 the time at the tone 8 p.m. B-U-L-O-V-A, Boulevard Watch Time. If you're among those who receive a boulevard for Christmas, you possess the finest of watches, unsurpassed in beauty and dependability. A hallmark card when you'll carry enough to send the very best. It presents as your host one of the most distinguished actors of the American theater, Mr. Lionel... Our dramatization of Catherine Marshall's eloquent eulogy to our husband. Ready to give every hour of his life to anyone who needed it. It's been only three years since Peter Marshall died at the age of 49. And I think you'll be moved and proud when you've heard his story. You know that he was a contemporary. He was truly a man for all men to follow. To appear tonight as Peter Marshall, we've invited that fine actor, Mr. Joseph Cotton. And now here's Frank Goss for the word from Hallmark. When you want to remember your friends, there's one way to be sure the card you send receives an extra welcome. Look for that identifying hallmark on the back when you select it. For words to express your feelings and designs to express your good taste. Let the hallmark on the back be your guide. For that hallmark tells your friends, you cared enough to send the very best. Lionel Barrymore appears by arrangement with Metro Golden Mayor. Producers are above and beyond, starring Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker with James Whitmore. And now here's the first act of a man called Peter, starring Joseph Cotton. The people who listened to him, fresh up beside him, numbered countless hundreds of thousands. He was a dedicated man, loved by the multitude. And his story is a story of goodness and of wisdom and hope and faith. I can hear Peter's voice again. See his face. Feel my own heart quickening to the knowledge of his name. And all the words he spoke are living and are mine to draw upon from memory. I came to America from the Scotland of my birth because I felt that God wanted me here. I arrived at the battery off Ellis Island when I was 24 years old and I had just enough money in my billfold for the last two weeks. I knew that I wanted to make the ministry my life work and I felt that at the proper moment God would show me how to go about it. In the meantime, I worked as a laborer. I dug a fair-sized hole across the state of New Jersey for the gas company. I helped construct the golf course. I worked in a blast furnace. There were long, seemingly endless, backbreaking days of oil and grease and steel and heat. I began after a few months to wonder what I was doing here to wonder if perhaps I had only imagined that I had heard a call. God seemed suddenly very unreal and remote, as unreal and remote as Scotland. And then suddenly a letter came from a boyhood friend who was in Birmingham, Alabama, suggesting that I try my luck there. I left a week later with a wonderful feeling that God once again was smiling upon me. I got a job on the Birmingham News and I joined the old First Presbyterian Church. Within a few months I had become president of the Young People's Society and had undertaken to be scoutmaster of their troops. The men's Bible class had asked me to become their regular teacher and I had accepted. Those same men put the dream of my life within reach. All right, gentlemen, that concludes the meeting of the Bible class this evening. Peter, here's a letter that we'd like you to read. Yes, it's a...well, you'll see what it is when you open it. You can read it out loud if you like. The others haven't heard it, although they know what it says. Dear Mr. Marshall, knowing that you have dedicated your life to your master and have chosen his ministry as your life's work and learning of the expense involved in the realization of this worthy ambition, we have been asked to say to you that the men's Bible class which you have been teaching so acceptably intends to stand behind you for the first term of your seminary work. We know that you will find much to worry and harass you and that you may sometimes grow discouraged. But let it hearten and cheer you to know that the men you have worked with are anxious to see you realize your dreams and will follow you not only with their money, but... Peter was graduated magna cum laude and was ordained administrator of the gospel on May 15th, 1931, just before his 27th birthday. He began his ministry in a small cotton mill town of 3,000 people and began preaching what he felt was desperately needed, a practical Christianity. I spent at least two-thirds of his active ministry healing people's bodies and supplying their material as well as their spiritual needs. A laboring man himself, he loved the so-called common people passionately. He was, moreover, intensely aware of their practical needs. Out of my own experience, I can testify that through faith in God, through prayer and trust in the promises written in the old book, my every need has been supplied. As I write, I can hear Peter's voice again, see his face own heart-quicken with the knowledge of his name. When I was 20, Peter was 31, and for two years, I'd been sitting in his congregation at the Westminster Church in Atlanta in love with life and in love with love. And to me, he seemed the most perfect and bottomed of both, as I suppose he did in varying stages to every woman in his church. I didn't really ever expect to meet him, but one night, a mutual friend took pity on me. Well, Ms. Wood, I'm happy to meet you at last. Your attendance has been quite regular the past two years. Do you mean you noticed? My dear girl, not even ministers are blind, you know. Well, no, I didn't suppose you were, I just didn't suppose it never occurred to me. Look, I might as well be honest with you. I've wanted to meet you for a long time. You suppose I could see you sometime this week? Yes, Dr. Marshall, would you mind if I sat down a moment? Oh! Is there anything wrong? Don't you feel well? Well, I'll call one of the ladies. Don't call anyone. Please, just stay where you are. But if you're