Lum & Abner: Classic Small-Town Comedy

Things Go Wrong at Unveiling Ceremony

Originally Aired: May 24, 1935
In Lum & Abner #115, “Things Go Wrong at Unveiling Ceremony,” Lum’s dreams of immortalizing himself in Pine Ridge history take a comedic nosedive. The town is all set for the grand unveiling of a statue honoring Lum Edwards—King of the Hogs—with a dramatic oration and ceremonial flair. Dressed in elaborate lodge regalia and mounted on a white horse, Lum prepares to dazzle the crowd. But there’s just one problem: the crowd never shows up. Despite the speech, the costumes, and the barbecue, only three attendees appear—Dick Huddleston, Squire Skimp, and Cedric. Crestfallen, Lum quietly retreats, leaving his ambitions and his monument in silence. This episode captures the bittersweet hilarity of small-town pride meeting small-town reality.
Cast:Chester Lauck (Lum Edwards), Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), voices of supporting characters including Grandpappy Spears, Dick Huddleston, and Squire Skimp
Tags:LumAndAbner, oldtimeradio, 1930scomedy, JotEmDownStore, KingOfTheHogs, PineRidge, statueunveiling, radiohumor, vintagebroadcast, classicradio, Horlicks, ruralcomedy, vaudeville, smalltownfailure, lodgecostumes, monumentmishap, noonecame

Discussing Story of King Midas

Originally Aired: May 23, 1935
In Lum & Abner #114, “Discussing Story of King Midas,” the partners tally up recent profits—$2,300 from the hog deal (after Squire Skimp’s expenses and commission) and more than $1,400 already in the bank from their circus—giving them about $3,700 to dream on. That sparks Abner’s fanciful riff on King Midas: turning houses, mountains, even his teeth to gold, while Lum patiently points out the comic catastrophes that would follow (you can’t eat if every biscuit turns to bullion!). Around town, handbills go out for the unveiling of Lum’s statue with free barbecue, and the Horlicks photo giveaway hits its Sunday-midnight deadline—an episode that blends tall talk, small-town promotion, and a gentle lesson about easy riches.  
Cast:Chester Lauck (Lum Edwards), Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), voices of supporting characters including Cedric Wehunt and Squire Skimp
Tags:LumAndAbner, oldtimeradio, 1930scomedy, JotEmDownStore, SquireSkimp, PineRidge, radiohumor, vintagebroadcast, KingMidas, goldtouchgag, statueunveiling, freebarbecue, photographpromo, Horlicks, smalltownschemes, ruralcomedy, classicradio, moneytalk, hogdeal, circusprofits

Squire Returns from Chicago with the Check: A Monumental Celebration in Pine Ridge

Originally Aired: May 22, 1935
In Lum & Abner #113, “Squire Returns from Chicago with the Check,” excitement runs high in Pine Ridge as Squire Skimp returns from the big city with payment for the hogs—just in time for Lum’s latest vanity project. Convinced his fortune has turned, Lum finalizes plans for his grand statue unveiling, already engraved with “Lum Edwards, King of the Hogs.” He books barbecue for 400 people, announces the ceremony over the party line in disguise as “Mr. Smith,” and organizes speeches, banners, and music to mark his self-dedicated monument. Meanwhile, Abner frets over the check and half expects trouble from the slick-talking Squire. When Squire finally arrives, all smiles and success, it seems Lum’s ambitions—and his appetite for grandeur—have never been higher.
Cast:Chester Lauck (Lum Edwards), Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), with supporting voices including Squire Skimp and Dick Huddleston
Tags:LumAndAbner, oldtimeradio, 1930scomedy, JotEmDownStore, PineRidge, radiohumor, vintagebroadcast, SquireSkimp, Horlicks, monumentcomedy, selfpromotion, ruralcomedy, smalltowncelebration, barbecue, classicradio, vanityproject, KingOfTheHogs, GoffAndLauck

