Woodside’s Carlton E. Morse — A radio legend

One Man’s Family told of the trials and tribulations of the Barbour family that lived in the posh Sea Cliff section of San Francisco. Although it debuted during the Great Depression that throttled America, the show was no “Grapes of Wrath.” Not only was the setting in upperclass Sea Cliff, the main character, father Henry Barbour, was the head of a bond house, not exactly a popular occupation when the market crash was blamed for the nation’s economic ills.

The Barbour family was so real to its followers that the Sea Cliff home was on the route of sightseeing buses even though it didn’t exist. There were many references to San Francisco on the show, including the Golden Gate Bridge, which could be seen from the Barbour’s window.

The “The first episode on April 29, 1932, informed the listener that the show is “neither an expose of youth’s foibles nor an accusation against the older generation. It is merely a cross-section of the life of a modern family, given with the hope of explaining father to son and son to father.” What about the mother? Morse described Mother Fanny Barbour as “a staunch weather vane in a stormy climate, pointing always to the eventual triumph of fair weather.” It was clear Mrs. Barbour was a traditional mother and wife who was dedicated to family above all. The couple had five children: Paul, Hazel, Jack and twins Claudia and Clifford.

The San Francisco saga wasn’t the only Morse show that captured the nation’s imagination. His “I Love a Mystery” series started in 1939 and left the air waves in 1952. He also wrote several other shows, among them “I Love Adventure.” The television version of “One Man’s Family” lasted from 1949 to 1952 in prime time and from only 1954 to 1955 during daytime.

The fictional Sky Ranch was often part of the show’s setting, as were other Peninsula locales. The Barbours talked about going to Woodside for groceries or to Redwood City to visit Pinky’s to buy bubble gum. It was on the road from Skyline Boulevard to Woodside that son Clifford Barbour’s wife Irene was killed in a head-on crash. According to The Los Angeles Times, Morse sold his final 13 acres of land in 1986 with the stipulation he could live in Seven Stone for the rest of his life, which ended in 1993 at the age of 91. Married twice, Morse had an adopted daughter.

Much of the information for this column came from “The One Man’s Family Album,” which I found in the Friends of the Library bookstore at Redwood City’s main library. The book was signed by Morse: “To Jim, Christmas 1988, Carlton E. Morse.” If for no other reason, the book is worth keeping because the signature proves Morse’s first name was Carlton, not Carleton as sometimes reported. I don’t know who “Jim” was, but it wasn’t me, although I wish I had known this genius from an era when radio was the theater of the imagination.

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It saddens me to say that this is the last Rear View Mirror. Guess it is age, but I can’t type for long periods. Hands start to hurt and look like claws. I enjoyed this job with the Daily Journal very much, particularly finding something I did not know and then sharing it with my readers. Thanks for reading.

The Rear View Mirror by history columnist Jim Clifford appears in the Daily Journal every other Monday. Objects in The Mirror are closer than they appear.