 Remember a hallmark card when you carry it up to send the very best. You are an unusual true story on the hallmark hall of fame. We bring you another true story of an inspiring moment in the life of a real person. As William Shakespeare put it, some men are born great. Some men achieve greatness, and some men have greatness thrust upon them. Tonight we salute Lawrence and Drake. Grandfather of the American petroleum industry might never have made his marks on the tablets of history, had he not been the lucky holder of a free pass on the Pennsylvania Railroad. How this all came about is the remarkable true story we're going to tell you tonight. Here now is Frank Goss from the makers of hallmark cards. The next time you want to send your best wishes in the most gracious way, just visit a store where hallmark cards are sold. You'll always find hallmark cards with new ideas, new designs and colors, with new ways of saying what you want to say, just the way you want to say it. And of course the hallmark on the back of your card says something too. It says you carry now to send the very best. Lionel Barrymore is appearing by arrangement with Metro Golden Mayor, producers of the Technicolor Picture Mogumbo, starring Clark Gable and Ava Gardner with Grace Kelly. And now Mr. Barrymore brings you tonight's exciting story on the hallmark hall of fame. The story of Edwin Lawrence and Drake is a fabulous story. So fabulous you may find it hard to believe, but it's true. Let's drop back almost a hundred years. The time is April 11th, 1858. And the place for us is an average American home. Exibar! I'm coming, dear heart. Oh, I've got him again. It's cob wobbly's in my stomach. Oh, now don't you worry, dear heart. I've got the thing for you. What's that? Seneca oil. It's a modern-day medical miracle. Oh, no, that looks awful. Here now. Open wide. I don't think... I suppose. Let me see that bottle. Seneca oil. Magical curative from oil creeks owned by the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, New Haven, Connecticut. Temmest I mentioned earlier in our meeting. We came to the conclusion that there may be even more uses to which this petroleum liquid may be put. Our chairman will explain what we have in mind. Stuff off the top of an oil creek out in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Got a couple of local men out there skimming the oil off on a blanket. Now, working this way, we're sending a man down there to look the situation over. One of our stockholders, Mr. Edwin Drake, if you have the necessary papers and so forth. I have, Mr. Chairman. Then let me wish a pleasant journey. You other gentlemen, I will do my best to justify the trust you've placed in me. I'll not let you down. I'm suitable for the job. You know this oil venture is pure speculation. We don't want to spend any more than we have to. Yes, but why send Drake? We want to save money. Prior to his retirement, Mr. Drake was a conductor of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He's the only man in this company who has a free pass to Titusville. In my theory, Mr. Drake, I think it's in the coal. And where do you say then? Well, we've got some coal around these parts. And I think the oil kind of gets squeezed out of the coal by the way to the ground. I've explained why they're so little of it. Hmm. It couldn't be that they're so little because nobody's ever really done for it? Yes. He said there's very little of the oil. Yes, because no one ever bothered to dig deep enough for it. Well, let me still tell you what. Here's the show. More on tickets expressed from me to you. Yes, you go around. I'll send the wife around with a bottle of setting oil for your income back. The proper word, gentlemen. I believe the most proper term would be drill. And if I'm not mistaken, it has been discussed before. Sure, I put a stop to that talk. Hair, brain, waste of money. Well, allow me to elucidate. Now then, while exploring the area which lies about Titusville, I came upon a crew of men who were busy constructing a salt well. Their method of operation was, to me, unusual and indeed provocative. Mr. Drake. Yes. You did clear up that matter of land titles we sent you for. Yeah, I did. Thank you. May I, uh, proceed? Yes, do. I will. It seems that far beneath the surface of the land in that region lie great subterranean lakes of salt water, which, raised to the surface, may be evaporated, leaving a residue of salt crystals, which are marketed at a reasonable margin of profit. These salt wells are not dug. It's drilling process which I propose to utilize in my search for the lakes of oil. Oh, my sainted aunt. What lakes of oil? I have a theory, gentlemen. A theory? Which is shared by several eminent men of science. Mr. President, must we? I suppose so. Go on, Mr. Drake. The