This is a rare “re-run” at Get Rich Slowly. Because I love The Cinnamon Bear so much, I plan to post this every year on the 29th of November. If you have young children — and even if you don’t — I encourage you to listen to these old radio broadcasts with your family.
Holiday traditions don’t have to be expensive. Some of the best traditions don’t cost anything at all.
When I was a boy, Christmas meant The Cinnamon Bear. During the weeks before Christmas, a Portland radio station (KEX) would broadcast a fifteen minute episode of this story every night. The Cinnamon Bear chronicles the adventures of Judy and Jimmy, and their fantastic trip through Maybeland as they search for the missing Silver Star that belongs atop their Christmas tree.
I loved the cast of characters and the exotic locales: the Root Beer Ocean and the Inkaboos, the Wintergreen Witch, the Looking Glass Valley, the Crazy Quilt Dragon. And, of course, I loved Santa Claus and the North Pole. I believe that The Cinnamon Bear sparked within me a lifelong love of fantasy and science fiction.
Because of the vagaries of copyright law, most old-time radio broadcasts are now in the Public Domain. The Cinnamon Bear is freely distributable. Some radio stations still broadcast the show every year. But don’t worry about hunting for it: I’ve gathered all of the episodes here for you to download:
The Cinnamon Bear, episode one: “Paddy O’ Cinnamon”
Judy and Jimmy write letters to Santa. The Silver Star Christmas ornament is missing and the kids go up to the attic to find it. They meet Paddy O’Cinnamon (The Cinnamon Bear) who tells them the Silver Star was taken to Maybeland by the Crazy Quilt Dragon. (11:18 — 2.59mb mp3 — originally broadcast 29 November 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode two: “Weary Willie”
Paddy O’Cinnamon shows Judy and Jimmy how to de-grow so they can follow the Crazy Quilt Dragon to the Lollipop Mountains. They climb into Paddy’s Soda Pop Airplane and fly through the tunnel. (11:44 — 2.59mb mp3 — originally broadcast 30 November 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode three: “Crazy Quilt Dragon”
Feeling remorseful for drinking their Soda Pop and stranding them in Looking Glass Valley without fuel, Weary Willie has the Stork fly them out on his back. They catch Crazy Quilt but he drops the Silver Star in the Root Beer Ocean. (11:51 — 2.71mb mp3 — originally broadcast 01 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode four: “The Inkaboos”
While they try to find the Silver Star, Judy and Jimmy are captured by the Inkaboos. King Blotto is insulted and sentences them to die in the Immense Inkwell. (11:46 — 2.70mb mp3 — originally broadcast 02 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode five: “Weasley the Wailing Whale”
Crazy Quilt comes to the rescue. The children escape to the Root Beer Ocean, where they see the Silver Star floating on the waves. (12:25 — 2.84mb mp3 — originally broadcast 03 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode six: “Samuel Seal”
Wesley the Wailing Whale swallows the Silver Star. Samuel Seal recovers the Silver Star from Wesley, only to have Penelope the Pelican carry it off. (12:43 — 2.91mb mp3 — originally broadcast 04 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode seven: “Presto the Magician”
Judy and Jimmy meet Presto the Magician. He pulls Penelope the Pelican from his hat, but she has dropped the Silver Star on the Island of Obi. (12:26 — 2.85mb mp3 — originally broadcast 05 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode eight: “Candy Pirates”
Judy and Jimmy are captured by Captain Taffy and his Pirates. They take the kids to the Magic Island and loan them a rowboat. (11:55 — 2.73mb mp3 — originally broadcast 06 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode nine: “Roly-Poly Policeman”
Judy and Jimmy are on the Magic Island, where the Roly-Poly Policeman has taken their Silver Star for his uniform. But before the kids can get to him, Crazy Quilt Dragon runs off with the Silver Star again! (12:21 — 2.83mb mp3 — originally broadcast 07 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode ten: “Professor Whiz”
Paddy O’Cinnamon, the Cinnamon Bear has disappeared. Judy and Jimmy are chasing Crazy Quilt Dragon to get their Silver Star. Professor Whiz tells them about the Wintergreen Witch. They follow Crazy Quilt into the Picture Forest, where they meet Fraidy Cat. (12:10 — 2.79mb mp3 — originally broadcast 08 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode eleven: “Fee Foe the Gentle Giant”
Fee Foe the Gentle Giant shows Judy and Jimmy the Goody-Goody Grove and invites them for lunch. They start to follow Crazy Quilt when it suddenly gets very, very dark! (12:41 — 2.91mb mp3 — originally broadcast 09 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode twelve: “Rhyming Rabbit”
