Baby Jesus Statue Returns To Church's Nativity Scene Nearly 90 Years After Theft

[EasyAce]

By Carla Baranauckas
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/baby-jesus-statue-returns-church-071122114.html

A statue of the baby Jesus is on display in the Nativity scene of a New Jersey church for the first time in nearly 90 years after it was stolen in the 1930s, according to news reports.

The statue was returned to Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church in Hoboken in March, WNBC reported Monday. It arrived in a package with no return address, so the Rev. Alexander Santora, pastor of the church, notified the police before opening it. After the police determined that it was safe to open the package, the statue and a note were found inside.

WCBS reported that the note said:

To Whom it may concern, My Mom told me that the Baby Jesus had been stolen from the church Nativity display at Our Lady of Grace when she was a young girl of about twelve years of age in the early 1930’s. It came into her father’s possession somehow, and I don’t know why he didn’t return it. Instead, he gave it to my Mother after she was married, and she too kept it until her passing when it came to me. Knowing the story, I felt it should be returned to the rightful owner, and you will find it enclosed.

Instead of being displayed in a manger, the statue is on view in the box it was returned in, WABC reports.

“Since it came in what looks like a manger, and paper is like hay, it looks authentic to keep it in that way,” Santora said. “Because that’s how it was returned to us” . . .

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How strange to find this story tonight. I've been spending much of my Christmas Day listening to Christmas-themed old-time radio shows . . . including a classic episode of Dragnet from 1953, "The Big Little Jesus"---in which Friday and Smith try to discover who lifted a statue of the child Jesus from a nearby old church. (The culprit will shock you if you've never heard the episode or seen it re-made on television either during its first TV run in the 1950s or its remaking [under the title "A Christmas Story"] for Dragnet '67.

Dragnet, "The Big Little Jesus"; NBC (radio), 22 December 1953.

---EA.

[verga]

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How strange to find this story tonight. I've been spending much of my Christmas Day listening to Christmas-themed old-time radio shows . . . including a classic episode of Dragnet from 1953, "The Big Little Jesus"---in which Friday and Smith try to discover who lifted a statue of the child Jesus from a nearby old church. (The culprit will shock you if you've never heard the episode or seen it re-made on television either during its first TV run in the 1950s or its remaking [under the title "A Christmas Story"] for Dragnet '67.

Dragnet, "The Big Little Jesus"; NBC (radio), 22 December 1953.

---EA.

One of my favorite episodes of Dragnet. I loved that show.

[Gefn]

@EasyAce

Doesn’t it sound like a radio “Dragnet” show to you?

[Wingnut]

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How strange to find this story tonight. I've been spending much of my Christmas Day listening to Christmas-themed old-time radio shows . . . including a classic episode of Dragnet from 1953, "The Big Little Jesus"---in which Friday and Smith try to discover who lifted a statue of the child Jesus from a nearby old church. (The culprit will shock you if you've never heard the episode or seen it re-made on television either during its first TV run in the 1950s or its remaking [under the title "A Christmas Story"] for Dragnet '67.

Dragnet, "The Big Little Jesus"; NBC (radio), 22 December 1953.

---EA.

That was the 1st thing that came to my mind too!

Nice catch EA
Merry Christmas.

[Victoria33]

bookmark

[EasyAce]

@EasyAce

Doesn’t it sound like a radio “Dragnet” show to you?

@Freya
Why do you think I included a link to that episode? 

[EasyAce]

That was the 1st thing that came to my mind too!

Nice catch EA
Merry Christmas.

@The Ghost
Thank you!

Trivia: When Jack Webb decided to remake "The Big Little Jesus" on Dragnet '67, the main cast for the episode were the same as on the 1953 television episode: Ralph Moody as the proprietor of religious artifacts; Harry Bartell (one of the "Radio Row" actors who had frequent roles on the radio original of Gunsmoke) as Father Rojas; and, Herb Vigran as the hotel desk clerk. In the original (radio and television) Billy Chapin played the altar boy, but in the Dragnet '67 remake the altar boy was played by future Brady Bunch kid Barry Williams.

[Gefn]

I remember the old tv show as a kid. When they put the shows on Netflix years ago when they started streaming it was the first show I binged watched. Loved that show.

[EasyAce]

I remember the old tv show as a kid. When they put the shows on Netflix years ago when they started streaming it was the first show I binged watched. Loved that show.

@Freya
The radio original was better. Have a binge listen here: Dragnet

Then, graduate to maybe the best old-time radio crime drama of them all: Broadway is My Beat.

[Gefn]

@Freya
The radio original was better. Have a binge listen here: Dragnet

Then, graduate to maybe the best old-time radio crime drama of them all: Broadway is My Beat.

@EasyAce I bought the complete collection from Audible a few years back. It took me almost a month to listen to it all. Unfortunately they scrubbed the cigarette ads. When I listened to them as podcasts they had the cigarette ads.

Jack Webb sure liked his smokes.

[EasyAce]

@EasyAce I bought the complete collection from Audible a few years back. It took me almost a month to listen to it all. Unfortunately they scrubbed the cigarette ads. When I listened to them as podcasts they had the cigarette ads.

Jack Webb sure liked his smokes.

Many if not most of the sound files in the collection to which I linked you still have the ads intact.



Fatima, for those interested, was discontinued in the 1980s.

[Gefn]

Many if not most of the sound files in the collection to which I linked you still have the ads intact.



Fatima, for those interested, was discontinued in the 1980s.

Off topic but I looked up those old ads. Loved the old Reagan ones too

[Wingnut]

There are Dragnet Radio broadcasts here.
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles/Dragnet_

Lots of other radio stuff also. 

@Freya
The radio original was better. Have a binge listen here:

Dragnet

Then, graduate to maybe the best old-time radio crime drama of them all: Broadway is My Beat.

Beat me too it!   lol

[Gefn]

I have all the old Sam Spades and Green Hornets on cd.

Like the Sam Spade very much. And Nero Wolfe.

And a lot of Shadows.

My favorite still is Jean Shepard.