On this special holiday season episode of CASCADE OF HISTORY, we present Chris Wedes (better known as KIRO TV clown J.P. Patches) and Bob Newman (better known as J.P.'s pal Gertrude) in "A Homefront Christmas," an original radio play first broadcast on KIXI AM 880 in Seattle in December 2001.

Wedes and Newman played a washed up vaudeville act who are coaxed out of retirement to put on a show to cheer up the homefront in Seattle. The action is set in 1941 just after Pearl Harbor, and also stars Tracey Conway, Dave Dolacky and Bob Brooks. Sound effects were performed by David Persson; music was pre-recorded especially for the show by Stan Boreson. "A Homefront Christmas" was written, produced and directed by Feliks Banel, and recorded before a live audience at the old Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle a few hours before the broadcast.

This broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY was presented at 8pm Pacific Standard Time on Sunday, November 10, 2024 via SPACE 101.1 FM and streaming live via space101fm.org from studios at historic Magnuson Park – formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

TECHNICAL NOTE: The podcast edition of this program includes approximately four minutes of additional material which did not fit into the one-hour broadcast format.