ANNOUNCER:

Today, ROMANCE sends season's greetings with a new Christmas story especially written for the occasion by Sylvia Richards. Its title: "Richer By One Christmas."

MUSIC:

DRUM ROLL

ANNOUNCER:

Now, from Hollywood -- ROMANCE!

MUSIC:

THEME ... FADES OUT BEHIND--

ANNOUNCER:

ROMANCE -- transcribed stories of love and adventure, of comedy and crisis, of conflict and human emotion. Today, a story of Christmastime, of Christmas present, starring Miss Virginia Gregg as Evelyn in "Richer By One Christmas."

MUSIC:

INTRODUCTION ... THEN BEHIND EVELYN--

EVELYN:

(NARRATES) Years ago, when I was a child back in Iowa, I sang in the girls' choir at the First Episcopal Church and I remember one year the rector gave us all necklaces -- silver chains with round crystal pendants. Inside each pendant was a tiny golden mustard seed. The rector told us those seeds stood for faith -- because Christ had said that if you have faith, even as small as the grain of a mustard seed, you can move mountains. And that's what my husband, Phil, said about the Christmas spirit -- that I must still have a grain of it left in me, that I'd just have to find it and make it grow.

Since I've grown up, some Christmases have been fairly good, some bad. Mostly, they've been so-so, in-between. But this year-- Well, the whole season started out wrong. It was one afternoon after Thanksgiving when my son, Peter -- he's not quite eleven -- came bouncing in from school.

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS AND PETER CHARGES IN ... DOOR SLAMS SHUT

PETER:

Hi! I'm back, mom!

EVELYN:

I heard. What did I say about slamming doors?

PETER:

Uh oh! Sorry, I forgot. (SINGS LOUDLY, ENTHUSIASTICALLY) "It came upon a midnight clear that glori--!"

EVELYN:

(INTERRUPTS) Hey! My eardrums! What brought that on?

PETER:

Oh, we were practicing carols today in school.

EVELYN:

Already?

PETER:

Already?! It's only three and a half weeks from now.

EVELYN:

Christmas? Why, Thanksgiving was just last Thursday.

PETER:

Look at the calendar. See? Today's December first. Gosh! Christmas sure seems to get here quicker than it used to. I used to wait and wait and--

EVELYN:

It gets here too soon to suit me. One day you look around and there's Christmas bearing down like an express train.

PETER:

Can I have some doughnuts?

EVELYN:

Oh, one. Sit down, I'll give you a glass of milk with it.

SOUND:

SCRAPE OF CHAIR AS PETER SITS ... REFRIGERATOR DOOR OPENS, GLASS BOTTLE CLINKS, REFRIGERATOR DOOR SHUTS BEHIND--

EVELYN:

Every year, I swear I'll get everything done ahead of time, but I always put things off.

SOUND:

OPENS MILK BOTTLE AND POURS BEHIND--

EVELYN:

(SHUDDERS) Ooh! The shopping; how I hate the thought of it.

PETER:

You sound like you hate Christmas.

EVELYN:

No. No, of course I don't. But when you're grown up, Christmas is different.

PETER:

Different how?

EVELYN:

Oh, not as much fun. It's really a holiday for children. Getting presents, seeing Santa Claus, trimming the Christmas tree--

PETER:

Mr. Miller, our social studies teacher, said there didn't used to be anything like that. He said Christmas used to be just praying and being thankful that Jesus was born.

EVELYN:

That's true. But nowadays-- Well, isn't it getting presents that makes it exciting for you?

PETER:

I guess. But grown-ups get presents, too.

EVELYN:

Oh, yes, but they don't mean as much to us, I suppose because Christmas means so much extra work. Means spending money, usually more than you should; so many other things Christmas shouldn't mean. Somehow, little by little, you just lose your Christmas spirit.

PETER:

Have you lost yours, mom?

EVELYN:

I don't know, Peter. Sometimes I think I have.

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND EVELYN--

EVELYN:

(NARRATES) I know I shouldn't have said that to Peter. It was bad enough two years ago, when he stopped believing in Santa Claus, and now I was trying to spoil whatever illusions he had left. When I saw how puzzled he looked, I changed my tune -- asked him what kind of present he thought his dad would like and what he wanted us to get for him. But that night at dinner, Phil brought home some news. Something I didn't want to think about -- not just before Christmas.

