What happens
Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, the water commissioner of Summerfield, hopes to rise to Congress after hearing Judge Hooker's advice to study harder. He tries to study hydraulics and water supply, but his household and office keep disrupting his efforts. Bessie, his secretary, helps him clean out the office files, and the mayor criticizes his work. Gildersleeve dreams of a political career and gives a speech in Washington. When he returns home, he feels like a failure until his family surprises him with a birthday party. The Great Gildersleeve is a radio comedy series, and this episode first aired on NBC on October 22, 1947, starring Harold Peary.
The Gildersleeve household and the water department office in Summerfield, with a brief dream sequence in Washington, D.C.
Characters: Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, Peavey, Judge Hooker, Bessie, Leroy, Marjorie, Birdie, Mayor Tweedy
Listen for: Gildersleeve's daydream of becoming a congressman, and the birthday party his family throws for him at the end.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.