What happens
Water Commissioner Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve is worried when a newspaper report says eels are leaving the Summerfield reservoir, a sign of drying up. The reservoir is low, and the town faces a water shortage. A self-proclaimed rainmaker, Professor Luther T. Berry, visits Gildersleeve's office with a device he says can produce rain, and asks for $500 in advance. Gildersleeve, desperate, is considering the offer and seeks advice from his friend Mr. Peavey, the family pharmacist. The Great Gildersleeve is a radio comedy series, and this episode aired on NBC on September 10, 1944, starring Harold Peary, Willard Waterman, Lillian Randolph and Lurene Tuttle.
Summerfield, a small town suffering a long dry heat wave, with its water commissioner's office and the town reservoir.
Characters: Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, Leroy, Marjorie, Judge Hooker, Bessie, Professor Luther T. Berry, Charlie Anderson, Mr. Peavey
Listen for: Gildersleeve's exchange with the self-proclaimed rainmaker in his office, and his conversation with Mr. Peavey about whether rain can be made.
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.