 Remember a hallmark card when you carry enough to send the very best. The Hallmark brings you Hollywood's greatest stars in outstanding stories and presents as your host one of the most distinguished actors of the American theater, Mr. Lionel Barrymore. Mr. Lionel Barrymore, you know nowadays when people talk about going to the coast they generally mean the Pacific coast. So I have a hunch some of you may be surprised by the title of the novel we are dramatizing tonight. On our hallmark playhouse it's called the Nebraska coast. Clyde Brian Davis gave it that title because it's about a family that settled in Nebraska just west of the Missouri River. They settled in that section which used to be called the Nebraska coast. I have another hunch too that you like this story of a pioneer American who dared to dream and to struggle. Yes and to laugh. And to star in that role we've invited back an old friend of Hallmark playhouse, Fred McMurray, the makers of Hallmark. Looking for a way to say something to someone you care for, look for a hallmark card and you'll find the card you want to send. Because hallmark cards are designed to say what you want to say, just the way you want to say it. With the good taste you demand of anything that bears your signature. That's why Hallmark on the back of a greeting card has come to mean you cared enough to send the very best. Lionel Barrymore appears by arrangement with Metro Golden Mayor, producers of the Technicolor musical Because You're Mine, starring Mario Lanza, Doretta Morrow and James Whitmore. Stacked of Nebraska coast, starring Fred McMurray. One can see that his hair is beginning to gray. The uncertain light etches even deeper the humorous lines around his mouth. Lines worn there by so many years of laughter. Even now he smiles again as he pulls up the letter and returns it to the envelope. He smiles as his thoughts turn back to another time and another letter. It's just a little over ten years ago. It was summer I remember. It was the summer of, yes, of 61. The news of Bull Run reached us in York State on the same day as my cousin's letter from out west. Kathy and I didn't talk about the letter until after supper. We went out onto the front porch to get away from my sister-in-law's latest enthusiasm, the piano. I wish I could understand you, Jack. We've got a perfectly good farm here. By York standards, yes, York State standards, Kathy, but Dave says that out there it's nothing to raise 80 bushels of corn to the acre. Oh, well, but your cousin Dave... I believe him, Kathy. And when Dave says we can buy all the land we want from the government for only a dollar and a quarter an acre, I say let's do it. We're buying more than land. We're investing in the future of the Great West. The future? But what about now? It's wilderness with Indians and Ruffians and outlaws. Now, Kathy, the Nebraska territory has some good folks too. They just need more of them. Sure it'll be hard on us at first. Well, I'm not thinking about us, says Clinton. We can't let our son grow up without learning. Oh, you'll get all the schooling from the best teacher there is. Nature herself. Come on, Kathy, what do you say? Oh, I don't know. I just... I just don't... Christy! Can't you play anything else on that piano? I'll declare I'll be glad when Johnny does come marching home and we can have some quiet around here. Is that the name of her newest? No, no, it's Andy, some drummer from Ken and Day War. That's another thing, Jack. What about my sister, Christy? Well, she can come along too, but without the piano. She may meet some brave out there and move into her own wigwam. Oh, come on, Kathy, say yes and let's go. Unless... unless you don't believe in me. Well, you know I do, dear. Just that... well, you're such a dreamer and dreams don't always come true. Don't they? You married Jack McDougal, didn't you? Oh, well. Zoe sold the farm and packed our furniture into crates for the long trip ahead. We boarded the train at Cannon Degwer and stared out of the windows for our last view of our old home. Kathy winked back at the tears and held tightly to my hand. The great car, huh? The great car? What for? Oh, she said she wanted to be sure the piano was all right. Well, Kathy, I thought she promised that she would... Oh, great thundering Jupiter. First in Niagara Falls, then Chicago, then Hannibal and finally St. Joseph, Missouri. There we boarded the little stern wheeler that was to carry us up the coffee-colored Missouri River. I remember it was late afternoon and I was standing alone on the stern, sort of absentmindedly counting the turns of the big paddle wheel. Prove for the power of the steam engine, isn't it, sir? Well, what's that? The paddle wheel. Driven by steam, you know. Oh, yes, that's right. How far off is the train going? To the Nebraska coast, getting off in Nebraska City. Well, so am I. My name is Joseph R. Brown, sir, major in the United States Army. Oh, glad to know you, major. I'm Jack with Google from York State. York State, huh? Well, then you came as far as St. Joe by steam train. Yeah, we did. Now you're going on by steam boat. America's building and growing and growing all by steam. Ah, next will be the steam wagon. Oh, you've never heard of a steam wagon before. No, it's not like you would have. It's a brand-new thing. I invented it. Oh? Yeah, I got my patents on it. I've got two machines already. I suppose we find a nice quiet spot. I'll show you how