SOUND:

DINNER TABLE BACKGROUND (UTENSILS, ET CETERA)

PHIL:

Oh, Evelyn, I got a letter today from your sister Meg.

PETER:

You mean Aunt Meg way back in Iowa?!

EVELYN:

Peter, hush. (TO PHIL, PUZZLED) Meg wrote to you? At the office?

PHIL:

Well, she didn't know how you'd take it. She thought I might want to wait till after Christmas before I brought up the subject.

EVELYN:

What subject?

PHIL:

(BEAT) Well, it's something I more or less expected. It's your mother. Seems she's become quite feeble and her memory's more or less shot. Meg says she just can't cope with the situation any longer.

EVELYN:

Oh, I send money and so does Alex.

PHIL:

It's not just the money. Meg's away at work all day and it isn't safe to leave your mother alone.

EVELYN:

So? What does she suggest?

SOUND:

PHIL PUTS UTENSIL DOWN, THEN FISHES OUT AND UNFOLDS LETTER BEHIND--

PHIL:

Here. Here's the letter. Read what she says.

PETER:

Grandma's memory is shot? What does that mean?

PHIL:

(PATIENTLY) Well, she's very old and so her mind doesn't work as well as it did.

PETER:

How old? Forty?

PHIL:

Forty?! (CHUCKLES) My dear young fellow, I'll have you know that's young.

PETER:

Fifty? Sixty? Not seventy?

EVELYN:

Hush, Peter! Phil, no -- I won't have mother shoved off on me.

PHIL:

Well, Alex can't take her. Neither can Stan.

EVELYN:

But if she came here, where would we put her?

PHIL:

The only place would be Pete's room.

PETER:

My room?! For Grandma?!

EVELYN:

Hush!

PHIL:

I could fix up the room off the kitchen, Pete -- where we've got the freezer.

PETER:

That room?! It's too little! Where would I keep all my stuff?

EVELYN:

You see, Phil? It's just not fair to Peter.

PETER:

Sure! Why can't Grandma have the little room?

PHIL:

That'll do, Pete! (BEAT, TO EVELYN) I think it's not fair to let him get away with being selfish.

EVELYN:

It's not just the room, but having an old person in the house. It can't be good for Peter to see someone who's sick and who's confused in her mind.

PHIL:

People get old. It's a fact of life. It won't hurt him to know that.

EVELYN:

Maybe not, but--

PHIL:

It won't hurt him to start learning how to be kind and patient. Evelyn, I should think that, especially now, when Christmas is almost here--

EVELYN:

That's just it! To have another problem now, and the extra expense--

PHIL:

Expense?!

EVELYN:

She'd have to fly here. She couldn't stand the long trip on the train and Meg can't afford to buy the tickets.

PHIL:

Well, how much would it cost? Sixty, seventy dollars?

EVELYN:

Nearly half of the money I've saved for Christmas.

PHIL:

So this year why don't we just buy a tree and a few things for Pete--?

EVELYN:

We have to send cards, and there are certain people who'll expect to get a gift. No! I refuse to take on Meg's problems now on top of everything else.

PHIL:

(BEAT) Well, I have to write Meg. What'll I say?

EVELYN:

Well, just tell her we'll discuss the problem after Christmas and then let her know. It won't hurt her to wait.

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND EVELYN--

EVELYN:

(NARRATES) No, it wouldn't hurt Meg to wait. (BEAT) My mother? Well, at her age, I doubt it would make any difference to her where she spent Christmas. (BEAT) Still, I must have had a bad conscience because I felt more and more miserable as the days went by, and less like Christmas. I worked like a tiger -- cleaning the house, and went shopping nearly every day, battling my way through the crowds to buy gifts. And all over the city I saw lights and decorations, heard bells ringing, singing of carols. But nothing happened. I still had no feeling, not one tiny spark of real Christmas spirit.

SOUND:

PACKAGE WRAPPED

PETER:

Boy, that's a great package, mom.

PHIL:

Ah, your mother's an artist at wrapping gifts.

EVELYN:

(WEARILY) Oh, thank you, kind sirs.

PHIL:

Who's that one for?

EVELYN:

Al's children. It's a collection of magic tricks.

