 Family Theatre presents Arlene Dahl and Wendell Corey. Future network in cooperation with Family Theatre brings you Wendell Corey with Ted DeCorsia and Bill Johnstone in Railroad and Churchyard. To introduce the drama, your hostess Arlene Dahl. Thank you, Jean. There are many things that go into the making of a great writer. His ability at characterization, the dramatic impact of his narrative style and above all, his ability to create a story of lasting universal meaning. All of these attributes and more went into the writings of Bjornstern Bjornsson. As a chief novelist, the leading poet and one of the greatest dramatists of Norway, it is little wonder that Bjornsson received the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is also little wonder that we are pleased tonight to bring you his railroad and churchyard. And our narrator for this evening, Mr. Wendell Corey. It was a wonderful thing, the friendship between Knut Akra and Lars Holmstern. Everyone in the village said so. Almost like father and son, they said. Even though small, twinkle-eyed Knut was but little older than big, serious Lars. And it all came about because Knut Akra, like his father and grandfather before him, had devoted all his life to the welfare of the village. Yes, the village would not have been half the place that it was if it were not for Knut. Why, anyone would tell you. Knut Akra? Why, we never would have had the farms we do if it hadn't been for Knut. He started an agricultural school for us to learn in. Our children can bless Knut Akra for their education. Did he who founded the library and started our school? Children? More than children got their schooling from him. How about the many nights he spent teaching older folk who were backward in their learning? Look at Lars Holmstern over there. Everything he knows, he'll learn from Knut. Yes, it was a wonderful thing, the friendship between Knut Akra and Lars Holmstern. Everyone in the village said so. And why you wished me to go with you to the village this day, Knut? Could I not merely wish the pleasure of your company, Lars? On some other day perhaps, but today the Board of Supervisors is meeting. Oh, is it really, Lars? Even if you were not chairman, you would be aware of that, you old faker. I do believe that Board of Supervisors means more to you than anything else in this world. So I repeat my question. Why do you wish me to journey to the village with you on a meeting day? Well, Lars, you are going to become a member of the Board of Supervisors. I? I am going to... Yes, Lars, you! But the Board is the most important organization in the village. Its members must be men of good judgment, sound reason. The welfare of everyone living here depends upon their decisions. Of course, Lars. That is why the man of soundest reason and good judgment has been elected as chairman, namely me. But seriously, Lars, do you think I would even have suggested your name if I did not have the greatest faith in your ability? I know you would not. You are pride in the Board. So it is settled. You shall attend your first meeting this afternoon. Yes, it was a wonderful thing, this friendship between Newdakr and Lars Hochstag. Everyone in the village said so. One day the Board of Supervisors convened to consider a certain important proposal. Gentlemen, I am sorry to interrupt your serious discussion over the relative merits of Sven's and Johansson's hops in the making of homemade beer. But we have here a petition from our good neighbor, the bailiff, which proposes that the village grain magazine be sold and the proceeds used to establish a small savings bank. However, I think he overlooks the fact that the grain magazine has served us well for many years, ever since the time long ago that it was given to the village as a gift by my grandfather. Oh, gentlemen, I fear that the bailiff, while a worthy and estimable gentleman, is not very felicitous in his proposal to this Board. Well, there is the proposition. Now we must vote on it. Lars Hochstag, do you vote to deny this petition? No. No, I wish to agree with the bailiff. He agrees? Well, what do you do? Very well, Lars. Do you wish to make a statement in support of your position? Yes, I do. I cannot see that it matters if the proposal came from the bailiff or not, nor whether the magazine building was a gift or not. The grain magazine has outlived its purpose. It now costs the village money to maintain it, whereas a properly run savings bank would return a handsome profit. I cast my vote in favor of the bailiff's proposal. Very well, Lars. In favor, one vote. In favor, two votes. In favor, two votes. In favor, three votes. In favor, three votes. Lars, what happened to you today? Nothing happened to me, Noot. Nothing? To vote against me as you did. I was not voting against you. I was voting for the village. Then you believe that I did not have the best interests of our people at heart? Since you ask it, Noot, I believe you were more influenced by family pride than by what was best