it works. Well, uh, just a minute. You were trying to sell me stock and something, aren't you? No, not at all, sir. I get all the money I need. Even a contract to start holding freight from Nebraska City clear out to the Pike's Peak country. Believe me, sir, in two years, my steam wagons will be reaching clear to California. Well, uh, major Brown. Yeah. What route will your wagons be taking? Why, the new cut-off has just been laid out. Nebraska City to Salt Creek, then over to the Big Blue River, and Fort Kearney in the Platinum. As major Brown talked, I began shifting plans around in my mind. And by the time we landed at Nebraska City, I knew what I was going to do. I bought a team of horses and a cupboard wagon. Kathy and Clinton sat up front with me and Christie rode in back with that compounded canner of hers. We set out due west, following the single furlal line which had been plowed across the prairie to mark out the trail. Every now and then, we'd sight a line of huge freight wagons lumbering toward us. Long before the drivers were inhaling distance, we'd hear the crack of their bullwhips and the bellowing of the straining oxen. The drivers would call out to us, laughing and swearing at the top of their lungs. And then, all at once, we'd be alone again. One wagon wallowing across the endless sea of prairie. Yes, Kathy. When are we going to turn south? We aren't. Well... But we have to to get to Cousin Day. Kathy, do you remember me telling you about major Brown and his steam wagons? Yes. Well, we're going to stake out our farm right along the route of the steam wagon so we can get our stuff to market quickly and cheaply. Oh, Jack. Are you sure the wagons will really work? Christie thinks it's a crazy idea. No, she doesn't. Well, I've seen the majors blueprint since she hasn't. The engines are going to be big enough and powerful enough to pull a whole string of wagons, just like a railroad engine. Only better. Because the steam wagon doesn't run on rails, it can go anywhere. Yep. You see that standard tree's up there? Yeah. Well, that means we're coming to a stream. That's just what I've been scouting for. Whoa, whoa. What do you mean, right here? Right here. Just look at that soil, Kathy. It's rich and black. The best growing land I've ever seen. Well... What do you say, Clint? Where are we going to sleep, Dad? Right here in the wagon, son, until we cut some of that timber and start building. Christy, how about you? Christy, how is this for the farm? Hey, Christy, are you deaf? Kind of, Daddy. She put cotton in there so she couldn't hear the bullwackers hollering. Oh. Well, her face tells what she's thinking anyway. All right, I guess I'm going to have to prove myself to all of you. Everybody out, spoken by the plow and seated by hand. Finally, the farmhouse was up and I turned to fencing the property. One afternoon, Clint and I were digging post holes when another train of freighters came lumbering along the trail. The lead wagon pulled up in front of us and a fellow with a big red beard grinned down at us. Ah! Something we can do for you? No. Just what it looks like. We're farming. And what kind of a double-talking hairpin told you about this place? And farming's insane. And for those who are neither, sir, it's the calling of men that were born brave. Kathy. And farming don't put cash in a man's book. All you got to do is follow along this trail by speaking the gold diggings or beyond that to California and still more gold. There are many kinds of riches, sir. And we've found ours right here in this soil. In Nebraska. In our cells. So long, uh, about it, Kathy. Certainly. If you'll tell your men to go around to the kitchen, my sister and I are just starting supper. Ah! And what you just said, don't you? Yes, I do, dear. I'm so tired of everyone laughing at you. People find talking so easy, you just dare and go right ahead. And I'll go right on, daring Kathy. Just as long as you're by my side. Hey, Mama, listen. I might have known. The moment Christie sees some new men coming. It's not entertainment. Hold on, Kathy. Let's give them both. Sure. Don't you see, honey, this is just the beginning. Well, we're going to start feeding all the wagon crews. We're starting an inn. And after that, maybe a freight people. We're going to be ready for Major Brown and his steam wagons. We'll make this the best stop over out of Nebraska City. A trading post. A center that will bring others to this farm area, whether in this prairie with us. Well, before you know it, we'll have our own town, Kathy. And you know what we're going to call it? What? We'll call it MacDougall. MacDougall, Nebraska. You like to know that your friends will be particularly proud to display your Christmas card. You can be sure of that special satisfaction if you choose your greetings from the famous Hallmark Gallery Artist Series. Each card in this distinctive group is a beautiful color reproduction of the work of a famous artist. You'll find charming scenes of New England by Grandma Moses, heartwarming bits of Americana by cover artist Norman Rockwell, and vigorous landscapes by the renowned British statesman Winston Churchill. Then there are sophisticated styles by Steinberg, the New Yorker cartoonist, seascapes by Earl Bailey, and many, many more. Once you see them, you'll know that these are the cards your friends will love to display. They'll treasure long after the Yuletide season. You'll find Hallmark Gallery