe is excited by the news, but no one else seems to care. The Governor has not announced his itinerary, but he is welcoming invitations from interested communities. Joe hopes to be able to advertise that the Governor slept at the Shady Rest. Joe says he sent an invitation and believes that the Governor is coming to Hooterville. Joe has a hard time organizing a welcoming as everyone is still not that excited. When the Cannonball arrives, there is no Governor. Turns out Joe forgot to mail the invite

Uncle Joe sees some surveyors down by the railroad tracks next to the hotel. He mistakenly believes that a new road is going to be built there. Kate learns from surveyor Ralph Craig that the last survey done twenty-five years ago was incorrect. The new survey shows that the border between Hooterville County and Pixley County runs right through the Shady Rest. Joe and Kate find out there's money to be made from curiosity seekers. Mr. Travis, from the Pixley License Division, tells Kate there's a lot of red tape in operating a business in two counties. Licenses and fees required could cost her in the thousands. Mr. Lindley, from the Health Dept., also finds costly problems. Mr. Dixon, from the Pixley Building Dept., finds more issues. Kate comes up with a permanent solution with the help of the Cannonball.

Uncle Joe mentions investing in the stock market and Kate reminds him about the bad stock he had her invest in once before. Meanwhile, the hot water heater in the hotel springs a leak. They'll need to buy a new one. Joe suggests selling stock in the Shady Rest Hotel Corporation to pay for it. Sam is willing to sell Kate a heater at cost for $97.50. Kate doesn't have that much. She also gets turned down for a loan at the Pixley Bank. Joe sells stock to Sam, Charley and Floyd to cover the cost of the water heater. They do this because they know Kate wouldn't accept a loan from them. Kate is not happy and still considers it charity. She comes up with a plan to teach Joe a lesson. Mr. Guerney, from the bank, brings Kate some good news.

Crabwell Corners is suing the Town of Hooterville for possession of a Spanish-American War cannon. Crabwell Corners feels it is rightly theirs. Meanwhile, Tad Winslow of Crabwell Corners challenges his lazy dog, a blood hound named Speedy, against Betty Jo's dog in an obedience contest. If Tad wins, Betty Jo has to get Billie Jo to go with him to the upcoming Pioneer Dance. Betty Jo finds out that Billie Jo already has a date with her steady, Henry Brewster. Kate and Uncle Joe want to speak to the Winslows to call off the bet. But things intensify, with now the winner getting either the Crabwell Corners' fire engine or the Spanish-American War cannon. To make matters worse, Kate and Joe find out that Speedy isn't Tad's dog after all. Tad has a well trained German Shepherd. The day of the contest arrives. The score is close, but Dog pulls a trick of his own and wins.

Kate's spring cleaning coincides with the US Air Force doing maneuvers over the valley. Part of those maneuvers includes testing out a new high powered camera. It looks like an ordinary black box with wires coming out of it and is set to explode twelve hours after any unauthorized removal from the plane. Colonel Millbank, who is flying the aircraft, accidentally loses the camera. It winds up landing on the Shady Rest property. Joe finds it and thinking it might be valuable, brings to the hotel. But as often as Kate and the girls try to get rid of it, Dog keeps bringing it back. General Elmer Loomis and Millbank make it to Hooterville. With little time to spare, they get to the hotel and start searching for the box. Dog brings them the box with no time left. However, the box winds up being a dud and doesn't explode

Music Professor Lieberschmit recommends that would-be singer Bobbie Jo go to New York City for three months to take singing lessons. Kate barely manages to borrow $300 for Bobbie Jo's trip from Mr. Guerney at the bank. Billie Jo announces that her secretarial school is giving her a chance for a secretarial job at a Hollywood studio. Along with the job there is also the possibility of a screen test. Kate is able to get an extra $100 from Mr. Gurney. Then Betty Jo announces that she has received a Phys-Ed scholarship at a school in New Hampshire. Kate figures that only one girl can go and now has to decide which one. Before Kate can, the girls decide Billie Jo should be the one. Billie Jo says she has fallen for a boy and that Bobbie Jo should go. Bobbie Jo says it will cost too much in New York and that Betty Jo should go. Betty Jo says she found out it's an all girl school and doesn't want to go.

Oliver Wendell Douglas and Lisa Douglas are staying overnight at the hotel. They are moving into their newly purchased farmhouse, the run down Haney place. When Joe finds out that Oliver is a lawyer, he wants to ask him how to get out of jury duty. Oliver inadvertently gives Joe an idea and Joe gets Kate to take his place. Joe finds out that he won a television set in a raffle, but he has to claim it by noon tomorrow. At first Joe can't find the ticket, then he remembers it's in the suitcase that Kate took to Pixley. As hard as he tries, Joe can't get a message to a sequestered Kate. Kate does come home in time, but something else prevents Joe from claiming his prize.

Bobbie Jo is entering an upcoming spelling bee, but it may be a losing battle against stuck up but excellent speller Henrietta Watson. Cora Watson, Henrietta's equally stuck up mother, protests Sam's appointment as judge since she feels he will be biased in favor of Bobbie Jo. As such, Oliver Douglas, is appointed the new judge. Bobbie Jo doesn't have the confidence to win, until she finds a scarab ring. Now it seems she is flooded with good luck. Slowly, the family begins to believe in the power of the ring when they too get what they want when wearing it. Uncle Joe loses the ring and buys another one. After winning the spelling bee, Bobbie Jo realizes it wasn't because of the ring.

Betty Jo wants to buy her friend Willie's motorized bicycle. Kate says she can if she is able to come up with the money. Betty Jo gets a babysitting job on the condition that Kate is around to supervise, to which Kate reluctantly agrees. Kate winds up doing most of the work. Now many other babysitting offers and many other babies come out of the woodwork. Unfortunately, the jobs are all for the same night and under the same condition of Kate supervising. With help from the family, they make it through the night. Willie says he'll trade his bike for the family dog, but Betty Jo refuses.