I LOVE LUCY

It's Yankee Doodle Day in Westport, Connecticut, and the patriotic townspeople are about to unveil a monument to their Revolutionary War ancestors.

For the accompanying pageant, Fred has been tapped as the town crier and Ricky has been chosen to give the dedication speech at the unvieling ceremony. Lucy is showing Ethel the beautiful stone sculpture of a patriot kneeling with a musket, when suddenly Little Ricky announces that his dog, Fred, has run away again.

Lucy jumps in the family station wagon (Ford) and, forgetting about the attached trailer holding the statue, takes off. A few moments later we hear a terrible crash; the one-of-a-kind statue is in pieces.

Desperate, Lucy contacts Mr. Silvestri, the sculptor, who wonders why Lucy wants a second statue. Lucy: "Why? Well, Westport is growing and may become twin cities like Minnepaul and St. Apolis."

A replacement will take two weeks to prepare. Lucy has a better idea. At the ceremony, after Ricky gives his speech, the statue is unvieled. Dressed as a Minuteman, impersonating the sculpture, is Lucy. She goes undetected until Fred the dog decides to lick the patriot's face. Stone figures don't laugh.

Special Notes: The Desilu prop department commissioned the real-life Silvestri Studios in Los Angeles to fashion the Minuteman statue. It was reported that the crowd scene featured the real-life Arnaz children, Lucie, who was five and a half at the time and Desi Jr. But in fact, the only one to appear is Desi Jr. who is standing in front of Vivian Vance. The girl with him is not Lucie Arnaz as has been widely reported. Desi jr., who was four (to whom Ethel says, "Are you having a good time, honey?"). was the only time that any of Lucy's children appeared on "I Love Lucy."

This was the last episode of "I Love Lucy" to air, before it metamorphosed into a series of hour-long specials known as "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour." "I Love Lucy" ended its run while #1 in the ratings.