for our people. You? You can say that? After the advantages my decisions have brought to you, the welfare of your farm, your children's education. They are tremendous advantages indeed, Noot. And I know that all you have done has come from the goodness of your heart. And yet you dream of even greater future advantages. But that is not enough. You talk like a fool. No, Noot. There is a practical side to dreams also. They must be paid for. And the taxes of this village have grown so heavy they are becoming unbearable. Because of your selfish desire to satisfy your own dreams, you are driving us into bankruptcy. And you, Lars, you to whom I have taught so much, I presume a practical man like you could do better as chairman of the board. Yes, Noot. Yes, I believe I could. Very well then. Take the honour. I shall resign. I am able to live without it. After all, there are harder things to lose. It was a terrible thing, the enmity between Newdakr and Lars Hogstead. Everyone in the village said so. No longer were they seen together, each went his own separate ways, or the other had never existed. Yes, it was a terrible thing. Everyone in the village said so. During the course of the next several years, Lars' path led him straight and fast of the road to success. But as for Newdakr, well, his friends did their best to aid in healing his hurt. Noot, we've missed you on the board of supervisors. There is something lacking without an Akra on the board, your grandfather, your father. Then you. I do not have to explain all this, Noot. Simply, we all wish you back with us again. All of you, my friend? Well, perhaps. No, thank you, just the same. I am really too busy with my agricultural college to devote any time to the board. And so each man went his separate way, Lars bringing prosperity to the pocketbooks of the villages, Noot bringing prosperity to their minds and souls. And it was still a terrible thing that this coldness existed between them. Then one day there was a wedding, a wedding of the two young people who had been Noot's first pupils in his school, afterwards at the home of the bride's parents, there was much dancing and merry-making. And in one corner of the room, stern and door, stood Lars Hodgstein. And in the opposite corner, quiet, the twinkle gone from his eye, stood Noot Akra. Please, your attention here. I have a matter of grave importance to present to you. Very grave importance. You know what has happened? Well, we have run out of toasts. Run out of toasts? Oh, Sven. Yeah, but it is true. And look, we have toasted the bride and groom, their fathers and mothers, their aunts and cousins and grandparents. Well, there just isn't anyone left to toast. Think of the tragedy. All that good wine left to drink, and no one to drink too. It is a tragedy indeed, Sven, but I think I can come to your rescue. Oh, you knew that? You really have a solution? You have an excuse for me to drink more wine? Excuse? You're not the Sven I've always known if you need some excuse to drink. But I do, in all seriousness, have another toast to propose. We have one toast to honor. Today is indeed a joyous one, not only for the two who have been wedded, but for all of us. Our village is prospered. Our savings earn us pleasing dividends. We drive on new wide roads. And all these things have come about because of one man. And so, ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast to the chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Lars Hochstedt. Yes, yes. You're a man, Newt. A wonderful toast, Newt. Hold on, hold on there. I wish to be heard also. Lars Hochstedt. Does he mean trouble? He can't make trouble now. Let me through, please. Let me through. Our good neighbor, Newt Akram, has seen fit to propose a toast to me for some benefits that have accrued to the village. I am sorry to say I cannot accept his toast. No, I cannot accept such a toast. Because there is one here who deserves it much more than I. The man who gave me my education. The man to whom I am indebted for all that I know. Therefore, I should like to propose a toast to the man whom I, as well as every other member, should like to welcome back to the Board of Supervisors. May I propose a toast then to Newt Akram, member of the Board. Yes, Lars. Yes, I should be proud to accept such a toast. Now it was a strange and unnatural thing, the arm truce between Newt Akram and Lars Hochstedt. Everyone in the village said so. It is unnatural, they said, for these two former friends to have made those toasts at the wedding to sit side by side at Board meetings and yet never utter a single word to each other. Yes, it was a strange and unnatural thing. Then one day Lars called a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Gentlemen, this special meeting has been called at the request of several members who seem to feel that the state of emergency exists in our village. While your chairman does not totally agree with this attitude, never the less... It does not matter if you agree or not, Lars. You