PHIL:

Oh.

PETER:

Who's this one for, with the pine cones on top?

EVELYN:

That? Isn't it marked? Oh, never mind. It's for Connie the cleaning woman. There, this one's done. (EXHALES) Peter, it's past your bedtime.

PETER:

It's vacation; no school.

EVELYN:

Aren't you going to work for Mrs. Krieg tomorrow, washing windows or something?

PHIL:

(PLEASED) Hey, you got a job, Pete?

PETER:

(PROUDLY) Yup! At Mrs. Krieg's. She's paying me fifty cents an hour.

PHIL:

(IMPRESSED, WHISTLES) You'll be filthy rich.

EVELYN:

Peter?

PETER:

Let me wrap one package first?

EVELYN:

(SIGHS) All right, wrap this one. It's for the milkman.

PETER:

You mean we gotta give him a present?

EVELYN:

We don't got to, but we'll get better service if we do. Here. Use this gold paper and the brown ribbon.

SOUND:

SHUFFLE OF PAPER AND RIBBON

PETER:

Okay.

EVELYN:

I'm bone tired. I've never seen such crowds.

PHIL:

Are you anywhere near finished?

EVELYN:

I'd better be. Only two more shopping days.

PHIL:

You want me to buy the tree? I'll get it Christmas Eve.

EVELYN:

(RELIEVED) Oh, will you? It would be one thing off my mind.

PHIL:

(CHUCKLES) I swear, Evelyn, you sound like you were fighting a battle, a turning point in a war.

PETER:

(LAUGHS, IMITATES ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN SHOOTING DOWN PLANE) Ack-ack-ack-ack! (WHISTLES, IMITATES EXPLOSION) Pow! Over the top! Christmas! Gotcha!

PHIL:

(CHUCKLES)

EVELYN:

(CHUCKLES, LIGHTLY) If that's how I sound, that's how I feel! (WISTFULLY) Oh, I used to love Christmas. But it's changed so.

PHIL:

Maybe you've changed.

EVELYN:

No, it's become noisy and commercial. It wasn't like that when I was little.

PETER:

(GENUINELY CURIOUS) What was it like?

EVELYN:

Oh, everything was different.

PHIL:

Well, one thing, back in Iowa, the weather must have been different.

EVELYN:

Yes, that's partly what's wrong. Here in California there aren't any real seasons; no winter.

PETER:

It's winter now.

EVELYN:

You mean because of the rain we're having? Why, this is more like spring weather back east.

PETER:

What was winter like there, mom?

EVELYN:

In Iowa? Snow. Day after day, for weeks. Some days, it drifted down; a few whirling flakes, and then there'd be a storm. The air filled with snow. The whole world white and still and cold.

PETER:

And what was Christmas like?

EVELYN:

(LOST IN THOUGHT) Why, it was right in the center -- in the heart of all that cold and whiteness -- a bright, bright day. Christmas Day.

PETER:

(BEAT, QUIETLY) I guess I finished this package, mom.

EVELYN:

Oh. Oh, thank you, Peter.

PHIL:

You did a good job, son.

SOUND:

SCRAPE OF CHAIR AS PETER RISES

PETER:

I guess I'll go to bed now.

EVELYN:

G'night, darling.

PETER:

Good night.

PHIL:

Good night, Peter.

SOUND:

PETER'S FOOTSTEPS AWAY ... THEN STOP

PETER:

(FROM OFF) You know something, ma?

MUSIC:

WARM ... SNEAKS IN

PETER:

(QUICKLY RETURNING) You know what somebody ought to give you for a present?

EVELYN:

No, what?

PETER:

A snowstorm. A great big beautiful white snowstorm. Then I bet you'd like Christmas again -- as much as you used to.

MUSIC:

UP, FOR A WARM, BUT SLIGHTLY MELANCHOLY FIRST ACT CURTAIN

ANNOUNCER:

We'll return to ROMANCE in just a moment.

Tonight, Christmas Eve, the whole nation is invited to the largest carol service ever held. CBS Radio is bringing you its guest star Bing Crosby in a full hour of the beloved Christmas hymns and songs and airs from olden times to the present. You and your family are cordially invited to gather around your own Christmas tree as millions of other families gather around their trees and sing with this wonderful balladeer. From points all over the country and the world, Bing will also bring you the Yuletide songs of special localities and foreign nations. Tonight, Christmas Eve, as America sings with Bing, on most of these same stations, you and your family join in.

