
Thanksgiving Special Program 44-11-23 Host - Lionel Barrymore. With Dinah Shore and Baby Snooks
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Social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. From America. Greetings on Thanksgiving Day, 1944.
Lionel Barrymore
This is Lionel Barrymore, Men, your old collection of hash marks. And they've put me here at the head of this Thanksgiving table to dish out the entertainment victuals to you fellas overseas. By way of an appetizer, Percy Faith and the orchestra are offering a medley of tunes as American as a hot dog and a ham sandwich on rye. Music from America North, east, south and.
Dinah Shore
Sa.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
It's.
Lionel Barrymore
We like to have all the folks around the table for Thanksgiving, and we are mighty pleased this particular member timed a trip abroad so she'd be back with us today. Dinah Shaw.
Dinah Shore
How sweet you are how sweet you are how dear your tenderly smiling fade through days of bitter and grace and grim through nights when even the star dim how sweet Know my heart can glow from just the warmth of a host Embrace the world. When I remember how sweet you are. Thanks and. Hi there, everybody. This is Dinah. And this being Thanksgiving, Wally Brown has turned host and invited us over to his house for Thanksgiving dinner.
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Well, thank heaven. It was beginning to look like Eatless Thursday. Let's go.
Dinah Shore
Well, I guess this is the house.
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Well, dinah. Sure.
Dinah Shore
Well, wally brown.
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Oh, gee, Dinah, I'm glad you were able to make it. What did you do, bring your own turkey?
Dinah Shore
Turkey? Wally, that's Harry Bonzell.
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Just a minute here. I do not look like a turkey. Or do I? Well, not a live one. Well, come on in.
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Come on in.
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Make yourselves at home.
Dinah Shore
Gee, you got a nice place here, Wally. You were lucky to find a house like this with a swimming pool and all.
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Oh, it isn't bad. All except the front walk.
Dinah Shore
What's wrong with the front walk?
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Every time I come home at night, I bump into those gasoline pumps. I mean you. Oh, you see, I told you, Dinah. That wasn't the swimming pool we passed. That was the grease pit. Come on. Here, Let me hang your things up.
Dinah Shore
Oh.
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Oh, brother. Look at the moths in that closet.
Dinah Shore
Oh, Harry, where's your holiday spirit? After all, it's Thanksgiving for moths, too.
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Sure. What can a moth eat? Just a stuffed cuff and a blue pleat well, now, look, fellas, can't we talk later? I'm hungry.
Dinah Shore
Harry, where are your manners? Don't be so impatient.
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Well, I'm not impatient.
Dinah Shore
Then stop chasing that moth.
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Well, let's get started. Dinah, you. You sit over here. And Harry, you sit over in that high chair. Oh, thank you.
Lionel Barrymore
Wait a minute.
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High chair. Wait a minute. This thing is a trap. I won't be able to get at the food. I think of everything, don't I? Well, how do you like it? Look at that turkey. He was raised strictly on corn. Yes, I should. And around here he had plenty to eat, too. Okay, kids, pass your plates. Harry, leave your teeth alone.
Dinah Shore
No, I do.
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Wrong plate. Hey, hey, butter. Look, he's got butter.
Dinah Shore
Butter.
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He's got wonderful stuff.
Dinah Shore
Harry. Harry.
Lionel Barrymore
It goes on the bread.
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You don't spread it all over town. I didn't. I haven't had. Oh, excuse me. Wally, Wally, please, just a moment. It happens that. That's my elbow you're dunking in the gravy there. Well, anything with meat on it these days. Tell you what I'll do. I'll give you four points first. Okay. Okay, kids, what'll you have?
Dinah Shore
I'll have some white meat.
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There you are, Harry. What part would you like? Well, you. Well, what's the difference? I know what part I'll get. Ah, well, you know, this is a pretty good dinner, if I have to say so myself. And I guess I'll have to say so myself. This is a pretty good dinner. Ah, Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. Strange how it all started, isn't it?
