39-05-10 Sade Visits Bess in Carberry

Sade takes a train trip to Carberry to visit her sister and  family, leaving Vic and Rush to fend for themselves.

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We can be sure of this episode because it is stated by Sade in 39-04-26 Sade's New Luggage that she is leaving on a trip to Carberry in less than two weeks.  In episode 39-05-11 The Davis' are Asleep Upstairs, Sade is away.

It is not known when she returned.

The title is one I gave the episode purely for identification purposes.

41-11-xx The Neighborhood War Bond-buying Contest

Rush and his neighborhood pals are in a contest to see who can buy the most war bonds.

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We know this took place because it is discussed by Vic (he talks to Vernon Peggles on the telephone) early on in episode 41-11-20 Rush Humiliated on Thanksgiving.

Though Vic and Sade lasted the duration of the hectic pre-war years and certainly spanned the time during the wars in Europe and the Pacific, the show has been noted for it's lack of war talk and for being nearly incommunicado about "patriotic" ventures such as the promotion of buying war bonds; this episode though helps prove otherwise.

[Note that even though war bonds is the subject here, this episode took place prior to 41-11-20 Rush Humiliated on Thanksgiving and certainly before the attack on Pearl Harbor.]

Although we don't know the exact date, it seems likely this episode would have aired in November of 1941.  The title is one I have given the episode, purely for identification purposes only.

39-xx-xx The Illuminated Eyes of R.J. Konk Portrait

Vic purchases a portrait of Sacred Stars of the Milky Way-founder R.J. Konk.  However, this is no ordinary portrait; Konk's eyes light up.

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Sade hates the lodge and everything associated with it (and you KNOW it's the truth; so when you boil that down, does she really care for Vic?)   He spends WAY too much money on the lodge and this painting...  Sade probably can't imagine what possible good something like this would have.

If you think deeply about this episode (and ones like this in the 1940's that deal with lodge frivolities) you will see that writer Paul Rhymer treated the lodge-happenings much like a cult.  Vic is so devoted to lodge-founder Konk that he is willing to spend his money on a portrait whose eyes light up!   Look at the picture below (of "the real thing") and you can see that two large light bulbs exist where the eyes would be.  Wouldn't one have to be crazy/DEVOTED to purchase such an item and put on the wall?

Bernardine Flynn and Paul Rhymer

Was Vic stupid?  Not at all - as a matter of fact, easily the brightest person on the show.  Which proves even more what the power a cult or a cult-like figure can have even over the best of us.

This episode is a big part of Vic and Sade lore. It's very sad that we don't have the audio episode to enjoy.  This episode was big even back in the day, as the cast/crew went out and had a faux portrait of Konk made up for Rhymer.

This painting was mentioned in episode 39-09-xx Mr. Gumpox Offers Sade a Stall.

The date is approximate. The title is one I have given the episode purely for identification purposes.

39-08-02 Vic Leaves on Trip to the Midwest

Vic went on a Midwestern trip for Consolidated Kitchenware sometime shortly before episode 39-08-xx Vic's Geographical Trip.  We can assume this was 39-08-02 because we are told in the synopsis for 39-08-01 Vic Needs New Neckties that he's about to go on a trip.

On a side note, we know that Vic got back from his Midwestern trip sometime before 39-08-16, because he was in that episode.

39-05-xx Christmas Card Pressure from Mis' Harris

In the episode 39-06-01 Grandpa Snyder's Christmas Cards, Sade refers to Snyder's cards and compares them to those that Mis' Harris has:

SADE: You've seen them all, Vic.  They're exactly like the ones in Mis' Harris' sample book.

Meaning, that before the Grandpa Snyder episode, there was an episode where the Gooks had to view Mis' Harris' sample book.

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This episode certainly took place in 1939 and the chances are good that it took place in May.

The episode title is one I have designated simply for identification.

40-xx-xx A Big Slob Named V.R. Gook

In episode 40-12-xx H. K. Fleeber's 48 Teeth, Sade recalls a time previous where Vic got his picture in the Kitchenware Quarterly magazine.  That article began, "Over at Plant #14, a big slob named V.R. Gook..."

Vic didn't seem angry at all when this was brought up.  As a matter of fact, he seemed to have enjoyed the attention, even though he was called a "slob."

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Vic not being upset at being called a "slob" shouldn't surprise anyone, as Vic can certainly take a joke, as long as he gets the recognition.  We know that anytime his photo is involved or a biographical sketch is written about him, things will be botched, or as he might put it, "sloppy!"  The good (whatever that may be) must always come with the bad for Mr. Victor Gook.

The date is unknown but it probably took place in 1940.  There's a very good chance, in my opinion, that an entire episode was built around his inclusion in the Kitchenware Quarterly.