And now for the second act of ROMANCE.

MUSIC:

SECOND ACT INTRODUCTION ... THEN BEHIND EVELYN--

EVELYN:

(NARRATES) For a long time after Peter had gone to sleep, Phil and I didn't talk. I was too tired, and I felt lonely and a little unhappy. It was talking about Iowa -- that long-ago, wonderful time. It was remembering my family -- Meg and my brothers and me -- when we were little. And I found myself remembering a poem I'd once learned by heart, from "Alice Through the Looking-Glass." I began reciting it out loud.
(RECITES)
Without, the frost, the blinding snow,
The storm-wind's moody madness--
Within, the firelight's ruddy glow,
And childhood's nest of gladness.
(EXHALES)

PHIL:

I guess that's how we remember our childhood, but - I always suspect my memory.

EVELYN:

Not me. I can remember almost everything that ever happened from the time I began to walk until I was years older than Peter is now.

PHIL:

Every Christmas?

EVELYN:

Every single one.

PHIL:

You remember any one that was special, better than the rest?

EVELYN:

Oh, of course. Everyone has one perfect Christmas. They remember their whole life how wonderful.

PHIL:

What made yours so perfect? Did you get a bicycle or your first real watch?

EVELYN:

(THOUGHTFUL) No. It wasn't anything I got.

PHIL:

Oh? Then it must have been the snowiest Christmas? Snow on everything, like frosting on a cake, hm?

EVELYN:

No. The odd thing is that there was scarcely any snow that year. Not until January.

PHIL:

Well, then what was it?

EVELYN:

Well, I don't know. I never thought [about] it before. But somehow that year I felt Christmas in my bones. I felt - like the carols sound; joyous.

PHIL:

Was it an especially prosperous Christmas? Did your dad make a lot of money that year?

EVELYN:

No, no. It was after dad died; two or three years after. Prosperous? Why, dad hadn't left anything but debts, and it was Nineteen Thirty-Five -- the Depression.

CAROLERS:

"SILENT NIGHT" ... SNEAKS IN, BEHIND EVELYN--

EVELYN:

My poor mother. How she worried. She made some money sewing, doing alterations. And Stan -- he was the oldest -- sometimes got a day's work helping a carpenter. I was only twelve. But I got myself a job. I started even before Christmas vacation.

SOUND:

WHIR OF OLD-FASHIONED SEWING MACHINE

EVVY:

(CALLS) Mama?! Mama, I'm leaving now!

SOUND:

WHIR AS SEWING MACHINE SLOWS TO A STOP BEHIND--

MOTHER:

Why, it's nearly dark, Evvy, and I hate to think of you trampin' from house to house in the cold, talkin' to strangers.

EVVY:

They're not strangers, mama. I know everybody who lives on Jefferson Street. Almost everybody on Weber Avenue.

MOTHER:

Oh, yes, I suppose you do, but, Evvy, promise me you won't force people to buy cards from ya.

EVVY:

How can I force 'em?

MOTHER:

Well, you mustn't try. So many people are havin' a hard time and I hate to think of anyone spendin' money if they can't afford it.

EVVY:

Mama, I've only sold three boxes -- one to Miss Dory Haskell and she can afford more than that, and two boxes to the manager of the the Liberty Theater.

MOTHER:

Well, I suppose in his case Christmas cards are really a business expense.

EVVY:

I have to sell twenty boxes.

MOTHER:

Why?

EVVY:

For a reason. I don't want to tell you yet.

MOTHER:

Poor little Evvy. I can guess why. It's hard when you're young to see all the pretty things in the stores that you can't buy.

EVVY:

I don't care, mama.

MOTHER:

Especially this time of year.

EVVY:

But I really don't care.

MOTHER:

Well, money or no money, we shall have a merry Christmas, Evvy, because you and Meg and your brothers all know what Christmas really means. You have Christmas in your hearts.

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND EVELYN--

EVELYN:

The Christmas cards I was trying to sell were cheap and ugly, and I knew it. That's what made it so hateful. Whenever I tried to talk about them, I got tongue-tied with shame looking at those gaudy, badly-done sentimental pictures. But I made my quota. I sold twenty-one boxes, the last two the afternoon before Christmas; just in time.

