Lindas First Love 49-11-07 Making Xmas Cards Printing Plans-Kroger Treasure Hunt Contest

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Title: Linda's First Love 49-11-07: Making Xmas Cards, Printing Plans, Kroger Treasure Hunt Contest
Date: December 23, 2025

This episode revisits the classic radio drama "Linda's First Love," presenting a segment in which Linda, her family, and friends navigate secrecy and suspicion while working on a holiday handicraft business. Their efforts are complicated by a nosy neighbor and the lingering shadow of false accusations that forced them into hiding. Amid humor, banter, and reflections on loyalty, the group circles around the hope for clearing Danny's name. The themes of community suspicion, hope, and resilience run throughout, set against the wholesome context of Christmas preparations and personal reinvention.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Scene (02:00 – 03:00)

• Workshop Activity:
  Linda and her pa are busy making Christmas cards; Pa runs a printing press while Linda designs, trying to keep a low profile.
• Neighbor Suspicion:
  Fenton Fox, a curious and untrustworthy neighbor, has been snooping, causing anxiety about the secrecy of their operation.
  • Linda (02:13): "After all, none of the power tools..."
  • Pa (Paul) (02:41): "Fox tried to run that press real quiet so as I'd be able to hear him if he comes sneaking up to the window..."

The Importance of Secrecy and Identity (03:00 – 06:00)

• Assumed Identities:
  The group has adopted fake names ("Smith") to protect themselves from judgment and gossip.
  • Danny (03:02): "Pa, you and Phil made a dreadful mistake telling me my name was Smith and that Danny is a former boss."
• Community Judgment:
  There is a real fear of community ostracism if their true identities and situation become known, especially relating to the story’s central scandal—Danny being wrongfully blamed for deaths during an epidemic.
  • Pa (Paul) (05:16): "Shucks, you and Danny will fight your way back and then some. One fine day, the man responsible for you being in the doghouse will wind up in the jailhouse."

How Gossip and Community Perception Threaten the Group (06:00 – 08:00)

• Gallows Humor:
  The group uses humor to deflect stress; Linda jokes about being a boxer to keep the nosy neighbor at bay.
  • Linda (06:06): "Oh, Dandy. Dandy. An assumed name yet. Well, I see the wisdom of the thing. If he knew who we are, he'd probably organize a mob and tar and feather us."
• Children and Curiosity:
  Upcoming delivery of printing workshop equipment is expected to attract local curiosity, emphasizing their precarious need for secrecy.
  • Linda (08:01): "When my woodturning lay, bandsaw planer, all the rest of it arrives, 9,000 little boys will pop up from somewhere..."

Compassion for the Vulnerable – Mike and the Hermit (08:00 – 09:30)

• Charity in the Community:
  Attention turns to "Mike," a destitute local boy, and his caretaker "Unc." There's an intention to help with clothing and food, highlighting their compassion despite their own hardships.
  • Pa (Paul) (08:28): "Don't imagine you got much left after ordering all that machinery and supplies."
  • Danny (08:31): "Got nearly a hundred dollars, Pa. And that poor youngster was in rags when we saw him."

Reinforcing Solidarity and Introduction of Doris (09:30 – 11:00)

• Arrivals and Banter:
  Doris (Ms. Stephanie) arrives, bringing comic relief and camaraderie. The family welcomes her, and she provides updates on ongoing efforts to clear Danny's name.
  • Linda (09:46): "Well, that's Linda's touch. We can't do much about the bleak exterior. It'll spring. It's all right, Linda. Come on in. It's Doris."
• Collective Support:
  There's appreciation for home and togetherness, regardless of hardships.
  • Pa (Paul) (10:21): "But home is what you make it, and there's no place like it."
  • Doris (Ms. Stephanie) (10:23): "Mr. Crockett, you've got something there."

