rfs T> THE CONVERSION OF PA. BY WM- PERRY. V5=- PRICE 25 CENTS Eldridge Entertainment House Franklin, Ohio, Denver, Colo. MONOLOGS By SEYMOUR S. TiBBALS -TfrHIS series of character monoiogs has provided ^^ something funny, yet clean and wholesome, for the boy or man who wants a specialty along the lines of the professional monolog. They are espec- ially adapted for the olio of a minstrel show or as an individual number on a vaudeville program. Have You Ever Noticed That? A tramp monologf. Izzy's Troubles. For a Hfibrew character. Waiting for the Aiabama Lou. A darkey talking- net. the speaker being a stranded minstrel. Be Keerffui Si. A Rube monolog. As Oi Wuz Say in'. Tor an Irish character. Under the Pretzel Brough, Dutch monolog. PRICE 1 5 CENTS E/ACH. ^r — TWO PATRIOTIC IVIONOLOGS The Stars and Stripes in Flanders. A dramatic reading -vith a climax that will cause a thrill. Price, 25 cents. When Monty Came Home from the Marne. Suitable for any reader and a number that will be welcome on any program. Price 25 cents. ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE FRANKLIN, OHIO, also 944 S.Logan, DENVER, COLO. The Conversion of Pa By WM. PERRY Copyright, 1920, Eldridxe Entertainmanfc Houss. -PUBLISHED BY ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE, FRANKLIN, OHIO DENVKR. COLO. ^^ ^\^ AT' CAST OF CHARACTERS Josiah Armstrong — An old-fashioned but inflitential farmer. Mrs. Armstrong — Josiah Armstrong's wife. Nellie Armstrong — Their daughter Willie Armstrong—Their 12-year-old son. James Thornton — County Agricultural Agent. TMPS6-0C6bS4 DFC 30 i... ^ . ^ k The Conversion of Pa ACT L (Breakfast ju^t linished, Mr. Arin^fronff reading ir. r.ewspaper Mrs. Armstrong and daughter deoring the table. ) Mr. A.r7r>. strong — Well, well, well! Of all the fool things. Mrs. Ar)nstrong — \Vhat*3 wrorg, Josiah? Mr. .4. — I see here where a so-caUed farm demon- stration agent has been hired to show us ho\v to farm. The very idea of such a thinorl What is the Avorld coming to? Mrs. A. — W^hat ({q you mean by that? Mr. A. — I don't know, except it says that the govern- ment has employed these so-called experts to travel around to show us ffirmers how to grow more corn and other crops on the land by improved methods. (Mr. A. drops paper and moves to another chair.) Mrs. A. — It seerns to me there is room, for improve- ment on this farm. Mr. A. — liook nere, Jane, I have been making a liv- ing on this farm ever since we were married. Now, some upstart of a white-collared, book-learned college fellow comes along telling Tne how to farm. Mrs. A. — It may be that he wants to show you somri m.ethod to produce larger yields with less effort. 6 The Conversion of Pa Mrs. A. — Nellie and I have great faith in these up-to- date, progressive movements, especially the Boys' Giub Work. If v^e could only get him to let Willie try his hand at it. Mr. r.— How old is Willie? Mrs. A. — Twelve years of age. Mr. T. — Does he seem interested in the club idea? Mrs. A. — Yes. After reading the announcement in the paper this morning, he seems just crazy to join the club. Mr. T. — Suppose you call him in. Nellie — (goes to door and calls) Willie, Willie, come here a minute. (Enter Willie.) Nellie— Willie, this is Mr. Thornton, the Boys' Club laan. I told him you wish to join, but I think it best that you wait until next year on account of father's objections. It may be he will become converted when he hears of the success of other boys in the county. Willie, — 1 sure would like to be in the club this year, and I think Pa ought to let me do it. Mr. T. — Look here, Willie. I am glad you have the ambition to be a club miember, but it is one's first duty to obey his parents. I think I can get your father over. Mrs. A. — What is your plan, Mr. Thornton? Mr. T. — All that I ask is that none of you reveal the; fact that I am county agent. Mrs. A. — If you will excuse me I will be getting on the dinner. Mr. A. — (outside) Whoa, Dan. Willie, come take this horse. (Exit Willie.) Nellie — Why, that is father. He must have changed his mind about going to town, or else he made the trip mighty quick. (Enter Mr. A.) The Conversion of Pa 7. Nellie — You are back quite soon. Mr. A.