 The DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, makers of better things for better living through chemistry, presents the Cavalcade of America. Tonight's star, Robert Young, in Six Men of Wood. Tonight's DuPont Cavalcade, starring Robert Young, is the true story of an American family of today, a story of a man's faith in himself, his family, and his country. In 1927, Albert Wood considered himself very well off indeed. He was an architect of note financially independent and the father of seven children, five boys and two girls. I'm sorry, but that's not quite true, you know. There were only six children in 1927. I'm sorry, Mr. Young. The name is Wood. Albert Wood. I mean Mr. Wood. Yes. Penny, a penelope in the family Bible, came along in 1929. So let's not exaggerate. Six in 1927. And it was those six little problems that Louise, my wife, was concerned about one day. Albert, I'm worried about our youngsters. Why? They're suffering from the burden of having a successful father. Oh, that's ridiculous. Now, where did I put that thing? Suppose, just suppose the boys grow up, reach maturity, without ever having to worry about the problem of earning their own way in the world. Louise, have you seen my tobacco pouch? If they never work for their living, they'll never enjoy living. I had it right here on my desk last night. It's in the humidor, where it belongs. Hmm? Oh, I wish you'd tell Josephine to stop putting my tobacco where it belongs. You know that's the last place I ever look. Albert, are you listening to me? I am. It's a serious problem. I agree. I don't want them to grow up, knowing nothing more than how to spend money they've never earned. No, really, Louise. I don't think it's going to be quite that bad. What's to prevent it, Albert? Well, what am I going to do? A man of life, folks. Children! Children! What's going on here? It's Spink. He doesn't want to be the mean old knight. And he's just got to be. No, I don't got to be the mean old monkey. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Now, let's have some decorum. Now, suppose we go with this problem in an orderly fashion. Line up, size, places. All right. Now, in descending order of age, let's find out who's who. Moyer? I'm Robin Hood. Gardner? Little John. Bertram? Alan Adele. Francis? They always make me friar-tuck. You have the waistline for it. Margaret? I'm Alan Adele, sweetheart. And unless I'm rescued by Robin Hood and his merry man, I'm going to have to marry the mean old knight. Well, that's bad. Now, as I see the problem, my sis here is scheduled to be wed to this mean old knight. But she's my sweetheart. I see. Robin Hood and his merry men are going to rescue her from a fate worse than death. What about this knight? Oh, he's mean. He's wicked. He's grouchy. And he's terribly rich. Well, obviously, there's only one person in this house who fits the picture. Who's that? Yeah, who's that? Me. Oh, wow. I'm a wealthy mean old knight. Come on, my fair maiden, off to the church. You're going to marry me. And we're going to have 95 children. And all of them will look like me. Gosh, won't that be horrible? Oh, my goodness. Later, when I had time to think over what Louise had said about our youngsters having it too easy, I saw that it made sense, solid good sense. We had a little guest house that never did get much use. So I decided to turn it into a workshop for the kids. Come on, come on, come on. Come on, come on, come on. Look here, all of it. You're all on your own. You can make whatever you care to make. Well, I'm going to make a magazine rack. Well, that's OK. But just remember this. No copying. I don't want you to take a picture and try to reproduce it. You've got to design whatever you make from the floor up. You understand? Now, here's another thing. You're working on a budget and a mighty low budget at that. But if you need more than you have in the kitty, that'll be your problem. Don't come asking me for more. And don't ask your mother. Furthermore, and most important, don't let me catch you ducking your homework. Are we all straight? Hi, Beth. Now, any questions? Well. Speak up, Fuzz. What do you want to know? Well, all I want to know is is lunch ready? I'm starved to death. Oh, no. Oh, my God. Music next to mommy. What is this? It's an unbath. Your birthday, we, your children, wish to express our full felicitations. Felicitations. As a token of our esteem and affection, we would like to present you with