cannot deny that Versteiner's lost his home and farm through foreclosure. Nor did Johann said realize not one penny from his harvest. The money went to satisfy creditors. We all face ruin and disaster and you alone are responsible, Lars Hochstedt, you and your speculations. You forget that the money to run a village must be obtained from somewhere, either through taxes or from investments made through our savings bank. Investments, indeed. There's precious little investments about money lost in real estate projects where never a house was built. Or in the purchase of securities that the day are not even listed on the exchange. Your bank is still solvent, gentlemen. Your savings are still secure. Savings? What savings? We know that the entire village followed the example set by your bank. We, too, own land without improvements. Securities that cannot find a buyer at any price. We shall lose everything. Yes. What if I tell you there is no need for you to lose anything? That there is a solution for all your problems? A solution, Lars? What kind of solution? Yes, Lars. What is it? What kind of miracle do you propose to bring us? It is no miracle I propose to bring, gentlemen. It is a railroad. Lars explained his meaning. The railroad company was going to build a line through their county. Two alternate routes had been proposed, one directly through the valley in which the village lay, the other through a parallel valley a few miles distant. Lars' solution was to allow the railroad to come directly through the village, passing through the real estate development, and by selling this land to the railroad, they would recover their original investment and make a handsome profit. Very well, gentlemen. Here is the proposition. It is suggested that we allow the railroad to come directly through our village. Now, we must vote on this proposition. Nutatra, how do you wish to vote? I cast my vote directly against the railroad, Lars. Against the railroad? Very well. One vote against. Do you wish to make any statement in support of your position? Yes. Yes, I do. I shall not speak of the noise the railroad will bring. No, the dirt and soot our children will have to breathe instead of clean, fresh mountain air. I will merely ask you to look at this map of our county. A glance will show you that all the benefits of a railroad can be ours, and it passes through the adjoining valley by stations for our use at these two points. Now, I should like to call your attention to the fact that in order for the proposed railroad to run through the real estate development, it must pass directly through this area. And this area, gentlemen, happens to be the old church graveyard. The graveyard? Are you certain, Newt? Look for yourselves, gentlemen. Newt is right. How can we disturb that graveyard? It would be a sacrilege of sorts. My father and grandfather are buried there. And so are mine, Sven, and those of most of us here. But those men are dead, and of the past. We live now in the present. This is no time for sentiment. Save our pocketbooks through the railroad or we lose all. I shall count the vote. Newt, Acre? Against. One vote. Against. One vote. Sven? I say four. One vote. Four. One vote. Four. Two vote. Four. Two votes. Four. Three votes. And so the proposition carried, and within a short time the work on the railroad began. At first the villagers were jubilant, but as the work progressed, as the shiny rails marched down the valley toward the village, passing close to many of their homes and bore straight as an arrow, through the heart of the old church graveyard, the villagers' excitement died. And replacing it came a sober uneasiness, an increasing feeling of uneasiness and guilt. Now, one night Lars was in bed unable to sleep, listening to the work engines passing back and forth on the rails had just been laid in front of his house. He could hear them belching smoke and flame from their iron stacks, could see their large lights cutting through the night like some great, deeming, evil eyes. They look as if they might have been sent by the devil himself, don't they, Lars? Who said that? Who was that talking just now? Listen to that noise, Lars, sitting in your ears and the smoke can soot, Lars. Not even the brightest stars can be seen through that shroud of black smoke that rises into the sky, that covers your house and fills your lungs. Who are you? Where are you hiding? Answer me, where? Tomorrow, Lars, the rails reached the churchyard. The work of disturbing the graves will begin. I wonder how your father and grandfather will feel about that, Lars? Perhaps they're standing together somewhere this very night, looking down upon you and wondering... Stop that, I say! It's hot. Hot in here. I must be feverish. Hearing voices. Feverish. It's so hot. So the house was on fire. Yes, hot on fire. Lars, wake up now! Wake up! The sparks from the engine have set the house on fire. Here, to the window quickly, before you burn to death in the flames. It was the very next day