What happens
Chester A. Riley has a bad day at the aircraft plant and on the bus home. Then he sees his son's school newspaper, which credits the swimming pool's success to school benefactor Barrington K. Bidwell and barely mentions Riley, who did much of the work. Riley feels slighted and expects his family to remember his birthday, which falls on Sunday. He grumbles about the ungrateful children while his son Junior and daughter Gillis secretly collect money for CARE, the relief organization sending food to Europe. The Riley household and their friends stage a birthday party in Riley's honour. The episode is from The Life of Riley, aired on 17 April 1948 on the Blue Network and ABC, starring William Bendix, Paula Winslowe, Hans Conried and Alan Reed.
The Riley family home and the Riley neighbourhood, with the aircraft plant and the local high school in the background.
Characters: Chester A. Riley, Peg Riley, Junior Riley, Gillis, Barrington K. Bidwell, Beverly Bidwell, Joe Myers, Digby
Listen for: Riley's reaction to the school newspaper article, and the children's whispered plans to collect money for CARE.
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.