this little gift. All right, come on in. Happy birthday. What is it, people? It's lovely. Oh, Albert, it's really beautiful. Look at it. Yeah, pretty good. Darlings, I'm so proud and so grateful. Thank you all very much. Moyam. Yes, Dad? I may be mistaken, but weren't you working on a pair of end tables? What happened to the mate of this one? We sold it. Oh. The gardener needed some carving tool. We had no more money. The budget was all gone. We got $6. But where did you sell it? For Mrs. Pearson. Oh, no, not Mrs. Pearson. Yes, and why not? We'll have you all the one done in a week. Will that be all right? That'll be fine, Moyam. Thank you so much, all of you. Come on, we've got work to do. Back to the workshop. Let's go. Oh, my goodness gracious. Look at that finish. Is Mrs. Pearson of all people, Mrs. Pearson? Oh, my goodness. Operator, please, four, five, nine. What are you doing? I'm calling Mrs. Pearson. I'll have to apologize, say something. What does she think of us? Our children peddling. Oh, my goodness gracious. Oh, Nan, darling, this is Louise. I want to explain this. Well, yes. Yes, of course, Nan. Goodly Nan. Goodbye. Well, what did she say? She said it was a beautiful table. Yes. And she wants the children to make her four chairs to match. And so we sailed along until, until 1930. Then the Depression. Paper profits went up in smoke. Moyer was called back from college. Reason, no funds. It was tough. Believe me, it was getting lots tougher every day. It's me, faithful old Albert. What did Ben Rotor say? He said he doesn't think he can find us a buyer for the house. Oh. Seems like the real estate market is, to use his expression, depressed. Oh, dear. That means there'll be no more building around here, and probably not for a long while. You know what that means to an architect. Yes. It's a pretty serious situation. Your tobacco pouch is on the mantle where you left it. Oh, oh, thank you. Albert, I know you're trying to tell me something. What is it? Well, honey, it seems to me that it's time to pull up stakes. Start over. Somewhere else. I'd say back east. Suppose I've been thinking about this for some time. Suppose we, uh, yes. Well, we might even set ourselves up in a little business, the boys and myself. Apparently, some people think their work is pretty good. We might even start creating our own furniture of original design. Kind of like old fashioned craftsmen, all in the family? That's it. Uh, uh, wild idea? No. What do you think? It's hard to think of things like this, Albert, so quickly. If there were only the two of us. But we've got the youngsters to think of, firing them into a car, heading for a place where they have no friends. I don't know, Albert. Does it make sense? Is it the right thing to do? Well, Louise, it made sense to a lot of people not so long ago. Sure, we'll be riding a touring car instead of a covered wagon. We'll be going east instead of west. But it's the same story, Louise, toward the same goal. And I think we're the same kind of people, too. You are listening to the DuPont Cablecade of America, starring Robert Young, sponsored by the DuPont Company, makers of better things for better living through chemistry. The DuPont Cablecade continues, starring Robert Young as Albert Wood, in the true story of a successful American architect who has been hard hit by the Depression. Now, early October 1930. The entire family, Albert Wood, his wife Louise, their five sons and two daughters, are packed into an open touring car and headed eastward towards a new life. Where are we going to live? Oh, we'll find a place. In New York City? Nearby, Long Island, maybe. Well, how we know where? Ah, just to hunch that when we come to the right spot, we'll know. It's going to be hard moving into a new strange community. I'm a little worried about it, Albert. I should be worried, too, I suppose, you know. It just seems a bit indecent to worry. We've got seven solid citizens back there. We're bringing along our own community. We've found what we were searching for in the little town of Fort Washington, Long Island. Within a matter of weeks, the boys had plastered the community with hand-bills advertising our furniture repair service. Tennis rackets, and a lot more. We're going to find a place where we can have fun. We're busy with hand-bills advertising our furniture repair service. Tennis rackets, any odd jobs, gratefully undertaken. I managed to find a job in New York to help Tidus