Judy and Jimmy meet up again with Crazy Quilt, who says the Wintergreen Witch forced him to steal the Silver Star. While trying to find their way back to the Wintergreen Witch’s house, they encounter the Rhyming Rabbit. (12:34 — 2.88mb mp3 — originally broadcast 10 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode thirteen: “The Wintergreen Witch”
The Wintergreen Witch tries to take Judy and Jimmy’s Silver Star and change the kids into mice, but they get away. After their hurried flight, Crazy Quilt sits on the Silver Star and breaks it. (12:25 — 2.85mb mp3 — originally broadcast 11 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode fourteen: “Queen Melissa”
Crazy Quilt suggests that they all visit Melissa, the Queen of Maybeland, who can tell them how to fix the Silver Star. (12:16 — 2.81mb mp3 — originally broadcast 12 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode fifteen: “Snapper Snick”
Judy and Jimmy learn that they can only read Queen Melissa’s magic instructions in total darkness, which only occurs in the Wishing Woods. On the way there, the kids meet Snapper Snick the Crooning Crocodile, who swallows the magic instructions. (12:08 — 2.78mb mp3 — originally broadcast 13 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode sixteen: “Oliver Ostrich”
Snapper Snick explains that he reads by eating and that’s how he is able to read in the dark. Judy and Jimmy learn that the magic instructions direct them to the the Wishing Well. On the way, they meet Oliver Ostrich who eats alarm clocks. Oliver directs them to the Wishing Well — Paddy O’Cinnamon, the Cinnamon Bear, falls in. (12:26 — 2.85mb mp3 — originally broadcast 14 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode seventeen: “Muddlers”
Judy and Jimmy use their one wish, given by the Wishing Well, to get rescue Cinnamon Bear, and now they can’t fix their Silver Star with the Wishing Well’s magic. While trying to get out of the Wishing Woods, they encounter the Muddlers and the River of Mud. (12:22 — 2.83mb mp3 — originally broadcast 15 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode eighteen: “Cocklebur Cowboys”
Slim Pickens and the Cocklebur Cowboys of the Purple Plain come to the rescue of Judy and Jimmy, Cinnamon Bear and Crazy Quilt, pulling them from the mud (12:18 — 2.82mb mp3 — originally broadcast 16 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode nineteen: “Wooden Indian”
Judy and Jimmy are being chased by Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, a wooden Indian who wants Crazy Quilt’s pelt for his girlfriend Many Happy Returns. Judy trades her looking glass to him instead. After he leaves, they encounter the Wintergreen Witch again in the Golden Grove. (12:19 — 2.82mb mp3 — originally broadcast 17 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode twenty: “Flying Hat”
The Grand Wonky arrives in the nick of time to banish the Wintergreen Witch to Looking Glass Valley. While searching for the Singing Tree, they find the Flying Hat and it has a mysterious note attached. (12:10 — 2.79mb mp3 — originally broadcast 18 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode twenty-one: “Snowman”
The mysterious note invites the crew inside where they find chairs just the right size for all of them. The Flying Hat carries them to the Land of Ice and Snow to get the Silver Star fixed. They ask the Snowman how to find Nicki Froodle, as Queen Melissa told them. Nicki turns out to be an Elf, and he takes them to see Santa Claus. (11:59 — 2.74mb mp3 — originally broadcast 19 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode twenty-two: “Santa Claus”
Santa Claus welcomes Judy and Jimmy and introduces them to Jack Frost who repairs the Silver Star only to have it vanish again. (12:08 — 2.78mb mp3 — originally broadcast 20 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode twenty-three: “The Bad Dolls”
The Bad Dolls have stolen the Silver Star. Santa orders out the Tin Soldiers to capture the Bad Dolls and return the Silver Star. (12:39 — 2.90mb mp3 — originally broadcast 21 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode twenty-four: “The Parade”
The Wintergreen Witch appears again aiding the Bad Dolls in defeating the Tin Soldiers. Santa orders out reinforcements while Judy and Jimmy watch the Christmas Parade. After the Parade, Captain Tintop brings back the Silver Star. (12:30 — 2.86mb mp3 — originally broadcast 22 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode twenty-five: “Captain Tintop”