PHIL:

In time for what?

EVELYN:

To go down and spend my hard-earned money. It was the first time I'd ever gone downtown all by myself.

PHIL:

How much did you have?

EVELYN:

Well, I got thirty-five cents on each box, so it was, uh, seven dollars and thirty-five cents; a fortune.

PHIL:

So you went downtown clutching your money in your hot little fists.

EVELYN:

Mm hm.

PHIL:

And then what?

EVELYN:

I went on the streetcar; that cost five cents. It was nearly five o'clock--

CAROLERS:

"SILENT NIGHT" SNEAKS IN ... THEN BEHIND EVELYN--

EVELYN:

--and already dark, but - all the stores were lighted. There were lots of people still shopping. I walked along the sidewalk looking into all the dazzling windows. I stood in front of the saltwater taffy store and sniffed --- that wonderful smell.

SOUND:

STREET NOISE ... SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGS INTERMITTENTLY ... CHURCH CHIMES IN DISTANCE

EVELYN:

I stood outside Woolworth's and watched the people. Up the street, I could hear the chimes on the Methodist church. Right in front of the store, a Salvation Army woman was ringing her little bell. Now and then, somebody came by who knew me.

THOMPSON:

Hello, there, Evvy.

EVVY:

Hello, Mr. Thompson.

THOMPSON:

Waitin' to see Santa Claus? He's already left. Gone back to the North Pole. Tonight's his busy night.

EVVY:

I'm not waitin' for anyone. I'm going to buy a Christmas present.

THOMPSON:

Good! Good for you. Well, merry Christmas!

EVVY:

Merry Christmas, Mr. Thompson!

EVELYN:

(NARRATES) Standing there, something started to worry me. I hadn't seen anybody drop any money in the Salvation Army kettle. I watched the woman ringing her little bell. Face looked pinched with cold and terribly sad. And she looked over and caught my eye. There was only one thing I could do.

EVVY:

I can't give you very much. I only have a quarter and a nickel.

WOMAN:

And you want to put them in the kettle? (CHUCKLES) You have a good Christian heart.

EVVY:

I do have some more money -- seven dollars -- but I have to buy something that costs six dollars and ninety-five cents, and I have to keep a nickel for the streetcar.

WOMAN:

Any gift you want to give is welcome.

EVVY:

Should I drop the money in the kettle?

WOMAN:

That's right. It falls right through the wire.

SOUND:

COIN DROPS INTO KETTLE

WOMAN:

(CHUCKLES) Bless you, my dear; bless you and merry Christmas.

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND EVELYN--

EVELYN:

By then, some of the stores were closing. Doors were being locked and lights dimmed. I was afraid I might be too late. I started running because it was two blocks to Giddings' store.

PHIL:

Well, what did you want to buy?

EVELYN:

It was a present for my mother.

PHIL:

Huh. Nothing for yourself?

EVELYN:

No, for her. Something to make her smile, not look so tired.

PHIL:

While you were selling the cards, you didn't tell anyone?

EVELYN:

(YES) Mm hm, not even Meg. (BEAT) Whenever I thought of how mother would look on Christmas morning, I hugged myself.

PHIL:

Well, did you get to the store in time?

EVELYN:

Just in time.

CAROLERS:

"SILENT NIGHT" SNEAKS IN ... THEN BEHIND EVELYN--

EVELYN:

A man had closed one of the big doors and I slipped in before he closed the other one. Giddings' was beautiful. At least, I thought so then. I knew exactly where to go -- to the notions department. Months before, I had seen the present I was going to buy and my heart turned over with joy when I saw it was still there behind the glass.

SOUND:

DEPARTMENT STORE BACKGROUND

CLERK:

You want to buy something, dear?

EVVY:

(POINTS) That -- on the bottom shelf.

CLERK:

Oh, this. Do you know how much it costs?

EVVY:

Yes. Six dollars and ninety-five cents.

CLERK:

Plus the sales tax. Seven cents. All together, it's seven dollars and two cents.

EVVY:

I only have seven dollars, but I'll bring you the two cents the day after Christmas.

CLERK:

(CHUCKLES) Well-- I guess I can spare two cents.