— Yes, T met Mr. Tones, whom I wanted to see, and did not have to go all the way. (Enter Mrs. A.) Nellie — Father, let mo introduce you to Mr Thorn- ton. Mr. A. — I ani glad to meet you. l^t's see, what is your line of business? Mr. T. — I am traveling through here, having in view the making of my home in this locality. Mr. A. — Thornton, you say, James. Thornton? It seems to me that is the name of a county agricultural agent, who has been (raising voice) thrust on us. Where is today's paper ? (Mr. A. looking through a bunch of papers, Mrs. A. qidetly pitshes the day's paper ivith her foot under couch.) Mr. A. — (continuing) It seems strange a paper can't last a day in this house. Mr. T. — I know^ whom you refer to. Strange to say, a fellow by my name has been appointed as agent. I have been wanting to locate hereabouts, and as soon as I le'Srn- ed an agent was appointed I fully made up my mind to come and get the benefit of his advice. Mr. A. — So you are one of these new-fangled farm- ers; goodness help you, is all I can say. If I were you, I would locate in some other community, where people are fools enough to believe such rot. Mr. T. — I think I will reserve my decision and look a little further in the county. Mr. A. — (aside) You said a wise thing my boy. (Enter Willie.) Mr. T. — (coniinuing) I think I will be going now. I hope to see you later on, when I hope your mind will change regarding improved methods of farming. Mr. A. — It will take more than you, all the experi- ment stations and demonstration agents combined to con- vert an experienced farmer like myself. 8 The Conversion of Pa Mr. T. — (moving toward door.) By the way, Mr. Armstrong, I have in my case a package of corn a friend of mine gave me to plant. He represents it as a very fine variety. I may not get settled, so I thought I would let you introduce it here, as I have learned that you are quite influential in this section. Mr. A. — Nothing doing, I have in my crib corn that has passed down from my grandfather. It can't be beat. Mr. T. — How much do you average to the acre? Mr. A. — Oh, about 20 bushels. Mr. T. — I don't see why you should object to trjang out this corn. I have hei'e enough for an acre. Mr. A. — I told you I would not fool with it, but since that boy, Willie, has been making so much fuss about getting in that measley thing they call the corn club, I think I will just give him that corn to plant as a sort of consolation. Mr. T. — ^And let him be a member of the club? Mi-. A. — NO! (Aside.) I won't take chances on hav- ing the neighbors make sport of me, growing that im- proved corn. (To Willie.) Willie, do you want to plant that corn as a holiday patch? Willie — Yes, Pa, I will take it. Mr. T. — I'll read the directions on the package for growing it. (Reads.) Prepare the land well. Distribute broadcast 200 to 400 pounds of high-grade fertilizer and mark off the land in rows 3y2 feet apart and place kernels 2 feet apart in rows. Cultivate the corn level and shal- low and as often as possible. Mr. A. — Ha, ha, ha! Of all the idiotic ways of grow- ing corn. Why, that patch will be the laughing stock of the county. But freaks must have their day. Go ahead, Willie, and do as the directions say. Mrs. A. — (looking out of the window.) Josiah, there's all the cows out. Mr. A. — Good-bye, sir. Come, Willie, help get up those cows. The Conversion of Pa 9 (Exeunt Mr, A. and Willie.) (Nellie goes vnth Mr. T. to the door. They stand quietly conversing for a few minutes and Mr. T. passes cut,) CURTAIN. ACT II. (Mr. Armstrong's sitting room. All the members of the family sta^iding excitedly looking over th& headlined of a newspaper.) Mr. A. — Who would have thought it? I can hardly believe my eyes. Some mistake may have been made, though I hope this is true. Mrs. A.- — So, you are convinced that there is some- thing in what you call "new-fangled" farming? Mr. A. — Believe me, this is the day of wonders. (Door bell rings. Nellie trips to door, admitting Mr, Thornton.) Mr. T. — Just listen to the headlines of this paper. (Reads.) "Corn Prize at State Fair Awarded to Willie Armstrong, of Blake County." Isn't that too good to be true? Mr. r. — Well, Willie, you have my congratulations. Have you converted your dad, yet? Willie — Yes, I think he is convinced that our way is right. Mr. T. — Mr. Armstrong, I want you to tell me the history of that corn crop. Mr, A. — I had mighty little faith in that proposition, as you know. It looked for a time as though my corn would beat Willie's all hollow, but he kept pegging away until the dry w^eather came, and my com began wilting 10 The Conversion of Pa and his kept green. From then on I never saw such fine corn. Neighbors came from miles around to see it. Fin- ally a representative of the county experiment station heard of it and made a trip here to take a look. He told Willie he ought to exhibit some of his corn, and offered to select the sample. Well, sir, he's got the prize and I'm proud of him. Mr. T. — How much corn did he make? Mr. A. — Sixty-five bushels. (Phone rings.) Mr. A. — (Goes to phone. Speaks.) Yes, this is Jo- siah Armstrong. '^' "^ Yes, Willie is my boy. ■•' "■ He made sixty-five bushels of as fine corn as ever grew. - ■'^' How much do you say you'll give him for it? ■• '" Three dollars a bushel? (To Willie.) Come here. Willie, a man is phoning to know ii you will take $8.00 a bushel for your corn for seed. Will you take it? Willie — You bet I will, but I will give you all you need, fir.