Progress on Clearing Danny’s Name (11:00 – 12:02)

• Doris’s Progress:
  Doris has been ingratiating herself with Edmund Nugent—the man who framed Danny—hoping to coax a confession.
  • Doris (Ms. Stephanie) (10:41): "I've been playing junior G girl, you know, and I think my quarry's beginning to crack."
  • Doris (Ms. Stephanie) (11:13): "He boasts incessantly, Linda. How he got Danny out of his."
• Anticipation of Justice:
  Doris shares plans to meet Nugent (at the Whispering Pines for dinner) and reveals that a hidden witness will overhear their conversation to corroborate any confession.
  • Doris (Ms. Stephanie) (11:45): "We always eat in the same booth. And I've arranged for an unimpeachable witness in the adjoining one."
• Mixed Feelings Among the Group:
  Despite the promise of vindication, Danny shows little enthusiasm—suggesting bitterness or reluctance to rejoin a town that ostracized him.
  • Narrator (12:02): "Danny shows little enthusiasm, if any at all. Why is he so disinterested? Is his bitterness toward the town so intense that he's lost all interest in being vindicated and resuming his work as a doctor?"

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Pa (Paul) (03:58): "A fellow with a face like his—eyes so close together they practically merge into one, no chin, long pointy nose and big round ears without any lobes. That makes him a criminal automatic."
• Danny (04:13): "That is an old wives tale about anyone with lobeloss ears having criminal tendencies. And this isn’t a laughing matter."
• Pa (Paul) (05:16): "One fine day, the man responsible for you being in the doghouse will wind up in the jailhouse."
• Linda (08:01): "The news that the people at 106 Military, they're starting an A bomb factory in their house will start spread like wildfire."
• Pa (Paul) (10:21): "But home is what you make it, and there's no place like it."
• Doris (Ms. Stephanie) (11:45): "I've arranged for an unimpeachable witness in the adjoining one. The panel's thin and… well anyway, my testimony alone would (be sufficient)."

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Major Timestamps

• 02:00 – Workshop discussion, secrecy regarding their handicraft business.
• 03:00 – Anxiety about Fenton Fox snooping, adoption of false identities.
• 05:16 – Pa expresses hope for clearing Danny’s name.
• 06:06 – Linda jokes about the danger of being discovered.
• 08:01 – Anticipation of curious children when equipment arrives.
• 09:30 – Doris arrives; shift to camaraderie and home life.
• 11:00 – Doris reveals progress with Nugent and plans for corroborated confession.
• 12:02 – Narrator highlights Danny’s ambivalence about clearing his name.

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Episode Flow & Tone

The tone is a blend of nostalgic Americana, familial warmth, and light suspense. Characters alternate between gentle ribbing, earnest strategy, and moments of deeper emotion over their past hardships and uncertain futures. Traditional values, witty exchanges, and moments of hopefulness combine to capture the essence of classic radio storytelling.

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For next time:
The episode concludes on a cliffhanger, with the promise of a crucial dinner meeting that could finally clear Danny's name—a thread sure to continue in the next installment of "Linda’s First Love."

Transcript

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[Narrator]

The complete food department store that helps you live better for less presents Linda's first love. By transcription Linda assumed the only houses anywhere near their desolate home on the flats to be uninhabited. But a man named Fenton Fox has introduced himself as a neighbor. And a very curious one he is. Linda relates her experience to Danny when we resume our story in a moment. Ladies, listen. Do you know what cleanser uses this famous slogan? Chases dirt with activated seismatype? If you know the answer, it can help you win a fabulous prize in the Kroger $65,000 brand name treasure hunt. Win $5,000 cash. Win a brand new Buick super sedan. Thousands of prizes to choose from. Get an entry blank at your Kroger store. Yes, ladies, there are thousands of prizes in this great Kroger contest. Why, every week Kroger is giving thousand pairs of nylon hose. These are gorgeous nylons. Hollywood hose monotop with lace edge sheer full fashioned in the latest fall shades. Think of it. 15,000 pairs of Hollywood monotop nylons. Get in the $65,000 Kroger brand name.

[Linda]

Treasure hunt right away.

[Narrator]

Easy to enter, easy to win. Your neighborhood Kroger store has entry blanks and helpful hints about the big brand.

[Linda]

Name treasure hunt contest.

[Narrator]

Phil Hubbard left the house a half hour ago, but Pa still remains with Linda and both are busy in the workshop. Pa at the small printing press and Linda is completing the design for a new Christmas card. But the presence of their recent caller is somewhat still with them.

