What happens
Homer McCauley, a young messenger at the Ithaca Telegraph office in California, takes on his first job during the war years to help support his mother and sister while his brother Marcus serves in the Army. Working with the telegraph manager Tom Spangler and the aging operator Willie Grogan, Homer learns hard lessons as he delivers news of deaths and births to the town. The episode follows his early weeks on the job, his school rivalry with Hubert Ackley III over a race and a girl, and the letters that arrive from his brother. Screen Director's Playhouse presented this radio adaptation of William Saroyan's story on September 9, 1949, starring Mickey Rooney in his original screen role, with the film's director Clarence Brown introducing the program.
Ithaca, California, during the Second World War
Characters: Homer McCauley, Tom Spangler, Willie Grogan, Mrs. Rose Sandoval, Marcus McCauley, Helen Elliott, Hubert Ackley III, Miss Hicks
Listen for: Homer's first telegram delivery to Mrs. Sandoval and Willie Grogan's advice to him about the job
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.