The “Un-Chain” Letter: Hog Returns, Corn Floods, and Penitentiary Fears

Originally Aired: May 13, 1935

In Lum & Abner #106, “Lum Wants to Start an Un-Chain Letter,” the boys scramble to undo their hog-chain disaster after learning it’s against the law. Their plan? An “un-chain letter” to send hogs back to their original owners. But Pine Ridge folks aren’t eager to reclaim their pigs—leaving Abner’s place trampled and Elizabeth fit to run him out. As Cedric struggles to corral the swine, new shipments arrive from as far as Nebraska and California, and the corn-chain letter kicks in, burying them under bushels. Lum muses about letting the hogs “find their own way home,” while Abner worries the penitentiary may be closer than ever. It’s small-town logic, legal trouble, and hog-chaos at its funniest.  

Cast:
Chester Lauck (Lum Edwards), Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), supporting characters including Cedric Wehunt, Elizabeth Peabody

Tags:
LumAndAbner, oldtimeradio, 1930scomedy, JotEmDownStore, PineRidge, radiohumor, vintagebroadcast, chainletter, hogbusiness, cornchain, unchainletter, ruralcomedy, classicradio, Cedric, ElizabethPeabody, penitentiaryfears, Horlicks