Artist Christmas cards at fine stores everywhere. Why not order yours now in plenty of time for personal imprinting? You can depend on it. That Hallmark on the back of the card you send will tell your friends you cared enough to send the very best. Now back to Lionel Barrymore in the second act of Nebraska Coast starring Fred McMurray. Esther is never truly gone. She's on in memory, requiring only some slight accidents and some tiny signals to bring yesterday and today together as one. So it is now with Jack McDougal as he sits alone and stares thoughtfully at a letter resting in his lap. It was right after Kathy and her sister started the restaurant for the freight wagon drivers that I got a message from Major Brown. He wanted me to come to Nebraska City and see the first of his steam wagons. I met the Major at the hotel and he led me down Main Street toward where a big crowd was gathering. Only the whites. Besides, we're too many for them now. Too many? You mean you've got neighbors? Oh, sure. Some of the folks passing along the trail saw how well we were doing and now we've got five farmhouses going up right now. Glad to use your place as a depot for our steam wagons. I've been counting on it, Major. New house for us up on the hill and then we can turn the old one into a general store. You see, already I've been selling light goods and I'm sure we'll prosper together, Mr. McDougal. Right now my job is to prove the steam wagon before they start building that Pacific Railroad. Are you still talking about that idea back in Washington? Oh, it's more than talk. President Lincoln has signed the bill and Congress has voted $60 million for it. No. Let us through, gentlemen, please. Make way, please. There she is, Mr. McDougal. Our first steam wagon. Shipped all the way from New York. Oh, why'd he be? Isn't it? We've got five farmhouses at 12 feet high. Enough power behind them to pull five loaded freight wagons. Five, huh? All we need is a good, smooth trail. Say, Major, about that Pacific Railroad... I'm aboard, sir. We're going to give her a test run. All right, Ben. You've got 30 pounds, Steve. Major Brown, they'll be bringing the railroad through Nebraska City, wouldn't they? Oh, no, no, they're not. It's Omaha. Omaha. Put it in gear, Ben. Let her go. The engine seemed to work fine, and Major Brown rode us clear to the end of Main Street. The following Tuesday, the steam wagon train was to make its first trip across the prairie. And I promised the Major we'd be waiting at the farm with a big supper for the wagon crew. Tuesday night came, but, uh, no, steam wagon. Then Wednesday. Then Thursday. On Friday morning, I saddled up and rode off east to see what was wrong. When I got back to the farm, Kathy and Clint were waiting at the door. And Christie, well, she was just sitting looking grim. Jack. What happened, Daddy? Now it busted down completely. The engine's just sitting out there in the prairie, seven miles from Nebraska City. Say, the gears went bad or something. Major Brown's gone back to New York to have the whole new outfit made. Oh, Jack, so much time. Yes, I know. Meanwhile, the railroad's going to be building. With no steam wagon, the railroad will take all the freight business, and our trail here will go back to the weeds. Hey, Christie, will you stop that compound of everlasting rocking? Well, what's the matter with her? Oh, she's just tired, dear, and disappointed. We've cooked those three big meals for the wagon crew and had to throw them all away. I know. Now Christie thinks I'm a sure enough failure. Mama, Daddy. Oh, shank and hush, dear. It's all right. Son, listen to me. I didn't say this was the end of everything. Maybe there never will be a MacDougal Nebraska, but we've still got the land. The good, black Nebraska soil. Jack, there's a wagon outside. What do we see? Afternoon, sir. I was wondering if you could tell me about the Indian situation out west of here. Oh, how far are you going, young man? Pikes Peak region. I've got a printing press out in the wagon hoping to set up a newspaper in the Goldiggins. A newspaper, huh? Yes, sir. But about the Indians... Oh, yes. Is that your wife out there in the wagon? Yes. Can she handle the gun good? You mean they're on the warpath? Well, it's too bad. You're both so young, too. We've come a long way, so we can't turn back. No, you don't have to. You could settle down right here and turn out your newspaper. Here? But there's nothing but a few farms. Newspapers got to have readers. Look, son, I can see you don't have the proper appreciation of your opportunity. This is MacDougal Nebraska. Every wagon freighter stops off here. And one of those fellows won. Well, they want reading matters. We can sell them the newspaper and run stories all about their friends. You said we. No, naturally. Naturally, because we're partners, you see. Now, I'm going to build a printer shop for you, and my general store is going to be your first advertiser. But I'm not sure that I... Yes, you are. Now, you go out and bring your wife in here for supper. Yes, sir. No, not this one, Christie. He's already married. Dave Seabury and I started MacDougal Enterprise. Most newspapers wait until there's a town with customers to read it. This time, a paper was going to build a town and bring its own customers. As each edition came out, I started to take copies of it to Nebraska City. Must be quite an up-and-coming place with a paper like this, Mr. MacDougal. Yes, I'll