Being a huge fan of this show for years, I remember when season 3 began( after moving from CBS to ABC) they made NO mention about being in a completely different house BUT a couple of episodes in Beaver does decide to try to dig up a tree( I believe) from his OLD house! The move was never mentioned ever again. I thought the 1st house was really ugly anyway!:)

I agree about the old house.

Here is an interesting fanfic written by user tdr, which imagines a storyline involving the doings of the Cleaver family in the summer of 1959, before moving.

http://sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=369298

In the early season 3 episode you're referring to, probably titled "Beaver's Tree", Miss Landers' class is reading this poem, The Heart of The Tree:

WHAT does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants a friend of sun and sky;
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high.
He plants a home to heaven anigh
For song and mother-croon of bird
In hushed and happy twilight heard —
The treble of heaven's harmony —
These things he plants who plants a tree.

What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants cool shade and tender rain,
And seed and bud of days to be,
And years that fade and flush again;
He plants the glory of the plain;
He plants the forest's heritage;
The harvest of a coming age;
They joy that unborn eyes shall see —
These things he plants who plants a tree.

What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants, in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
And far-cast thought of civic good —
His blessing on the neighborhood
Who in the hollow of His hand
Holds all the growth of all our land —
A nation's growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree

After several readings by the class that were less than stellar, Miss Landers reads (part of) the poem, with feeling. This stirs Beaver's feelings, and he wants "his" tree back, that was given to him when he was younger, and planted by the old house. So he takes Larry over there, and they proceed to dig up the tree, and bring it back to the new house. Beaver leaves it in the wagon, and enlists Wally's help to plant it, while Ward and June go over to the Rutherfords. They leave, and Wally and Beaver start moving the tree. Ward and June come back for something (I'm fuzzy on what it was), and the phone rings--it's Mr. Benner, the new owner of the Cleavers' old house. He tells Ward the neighbors saw Beaver digging up the tree. As Ward tells Benner the neighbors are prone to exaggeration, June taps him, and they see Beaver and Wally hauling the tree in the wagon. Ward stops the boys, and tells them they better be thinking of some snappy answers for this mess, and be ready with them when they get back from the Rutherfords'.

Later Beaver explains why he wanted the tree back, and Ward says he thinks he can make it happen. Still later Beaver re-reads the poem in class, this time with proper feeling.

When Beaver reads the last stanza at the end I always tear up because I love the words. “Who in the hollow of his hand holds all the growth of all our land.”
Like I tear up when Ward reads Beaver’s Most Interesting Character and when Beaver grabs Ward’s head and kisses his father on the cheek after he helps him into his regular clothes in Beaver’s Short Pants.

You can't help but be moved by The Most Interesting Character essay. Whoever actually wrote that (I assume, the episode writer) did a great job.

There definitely are "moments" -- the short pants are another, and to me, when Ward admits he was wrong to send Beaver out into the night, when he ran away. A couple more: when Ward admits he was wrong in Wally's Election and talks about about dreaming through his children (even Mr. Rutherford does that!), and June and Beaver's scene in June's Birthday.

These moments are in short supply, later. Here'a a couple more from later, though--Wally putting his arm around Beaver after Chopper leaves and Beaver is about to bust out, and another--a girl problem, after a fight between Wally and Eddie, and Eddie had stormed out. Beaver was hiding under the bed, and among other things, Eddie had criticized Wally's playing. Wally and Beaver were sitting on the bed, and Beaver simply says, "You're a good basketball player."

Yup there are so many nice moments in LITB. They are few and far between these days. I don't watch any new TV shows now except I saw a nice moment from Sheldon a while ago. It was between him and his mother. For me it’s when Beaver kisses Ward and runs off to school and Ward smiles. Anytime Beaver kisses Ward it’s heartwarming. Like when he doesn’t want Ward to get the weepies but he really doesn’t want Ward to leave them like Mr. Chopper did. “No not real brothers but I have 3 half brothers and one half sister and I used to have two step brothers before Pop’s second divorce. One thing I couldn’t understand Chopper says his father lives with his new wife at their house but how do you get three boys and one girl in such a short time period. Triplets?

Wow;thanks for ALL that info! U r such a fan like me! Exactly which episode of season 3 is it? I don't remember it being the FIRST ONE as it should be to make some mention of their old house> thanks!

It's episode 8--it's actually on MeTV Thursday. Its title is "Beaver's Tree".

By the way, LITB moved to ABC for season 2. It was on CBS for only one season.

Wow 2 houses??

I didnt realise that.......

Being a huge fan of this show for years, I remember when season 3 began( after moving from CBS to ABC) they made NO mention about being in a completely different house BUT a couple of episodes in Beaver does decide to try to dig up a tree( I believe) from his OLD house! The move was never mentioned ever again. I thought the 1st house was really ugly anyway!:)

They made several mentions they were in a different house in various episodes. Beaver's Bath being one, and a few others where they refer to Beaver living closer to some of his friends.

The one weird thing though was Benji still living across the street, guess they moved too.

I did like the episodes in Season 2 where June and Ward go house hunting then Ward makes the announcement they bought a new house. Though the two brothers never got their own bedrooms like Wally told Beaver.

That would have been nice if they did :)


I think it would have been awesome to meet Wally and Beaver :)

We get to see the front of the 2nd house in color when it's used for Marcus Welby MD, although the entrance area I think has been modified a little. It's a nice-looking house.

It's episode 8--it's actually on MeTV Thursday. Its title is "Beaver's Tree".

By the way, LITB moved to ABC for season 2. It was on CBS for only one season.


I just watched it a little while ago!! That was a really good ep. Very sentimental and funny too!!:) The scene when Wally and The Beaver thought Ward and June already left for the Rutherford's and were pulling the tree in the wagon and Ward and June caught them!! :lol:

I thought that June's hair-do's for the 1961-62 season AND the 1st part of the final season was THE BEST! She really rocked 'the flip" hairstyle. Why she went back to the "old look" for the last episodes is nuts; she looked so beautiful with the longer hair? What do you folks out there think?

I called that flip her Jackie Kennedy hairdo. Yes, it really worked for her.

Just wrote a post and it was wiped out not posting it again.

I had that happen once...I was in the middle of a long post (of course) and poof! away it went. I had the same attitude...not doing that again...

All of a sudden I see in red Website Not Secure. Anyway I was just going to mention how in Late Edition June’s hair is short and styled in the beginning and throughout the episode it’s long.

Awhile ago I was pulling up a thread, and it delayed awhile, and came back with a message, something like, Server Not Responding. This website worked better the way it was, but maybe it will improve.

On the June's hair thing, remember, that happened in season 6, too...a short hairdo in the opening, and the "flip" for the rest (or vice versa).

I've also wondered if Ward was promoted or got a raise, because the second house seemed bigger and had a modern kitchen and Ward also got a very nice car the year he bought the house.

There were several hints that Ward had a higher position than Fred (like June's reference to the corner office Ward had, that Fred didn't). Also, Ward and Fred would periodically have meetings with the "Big Boys" (most recently on MeTV, on "Lumpy's Car Trouble"). So, you'd have to think they were pretty high up in the organization.