Lest We Forget - Stories To Remember - #6 Seasoned Timber

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Lest We Forget - Stories To Remember - #6 Seasoned Timber
Air Date: May 23, 2026
Source Material: "Seasoned Timber" by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Starring: Raymond Massey

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Episode Overview

This episode dramatizes "Seasoned Timber," a story focused on moral courage in small-town America. The narrative centers on Clifford Academy, a school faced with an ethical dilemma when offered a sizeable bequest contingent upon discriminatory conditions. The episode explores the tension between financial necessity and the town’s commitment to justice and equality, ultimately becoming a moving parable about community values and resistance to bigotry.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Bequest and Its Conditions

• Clifford Academy’s Setting:
  The institution is depicted as a peaceful, respected place, largely untouched by historical turmoil (02:01).
• The Offer:
  Upon the death of trustee George Henry Wheaton, the school is offered $1 million if it agrees to:
  • Rename itself after Wheaton.
  • Exclude all Jewish students from enrollment.
  • Substantially raise tuition for “good old line families” (04:16).
• Immediate Reactions:
  • Mr. Dewey opposes the bequest, calling it “sinful.”
  • Mr. Randolph is tempted, noting there are only four Jewish students and considering the gains for the academy’s facilities such as a new gym (05:02, 05:48).

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The Town’s Moral Debate

• Candidates for Trustee:
  • Dr. Foote: Publicly opposes the bequest, calling it "black money" (06:40).
  • Mr. Gardner: Advocates accepting the money due to the school’s dire need for repairs, dismissing the exclusion's impact as minimal (06:54, 09:08).
• Community Division:
  • Townsfolk are reticent but intrigued by the promise of prosperity versus the moral cost.

Notable Quote

“Can we turn this down just for the sake of a—four Jewish students?”
— Mr. Gardner (09:08)

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Emotional Toll on Students

• Student Impact:
  Jewish students like Rose Steinberg and Jules Bernstein feel unwelcomed and think about leaving the academy (00:50, 07:22, 08:23).
• Rose Steinberg:
  Touchingly asserts she’d rather leave than be a hindrance to the academy, highlighting the real human consequences of discrimination (11:19).

Notable Quote

"I just want to say I’d rather—I just love it here, but I’d rather go away and not come back."
— Rose Steinberg (11:19)

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The Town Meeting and the Test of Principles

• The Political Argument:
  Some suggest simply sending the four students away would be a small price for massive benefit (09:35).

• Professor Hume’s Defense:
  Principal 'Old T.C.' uses a metaphor:

  "It’s as if we stood under a great stone arch called democracy... But pull that little stone, pull any stone out, and the whole arch comes tumbling down." (10:17)

• Direct Confrontation:
  Professor Beckridge insinuates Hume himself may be Jewish, to which Hume responds with dignity and clarity (10:17).

Notable Quote

“Are we a going to kowtow right in our own town? To somebody’s wishes just because he thought he’d got the money to buy what he wanted.”
— Mr. Dewey (10:57)

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The Town’s Decision

• Symbolism and Inspiration:
  • Ms. Peck installs a bronze plaque on the town boulder, detailing Clifford’s tradition of freedom and dignity, leaving a blank to mark whether the town will accept or reject the bribe (12:08).
• Election Result:
  • The town elects a new trustee who opposes the discriminatory bequest, rejecting the money 215 to 13 (13:13).
  • Hume reflects on his renewed faith in the silent, principled villagers.

Notable Quote

“I should have known that on basic things they were as unmovable as that huge granite boulder in Ms. Peck’s front yard.”
— Professor Timothy Colton Hume (13:13)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Cost of Compromise:

  "It would certainly have been a good deal cheaper to pay that tax, which was small, than pay for the Revolutionary War."
  — Professor Hume, twice used as a historical parallel for present-day choices (01:07, 09:46)

• On the Value of Principles:

  "All this fuss over a few precious jewels. I don’t think it’s fitting. Not fitting at all."
  — Ms. Peck (13:02)

• On Historical Legacy:
  The bronze plaque in Ms. Peck’s yard as a public reckoning of the town’s values (12:08-12:54).