Dinah Shore
Tell us a Thanksgiving story, Wally.
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Oh, but that's done it. An after dinner storyteller. You probably will do card tricks too. You talked me into it. Well, it started way back in the. There was a boatload of pilgrims. They left from the. They landed at a. They were poor. They didn't have any. They were on the rocks. There were hundreds of them. They were all trying to. But there wasn't enough room. I mean, how could they all fit into one Plymouth?
Dinah Shore
Wally, who was at the head of this party?
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Oh, this really wasn't a party, Dinah. It was very serious. Everybody worked. There was one fellow, worked like a. His name was John Smith. The one and only John Smith. But he branched out. Well, look at the telephone book now. Boy, that Smith guy, he really got around. He liked to travel. He was a hitchhiker. He took a ride on a. He went as far as he went up to the. He was right in the middle of a. He was lost. But he had a check. Only he couldn't get a cash. The banks were closed. I mean, they always are on Thanksgiving. Ah, that first Thanksgiving. What a crowd. I'll wait. What a crowd. What a crowd. More people. More people were trying to. You couldn't even park your. And in those days, they didn't have any. I mean, every. Everybody came. Even the Indians came. They had a reservation.
Lionel Barrymore
Thank you, Dinah Shore, Wally Brown and Harry von Zell. And now, gang, here's another neighbor who's dropped in on us for a free drumstick. John, Charles, Thomas.
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The chorus and I would like to sing the beautiful old Dutch traditional hymn of thanksgiving, or you may know it. As we gather together to ask the Lord's blessing. We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing. He chastens and hastens his will to make known the wicked oppressing Cease them from distressing Sing praises to his name he forgets not his honor. Beside us to guide us Our God with us joining, ordaining, Maintaining his kingdom divine. So from the beginning the fight we were winning the Lord was at our side of glory be thine. We all do extol thee, thou leader in battle and pray that thou still all defender wilt be Let thy congregation estate tribulation thy name be ever praised. O Lord, make us free Lord.
Dinah Shore
Make us.
Lionel Barrymore
Free.
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Lionel Barrymore
Now, since it's Thanksgiving Day, fellas, let's look in on the typical American home. The time is just after dinner, and we find ourselves in the living room of the Lancelot Higgins household, which boasts that sweet, unforgettable character, Baby Snooks.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Oh, what a meal.
Snooks (Child)
Daddy.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Snooks, please. I can just about stagger to that couch.
Snooks (Child)
I got a funny feeling in my tummy.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Funny feeling?
Dinah Shore
Yeah.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
You feel like you didn't get enough to eat?
Snooks (Child)
No, I feel like I don't want all I got.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Well, just drink some water and forget about it.
Snooks (Child)
I can forget about it.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Why not?
Snooks (Child)
Cause I'm hungry.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
You just said you had too much to eat. Now you're hungry.
Snooks (Child)
I'm sleepy, too.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Well, go to bed.
Snooks (Child)
That ain't. I ain't that sleepy.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Snooks, it's Thanksgiving. Let me go through one whole evening without punishment.
Snooks (Child)
All right, Daddy. You got my permission.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Oh, this is a night for gratefulness, for benevolence. Look, why don't you run across the street and ask how old Mrs. Hooper is?
Snooks (Child)
I did, Daddy, just like you told me.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
What did she say?
Snooks (Child)
She said it's none of your business how old she is.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Well, then go inside and help Mommy with the dishes.
Snooks (Child)
Why don't you do it?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Because a man's place is not in the kitchen.
Snooks (Child)
Is it on the couch?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Now, don't be impertinent. Just run along and stay away from that ice box. If you eat any more turkey, you'll turn into a turkey.
Snooks (Child)
Do I talk like a turkey?
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Yes.