[Danny]

How many of those have you painted, Pa?

[Pa (Paul)]

Next we'll make it an even hundred. Vincergals. Ah, there. That's the moment, I reckon. How are you coming? That linoleum block of carvings are almost ready to print. First I better pull down the shades.

[Danny]

I know what you mean.

[Pa (Paul)]

Car.

[Danny]

I'll find feathered friends. Peasant.

[Pa (Paul)]

Fox tried to run that press real quiet so as I'd be able to hear him if he comes sneaking up to the window to peek in again.

[Danny]

And every time the sun went behind a cloud, I thought it was a shadow. Think he had his nerve with him though.

[Pa (Paul)]

I'm impressed all right, Mindy gal. Poking his head in the window the other ways. He sure gave me a turn when he came back that second time to say he was sure he recognized you from someplace.

[Danny]

Pa, you and Phil made a dreadful mistake telling me my name was Smith and that Danny is a former boss.

[Pa (Paul)]

I had to tell him that if word gets around you and Danny are setting up a handicraft, gift and present business out here. Nobody in Centerville will buy a nickel's.

[Linda]

Worth in your pockets.

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

Sigh.

[Danny]

You've already admitted he may talk about what we're doing here. And if he does that, he'll surely talk about Mrs. Smith and Danny Smith. Fix a red headed thunderbolt or something.

[Pa (Paul)]

That's where I protected you two. As long as you can advise Mr. And Mrs. Danny Smith, you're safe.

[Danny]

I suppose. For a while anyway. But the important thing is to keep our activity quiet. What was there for? Sensing Fox to see in here. Trying to remember how the workshop looked.

[Pa (Paul)]

I don't reckon he's thought too much, Miguel.

[Linda]

After all, none of the power tools.

[Pa (Paul)]

And stuff Danny orders arrived at the printing press.

[Danny]

He must have seen the printing press.

[Pa (Paul)]

Pa probably took it in his stride. Probably thought you were just turning out some counterfeit money or something.

[Danny]

Now be serious.

[Pa (Paul)]

A fellow with a face like his eyes so close together they practically merge into one no chin, long pointy nose and big round ears without any lobes. That makes him a criminal automatic. Why he wouldn't hold counterfeiting against you, Lindigel.

[Danny]

That is an old wives tale about anyone with lobeloss ears having criminal tendencies. And this isn't a laughing matter. Can't I convince you of that, Paul?

[Pa (Paul)]

I'm just trying to jolly you a bit. And really, the press was covered up with canvas if you recall, so.

[Danny]

That's right. And there's nothing else in here except my drawing board.

[Pa (Paul)]

Besides that you wasn't having any linoleum.

[Linda]

Box to print Christmas cards with, neither.

[Pa (Paul)]

So now stop fussing.

[Danny]

There's this though. When the express company delivers all that machinery, Mr. Fox is going to be mighty curious.

[Pa (Paul)]

He's going to be even curiouser when Ralph Kirkpatrick stops in every day to turn over his Christmas card orders and leaves the boxes full of printed up cards.

[Danny]

And Archer Morrison's been taking orders over at the factory from the workmen too. He'll be in and out of here.

[Pa (Paul)]

And so will Daisy for that matter. But why worry, Fox? Just think, you're popular people. That's all my Jiminy. We're the folks that really count.

[Linda]

You are in the gals.

[Danny]

I know, but still do. To have to use an assumed name, to have to move way out here in a town that's always been our home, that's what hurts.

[Pa (Paul)]

Shucks, you and Danny will fight your way back and then some. One fine day, the man responsible for you being in the doghouse will wind up in the jailhouse. Nugent will admit he framed Danny, and this town will be informed Danny wasn't responsible for those deaths in the epidemic.

[Danny]

They won't believe it. They've condemned Danny without trial.

[Pa (Paul)]

Don't talk like that. Listen to your old pa. I'm here to tell you they'll come.

[Linda]

When?

[Pa (Paul)]

They'll build a statue of Danny in Public Square.

[Danny]

Maybe on his 100th birthday.