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• The Bequest Announced: 04:02 - 04:47
• Debate Among Trustees: 05:00 - 06:15
• Candidates State Positions: 06:40 - 07:16
• Student Reactions & Emotional Impact: 07:16 - 08:42
• Town Meeting/Professor Hume’s Speech: 09:35 - 10:57
• Plaque and Symbolic Gesture: 12:08 - 12:54
• Final Vote and Resolution: 13:13 - 13:50

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Conclusion

This drama, adapted from Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s Seasoned Timber, provides a stirring lesson on upholding fundamental values in the face of temptation. The people of Clifford choose principle over profit, reaffirming the ethical bedrock of small-town America. The original performances, particularly Raymond Massey's Professor Hume, convey both the gravity of the choice and the abiding optimism for American democracy and decency.

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For listeners seeking a deeply relevant slice of American radio drama, this episode is a powerful testament to the enduring fight for justice—one “battle in the War of Independence” fought anew.

Transcript

[Narrator]

Neighbor Gable.

[Doug]

Then Doug.

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[Narrator]

Stories to remember. Stories of people of those we sometimes call strangers.

[Rose Steinberg]

I. I just want to say I'd rather. I just love it here. But I'd rather go away and not come back. So would Rose Steinberg and the Hammerling boys than stand in the way of the academy now.

[Narrator]

Stories of human dignity and decency.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

If you remember your history, one of the causes of the Revolutionary War was the tax on tea that England levied on the American colonies. It would certainly have been a good deal cheaper to pay that tax, which was small then pay for the Revolutionary War.

[Narrator]

We present Raymond Massey in Season Timber by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Another story worth remembering.

[Mr. Gardner]

Will always help and strengthen me to stand for right to hold the.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

For more than 180 years, Clifford Academy has stood in our town peaceful and quiet like a tranquil stone in midstream. Clifford had not been touched by the turmoil of American history except for two incidents. One, you know about the Revolutionary War. The other, well, it happened just recently. And I'd like to think of it as a delayed battle of that same War of Independence. That's what I want to tell you about. Who am I? Oh, sorry. I should have introduced myself earlier. I'm the principal of the academy, Professor Timothy Colton Hume, better known as Old T.C.

[Mr. Dewey]

some say Hawk, some say G. The

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

best ever is old TC Now I'll get on with my story. It all started when we learned that one of our three trustees had died. Mr. Wheaton was his name. He was a very wealthy man, had a summer place near our town. He wasn't born there, came later and spent just a few months out of the year with us. Mr. Dewey and Mr. Randolph, the other two trustees were sitting in my office discussing the election of a new Trustee to replace Mr. Wheaton. Come in.

[Professor Stacey T. Beckridge]

How do you do? I'm looking for Professor Hume.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

I'm Professor Hume.

[Professor Stacey T. Beckridge]

My name's Beckridge. Professor Stacey T. Beckridge. I represent the estate of the late Mr. George Henry Wheaton.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

Please come in, Mr. Beckridge. We were sorry to hear of Mr. Wheaton's death. Mr. Beckridge was a smooth, efficient man. He carried an expensive, shining briefcase, and he was impeccably groomed. I introduced him to the two trustees. He acknowledged their existence briefly.

[Professor Stacey T. Beckridge]

Good to meet you, Mr. Dewey. Mr. Randolph.

[Doug]

How do you do?

[Professor Stacey T. Beckridge]

I'm glad you gentlemen are all here. At one time, the deceased, George Henry Wheaton, made me executor of his estate. I have his will here, and with your permission, I'll read it to you. Or at least that portion of it that concerns you. I, George Henry Wheaton, do hereby bequeath the sum of $1 million to the Clifford Academy.

[Mr. Dewey]

$1 million? By gosh, there's some good in the worst of us. Imagine Wheaton shelling out a million dollars.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

That's very good news, Mr. Beckridge. There are so many, many things Clifford Academy needs.

[Doug]

For instance, new gymnasium.

[Professor Stacey T. Beckridge]

Be so good as to allow me to finish, please. The sum of $1 million to the Clifford Academy. Providing that the name of Clifford Academy be changed to the George Henry Wheaton Preparatory School. And that all Jewish students be excluded from the rolls. That tuition be substantially raised to encourage only sons of good old line families. I have appointed Stacey T. Beckridge as chief executive.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

A sudden stillness fell upon all of us. George Wheaton had died, but he wasn't quite finished with Clifford Academy. What he didn't have time to do when he was alive, he was set to accomplish after his death.

[Professor Stacey T. Beckridge]

What is your pleasure, gentlemen?