over the first few months. Get your home early. Not much doing down at the place. Why do you always come in the back door? I like to sneak up on you. Mmm, smells delicious. What is it? It happens to be a batch of furniture glue. Your sons are cooking up. We'll serve it at our grotton. It'll be wonderful that way. I've got six more tennis rackets to restring today. And four chairs and a table to repair. Boy, are we busy. Dad, how about giving up their job? We need you here in the furniture shop. And that was the whole idea anyway. That we'd all work together. We've got plenty of business. How about it, Dad? I think it's a good idea. Louise? Now, what do we call ourselves? We need a name. Uh, if it's okay with you boys, I'd like to see our company named Albert Wood and Five Sons. Oh, gee, that's a wonderful name. Yeah, okay. It sells them. Albert Wood and Five Sons are in business. Hey! We've got an order in the mail. It's from Eastern Pennsylvania. Mrs. Scott wants to know if we can make nursery furniture. Excuse us. She says, I should like a finely designed canopy bed, desk, chest of drawers, table and chairs done in old English, Queen Anne, or similar periods. Please let me know what you have along this line. Mrs. William Scott. Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy. Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy. Boy, do you think we can do it? We're in the chip. How about it, Dad? Uh, it's a nice letter. Only what? We can't take it. Why not? Because Mrs. Scott wants copies. Copies of period furniture, not original. But, Dad, just this one. No, sir. Just this one time. Look, boys, let's get ourselves straightened out right now. No copies. Only originals. Do we blow up the whole works just to get one measly little order? One measly little order, he says. If we stick to our guns, I know we'll make a go of it. Oh, God. Well, shall I write Mrs. Scott and tell her we can't take the order? Oh, I guess so. Hey, wait a minute. Why don't we make up some designs and submit them? Maybe we can change her mind. Sure, if she sees what we want to do. Why not? Boyer, scour the neighborhood, do some research on nurseries. Nurseries, me? Sure, you're just the nursery type. The preliminary sketches and our price of $110 for the furniture turned out to be acceptable. So, we began work on the nursery. The first Albert Wood and Five Sons original. Every piece was hand-carved, hand-rubbed, hand-finished. Finally, it was done. The Moyer and Gardner loaded it all into our two-wheel trailer and took it off to Boston. At home, we waited. I hope the boys think I hope the boys get back before the store is closed. I'd like to have a real Thanksgiving dinner. We will have, Mother. We'll come back with all the money we need. Over $100, I'll bet. Turkey, maybe. Turkey, maybe. They're here! They're home! What's that boy? Hello, boys! What's the matter, boys? Everything went wrong. The family wasn't home. The butler wouldn't accept the furniture. The delivery was unauthorized. Uh... Well, what did you do with the furniture? We got the butler to let us leave it in the garage. But... But they didn't pay you. Nope. Goodbye, Turkey. First, go down to the store and get four pounds of hamburger. Yes, Mom. Gee, we're sorry. It's all right, boys. Anyway, I'm glad you got home in time for Thanksgiving. We had hit bottom. No new orders, even the repair work fell off. But, as I think back, I can't remember any of the kids complaining. We just plugged ahead, losing ourselves in the sound of hammers and the saws. The door's open! Albert Wood and Five Sun? That's right. What do you do? I'm Mrs. Scott. Mrs. William Scott. Oh, yes. How do you do? We were just driving through. We're visiting Mr. Scott's family in Smithtown. Do come in, please. I can't really stay. We're late now. But I wanted to stop by and tell you how utterly delighted we are with the furniture. Oh, you've seen it. I can't tell you how beautiful we think it is. It's just a masterpiece. Every piece of it is perfect. That's awfully good to hear, Mrs. Scott. I'm so sorry for what happened, the misunderstanding. I have a check here for the full amount. Thank you, Mrs. Scott. We appreciate this, but the important thing is that now we know that people like yourself will accept original designs and furniture. Oh, why shouldn't they? Your work has... Well, it's hard to put into words, but it has a charm about it and a personality. Your personality, I presume, Mr. Wood. Not