[Linda]

Linda. Linda.

[Pa (Paul)]

Worked out.

[Linda]

Linda, what goes on around here?

[Pa (Paul)]

Oh, hi, Pa. Oh, Danny.

[Danny]

What's the matter?

[Linda]

Oh, all goes on.

[Pa (Paul)]

Some quintin. What's biting?

[Linda]

All upset because my manager can't get me a match with a middleweight champion. Me, Deadly Dan smith, which won 97 out of my last 96 fights.

[Danny]

Better, darling, than you've met Fenton Fox.

[Pa (Paul)]

Saves us a lot of explaining.

[Linda]

Well, hardly, Pa. How did I get this way? A total stranger stops me out front and asks me for my autograph in the same breath, adding that he never heard of me, that I look in fine condition. And what they need down at the Centerville arena is new gloves.

[Danny]

They're not going to get it.

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

You're retired.

[Danny]

I told Mr. Fox.

[Pa (Paul)]

He poked his head in the window. Danny. Curious. I told him your name is Smith. I made you out to be a boxer so as to scare him away, that's all.

[Linda]

Oh, Dandy. Dandy. An assumed name yet. Well, I see the wisdom of the thing. If he knew who we are, he'd probably organize a mob and tar and feather us.

[Danny]

Don't say such a thing, even in fun.

[Pa (Paul)]

Only one person we don't want should know you're out here. And his initials is Edmund Nugent. Hey, how about getting that wild boy who hangs out in the woods to testify he saw Nugent ruin your cottage?

[Linda]

So young, Pa. How old would you say he is, Linda?

[Danny]

About 13, Danny. Have you forgotten? We were supposed to take some clothing out to him and the old hermit he lives with.

[Linda]

There hasn't been a chance, Linda. Now that we've got the moving over with, I suppose.

[Pa (Paul)]

I got an old leather coat with sheep's pin lining Sarah won't let me wear. Might fit the hermit Hermits and kennies plum smack out of a storage well.

[Danny]

We don't know anything about him. Of course, he and little Mike might.

[Pa (Paul)]

Live in an abandoned mineshaft warehouse out in the woods.

[Linda]

Don't be silly, Pa. Linda was thinking of a cabin.

[Pa (Paul)]

Could be a mine shaft in the woods. A site more likely than in the city park or a golf course.

[Linda]

All right, all right. Let us not quibble.

[Pa (Paul)]

Okay? Let's split hairs instead.

[Linda]

Linda, what's the idea of pulling down the shades?

[Danny]

Just a precaution against foxes, Danny.

[Pa (Paul)]

Out here now.

[Linda]

Stop reaching up over the mantelpiece for a rifle bar. Linda means Fenton foxes. Oh, him.

[Pa (Paul)]

Yes, yes, that's a good idea. Frustrate the curious. Might be others, too. Kids. Always kids around. More kids than there are people.

[Danny]

Seems like now Pot had to find things.

[Linda]

I know what he means. When my woodturning lay, bandsaw planer, all the rest of it arrives, 9,000 little boys will pop up from somewhere. And the news that the people at 106 Military, they're starting an A bomb factory in their house will start spread like wildfire.

[Danny]

Couldn't we have the express people make the delivery after dark? And speaking of little boys, let's get back to Mike.

[Linda]

Say, that's a good idea. I'll call them Mike. We'll have to buy him an outfit. How you throw your money around.

[Pa (Paul)]

Don't imagine you got much left after ordering all that machinery and supplies.

[Danny]

Got nearly a hundred dollars, Pa. And that poor youngster was in rags when we saw him.

[Linda]

A hundred dollars? Is that all?

[Danny]

Well, there's more in the corporation fund, Danny. Nearly 200. Income from a Christmas card.

[Pa (Paul)]

Yeah, but that includes advanced payments. Can't call it profit yet.

[Linda]

Couldn't call it profit in the strict sense of the word. Anyway, profit starts when equipment's paid for, Park.

[Danny]

That's perfectly true. But Mike's got to have clothes and food, too. Food for him and the old man he's staying with.

[Pa (Paul)]

How they been getting along in the gal, this old man?

