Beeker's Barn: Gunsmoke (December 20, 1959)

“Beeker's Barn” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast December 20, 1959. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

Listen to Gunsmoke free, live around the clock: every episode, in the order it first aired. No sign-up.

What happens

Matt Dillon must resolve a tense situation when Old Man Beeker arrives at the Long Branch demanding that the marshal evict a couple—Will Ross and his wife Harmony—from Beeker's barn. Will and Harmony have taken shelter from an approaching blizzard after finding Beeker's original barn burned down, but Beeker refuses to let them stay, even threatening to burn the barn with them inside. Matt rides out to the barn to investigate and defuse the dangerous standoff.

Dodge City and the surrounding territory during a severe winter storm, including the Long Branch saloon and Beeker's ranch barn.

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Kitty, Old Man Beeker, Will Ross, Harmony, Jothro

Listen for: The escalating conflict between the stubborn Old Man Beeker and the stranded couple seeking shelter; Will Ross's explanations for why he and Harmony had to take refuge in the barn; and Matt Dillon's careful negotiation to prevent violence.

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.