Captain Tintop tells how they defeated the Wintergreen Witch and then the group goes to a grand banquet hosted by Santa Claus. After the banquet, Crazy Quilt runs off with the Silver Star once again. (12:30 — 2.87mb mp3 — originally broadcast 23 December 1937)
The Cinnamon Bear, episode twenty-six: “North Pole”
Crazy Quilt heads for the North Pole with Santa Claus, Judy, Jimmy, and Nicki Froodle in pursuit. They catch Crazy Quilt and tackle him to recover the Silver Star. Then they wake up in the attic just in time to decorate the Christmas Tree. (12:09 — 2.78mb mp3 — originally broadcast 24 December 1937)
When I was a boy, my brothers and I huddled around the wood stove and listened to the show on AM radio. Now, through the magic of technology, you can download these mp3s, curl up under your electric blanket, and listen on your iPod. Better yet, tuck your children into bed and listen to the story with them. This is a wonderful no-cost holiday tradition.
Enjoy!
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Oh, J.D…. thank you so much! Cinnamon Bear was a HUGE part of my childhood, one I thought was gone forever. (Frankly, am near tears.) My dad always managed to time at least one episode while we were on our way to Peacock Lane.
-cat, portlander in exile
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This is a great story. I had heard it once before. I had never thought of making it a holiday tradition but this is as good as any that I have heard.
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Thank you…I love this!
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Just went to my local library’s website and tried to reserve it — but the CD version is missing!!!!!
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I find it amazing that “The Cinnamon Bear” is touted as a “grand Portland tradition”. My mother’s fifty-five, grew up in Portland, and we’d never even heard of it until last year.
*Real* Portland traditions, also cheap and fun: Peacock Lane, Meier & Frank’s display windows downtown, the Christmas ships, cutting your own tree in the Mt. Hood National Forest.
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Thanks for this! They used to play this for us in grade school back in the early 80′s. I always wanted to share it with other people but I could never remember the name of the program
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My father was born in 1931 and grew up with the Cinnamon Bear. He passed that on to his children and I have a beloved set of cassette tapes of the show.
I am happy to be able to retire the tapes and replace them with MP3s. Thanks so much for the link!
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My daughter, who’s 37, just sent this link to me. Neither of us live in Portland anymore (and miss it a lot!)
Thank you, and thanks for making Cinnamon Bear an on-going part of our Christmas. Can’t wait until next Nov 29th.
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[...] Get Rich Slowly, a blog that I follow occasionally, has posted all of the episodes (which are now in public domain) for free download. Listening to The Cinnamon Bear at Christmas time is a tradition that I still vividly remember and I hope that Blaise cherishes this story as much as I do. [...]
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I grew up in Portland in the 1960s and 1970s, and I remember listening to the Cinnamon Bear–mostly because my mom, who remembered it from the 1940s and 1950s, insisted we listen to it.
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What a lovely tradition! It’s great when you can share things like this with your family. For me, when I was a kid, I loved watching “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” with my brother and sister
I passed this on to my kids and they love it when I make hot cocoa and pop in the DVD set of the Original Christmas Classics (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Frosty the Snowman, just to name a few). You can get this limited keepsake edition set at any place that sells DVDs, and it even comes with a bonus music CD! You can also get it at http://www.christmasclassics.tv. I work with Classic Media, and it’s become a lovely tradition in my family, although my kids have taken more to Frosty the Snowman! Also minimal cost and will last for years!
Thank you for sharing
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JD thanks so much for posting this. Being on the east coast I’d never heard of it, but my family and I sat around the “radio” tonite listening to the first episode. My sons are 8 and 6 and they can’t wait for tomorrow night!
-Best,
Bruce
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Wow – thank you so much for sharing this!
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Thanks JD, my kids are going to LOVE this!