ill... No. Ill, Dr. Marshall, I never felt better in my life. Nor have I. All Peter's words took on a new meaning for me. New pleasure, new wonderment. The perfect marriage must be a perfect blend of the spiritual, the physical, the social, and the intellectual. We are souls living in bodies. We are fallen in love with the inner person, the person who's going to live forever. That's why God is the greatest asset to romance. He thought it up in the first place, reaching on the subject of love lately. Those with the season? Yes. I suppose it does. It's almost June. In June I'll be graduating and I'll be going home to West Virginia. And I don't suppose we'll be meeting again. Don't you? Well, sit down here on this venture moment and let's have a talk about that. We've known each other almost a year now, haven't we? Yes, we have, almost a year. Catherine, I believe God has a plan for each of us. I believe for each man there is the one perfect woman. I believe that within that woman is the poetry, the music, the tears, the laughter, the understanding, the strength that a man needs if he is to know real happiness, if he is to know true beauty. I believe there is for each of us the attentive heart that can comfort, excite for all this to me and more, Catherine. Can I be any of these things to you? Are you crying? What else would you expect of a woman after a speech like that? Let me get the full effect. You'll do. Is that all you could... Father, I said you wouldn't do. Oh, your winter feet is ready. Well, it wasn't a few minutes ago. When I came upstairs, he hadn't even started to dress. What would you do at the church in half an hour? Can't forget to get dressed for the wedding. Now, for a good many years, I've been ribbed for this expression that says it better. Thank you for this moment, Catherine, and for all the moments of all the years ahead. And thank you for putting your hand in mine. Say, Jane and I really appreciated that anniversary card you folks sent us. How do you manage to remember the date each year? Well, I had to admit that we didn't rely entirely on our memories. You see, like so many busy women, my wife keeps track of special dates in her all-mark date book. If you don't have one, let me tell you about it. The hallmark date book is a handy little reminder, just the right size to slip into your pocketbook. It contains a page-by-page calendar for the year with space for notations beneath each day. That way, you can jot down the dates of anniversaries, birthdays, dental appointments, club meetings, everything you want to remember. As my wife says, a hallmark date book is the next best thing to having a social secretary. And best of all, you can have yours just for the asking. A gift from the fine stores that feature hallmark cards. Why not get your hallmark date book tomorrow? Now back to Lionel Barrymore in the second act of a man called Peter, starring Joseph Cotton. Those are the people. Other churches began to climb up for his services, but it was not easy for men to persuade. Peter Marshall would go only where he felt the call of God. God is a God of laughter as well as of prayer. A God of singing as well as of tears. God is at home in the play of his children. He loves to hear us laugh. He wants us to be good, not goody-goody. There's quite a distinction. If you can't take God into your recreation, there is something wrong with the way you play. I'd smile, there is. I can measure off the years by Peter's words. His words are farewell to the church at Atlanta, where he had spent so many good and fruitful years. His first hesitant words in his new church, the New York Avenue church in Washington, D.C. I remember his eternal kindness to the needy, his ready compassion for those who sob. His quiet dignity when the president of the United States sat in his congregation. His wit, his warmth, his gift for the sudden, stinging phrase. Lord, where we are wrong, make us willing to change. And where we are right, make us easy to live with. I remember his humor. What do we have for dinner? Oh, Catherine, I guess you'll have to ask the blessing tonight. I'm not grateful for Turkey Hash, and God knows that he'd think I was a hypocrite if I said I was. Termination. Doctor in the church, if there is, I'd like to ask a cell. The doctors gave him only a fifty-fifty chance. It was a clear-cut issue, a lie for death. I prayed with fear, churning, rising, pounding inside me, I prayed. And Peter's congregation joined me in prayer, and Peter's friends everywhere. And God listened. His work was not yet finished. Who are those gentlemen that were going out as I came in? They were from the United States Senate. They want me to serve as chaplain. Chaplain of the Senate? Oh, what a great honor, Peter. Are you going to accept? If it is God's will. Darling, do you think your help is up to it? Catherine, you mustn't be so afraid for me. When I come home, sometimes I can see the anxiety in your face. He's overtired you're thinking. The other day, when I was playing baseball, you looked absolutely terrified. My dear, don't forget it hasn't been so long since you gave us all quite a scare. What's wrong to fear death, Catherine? That's something you've got to conquer. The body is unimportant. You and I are souls, living in bodies, and the soul does not die. The good Lord so fit to spare me and I intend to go on doing his work the best I can for whatever time remains to me. I'm not going to live any narrow, limited life. I'd be of little use to anyone then. As I write, I can remember with understandable pride an item in one of the Washington papers. The least heated of any of the millions of words uttered in the United States Senate had usually been those of the chaplains. But now some observers are beginning to urge senators to get there early enough to hear the utterances of the new chaplain. As we pray for members of this body, its officers, and all those who share in its labors, we remember that thou art never in a hurry and never lost thine in a peace, even