Snooks (Child)
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
The child is right. I suppose I should go in and help the little woman with the dishes. But then why should I spoil it? I'm so clumsy, I might break one. Thanksgiving. Daddy Stokes, is that your voice? Where are you?
Snooks (Child)
Right here.
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Where?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
All I see is this crony little turkey.
Snooks (Child)
That's me, you.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Good heaven. Snooks, how did you get to be a turkey?
Snooks (Child)
He said if I eat any more, I'll turn into one.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Oh, Snooks, you didn't go back for more turkey, did you?
Dinah Shore
Did you?
Snooks (Child)
Didn't I?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
And look at me. I'm covered with feathers. Could it be that I'm a turkey, too? Could that be?
Snooks (Child)
Could be.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Snooks. This is weird.
Snooks (Child)
Yeah, it's weird.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Lancelot Higgins. A turkey. Gone. My bubbling laughter. My flashing smile. What can I say to the neighbors?
Snooks (Child)
I know, Daddy.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
What?
Snooks (Child)
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
This is no time for jokes. I'm a turkey. And yet I. I don't feel like a turkey.
Snooks (Child)
How do you feel, daddy?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Foul.
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Yeah, not bad, eh, daddy? What?
Snooks (Child)
You may be a turkey, but you ain't change much.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Why, Luke's looks. We're right in the middle of a barnyard. If I didn't know I was wide awake, I. I think I was dreaming.
Snooks (Child)
Daddy, there's a duck with eyeglasses.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Quiet, snooks. It may be Frank tours.
Snooks (Child)
And look at that cute little chicken.
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Chicken, eh? Cute little chicken. Well, greetings my feathered friends. Where is this luscious Leghorn?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Frank. Frank Morgan.
Snooks (Child)
Daddy, Mr. Morgan is a hen.
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Correction, my mealy mouth little moppet. I happen to be a rooster. Hen is the female of the species, bless their little hearts.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
I'm certainly glad to see you, Frank. We are new in this barnyard.
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Well, I'm just visiting myself. I have a farm of my own.
Snooks (Child)
You know, that's funny, daddy. He's a rooster and he has a farm.
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Well, what's funny about it?
Snooks (Child)
Do you crow in the morning to wake yourself up?
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She's such a girl. Of course I have a farm with cows and chickens and ducks. And I have a prize bull that weighs 10,000 pounds.
Snooks (Child)
10,000 pounds?
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Oh, yes.
Snooks (Child)
Ain't that a terrible lot of bull, Mr. Morgan?
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Everywhere I go I get the same thing. Well, see you later. I have a date with a gorgeous guernsey at one of the local watering drawers. Elsie's her name. She's a model for Bordens. Goodbye, Frank.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Don't get yourself into any hot water.
Dinah Shore
Hot water?
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What have I got to worry about? I'm not a turkey.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Snooks, I didn't like that laugh. What made him laugh?
Snooks (Child)
Maybe his feathers tickle.
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No.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Snooks, do you know what day this is?
Snooks (Child)
Mm, it's Thanksgiving day.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Exactly. Do you know what that means?
Dinah Shore
Sure.
Snooks (Child)
It means we're gonna have turkey for dinner.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
No, we're the turkeys. They're going to have us for dinner. Who us? What was that?
Snooks (Child)
It's a man with a gun. Daddy, it's Mr. Mudge.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Mudge?
Dinah Shore
Yeah.
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Why of all people?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
He hates me. He'll wring my neck. Snooks, you've got to protect me.
Snooks (Child)
I gotta protect you?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Yes. I'm a great big heavy setbird. You're just a runt.
Snooks (Child)
Why don't you protect me?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Don't be silly. Who'd want to eat a scrawny, sawed off, tired looking little turkey like you? Listen, he's got a machine gun.
Snooks (Child)
That ain't a machine gun. Daddy.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Oh, what is it?
Snooks (Child)
It's your knees knocking.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Snooks. He's coming this way. Talk to him. I'll hide behind this rock.