Lum Orders Statue of Himself: The Hog King Immortalized

Originally Aired: May 21, 1935
In Lum & Abner #112, “Lum Orders Statue of Himself,” Lum decides it’s time Pine Ridge recognized his greatness—by putting up a statue of him in the town square. With the hog proceeds finally in, Lum flips through a monument catalog to pick his pose, debating whether to appear like Lincoln, Grant, or “The Thinker.” Abner, less enthusiastic (and following Elizabeth’s opinion that one Lum around the house is plenty), reluctantly helps circulate a petition. When local barber Mose Moots agrees to “donate” a quarter’s worth of barber work, Lum takes it as overwhelming public support and calls the monument company to place his order. He proudly dictates the inscription: “Lum Edwards—Justice of the Peace, President of the Jot ’Em Down Store, President of the School Board, and King of the Hog.” It’s small-town vanity, big dreams, and perfect Pine Ridge humor.
Cast:Chester Lauck (Lum Edwards), Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), with voices of supporting characters including Squire Skimp and Mose Moots
Tags:LumAndAbner, oldtimeradio, 1930scomedy, JotEmDownStore, PineRidge, radiohumor, vintagebroadcast, Horlicks, SquireSkimp, monumentcomedy, smalltownpride, ruralcomedy, classicradio, vanityproject, statueofLum, hogking, GoffAndLauck

Catalogue from Monument Company

Originally Aired: May 20, 1935
In Lum & Abner #111, “Catalogue from Monument Company,” Lum has a new plan for their self-funded town statue: skip the blacksmith and order a ready-made figure from a monument catalog—then just swap the faces and inscription. Abner flips through the pages, mistaking Venus de Milo for a “secondhand” bargain and Julius Caesar for a dress-wearing “sissy,” while Lum eyes the “Spirit of ’76” and tries to cast Abner as the piccolo player. Their grand design keeps running into one small problem: no hogs in the scene. Just as they scheme to replace a drummer with a concrete porker, Squire Skimp calls from Chicago—the hog market is flooded, feed and storage are piling up, and that long-distance call alone costs $18.36. With the statue dreams wobbling and the hog proceeds in doubt, the fellas decide to hold off… at least until the next brainstorm.
Cast:Chester Lauck (Lum Edwards), Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), voices of supporting characters including Dick Huddleston and Squire Skimp
Tags:LumAndAbner, oldtimeradio, 1930scomedy, JotEmDownStore, SquireSkimp, PineRidge, radiohumor, vintagebroadcast, monumentcatalog, SpiritOf76, JuliusCaesar, VenusDeMilo, hogmarket, longdistancecall, Horlicks, smalltownschemes, ruralcomedy, classicradio, statuecapers, GoffAndLauck

Discussion of the Statue

Originally Aired: May 17, 1935
In Lum & Abner #110, “Discussion of the Statue,” Pine Ridge is abuzz with plans for honoring its new “hog kings.” While Lum dreams of unveiling a grand concrete statue of himself and Abner—with a hog between them—he enlists Caleb Wehunt to craft it, even suggesting a plaster cast mold be taken of their bodies. Abner, ever skeptical, worries about breathing tubes and the hog holding still for the process. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Peabody is furious over the hog damage to her garden, Evelina grows irritated with Lum’s inflated ego, and the Squire’s honesty looms large as the men realize they handed over thousands of hogs without a single receipt. Between romantic blunders, small-town gossip, and highfalutin’ statuary ambitions, the comedy mixes vanity with the ever-present fear that Squire Skimp has swindled them again.
Cast:Chester Lauck (Lum Edwards), Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), voices of supporting characters including Caleb Wehunt, Elizabeth Peabody, and Evelina
Tags:LumAndAbner, oldtimeradio, 1930scomedy, JotEmDownStore, PineRidge, hogchainletter, Lumstatue, Abnerworries, SquireSkimp, ElizabethPeabody, Evelina, CalebWehunt, radiohumor, Horlicks, ruralcomedy, classicradio, plastercast, vanitycomedy, smalltownschemes