be glad to come out and open up a school. Civilization, this newspaper here, and a school. Now, if you'll say yes, we'll have a church. Wait for a doctor, read the newspaper. We've got a school for our children, a minister for our families. All we need now is somebody to take care of our health. He knows how far we've come in such a short time. But we can still lose everything unless we keep the freight business passing through here. And you know what's happened to that lately. I just got back from our new state capitol and I want to report that they like my idea. Nebraska City right through this town. Wait, but there's still one thing we haven't got. I read this letter and it kind of reminded me of some things that happened. May I read it? Dear Mr. MacDougal, the people of Nebraska have long admired you as a man of vision and courage. And so we of the State Central Committee wish to nominate you as our representative to the National Congress in Washington. Oh, Jack. A man of vision, they say. You are, darling. I don't know. Makes me feel kind of uncomfortable not to be laughed at anymore. Not even by her. Because she's learned a new piece. What's happened to when Johnny comes marching home? Master proposed to her this evening. Great thundering Jupiter. They've always worked out for us, for you and me, and they always will. Whether it's Nebraska or Washington, D.C., everything's going to be all right because we'll be together. That sounds like the talk of a man of vision. I guess maybe they're right. You are my vision, can't you? The one best thing we have to give away can't be measured by cost. You could no more put a price tag on thoughtfulness and kindness than you could on the beautum of the autumn day. Yet the act of being friendly is often such a simple one. A visit to welcome a new neighbor, a cheerful greeting to someone who is ill, or a word of praise and encouragement. I think you'll agree that the happiest people you know are those who have developed a wonderful talent of giving. And one of the most convenient ways for you to remember all your friends and loved ones in these busy days is by sending beautiful hallmark cards. They're the symbols of friendship. They can carry your thoughts to the farthest corners of the world. In no time, it takes a little money to send a heartwarming hallmark card. And here's something nice to know, even though the quality of hallmark cards has improved through the years, their prices remain the same. And you can count on it, that hallmark on the back tells your friends you cared enough to send the very best. Here again is Lionel Barrymore. When your story's about the Midwest, there's nothing like a real Midwestiner like, especially when that Midwest in his name is Fred McMurray. It was great having you on hallmark playoffs tonight, Fred. You gave us an excellent performance. Thanks, Mr. Barrymore. I enjoyed being here. Yeah. Let's see now. You were born in Illinois, weren't you? That's right. You went to school in Wisconsin with the youngest member of your graduating class and earned a number of letters in athletics, and you played the saxophone. You seem to know an awful lot about me. Yeah, I do. I sure do. You see, last week, Jane Wyman told me you were one of the Hollywood artists whose paintings were going to be on hallmark cards this Christmas. And so I did a little researching. I knew you was an athlete and an actor and a musician, but I didn't know about this artistic phase. Well, there was a time when I had an ambition to become a commercial artist, Mr. Barrymore. And I guess all the other things sort of sidetracked it. But it's been a wonderful hobby to have, and I'm glad that one of my watercolors was considered good enough to appear on hallmark greeting cards, Christmas cards. Hobby's a lot more fun when it's shared. Oh, sure, it certainly is. Most certainly is. Thanks again for being with us, Fred, and I hope you will be listening next week when we present a charming story by Jane Austen called Mansfield Park, starring Angela Lansbury. Our hallmark playhouse is every Sunday. Our producer-director is William Gaye. Our music is composed and conducted by David Rose, and our story tonight was adapted by Leonard Sinclair. Until Sunday then, next, this is Lionel Barrymore saying, We're carefully selected to give you expert and friendly service. Remember a hallmark card when you're carrying up to send the very best. Mr. McMurray is soon to be seen as the star of the forthcoming motion picture, Fair Wind to Java. The role of Kathy was played by Lorraine Tuttle. Sammy Og played Clinton. A part of Major Brown was played by Gerald Moore. Eddie Firestone was the newspaper man, and Ted DeCorsio was the teamster. 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, outstanding dramatic entertainment on the hallmark television theater. Consult your paper for time and station. This is Frank Goss saying goodnight to you all until next week at the same time when hallmark playhouse returns to present Angela Lansbury in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and the week following Ellsworth Payne's young Mr. Disraeli starring Joseph Cotton. And the week after that, Sir Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake. Do you know where it is? It's up, down, all around kitchen, living room, bedroom, car. Wherever there's a radio, there's Club 15. So, join us tomorrow night on KMBC. This is KMBC, Kansas City, Missouri.