theory being that petroleum is not a product of coal under pressure, but rather an organic compound left over from ages long past, and that this petroleum has over the eons come to seek its own level, to gather in great subterranean pools or lakes. And you want to drill holes down to these theoretical lakes and pump the stuff out? Precisely. Oh, my sainted aunt. Now, see here, sir. What? I don't like your attitude manner or tone of voice. Well, now, isn't that a shame? The X-ray road conductor doesn't like my tone of voice. And in thinking this entire matter over, I cannot help wondering if you are really the proper gentleman to invest in this project. What's that? I believe you heard me. Well, now, let's not get hasty, Mr. Drake. Let's top this over. That gentleman over there may be inclined to scoff, but personally, I'm a gambler. I'd like to hear a little more about this. Well, I am convinced that petroleum, in amounts to stagger the imagination, lies beneath the face of western Pennsylvania, the men who have the vision and the daring to bring it out will stand to make millions. Tie on your field, you seem to forget. Your own chemist has said petroleum can be used as an illuminant, a lubricant, a wonderful road, build hundreds of other as yet undiscovered purposes, as a future gentleman, and with or without your aid. Honest especulator, purpose of batting, Drake. Do you understand your resort, world-driller? That's right. I'd like to engage you. Just a minute. If we can come to some sort of agreement, Mr. Price. All is charged the same, Mr. Drake. $3,000 foot, 1,000 foot guarantee. Guarantee? I don't understand that term. Well, short water is a funny thing. As far as I get my rig all set up, get my helpers out, and then we hit water and say, fellas, for me, I can lose out. 1,000 foot guarantee. And, uh... I might as well tell you now this locality. When do you want to start drilling for oil? How would six weeks from now suit you? Fine, that suits me just fine. We return to the second act of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Analyze how your mind works when you're selecting a gift. First, you pick up an article and say to yourself, I like this. Next is, will Mary like it? You see, every gift we give is a combination of what we like plus what we think the receiver will like. It's the same with the Christmas cards we choose. Only here, instead of one receiver, our card is our Christmas gift to a whole host of friends. That's why you'll see so many discriminating people taking plenty of time to select just the right Christmas card. And why they prefer to make that selection from the Hallmark Christmas card albums. Every year, the cards in the Hallmark albums have been the style leaders. They are always the card you see displayed most prominently in your friends' homes at Christmas. And this year, the Hallmark Christmas collection is more exciting and varied than ever before. You'll want to allow yourself time to enjoy each beautiful design before you decide on the one you want imprinted with your name. So why don't you make a date with yourself right now to visit one of the fine stores where Hallmark cards are sold and select the greeting that will be your Christmas gift to all your friends this Christmas. And remember, a Hallmark card always receives a special welcome for to everyone, everywhere. That Hallmark on the back of the card you send means you'll carry enough to send the very best. Very more brings you to the second act of our true story, of Edwin Larrington Drake. The speculators back in New Haven, Connecticut, he was a dreamy-eyed visionary who would man run inside his world Pennsylvania. He was an infinite source of fun and merriment. To his wife, he was a figure of tragic greatness, a man of frustrated genius. History has proven the wife to be right. But I'm sure there were times when she wished Mr. Drake had stayed home and knew it. I say confound him, won't it always? Because I was a railroad man, they won't listen to me. You mustn't take on so, dear. Here, let me fix you some tea. I do not want tea. I want justice. I spent eight months chasing that first man, that snickering goat of a well-bore, chasing him over half the state, listening to his oaths and promises, and to one end, to the end that you and I have been practically laughed out of this miserable, forsaken mud-hole of a town. I don't mind what they say. You don't, eh? Well, I do. But that other man, the one you engaged into random, he's coming, isn't he? He is not. Sometimes I think the Almighty wants that oil to stay in the ground. I'll just fix you some tea. If it's another letter from those vultures and you haven't, you can burn it. Why, yes, he is. Won't you come in? Someone to see you, dear. You, Mr. Drake, the one who's drilling for oil, Mr. Drake, who