Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio — Juvenile Jury (1949-06-19): "Wants To Change Birthday"

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Juvenile Jury (1949-06-19): Wants To Change Birthday
Host: Jack Perry
Date: January 6, 2026 (original broadcast: June 19, 1949)

Overview

In this nostalgic episode of Juvenile Jury, Jack Perry returns as host and moderator, joined by a panel of candid, sharp-witted children aged 5 to 11. Each week, these “jurors” tackle listener-submitted problems with sincerity, humor, and the unique lens of childhood logic. This episode’s signature dilemmas center on a birthday overshadowed by tax day, the woes of wearing velvet pants to dance class, sibling bedtime squabbles, misbehaving neighborhood kids, and more, all sprinkled with memorable moments and timeless kid wisdom.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Changing Your Birthday to Avoid Tax Season

(02:02–04:55)

• Listener Problem: An 11-year-old writes in complaining that her birthday falls on March 15th—tax time—so her father is always grumpy and the celebrations are lackluster. She wonders if she can move her birthday a week later, to March 22nd.
• Child Responses:
  • Charlie: “Nobody can change their birthday. But… ask the government to change income tax day.” (02:08)
  • Jack Perry: “The government say can’t do that.”
  • Dickie: Wonders if changing birthdays makes you a week younger: “If she keeps going at this rate, by the time she gets to be 20, she’ll only be 15.” (03:32)
  • Elizabeth: Proud of her own August birthday: “My birthday did a good time because then income tax day is gone. Everything’s gone. All there is playing hard stone to make a good birthday.” (03:49)
  • Another suggestion: Move it before Christmas for better presents since “everyone's in a giving mood.” (04:11)
  • Dickie (wryly): "It ain't the gift that counts. It's the thought. As I always say, you can keep the thoughts. Just give me the gift." (04:43)
• Host Takeaway: Celebrations can be pre-planned to avoid outside difficulties like tax time.

2. Embarrassment Over Dancing School Outfits

(05:54–09:08)

• Listener Problem: An 8-year-old boy dreads wearing shiny black shoes with bows and velvet pants to dance school—everyone at regular school teases him for looking “sissy.”
• Panel’s Advice:
  • Dickie: “Why don't he take his dancing clothes along in a suitcase and change there in the bathroom?” (06:49)
  • Host notes: “there’s no place to change at the school.”
  • Charlie: “He shouldn't think he's a sissy because he wears those velvet pants and bows on his shoes. Look at cowboys. They're not sissies. And they wear high heels.” (07:27)
  • Peggy: “Well, there's nothing wrong with being a dancer. Ask Rita Hayworth.” (07:45)
  • Elizabeth: At first bullied for her own dancing but “I didn't mind it. I still took dancing.” (08:22)
  • Dickie (humorously): “Once I wore velvet pants and shiny black shoes in my neighborhood. And you know what happened? Shiny black eyes.” (08:46)
  • Various: Suggest going with other boys or modifying bows if possible.
• Host Conclusion: Going in a group may lessen teasing, and wearing the outfit is nothing to be ashamed of.

3. Dog Breed Identification – “Dog Guest of the Week”

(09:25–11:52)

• Segment: The children are asked to identify a live dog on stage.
• Guesses include: Collie, Pekingese, Spitz; Peggy correctly identifies it as an “English toy spaniel, the Blenheim type.” (10:34)
• Educational Moment: Host explains breed origins: possibly China, Spain, or via France and England, with anecdotes about Mary, Queen of Scots and King James I. (11:04–11:27)
• Host Takeaway: Regardless of breed, they're great pets.

4. Siblings Sharing Beds

(13:04–17:52)

• In-Person Problem: 4.5-year-old Joyce wants advice: her younger brother cries at night and wants to sleep in her bed. Should she let him?
• Panel Probes:
  • Peggy: “Does he want to sleep in your bed?... Why?” (13:54)
  • Joyce: “Cause.”
  • Elizabeth: “How old is your brother?” (14:42)
  • Joyce: “Two years old.”
  • Dickie (jokes): “You're lucky he’s not twins. Otherwise if both got in your bed, you'd feel like a sandwich.” (14:26)
  • Johnny (relatable): “I think the little brother should learn to sleep in his own bed, because that's what I have to try to do now, too.” (16:28)
  • Dickie: “I don't think that he should sleep in your bed either, because it's too crowded. Your mother might get all mixed up and stick the bottle in your mouth instead of him.” (17:52)
• Host Suggests: Let the brother sleep together briefly until he falls asleep, then move him back.