EVVY:

Thank you, but I'll pay it back.

CLERK:

That's all right. It's a Christmas present. Now, do you want me to wrap this as a gift?

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND EVELYN--

EVELYN:

Of course, I'd spent every cent, so I couldn't take the streetcar. It was a two-mile walk, and it was a cold night, but I don't even remember walking home. (CHUCKLES) I think I must have floated all the way.

PHIL:

Well, tell me -- what was the present?

EVELYN:

A little doll. I guess you'd call it a Dresden doll. She was tiny and delicate and held her arms out, so. A colonial lady, though her hair was white to look powdered. And she wasn't just a doll. Under her ruffled hoop skirt, she was a pin cushion. (BEAT) But I didn't buy her for that.

PHIL:

Well, did your mother like it? What did she say?

EVELYN:

She cried when she opened the package. I can't remember what she said. But she never used it for a pin cushion. Long as I can remember, that doll stood on her bureau.

PHIL:

And that was your best Christmas?

EVELYN:

The very best. It was the first time I really wanted to give someone a gift.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS AND PETER CHARGES IN ... DOOR SLAMS SHUT

PETER:

Mom?! Mom?!

PHIL:

What is that, Pete?

PETER:

A present -- for mom.

EVELYN:

Peter, is that where you've been?

PETER:

Sure. One time, I'd seen one of these things. So when Mrs. Krieg paid me, I went down to look for one. I bet I looked in more than fifty stores. Mom, do me a favor? Open it now.

EVELYN:

Oh, I think I should wait until tomorrow morning.

PETER:

Oh, this is something you ought to have tonight. Before Christmas.

PHIL:

Go ahead, Evelyn.

EVELYN:

(EXHALES) All right.

SOUND:

PACKAGE UNWRAPPED DURING FOLLOWING--

PETER:

Doesn't look too good. It was kind of hard to wrap.

EVELYN:

It's so heavy and round. Why, it's made of glass.

PHIL:

What's that inside?

PETER:

Shake it, mom. Shake it hard.

EVELYN:

(DELIGHTED) Oh! A snowstorm!

PETER:

(CHUCKLES)

EVELYN:

A beautiful white snowstorm!

PHIL:

(CHUCKLES)

PETER:

(CHUCKLES)

EVELYN:

(TEARFUL) Oh, Peter, it's a lovely present. The loveliest I ever had.

PETER:

(CONFUSED) Wha--? You're crying.

EVELYN:

Because - it's so pretty.

PETER:

Huh. I knew you'd be surprised.

EVELYN:

Yes. And I have another surprise. (BEAT) For all of us. (BEAT) Grandma's coming tomorrow.

PHIL:

You sent for her?

EVELYN:

Of course. I had to. When I remembered that other Christmas. When I thought she might not live to have many more. And when I knew how wonderful this one was going to be.

CAROLERS:

"THE FIRST NOEL" ... THEN IN BG

EVELYN:

(NARRATES) And, at that moment, something happened. The room changed. It became a room simply bulging with Christmas. And I changed. The mustard seed had been there. And now it started to grow and grow.

CAROLERS:

"THE FIRST NOEL" ... UP, FOR A CURTAIN

ANNOUNCER:

And now, from the cast and crew of our series, from all of us here on ROMANCE -- from Bob Chadwick, Tom Hanley, Bill James, Bill Crabbe, George Foster, Jimmy Murphy, Alex Alexander, Jan Picard, Jerry Goldsmith, Frank Paris, Bill Froug, Virginia Gregg, Vic Perrin, Richard Beals, Beverly Hanley, Ann Morrison, Ralph Moody, Dan Cubberly -- to all of you, a very merry "Merry Christmas"! And may we invite you to hear ROMANCE transcribed next week at this same time?

CAROLERS:

"O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM" ... DURING ABOVE, THEN IN BG

ANNOUNCER:

Tomorrow, on our program called ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON, Del Sharbutt will show you, in words and music, how Christmas sounds far from your home. Alfredo Antonini, with his great orchestra, and baritone star Stuart Foster will also be here on Christmas Day ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON. Stay tuned now for GUNSMOKE, which follows immediately over most of these same stations.

CAROLERS:

"O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM" ... UP, UNTIL THE END