I'm a relative newcomer to the older, B&W episodes of "Petticoat Junction" (which I've seen on video), but I REALLY enjoy them!

Can anyone tell me why the actresses who played Bobby Jo and Billie Jo changed so much over the seasons?

It seems like the show couldn't keep one actress in each role for very long!

I'm providing the link below to a TV Guide article from April 1966 which would explain this a lot better than I could. Gunilla Hutton, who was Billie Jo in the third season, had a struggle with hepatitis, which is the reason she was absent from several episodes that season. Meredith MacRae was brought in for Season Four, and remained until the end.

Here's the link to the article:

http://webpages.charter.net/beetle02/tvguide_66.htm