Snooks (Child)
All right, daddy, Leave it to me.
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Hey, you. You haven't seen a turkey around here named lancelot higgins?
Snooks (Child)
Lancelot higgins?
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Yes. He's that big flannel mouthed bag of wind who used to live next door to me.
Snooks (Child)
Never heard of him.
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Don't give me that. I know he's around somewhere. You know what I'm gonna do when I catch him?
Snooks (Child)
You're gonna stuff him, right?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
And then you know what I'm gonna do? Uh huh.
Dinah Shore
What?
Snooks (Child)
You're gonna kick the stuff un's out of him. Exactly.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
What was that?
Snooks (Child)
It's somebody's knees knocking.
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Whose knees?
Snooks (Child)
Flannel mouth.
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Uh huh.
Snooks (Child)
Run, daddy. He's up to you.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Snokes, stop splashing. Where are we?
Snooks (Child)
We're in a swimming pool, dad.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Well, look over the side and see what's cooking.
Snooks (Child)
All right, daddy.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
What?
Snooks (Child)
We're cooking.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
I knew it. He's boiling us alive.
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You're gonna taste awful good, higgins.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Mudge, you can't do it.
Snooks (Child)
Stock him, daddy.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
You can't cook us alive. It's murder. Let me out of here.
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Let me out of here.
Dinah Shore
Let me out. Let me out.
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Let me out.
Snooks (Child)
Dead.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
It's you.
Snooks (Child)
Who'd you think it was?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Oh, you are not a turkey, are you?
Snooks (Child)
No, I'm snooks.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Oh, snooks, my little girl. Oh, you never looked more adorable.
Snooks (Child)
Me?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Yes. Come here and let. Let me kiss you.
Snooks (Child)
Don't you feel well, daddy?
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Never felt better, snow. And I've just realized we have a lot to be thankful for. Here I've been sleeping on the couch while your mother's been doing the dishes. Well, I'm going right in and straighten up the kitchen with her. Tomorrow I'll clean up the woodwork with her. I'll think of something else for Saturday.
Snooks (Child)
Mommy's already thought of something.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Oh, she has? How do you know?
Snooks (Child)
Well, she just said she was gonna mop up the floor with you.
Lancelot Higgins (Daddy)
Now I'm really cook.
Lionel Barrymore
Thank you, fanny bryce, hanley stafford and frank morgan. Now dinah shaw and the chorus join to bring us an irving berlin song inspired by the american spirit of thanksgiving.
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Thanks for the yanks and for russia's giant guns and for all the other side of freedom. Thanks for the yanks and for china and the dutch and for all who done so much for freedom. For canada, for england, australia and new zealand for fighting franks and millions more along the South Pacific shore they will keep the native land of free land We've got plenty to be thankful for.
Dinah Shore
I've got plenty to be thankful for I haven't got a great big yacht to sail from shore to shore Still I've got plenty to be thankful for I've got plenty to be thankful for no private, no caviar, no carpet on my floor Still I've got plenty to be thankful for for the men who bear the title of the United States Marine. And for those men who shot an.
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And for each prompting sail as they hit the dusty rail and those caissons go rolling along.
Dinah Shore
And all the men who fly spouting their flame from under off with one hell of a roar. I'm thankful too that this is true.
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Nothing but the Army Air Corps. We got plenty to be thankful for.
Dinah Shore
How could anybody ask for more? My needs are small I buy them all at the 5 and 10 cent store yes, I've got plenty to be thankful for.
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Me to be thankful for to me Thank.
Lionel Barrymore
This is Lionel Barry Morpho winding up this Thanksgiving spread with just one or two more words. It's pretty tough for any soldier or sailor to get excited about Thanksgiving Day when he's a few thousand miles away from home and the cranberry sauce. But let's all be thankful anyway that we've got a country to come home to that's rich in its natural bounties and opportunities and rich in its friendship with other nations who have proven themselves strong and helpful in hastening that day. When tyranny ends and we celebrate a real Thanksgiving.
