A BEE IN A DRONE’S HIVE
Just a few years past a young man from near Edmunds, North Dakota, came to see me. He said he wanted to try a hand at writing a play. When asked what was the most interesting thing in his life at that particular time, he told me about two people who had lived on the farm the greater share of their lives. One wanted to retire and the other to remain. I asked him how he stood on the subject and he said if he were to make a decision he would stay on the farm. “Good,” said I, “there’s the theme for your play, country life versus city life. Lay the scene of the first act in the city and have the farmer retired, showing that all the advantages of real life are not found in the city. Place the second act out in the country and demonstrate the social possibilities of life on the farm.”
Nothing more was said. He left the office. In about three or four weeks he returned with a copy of a play. It was written in lead pencil on an old-fashioned yellow tablet. I asked him what the name of the play was, and he said he had called it “A Bee in a Drone’s Hive.” At first I objected to the title, but after questioning him found that the reason he called the play, “A Bee in a Drone’s Hive” was that he thought that a man who really understood the country should never move to the city; that he was just as much out of place in the city as a bee was in a drone’s hive.
At first thought, I intended to go over the play with him and correct it and make a suggestion here and there. Then another idea struck me. What if this young man were out in the country, would it be possible for him to have anybody go over a play he had written there? Just about that time I made a trip east and read the play to several audiences. It met with a hearty reception wherever read. After a talk with a great many playwrights, authors, and men of affairs, I came to the inevitable conclusion that the best thing to do was to bring the play back and let the author stage it just as he had written it. This was done. Within several weeks the play was presented in the theater.
A full house greeted the performance. Men and women from all over the state were present to witness the production. Everybody said it was the best thing they had ever seen. Rural workers in the audience claimed it was one of the finest arguments in favor of country life that they had ever heard. The author took the part of Hiram Johnson, the philosopher. His make-up was remarkable. He did it himself. After the play several persons suggested that the thing for him to do was to go away and take some courses in writing plays. This did not appeal to him, as he loved the farm and wanted to return to it. What he really found out was that he could express himself.
To-day he operates nearly four hundred acres of land. He has forty head of cattle, eight of which are registered short-horns. He is a successful farmer in every respect. During his spare moments he takes part in home talent plays. He loves the drama. He is married and has a family.
“A Bee in a Drone’s Hive” is the product from the mind of a farmer who actually farms and lives on the farm. Following is the play in full form just as he wrote it and as it was produced.
Scene—“A Bee in a Drone’s Hive” By Cecil Baker