Lum Wants Statue Made in His Honor

Originally Aired: May 16, 1935
In Lum & Abner #109, “Lum Wants Statue Made in His Honor,” the hog chain letter finally pays off—literally—after Squire Skimp hauls thousands of Pine Ridge hogs to market on a 10% commission. With visions of newfound wealth, Lum gets carried away with grand plans for immortality, proposing a “statuary” of himself and Abner (with a hog between them) to be erected by the watering trough. Abner, more practical, suggests a town clock instead. But before dreams turn into granite or ticking towers, a harsh reality sets in: nobody bothered to get a receipt from Squire for the hogs. With thousands of animals shipped off and no proof of how many were theirs, Lum and Abner may be at the mercy of Pine Ridge’s most notorious schemer.
Cast:Chester Lauck (Lum Edwards), Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), voices of supporting characters including Cedric Wehunt and Grandpappy Spears
Tags:LumAndAbner, oldtimeradio, 1930scomedy, JotEmDownStore, PineRidge, hogchainletter, SquireSkimp, farmrelief, Lumstatue, townclock, radiohumor, Horlicks, CedricWehunt, GrandpappySpears, ruralcomedy, classicradio, chainletterfallout, hogmarket, smalltownschemes

Squire to Take Hogs to Chicago

Originally Aired: May 15, 1935
In Lum & Abner #108, “Squire to Take Hogs to Chicago,” the Jot ’Em Down Store gang finds themselves knee-deep in hogs—literally thousands of them—from their infamous chain letter scheme. While Grandpappy Spears and Abner bicker over a game of checkers, Lum tallies hogs by the thousands at Abner’s place. Enter Squire Skimp, smelling opportunity as always: he proposes to gather the surplus hogs from Pine Ridge and haul them off to Kansas City, Chicago, and other markets, all for a 10% commission. Though he dresses the plan as a favor to old friends, everyone knows Squire’s in it for profit. The episode balances farmyard chaos with comic misunderstandings—Abner suspects card tricks and rabbits up sleeves—before settling into Squire’s latest money-making scheme.
Cast:Chester Lauck (Lum Edwards), Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), voices of supporting characters including Grandpappy Spears and Squire Skimp
Tags:LumAndAbner, oldtimeradio, 1930scomedy, JotEmDownStore, PineRidge, hogchainletter, farmrelief, SquireSkimp, GrandpappySpears, hogsurplus, radiohumor, Horlicks, stockyards, ruralcomedy, classicradio, chainletterfallout, KansasCity, Chicago, checkerboardcomedy

Dick Says Hog Chain Letter Should Be OK

Originally Aired: May 14, 1935
In Lum & Abner #107, “Dick Says Hog Chain Letter Should Be OK,” Pine Ridge is overrun with hogs—and bushels of corn—thanks to the fellas’ ill-fated chain-letter scheme. While Lum hurries to the county seat to pay steep express charges to ship hogs back to their senders, Dick Huddleston drops by the Jot ’Em Down Store with a crucial clarification: it’s the starting of chain letters that breaks the law, not accepting the hogs or corn. Abner, who wisely refused to turn the hogs loose (that’d be illegal stock running), shares the good news when Lum returns—leading the partners to keep what’s arrived and even ring up folks who tried returning their pigs to bring them back. Between legal hair-splitting, ethical backpedaling, and an 8x10 autographed-photo pitch from Horlicks, the “farm relief” problem seems solved… at least for Lum and Abner.
Cast:Chester Lauck (Lum Edwards), Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), voices of supporting characters including Dick Huddleston, Grandpappy Spears, and Cedric Wehunt
Tags:LumAndAbner, oldtimeradio, 1930scomedy, JotEmDownStore, PineRidge, chainletter, hogchainletter, corn, radiohumor, Horlicks, autographedphoto, postalFraud, ruralcomedy, classicradio, farmrelief, GrandpappySpears, DickHuddleston, CedricWehunt

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