mine so much as that of my five sons. I'd like to meet your boys. Of course, here they are. Hello. How do you do? Hi. And Paul. 1932 seems a long, long time ago. So many things have happened. Moving our workshop from our home to our first little factory, the kids grew up when the war years came and went with four of our sons in the service. They came home, three of them got married. Yes, Christmas of 1932 seems ages ago. But there is a Christmas we remember, one we're not likely ever to forget. That was just last year, Christmas of 1949. Hello. Hiya, Dad. Merry Christmas. Oh, Merry Christmas, Fuzz. Louise, it's Francis calling from Ohio. How are you? How's Jean? Listen, I've got news. Now, hold your hand. What's up? We're going to have a baby. Louise, Fuzz and Jean are having a baby. How about that, Dad? Oh, it's wonderful. Here's your mom. Francis, it's wonderful. How's Jean? He's fine. Look, I've got a rush. They're waiting on us for dinner. We'll see you next week. Oh, tell the boys, will you? Oh, I will, of course I will. Thanks, along, and Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, dear. Oh, gee, that's great. Wonderful. I must tell Maria you'll be so excited. Hello, Moe. It's Mother. Oh, hello, Mom. Merry Christmas. Here, let me tell him. Moe, get set for a shock. I just spoke to Fuzz on the phone. You hear that, a baby? Well? Well, don't you think that's terrific? What do you mean you don't know? Well, it's Betty and myself. Moir. Why, sure. Albert, what is it? Betty and Moir. Yes. See you later on in the evening, Dad. So long. Goodbye. Well, what do you know? Call Gardner, right away. That's who I'm calling. Gardner, this is Dad. Gardner, listen, Moir and Francis, they, uh, both of them. Give me that phone. Gardner, they're both going to have babies, Moir and Francis. Both of them. Isn't that wonderful, New? Oh, sure is, Mom. I couldn't imagine a more perfect Christmas present. Mom. Yes, Gardner? Sitting down. Sit down. Gardner, no. Not you and Sally. Well, why not? Albert, take the phone, take the phone. Gardner. Get out the soda pop, Mr. Wood. We're headed over your way for a celebration. Gardner, listen, you boys shouldn't do a thing like this to your mother. Oh, Merry Christmas, Dad, and goodbye. Merry Christmas, uh, goodbye. Louise. Yes. Um, anywhere, a little touch of something? I need a drink. Well, there's the punch I made for the party. Come on, let's have our own little party. Uh, Grandma. Grandma. Sounds good. Sounds beautiful. Remember an open touring car? Yeah. And the kid singing Broadway melody. I was frightened. Oh, so was I. Well, what? Which one should we drink to first? No favourites, all at once. Here's to the babies. All three, a triple header. Today, in our modern studio workshop, our business is humming. We are not only making furniture, but complete interiors for churches and synagogues, designs for modern factories, offices. Oh, we've stuck to our guns everything original. Nothing but original. Originals by Albert Wood and Five Sons. Mr. Young will return in a moment. Robert Young. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Cavalcade, I want to remind you that this month, the community chests of America, under the symbol of the red feather, makes its annual appeal for funds to carry on services essential to our health and welfare. Please make your contribution now as for next week's Cavalcade, it's a thriller. A girl spy in one of our nation's great wars. And the star, Ginger Rogers. Don't miss it. Thanks again and good night. Tonight's original Dupont play, Six Men of Wood, was written by Irv Tunick and was suggested by a recent magazine article by Oscar Schiskal. Robert Young, star of Father Knows Best, appeared with the courtesy of Maxwell House Coffee. Working with Mr. Young on Cavalcade tonight, were Gertrude Warner as Mrs. Wood, Jimmy Summer as Moyer, Jackie Diamond as Gardner, Donny Harris as Bertram, David Anderson as Francis, Robin Morgan as Margaret, and Roger Sullivan, Rob Hastings and Leore Thatcher. Music for the Dupont Cavalcade was composed by Arden Cornwell and conducted by Donald Vorys. The program is directed by John Zoller, the society Harris speaking. Don't forget next week, Ginger Rogers on the Dupont Cavalcade of America, which comes to you from the Balaskal Theater in New York and is sponsored by the Dupont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. Makers of better things for better living through chemistry.