is Titusville's number one contribution to national laughter, and if you've come in anticipation of a jolly little chuckle, I suggest you get the double out of here. No, sir, nothing like that. The fact is I come see if maybe I could drill your well for you. Of course I won't guarantee nothing will come out of it after I got it dug. I got four sons, all big fellas. The drilling business is slow. We ain't been eating too good. And I heard about you and the money you're willing to pay. Sit down. What is your name, sir? It's Smith, sir. William A. Smith. They call me Uncle Billy, where I come from. In Butler County? Mr. Smith? I have a feeling you and I, despite your many caustics and indeed defamatory communications, I have remained true to my goal. Now it is at hand. April 1st, 1859. Mr. Smith and myself will definitely commence operations. Your apologies will be accepted. Sincerely, your servant, Edwin, dripper water, Mr. Drake, because that's about all we got down this hole. That's a darn much water that the sides of the hole is washing away and I can't get the drill to stay steady. On top of which, we're down 31-foot, and that's where the solid rock began. Mr. Smith? You got a way to keep the water out of that hole? It's interested in salt, Robert, since it is. I know one way we could clear up our deficit. How's that? If one of them, Lake Erie, norther, should come pounding down across here. Lake Erie, norther? What's that? As you are, after the wind's getting late, Mr. Smith. Yes, so what we did, we chopped her down, sawed her up into three-foot lengths and sold her for post-holes. Cleared a pretty little penny, too. We're in church, Mr. Smith. I'll meet you here in the morning. How about things, Mr. Drake? We'll get a job in the circus telling about this idea. Impressingly bright morning. Most expensive vet happened to have a barrel. It's possible the magnificent growth of the petroleum industry, a great industry which right now is, yes, sir, to Edwin, Lauren, Gene, Drake, the industry of America. I'll be back in a moment to tell you about it. But first, here's Frank Goss. While I can't attempt to describe the cards you'll see in the Hallmark Christmas card albums, here's a preview of some of the famous artists whose work you'll find represented. There's Marcel Vertet, who won two Academy Awards for his artistic efforts in the motion picture Moulin Rouge. Doris Lee, whose paintings hang in art galleries all over the country. Saul Steinberg, the humorist with pen and ink. Norman Rockwell, Grandma Moses, Holda, and many others. Also new this year on Hallmark cards are the works of the associated American artists, as well as winners from the International Hallmark Art Awards. All in all, you'll find many fresh new approaches to the Merry Christmas greetings you'll want to send your friends this year. And best of all, these Hallmark Christmas card albums will be found only in those stores where shopping is a pleasure, where you can sit down and enjoy a visit with all these artists. At the same time, you're selecting the one design you want to have imprinted with your name. There's satisfaction too in knowing that whichever design you choose, your card will carry that Hallmark on the back, which always shows you cared enough to send the very best. And now here again is Lionel Barrymore. You know, Frank, I really got a thrill the other day when I saw the Christmas cards I designed for Hallmark on display right alongside the Hallmark cards by world-famous artists like Norman Rockwell, and Grandma... You know, painting has given me many happy hours. And I recall a quotation I've always liked. A fellow named Quintillion once said, The learned understand the reason of art, and the unlearned feel the pleasure. Well, Frank, to get back from the artist's pellet to the Hallmark Hall of Fame, whom are we honoring next week? Next week we're going to honor a man of great vision and force, I, Joseph McCoy, at a crucial time in our history, he found a way to get the plentiful beef of the Southwest to the needy markets in the East. How he did this is an exciting and adventurous true story. Oh, it certainly is, Frank. And as I recall, Joseph McCoy contributed to the growth of one of our most productive and important American cities, Kansas City. Well, I hope you'll all be with us next week to pay tribute to Joseph McCoy. Remember, you're also invited to the Hallmark Hall of Fame on television on Sundays, starring Mrs. Sarah Churchill. Until next week, then, this is Lionel Barry Moore saying, good night. This is Lionel Barry Moore appeared by arrangement with Metro Golden Mayor. Reduces of the Amsko color picture take the high ground, starring Richard Widmark, Carl Maldon, Andy Lane Stewart. This is the CBS Radio Network. This is KMBC, Kansas City, Missouri.