under pressure greater than we shall ever know. Teach us that liberty is not only to be loved, but also to be lived. Make us see that liberty is not the right to do as we please, but the opportunity to please to do what is right, to be humble, sanctify our love of country that our boasting may be turned into humility and our pride into a ministry to men everywhere. Help us to make this God's own country by living like God's own people. Yes, dear, what is it? Amin. Shall I go to the hospital with you? Oh, give our child here in the house. So the Aminans left Tsar Peter alive for the last time. The people who had loved him came by the thousands to bid him farewell. The vice president of the United States, now closed by the church janitors and the boys from the garage across the street. The senators and their critics knelt together. The service was simple and sweet. And as I listened, it seemed to me I could hear Peter saying the words he had spoken in the same church not long before. To be free, free as a bird, simply means to be unafraid in the fullest awareness, which awareness includes the recognition of death. If you are afraid of death, then you are afraid of life. Only when you have something to die for, have you something to live for. And death, when it comes, will come to you as a welcome friend sent to us you you into the glorious life that awaits you just around the bend of the road. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid. I left the church, went back to the home that we had made together. And I thought of the last moment when Peter had looked up at me and smiled to his pain. His eyes full of tenderness. And I had leaned close to him and said, Darling, I'll see you in the morning. And as I entered that house again, I knew those words would go singing in my heart down all the years. See you, darling. See you in the morning. Here's an easy way to begin. Get your Hallmark date book for 1953 now. Besides being an efficient date reminder, the Hallmark date book is chock full of information you'll be glad to have on hand. You'll find it lists the type of anniversary gifts to send for each wedding year, plus the appropriate flowers and birthstones for every month. Yes, and in the back there's a compact reference calendar for 1954. And in the front, special pages for names and addresses. Remember, your Hallmark date book is a gift to you from the fine stores where Hallmark cards are sold. And speaking of friendship, here's a bright idea to start the New Year outright. Delight your dear ones with Hallmark New Year cards. They're sure to bring a glow to the heart and a twinkle to the eye. That Hallmark is on the back of each. The familiar Hallmark you always look for when you will carry enough to send the very best. Here again is Lionel Barrymore. Joe Cotton, you gave us a memorable picture of a great man. Thank you for being with us on Hallmark Playhouse tonight. Thank you, Lionel. It was a pleasure to be here. Before I say good night, may I wish you and everyone on Hallmark Playhouse a happy New Year. Oh, thank you. Thank you, Joe. And the same to you. And now, ladies and gentlemen, at the crossroads of America in historic Abilene, Kansas, General Eisenhower's hometown, construction is underway on the first nationally supported World War II Memorial. Shortly after the close of the war, a group of General Eisenhower's friends formed the Eisenhower Foundation to raise funds for a memorial to honor one of history's greatest leaders. When the general heard of the plans, he agreed to make his complete collection of military trophies, decorations, and mementos available, providing the memorial was dedicated to all the talent men and women who fought for democracy and freedom. And that the foundation be devoted to the teaching of Americanism on a national scale. General Eisenhower and his brothers have given their family home in Abilene to be included in the memorial grounds. Just as the people enshrined the Mount Vernon and Monticello homes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, more than 100,000 Americans and representatives from 76 foreign countries have already made pilgrimages to this Abilene home site. Originally, General Eisenhower specified that no public solicitation of funds be made. However, as the project came known, people throughout the country have asked for information so they could participate. When the general was informed of these requests and because he feels that Americanism is everyone's business, he graduated permission to broaden the participation. So, if you'd like to be a part of this great living monument to America, you can now do so. Jack should be made payable to, and male to the Eisenhower Foundation, Abilene, Kansas. Contributions are deductible from both state and federal income taxes within the limits prescribed by law. And throughout the year to come, that has all promote the way of life that made America synonymous with freedom throughout the world. Now, on behalf of all of us on the Hallmark Playhouse, may I wish you a very happy and prosperous new year. Our producer-directors, William Gay, our music was composed and conducted by David Rose, and our script tonight was written by Gene Holloway. Joseph Cotton can currently be seen as the star of the Bert Friedlob production, The Steel Trap, a 20th Century Fox release. The role of Catherine Marshall was played by Lureen Tuttle. Every Sunday, Hallmark cards present two great programs for the whole family's enjoyment. On radio, the Hallmark Playhouse with host Lionel Barrymore, and on television, Sarah Churchill brings you outstanding dramatic entertainment on Hallmark Hall of Fame. Consult your paper for time and station. Remember, if you wish to contribute to the Eisenhower Foundation, send your contribution to the Eisenhower Foundation, Abilene, Kansas. We say good night to you. Next week, McDonald-Carrie and Dave Browns wave high the banner on Hallmark Playhouse. This is the CBS Radio Network. This is KMBC, Kansas City, Missouri.