[Mr. Dewey]

Mr. Beckridge, my wishes are against this sinful bequest. I can tell you right now, I vote against it.

[Doug]

Now, wait a minute, Dewey. You can't do that. There's a million dollars involved. Think what it'll mean.

[Mr. Dewey]

I didn't like Mr. Whedon's fancy ideas when he was alive, and I don't like them now.

[Doug]

Well, now, hold on a minute. Suppose we do change the name of the school and raise the tuition. Might be a good idea. That isn't so important, Auntie C. There aren't many Jewish students in the school, are there?

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

Well, let's see. There's the two Hemmerling boys. They're on the basketball team. Rose Steinberg, president of the junior class. And there's Jules Bernstein. Plays the piano at the assemblies. Just four, Mr. Randolph.

[Doug]

Hear that, Dewey? There's just four in the whole school. Now, you can't let a personal grudge against Mr. Wheaton stand in the way of the academy.

[Mr. Dewey]

I'm against it. I don't like what it means.

[Professor Stacey T. Beckridge]

Well, gentlemen, since there Seems to be some disagreement. Suppose you think it over very carefully and let me know whether you intend to accept the deceased's very generous bequest. You can get in touch with me in New York.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

I was proud of Mr. Dewey. The harder Randolph worked on him, the more Dewey resisted. And the more Dewey resisted, the more convinced Randolph became that the academy ought to accept the man million dollars. It was obvious that whoever the townspeople were going to elect to take George Wheaton's place on the board of trustees was going to cast a deciding vote. The two candidates expressed themselves very clearly on the subject.

[Narrator]

Dr. Foote said, I'm opposed to accepting this black money.

[Professor Stacey T. Beckridge]

If I'm elected trustee, I will most certainly vote against it. And I'm going to do my darndest to get myself elected.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

Mr. Gardner of Gardiner's department Store. The other candidate was no less definite.

[Mr. Gardner]

Our school is badly in need of repairs. Expensive repairs. Our gymnasium's only a barn with a wood stove in it. The academy, as it stands now, is not a fit place to send our children. We have no right to turn down this bequest. No right at all.

[Ms. Lavinia]

Jules Bernstein, what in the world ailed you? You never played so badly.

[Rose Steinberg]

Nothing, Ms. Lavinia.

[Ms. Lavinia]

I used to be a concert pianist, and a good one. And I won't be wasting my time. You've got talent, boy, but it doesn't mean a thing unless you work.

[Rose Steinberg]

I shouldn't have come today, Ms. Lavinia. I think I'll not take my lesson today.

[Ms. Lavinia]

Timothy. Timothy Hume.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

What is it, Aunt Lavinia?

[Ms. Lavinia]

Look at this boy. What's wrong with him? He's come here every day for a lesson, and today he doesn't want to take a lesson.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

Is it George Wheaton? Jules? I thought so.

[Ms. Lavinia]

George Wheaton? George Wheaton's dead. What's he got to do with Jules?

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

I didn't want to tell you, Aunt Lavinia. Mr. Wheaton left a great deal of money to the academy on condition that all Jewish students be denied admission.

[Ms. Lavinia]

That means that Jules would have to be sent away to some other school.

[Rose Steinberg]

May I? May I go now?

[Ms. Lavinia]

You may not. Now you march right over to that piano. You're not thinking of accepting that money, Timothy Hume?

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

It's not up to me. But if the town votes to accept it, I'm sending in my resignation.

[Rose Steinberg]

Oh, no. You can't do that, Professor Clifford. Academy can't go on without you.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

They will if this town takes the money. But I'll move heaven and earth to see that that doesn't happen.

[Ms. Lavinia]

Good. Now that that's settled. Suppose you get to work on that concerto. Jules Bern.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

But it wasn't settled. Not by a long shot. Mr. Dewey, Dr. Foote, Aunt Lavinia and myself went to work to try to stop the movement to accept the Wheaton bequest. We spoke to everyone that would listen, but it didn't look good to us. In our town, we have the sort of people who keep their opinions to themselves. Last night, before the election, almost the whole town came to a town meeting in the assembly hall of the academy.

[Mr. Gardner]

And I say, you can't back me off Solid Ground by calling solid ground a bad name. Don't you realize that no matter how bad a name you call a million dollars, it's still a million dollars? Mr. Whitner's done us a favor. He's pushed our town of Clifford out of the sleepy past, right smack into a modern world. Can we turn this down just for the sake of a. Four Jewish students are. My answer's no. Let's accept this bequest.