The title is one I have given to the episode purely for identification purposes.

xx-xx-xx Relative of R.J. Konk

Vic comes home from a lodge meeting, with a song in his heart, after meeting Yowtcher V. Konk, a relative of the lodge founder, R.J. Konk.  He's taught Vic a song, which Vic is singing:

Would that these pale hands chrysanthemums might gather,
Would that o'er green fields these slender feet might glide;
The moon is a crystal ball up there,
You my darling are young and fair,
Would that these pale hands...

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Yowtcher V. Konk may or may not be kin to lodge founder R.J. Konk but I have to assume he is.

The synopsis for this episode is taken from this newspaper article.  The date is not known and the title is one I have given to the episode simply to help us identify it.

xx-xx-xx Sade's Flower Garden

Sade has a very nice flower garden, full of peculiar -if not spectacular- species of flowers: Panther's Blood, Late Joe Butlers, Kiss Me Georges, Royal Slumps, Blue Doldrums, Choke-Choke, and of course, her Sick Peacocks.

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Not much else is known abut the garden but the garden description is taken from this newspaper article from 1943.

The date of the episode is unknown (but 1943 or earlier.) The title is one I have given to the episode for identification purposes only.

xx-xx-xx Ne'er-do-wells in the Clink

Many of the town's ne'er-do-wells sleep outside on the courthouse lawn, only to be thrown in jail for it.

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Although this sounds like it might come after this Second Series episode, we know that this episode came in 1943 or earlier.

The synopsis comes from this newspaper article but it lists none of the men who were thrown in jail.

The date is unknown (but 1943 or before) and the title of the episode is one I have given it purely for identification purposes.

xx-xx-xx The Drowsy Venus Chapter Tablecloth Thief

Vic has a lodge brother (it is unknown as to which one) who was caught stealing tablecloths from restaurants.  He would go out to eat, purposely spill ketchup on the tablecloth, then offer to have the tablecloth cleaned.  He would remove the tablecloth, but never return them to the restaurant.

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It's a shame we don't know who the culprit is.

This synopsis was taken from an article from a newspaper (1943.)

The date is unknown and the title is one I gave the episode, purely for identification purposes

xx-xx-xx The Joy of Canned Foods

The Gooks enjoy a meal of canned food, probably making sure the audience knows what kind of quality vittles they are getting.

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A somewhat strange episode (it appears); according to this article, this episode was written and performed simply as an apology to an "upset" canning industry.

The show had received a bunch of letters from an earlier episode in which the Gooks had claimed that their canned food had gone bad. But there was such a firestorm from the canning industry that Paul Rhymer decided to write an episode that was rather complimentary to the canning industry; thus the Gooks enjoyed canned foods and probably made a big deal about it.

The date is unknown but it was probably 1943 or before. The title is one I have given to the episode purely for identification purposes.

xx-xx-xx Gabbing Gooks Go to Glowworm Hamburger Palace

While opening cans for their supper, the Gooks gab and grow weary of the sight of the canned food and decide to ditch them all and instead go to the Glowworm Hamburger Palace.

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This synopsis comes from a newspaper article.  This is the only time we have the name of the Glowworm Hamburger Palace recorded in the data.

According to the article, Vic had stated that the food had probably gone bad in the cans since they had gabbed so much.  This created a small firestorm of mail from canneries all over the United States.  The firestorm was large enough that writer Paul Rhymer later wrote another show about [the safety and joy of] eating out of cans.

The date is unknown (although it must be 1943 or before) and the episode title is one I have chosen pureply for identification purposes.

43-xx-xx Fear in the Bright Kentucky Hotel

The dangerous Bright Kentucky Hotel is more like a prison than a hotel, according to the stories told in this episode. 

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We can assume after reading this newspaper article that the Bright Kentucky Hotel's guests come under considerable scrutiny. The article states that the hotel was managed by Charlie Urquhart.  He ran the hotel under "ironclad rules."

Whether you owned them or not, combs and brushes were chained to the wall, as was a smoking jacket Mr. Gumpox had received as a Christmas gift.

Rules were in place that you could not cook nor smoke in the rooms.  If you were caught doing either deed you were immediately moved to a room that nearly sat on the railroad tracks (barely six inches from death's door.)  In this room, "the unhappy culprit wakes regularly as trains go by, expecting a locomotive to crawl up his pillow."

This punishment room also meant passing engineers might toss a hot coal or two into your window or swoop by and literally steal your meal.

Then there was the constant fear that the railroad men would someday chain the entire hotel to Engine 187 that was headed to Chicago and the rickety hotel would be no more.

+ Charles Urquhart was the name of Vic and Sade's director in 1943.

The date is probably correct but there's no guarantee.  This episode does share similarities with another episode but I have Barbara Schwarz's notes on that episode and there are details in this episode that aren't in the one she noted.

The name of the episode is made up by me and is used purely for identification purposes.