Home Surgery: Gunsmoke (September 13, 1952)

“Home Surgery” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast September 13, 1952. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Matt Dillon and Chester find a young girl named Tara searching for food miles from her homestead. Her father has been seriously injured when a horse stepped on his leg six days ago, and a man named Ben Walling took their wagon claiming he would fetch a doctor from Dodge. Matt and Chester bring meat and assess the injured man's condition, discovering they may need to provide medical care themselves in this isolated prairie location.

A homestead on the prairie about a hundred miles south of Dodge, Kansas, in the 1870s frontier.

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Tara Handry, Mr. Handry, Ben Walling

Listen for: Matt's assessment of the injured leg and what medical help might be possible; the mystery of Ben Walling's sudden departure with the wagon; Tara's fear of Ben and his intentions toward her.

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.