[Ms. Peck]

I'd like to ask Professor Hume a question. Professor, won't it be cheaper to pay the four Jewish students to go up to Ashley High and get all that money for the academy? Won't it, Professor?

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

Well, Martha, I'll answer it this way. If you remember your history, one of the causes of the Revolutionary War was the tax on tea that England put on the American colonies. It would certainly have been a good deal cheaper to pay that tax, which was small, than pay for the Revolutionary War.

[Professor Stacey T. Beckridge]

May I ask Professor Hume a question? A certain newspaper that's come to my attention says that you've got Jewish blood in you. Nothing personal, but is that true?

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

It's not true. I'm neither proud of it nor regret it. It just happens that it isn't true. You know, in this country we sometimes take quite a good deal for granted. It's as if we stood under a great stone arch called democracy that has always been here. And then somebody comes along and says he'll give us a million dollars if we knock out one little stone in that arch. We never thought much about that stone. It's always been there. It's not very big, and a million dollars is a lot of money. But pull that little stone, pull any stone out, and the whole arch comes tumbling down.

[Mr. Dewey]

As I see it, there's no question of Jews or no Jews. In fact, it has nothing to do with Jews, except they happen to be the people Wheaton didn't like. Are we a going to kowtow right in our own town? To somebody's wishes just because he thought he'd got the money to buy what he wanted.

[Rose Steinberg]

I. I just want to say I'd rather. I just love it here, but I'd rather go away and not come back. So would Rose Steinberg and the Hemmerling boys than stand in the way of the academy.

[Ms. Lavinia]

Now,

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

There was no way of telling what the people of Clifford thought. And that million dollars seemed to be getting more and more attractive. But there's a woman in our town, name of Ms. Peck. Her house is on one of the busiest streets. And in her front yard there is a huge boulder. It's a landmark in our town. The morning of the election, I noticed a group of people gathered about it. I went over and saw what Ms. Peck had done. Embedded in the granite boulder was a bronze plaque that hadn't been there before. People were reading the clear, bold letters on it.

[Ms. Peck]

This is the town of Clifford, founded in 1767 by brave men who fought and risked their lives for human rights.

[Mr. Dewey]

Their descendants faithfully carried forward the tradition of freedom, human dignity and equal opportunity for all, handed down to them by.

[Ms. Peck]

They are hardy forefathers through more than 180 years of rigorous, honest living. And in the year 1948, when offered

[Mr. Dewey]

a million dollars to. To betray this tradition, they voted to.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

There was space large enough for the word accept or reject. And after that, two words.

[Narrator]

The bribe.

[Ms. Peck]

Well, I declare. What a terrible thing to do.

[Ms. Lavinia]

Right in the heart of clifford.

[Mr. Dewey]

Well, it's Ms. Peck's property. She can do as she wishes.

[Ms. Peck]

All this fuss over a few precious jewels. I don't think it's fitting. Not fitting at all.

[Professor Timothy Colton Hume (Old T.C.)]

On the election day, the people of Clifford came to the assembly hall and voted for the new trustee. I stood outside and watched them. Everyone came and voted in their usual way, quiet and tight lipped. As soon as they cast their vote, they went home. It looked like a foregone conclusion and no one lingered to find out the result. But when they finished counting the vote, the school won. Mr. Gardner was beaten badly. 215 to 13. Sure, the town voted not to accept Wheaton's million dollars. I should have had faith in these silent villages in this sleepy town, far from the far of modern life. I should have known better than to doubt that these people would do the right thing. I should have known that on basic things they were as unmovable as that huge granite boulder in Ms. Peck's front yard. Well, that's the story. And it looks to me as though it was just another battle in the War of Independence. Except that we had to fight it and win it. Today,

[Narrator]

Stories to Remember is a Lest We Forget presentation of the Institute for Democratic Education. It is offered as a reminder of this nation's promise of equal opportunity for all, regardless of color, creed or national origin. Today's story starred Raymond Massey. It was adapted from Dorothy Canfield Fisher's novel Season Timber, published by Harcourt Brace and Company. The script was written by Sigmund Miller, directed by Earl McGill and produced by Harold Franklin. Listen in again next week at the same time for another Story to remember.

[Doug]

And Doug.

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