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This is the armed forces radio station.
Dinah Shore
Serve.
Lionel Barrymore
Sam.
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This holiday season, reach for the one butter that never disappoints. Kerrygold. Made with milk from grass fed cows on Irish family farms, it's rich, creamy and perfect for baking. Whether browning butter for cookies or crafting the flakiest pie crust, Kerrygold's high butterfat content makes all the difference in flavor and texture. Holiday treats will taste extraordinary.
Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Thanksgiving Special Program 44-11-23
Host: Lionel Barrymore
Guests: Dinah Shore, Baby Snooks (Fanny Brice), Wally Brown, Harry von Zell, Frank Morgan
Air Date: November 27, 2025 (originally aired 1944)
This episode of Harold's Old Time Radio is a special Thanksgiving program originally broadcast on Thanksgiving Day, 1944, for American troops and families. Hosted by Lionel Barrymore, the episode serves as a nostalgic, heartwarming celebration featuring music, comedy sketches, and messages of gratitude. It recreates the spirit of gathering around the radio for shared entertainment, focusing on the American home, humor, gratitude, and the wartime context.
[01:00] Lionel Barrymore
"They've put me here at the head of this Thanksgiving table to dish out the entertainment victuals to you fellas overseas." — Lionel Barrymore [01:00]
[01:15] Percy Faith and Orchestra
[05:52] Dinah Shore – “How Sweet You Are”
[08:00–12:19] Dinah Shore, Wally Brown, Harry von Zell
“Turkey? Wally, that's Harry Bonzell.” — Dinah Shore [08:04]
“That's my elbow you're dunking in the gravy there.” — Harry von Zell [09:56]
"They were all trying to... but there wasn't enough room. I mean, how could they all fit into one Plymouth?" — Wally Brown [10:50] "Everybody came. Even the Indians came. They had a reservation." — Wally Brown [11:24]
[12:19] John Charles Thomas & Chorus
[16:55–25:41] Lancelot Higgins (Hanley Stafford), Baby Snooks (Fanny Brice), Frank Morgan
“Because a man's place is not in the kitchen.” — Daddy [18:28] "Is it on the couch?" — Snooks [18:31]
"Ain't that a terrible lot of bull, Mr. Morgan?" — Snooks [21:45]
“Now I’m really cook(ed).” – Daddy [25:32]
[26:35–29:03] Dinah Shore & Chorus
“Thanks for the yanks and for Russia’s giant guns and for all the other side of freedom... For Canada, for England, Australia, and New Zealand...” — Chorus [26:02]
[29:29] Lionel Barrymore
"But let's all be thankful anyway that we've got a country to come home to... and rich in its friendship with other nations who have proven themselves strong and helpful in hastening that day when tyranny ends and we celebrate a real Thanksgiving." [29:29]
| Segment | Time | |------------------------------------------|--------| | Introduction & Opening Remarks | 01:00 | | Percy Faith Medley | 01:15 | | Dinah Shore "How Sweet You Are" | 05:52 | | Comedy at Wally’s House | 08:00–12:19 | | "We Gather Together" Hymn | 12:19–15:06 | | Baby Snooks Sketch | 16:55–25:41 | | Irving Berlin Thanksgiving Songs | 26:02–29:03 | | Lionel Barrymore's Closing | 29:29 |
The tone is warm, nostalgic, and often playful, blending gentle humor with patriotic and sentimental notes. The language swings between witty banter and heartfelt gratitude, characteristic of radio’s golden age.
This Thanksgiving special transports listeners to a bygone era where radio united families through laughter, music, and warmth. With comic sketches, classic songs, and genuine words of thanks, it reminds us of the importance of gratitude, community, and home, especially in challenging times. The episode offers the soothing companionship of entertainment and shared values for both those abroad and at home.