=;t. Mrs. A, — Josiar,, I must let you in on a little joke. This Mr. Thornton i> our county agricultural agent. It is he who came to see you in the spring and got Willie on to raising that corn. Mr. A. — (gettiyig up and extending his hand tot Thornton.) Give me your hand, old top. You have con- vinced me that I do not know all about farming. You have played your hand well. I shall look to you often for ad- vice in the future. (Exeunt Mrs. A.. Nellie and Willie. They may be seen by the audience listening at a cracked door, unnot- iced by Mr. A. or Mr. T. ' Mr. T. — Ever since my first visit here I have been possessed of a strong admiration for your daughter. The ties have grown vStronger day by day. 1 have just secured an option on the Ben Taylor place, which I wish to devel- op into a model farm w^hile engaged in my county agent work. To grace this home, sir, T ask the hand of Nellie. The Conversion of Pa 11 Mr. A. — Mr. Thornton, your request is granted. With a man of your diplomacy, I am willing to trust my daughter. {The family rushes in.) Mr. T. — Nellie, your father said "yes."' Mrs. A. — I shall add my hearty approval. Mr. T. — Say, Mr. Armstrong, are you going to vote against the county agent business again? Mr. A. — I shall not only emphatically endorse the work, but shall use my influence in helping develop com- munity clubs, better roads, schools and churches. Willie — And Pa, may I join the com club? Mr. A. — Go to it, son, and get every boy you can in the neighborhood to join, too. Willie— Goody ! Goody ! Mrs. A. — Let us all go in the parlor and sing ''Home, Sweet Home." CURTAIN ^ Pla^s for Amateurs Bv SEYMOUR S. TiBBALS Mr. Tibbais has won a wide reputation as the writer of plays for amateurs that have dramatic action, bright dialog and clean and wholesome plots. Among the most successf':^] of these are Some>/v7here In France; 4 m. 3 f 35c Sergeaet Jim of the U. S. Marines; 7 m. 12 f 35c The Utth Politician; 7 m. 3 f 35c Getting Even With Reggie; 5 m. 8 f. 35c At The Village Postoffice; lt.Z'.ot.rs ...35c The Mao Haters; 11 f . 4 m 35c Vinegars Vaudeville Agency; Number 35c The Millionaire Janitor; play for boys 35c In Dixie Land; male characters 35c Up Caesar's Creek; boys' play 35c Christmas Plays Christmia^ at Finnegan's Flat 25c Christim&s at Golden Gulch 25c ELDEIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE FRANKUN, OHIO, also 944 S. Logaa, DENVER, COLO. >4: Four Clever New Entertainments SURE POP AND THE SAFETY FIRST SCOUTS. is going to be a splendid help in all * 'Safety First*' Campaigns and can be given by children in the school-room or elsewhere. Price 25 cents. FOWL DEEDS A roaring black-face comedy, suitable for minstrels or short play on any program. Price 35 cents. COMMUNITY PLAYS FOR VARIOUS DAYS is a great help in developing the many phases of community life and spirit. A mighty helpful book for all civic work. Price 50 cents. SPECIAL PLAYS FOR SPECIAL DAYS This is another splendid book for every .teacher. These short plays are enjoyable, either for school-room use .or for exhibition purposes. A play for every special day. Price 50 cents. % ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE FRANKLIN, OHIO, also 944 S. Logan, DENVER, COLO. LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS Scene from the Comic Opera, "The Captatn of Plymouth" THE CAPTAIN OF PLYMOUTH This is a splendid number for any time, and especially good for High School, Choral Societies, etc. Price complete $1.25. Right of presentation given with purchase of 1 5 copies. Rental of orchestration $7.00. THE HERMIT OF HAWAII is just the thing for your school society or High School chorus. It is written by the popular composer, Arthur Penn, and is especially tuneful and clever. Price $1.25. Right of presen- tation given with purchase of 1 5 copies. Rental of orches- tration $7.00. OPERETTAS FOR CHILDREN Midsummer Eve - - - - - 60 cents In Little Folks Town ----- 60 cents Under The Sugar Plum Tree - . - 60 cents Arcticania $1,00 SEND 15 CENTS POSTAGE FOR APPROVAL COPIES. ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE, FRANKUN» OHIO DENVER, COLORADO 944 South Logan Stroot.