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Thanks for these MP3s. I actually have never heard of this (grew up in the Chicago area…still live there now) but it sounds like a fantastic story to share with my daughter.
My fondest memory of Christmas time has always been watching A Charlie Brown Christmas. Its my absolute favorite Christmas thing and I’ve only missed it a couple of times in my 37 years
Hopefully my kids will also have fond memories of watching it as well.
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It might just be my computer, but the link is not working.
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My wife heard of this 2 years ago when a local college radio station played it before Christmas and fell in love with it. She jumped up and down when I e-mailed her a link to here. Thanks!
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sounds delicious!
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This is lovely – I got sucked right in. Thank you so much for posting it!
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J.D.,
Thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories for my wife and me.
David
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Since I grew up in Western New York I’d never heard of the story, but when I read the description all I could think of was the YouTube video of Charlie the Unicorn and his journey to Candy Mountain.
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I grew up listening to the Cinnamon Bear on KEX every Christmas. Do you remember Mr. Moon on KOIN tv? I would really like to see that program. I am pretty sure the production values by today’s standards were very limited. But he sure impressed me. I always did what he told good little boys and girls to do.
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A Canadian parallel, of sorts; CBC radio (the National radio service) always broadcasts Alan Maitland’s reading of “The Shepherd” on Christmas Eve, or sometimes on the 23rd.
The story isn’t religious; it’s an old fashioned Christmas ghost story set in the 50′s, about a lost fighter pilot who’s guided to safety by someone flying an old WWII fighter. Creepy and sentimental, and a major part of Christmas with my dad.
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[...] The Cinnamon Bear: An Annual Holiday Tradition This is a fantastic frugal way to celebrate Christmas. I’ve saved this to my own computer so we can listen to it in future years at home. (@ get rich slowly) [...]
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[...] for an annual holiday tradition that your family can enjoy together? Get Rich Slowly has an intriguing post about the Cinnamon Bear radio series from the [...]
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Thanks so much for posting this. My 2 kids (6 and 10) have been listening to an episode a night since you posted it. We all are really enjoying it.
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Would like to receive more details from “jrochest” regarding the CBC parallel story: Alan Maitland’s “The Shepherd”. I grew up with the Cinnamon Bear on a Chicago radio station in the 40′s and 50′s. I just completed downloading all 26 episodes in mp3 format. Thank you J.D. The program was sponsored by a department store. I think the name was Wieboldts in Chicago. Can’t recall the station’s call letters. What a wonderful discovery for this Holiday Season.
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Thank you so much for posting this. My kid LOVED it. I hope you’ll post this again next year for people who didn’t see it this year.
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Thank you J.D. …this is truly fantastic.
We lived in a Chicago suburb in the 40′s and I remember racing home from Christmas shopping to listen to these episodes with my sisters. It was a great experience and I have recalled some of the names and episodes over the years. Thanks to you they now are living again. I’m a Neuroscientist and am convinced that those early radio experiences helped our minds to be creative as we imagined the images that had to accompany these extraordinary adventures. Unlike the passive experience of television.
Kenneth Leroy (#27 above) is correct…the adventures were sponsored by Wieboldt’s Department Store.
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Thank you so much for posting these links! I have very vivid childhood memories of listening to these programs and of going to Meier & Frank to sit on the lap of the Cinnamon Bear after walking through the Alpenrose Dairy Christmas display. I’m thrilled to be able to pass on this holiday tradition to my boys!
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I can’t believe I found this. My 4th grade teacher played this for us in class! I loved it and have been trying to figure out where to find it for the longest time!
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I would like to purchase a complete copy of the Cinnamon Bear Story as shown in TV in the 1940′s in VHS or DVD.
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From another Portland girl who grew up in the 40′s and 50′s, Thanks!! I always loved the final few episodes that took place at the North Pole.
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Thank you thank you!
My dad will be extremely happy to find this under the tree tomorrow. Growing up in lake oswego, he remembers this story every year very fondly.
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Hi are the tv shows available on vhs or dvd?my mom talked about watching the show when she was a kid.Thank you
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Thank you so so much for the Cinnamon Bear! Our grade school played it every Christmas over the load speakers so everyone could hear, it was always the highlight of the year. Now I can share this with my nephew and bring back great memories with my friends and family. Thank you for sharing!
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