Trouble Because of Abner

Originally Aired: April 18, 1938

Lum #22, "Trouble Because of Abner," finds the partners facing the consequences of Abner's questionable business scheme for their Lonesome Hearts Matrimonial Bureau. With only female clients writing in and no male prospects to offer, Abner had the bright idea of purchasing photographs of prominent Pine Ridge men from Grandpappy's new photography business and sending them out to lonely women without the men's knowledge or permission. Now those unsuspecting bachelors, including Ezra Scrunks and barber Mose Moots, are receiving mysterious love letters from women they've never met and have no idea how these strangers obtained their names and addresses.

The episode opens with Lum and Abner enjoying a peaceful spring day on the store's front porch, lazily discussing the beauty of their mountain town and the previous day's Easter celebration. Their tranquil conversation is interrupted when Grandpappy arrives with troubling news about the responses coming in. While some men like Mose are flattered by the unexpected female attention, others are growing suspicious about the source of these letters, and the secret scheme threatens to unravel.