that Lars swathed in the bandages called an emergency meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Gentlemen, I have called this meeting for two purposes. First, to report that because of last night's difficulties, I now realize that it is too dangerous to construct a railroad through the village. I have therefore asked the road to re-route it through the adjacent valley. Secondly, because I have failed to provide the solution for your difficulties, difficulties that arose through my own errors of judgment and which were seen long ago by the man who rescued me, I hereby tender you my resignation as chairman of the Board. Well, Lars, you have spoken bravely and well and while it might be a good deal like locking the barn after the horse has gone, we have no choice but to accept your offer. Hold on there, Sven, hold on. That horse you're talking about is a pretty valuable one. Let us not forget that he served us loyally and well before his trade. New roads, a saving spank and one that is still fundamentally sound. That's quite a record for any horse, even if at times he more resembled a stubborn old mule. As for the loss of the railroad, well, it has preserved the churchyard and the final resting place of our fathers and grandfathers. And at least we know that we can sit in our homes like human beings instead of trying to impersonate a roast pig, as did our good neighbor Lars last night. True, we are now faced with financial problems. But I've yet to see one that couldn't be licked by good, honest, hard work. The answers will now be found on your farms where you belong, not dabbling in real estate and securities. And if you fear that such work will result in strong backs and weak minds, well, I know a pretty good agricultural school you can go to and exercise those little gray cells. No. No, as far as I am concerned, I see no reason to accept Lars Hochstadt's resignation. I reject. And I? I reject you too. Yes, and so do I. I reject you too. Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you. I should be happy to remain as chairman, but only on one condition, that a sensible man like no doctor shares the position with me as co-chairman. Well, Lord, what do you say? What can I say, Lars? If the village is willing to trust a couple of stubborn old mules to harness, perhaps we can still show them how to pull a plow. There was no question about it, of course. By unanimous acclamation, Newt Akra and Lars Hochstadt were made co-chairmen for the board of supervisors. And after the meeting, the village was treated to a sight it had not seen for a long time. Newt helped Lars into the Akra carriage, and the two men drove away together. And as they did so, Sven, looking after them, expressed the sentiment of awe. Yeah, it is a wonderful thing that friendship between Newt Akra and Lars Hochstadt. Wonderful for them, and for us. Yes, it's a wonderful thing, their friendship. Everyone in the village says so. This is Arlene Dahl again. I think if anyone were to ask us what we wanted most in life, we would probably all answer happiness. Many of us ignore the fact that God is the embodiment of happiness. A path open to him for everyone is prayer. Prayer that acknowledges that we are not alone in facing the problems of this life, that even in the midst of sorrow we can find comfort and happiness in our dependence upon him. That is why we urge you to pray. Pray is a family to bring all within your home true happiness. And that is why we remind you each week that the family that prays together stays together. More things are brought by prayer than this world dreams of. From Hollywood Family Theatre has brought you Wendell Corrie as the narrator and Arlene Dahl as hostess in Railroad and Churchyard with Bill Johnstone and Ted DeCorsio. Others in our cast were Tim Graham, Jim Nussar, Ralph Moody and Virginia Eiler. This adaptation of the Norwegian classic was written by Sydney Marshall with music composed and conducted by Harry Zimmerman and was directed for Family Theatre by Jaime Del Valle. These Family Theatre broadcasts are made possible by the thousands of you who felt the need for this type of program, by the mutual network which has responded to this need and by the hundreds of stars of stage, screen and radio who have so unselfishly given of their time and talent to appear on our Family Theatre stage. To them and to you, our humble thanks. This is Gene Baker expressing the wish of Family Theatre that the blessing of God be upon you and your home. And inviting you to join us next week at this time when Family Theatre will present Roddy McDowell and Terry Kelvin in Mark Twain's The Prince and the Popper. Join us, won't you? Family Theatre is released in the Philippines by the Philippine Broadcasting Corporation. It is sent to our troops overseas for the Armed Forces Radio Service and is heard in Canada through the facilities of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. This is the world's largest network, the Mutual Broadcasting System.