5. Kids Climbing Over the Garden Fence

(18:08–21:18)

• Listener Problem: Neighbor’s kids always climb the garden’s picket fence, get stuck, and damage the fence—but refuse to use the gate.
• Children's Solutions:
  • Charlie (wry): “Good thing they don't try to squeeze through the fence or else the lady will have to have their head shrunk.” (18:57)
  • John Arthur McBride: Recommends a tricky gate “with pinch things” so nobody climbs (19:12)
  • Elizabeth: Suggests the fence will collapse, and then the kids will have no choice but to use the gate.
  • Charlie: “Why doesn't the lady put cactus on the fence. That won't tickle them!” (20:54)
  • Dickie: "How come they sit on a picket fence without hollering? Don't they feel it?" (20:26)
• Host Takeaway: For safety, explain the risks and ask the children to avoid the fence; otherwise, they can’t play in the garden.

6. Not Wanting to Recite at School Plays

(23:20–26:25)

• In-Person Problem: 6-year-old Joe resents always being picked to “recite” at school plays; claims he wants to “save his voice.”
• Panel Reactions:
  • Peggy (probing): “Why do you want to save your voice?” (23:52)
  • Joe: “Because when my father asks me questions, I won't be able to answer him back.” (24:02)
  • Dickie (with a pinch of sarcasm): “So why don't you go ahead and recite and lose your voice? Then you won't have any more problems.” (25:12)
  • Johnny: “I think he should do what the teacher said. Because my teacher already lost the voice from yelling already.” (25:26)
  • Charlie: “When you get a little older, your voice is going to change anyway. So why should you save it? You might as well use it all up now.” (25:39)
• Jack Perry’s Encouragement: “If you're called upon to recite in school, do it so well, and you keep right on doing it because you're doing a swell job.” (26:15)

7. Juvenile Jury Art Contest Results

(26:15–28:14)

• Host Jack Perry announces winners and runners-up in the nationwide contest.
• The five top winners receive a complete art set; their schools also receive resources.
• Judges include the famed Norman Rockwell.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Charlie: “Ask the government to change income tax day.” (02:08)
• Dickie (on birthdays): “If she keeps going at this rate, by the time she gets to be 20, she’ll only be 15.” (03:32)
• Charlie (on fashion): “Look at cowboys. They're not sissies. And they wear high heels.” (07:27)
• Dickie (humorously): “Shiny black eyes.” (08:57)
• Peggy (on siblings): “You're lucky that he's not twins. Otherwise if they both got in your bed, you'd feel like a sandwich.” (14:26)
• Dickie (on family mixups): “Your mother might get all mixed up and stick the bottle in your mouth instead of him. She might change you instead of changing him.” (17:52)
• Charlie (on tough kids): “Boy, getting a spank must mean nothing to those kids!” (20:34)
• Charlie (on the dangers of ego): “Before you know it, you'll get bags under your eyes and you'll look like an old hag.” (17:23)
• Johnny (on school obedience): “I think he should do what the teacher said. Because my teacher already lost the voice from yelling already.” (25:26)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------------|---------------| | Introduction & Meet the Jury | 00:52–01:13 | | Changing Your Birthday | 02:02–04:55 | | Dancing School Dilemma | 05:54–09:08 | | Dog Breed Identification | 09:25–11:52 | | Siblings Sharing Beds | 13:04–17:52 | | Climbing Over Fences | 18:08–21:18 | | School Reciting Problem | 23:20–26:25 | | Art Contest Winners Announced | 26:15–28:14 |

Conclusion

Quirky, sincere, and still relevant, this Juvenile Jury episode encapsulates the candid wisdom of children and the charm of a bygone radio era. Jack Perry’s lighthearted moderating, paired with the kids’ unpredictable reasoning, makes for a delightful and insightful trip back to family radio's golden age—a testament to the timeless nature of childhood perspective and humor.