[Danny]

I'm afraid that little Mike's been the breadwinner. If you could call it that.

[Linda]

Well, according to him, he helps himself to what he can find growing on farms. And he raids an unguarded icebox now and then.

[Pa (Paul)]

That's bad.

[Linda]

Welfare authorities ought to be notified.

[Danny]

And he ought to be going to school too. Pa, you'll have to do something about Mike and the old man he calls Unc.

[Pa (Paul)]

Ha, ha.

[Linda]

Friend or foe, I wonder. I'll go.

[Danny]

You better close the door.

[Pa (Paul)]

Ought to board up These windows and pretend this part of the house is unoccupied.

[Danny]

That's a good idea, Pa. Danny. Hello.

[Linda]

Well, Doris, come in. Gruesome, isn't it?

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

You are. Why, inside it seems very cute.

[Linda]

Well, that's Linda's touch. We can't do much about the bleak exterior. It'll spring. It's all right, Linda. Come on in. It's Doris.

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

My goodness, has she been hiding.

[Linda]

That's the workshop in there. We're keeping our activities quiet.

[Danny]

Hello, Doris. You must think you've walked into a den of thieves.

[Pa (Paul)]

We can explain, Ms. Stephanie. We can explain.

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

Oh, I understand. How are you, Mr. Crockett?

[Danny]

Peachy.

[Pa (Paul)]

Well, you ain't got on any of that favorite perfume of mine.

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

Oh, but I have.

[Danny]

This time.

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

I didn't spill it all over. That's why you don't notice.

[Danny]

Up a little close.

[Pa (Paul)]

Oh, I dash' em to say. Makes me kind of delirious.

[Danny]

Sit down, Doris. It's the same furniture you see under a somewhat different roof, that's all.

[Linda]

Yeah, at least.

[Pa (Paul)]

But home is what you make it, and there's no place like it.

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

Mr. Crockett, you've got something there.

[Pa (Paul)]

Oh, you mean my elk's tooth? I brush it every day right after breakfast.

[Linda]

That's a joke.

[Danny]

Fine, you knew it.

[Pa (Paul)]

That pie, Pa, is a card.

[Linda]

There's no two ways about it. Doris, what's new with you?

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

Well, quite a lot. I've been playing junior G girl, you know, and I think my quarry's beginning to crack.

[Pa (Paul)]

You mean crack is a word being the monster.

[Linda]

You have been buddying up to him, haven't you?

[Danny]

Been just about as pleasant as trying to curry favor with a cobra.

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

But I've been so successful, I've got him on my neck. Then I told him I thought he was simply brilliant person, and he swallowed it.

[Danny]

Well, that's quite in character for a cobra. But has he gotten to the point of talking?

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

He boasts incessantly, Linda. How he got Danny out of his.

[Danny]

His job was a Hepworth Company.

[Pa (Paul)]

You know how he admitted sandbagging Danny to make him late with the medicine for the epidemic?

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

Oh, no, he wasn't quite that explicit, Mr. Crockett. But I can tell he's thirsting to give me all the details tonight. Tonight?

[Linda]

What happened?

[Danny]

I've got a date with him at.

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

The Whispering Pines for dinner. And if he talks, you can give all this manual training business up, Fanny.

[Danny]

And go back to being Dr. Grogan.

[Linda]

Oh, yes, yes, perhaps.

[Danny]

But I said wonderful, just wonderful.

[Pa (Paul)]

But oughtn't you to have his confession witnessed.

[Danny]

Oh, it will be.

[Doris (Ms. Stephanie)]

We always eat in the same booth. And I've arranged for an unimpeachable witness in the adjoining one. The panel's thin and. Well, anyway, my testimony alone would.

[Danny]

Danny, why so grave? Don't you realize what this means?

[Linda]

Yes, yes, and of course I do. It'll be, as you say, wonderful.

[Narrator]

Of course. But Danny shows little enthusiasm, if any at all. Why is he so disinterested? Is his bitterness toward the town so intense that he's lost all interest in being vindicated and resuming his work as a doctor? Be sure to listen to the next dramatic chapter of Linda's first love.

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[Narrator]

Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.

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[Linda]

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