Dick is Losing Customers to Rolling Store

Originally Aired: August 22, 1935

In Lum & Abner #179, "Dick is Losing Customers to Rolling Store," Lum and Abner finally get their rolling grocery store up and running after a week of mechanical troubles. The mobile store proves to be an immediate hit, stopping at every house in Pine Ridge and making sales wherever they go. Meanwhile, at Dick Huddleston's general store, Grand Pappy Spears discusses the new venture with Dick, who begins to realize the impact on his own business.

Dick's concerns prove well-founded as phone calls start coming in from his regular customers asking him to pass messages to Lum and Abner about stopping by their homes with the rolling store. The blow to Dick's trade becomes increasingly apparent, though he tries to remain optimistic that customers will return once the novelty wears off. When Abner arrives announcing they've taken in over sixty-two dollars in their first day, it's clear the rolling store is a major success. However, Lum has literally fallen victim to his own venture's mobility, having forgotten they were moving and stepping off the back porch to help with a spooked horse.