Rosie O'Donnell has stated that the character of Roberta was supposed to be a lesbian, but the film was later re-edited and she was made straight. The line, 'Roberta lives in sin with her boyfriend." was looped in at the last minute.
The movie (aka "The Gaslight Addition") was actually written about a town in Indiana named Winchester, and its gaslight addition. The author of the story I. Marlene King grew up there, as did the director Robert Wise, in vastly different years. Winchester declined to have their name associated with the movie, so the name became Shelby, but later Winchester began to preserve areas mentioned in the movie.
In the tree house Sam and Teeny are talking about families and mention the Partridge Family. The Partridge Family would not debut until September 1970, but the movie is set in the summer of 1970.
Samantha: When you're 12, without effort, you live in the moment. You don't regret the past or worry about the future, and in that moment, Teeny filled my heart with hope and comfort.
Roberta: I think you'll make a great mum Chrissy, a little overbearing and rigid, but by the grace of God the kid will come out relativity unharmed, if not there's always therapy.