44-02-09 Hank Hired as Detective

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

• Vic arrives happy and excited to announce that Hank Gutstop's got a job as House Detective at the Butler House Hotel.
• Sade assumes Hank will need Vic's financial help.  The Butler House manager thinks they ought to advertise the presence of a detective by having Hank wear a suit with loud checks, a fancy vest, big yellow bull-dog-toed shoes, and either a derby or a duck-hunter's cap.
• Uncle Fletcher: "Virgil McRoppstitch invented the shirt with removable pin-stripes."  He had a kit of special tools to do the job.  He also invented the shirt with removable polka-dots, which required two kits of special tools.
  Virgil's brother Ralph liked oranges.
• Uncle Fletcher tells the story about the McWilliamson County picnic.  Everybody at the annual McWilliamson County picnic was asked to make a list of the articles he was fondest of.  Ninety-nine percent wrote down "Mama," followed by candy, peanuts, Sunday school, automobile rides… Reverend Klinger preached a sermon on it: "There is one among us here in this community on the rich plains of Illinois whose heart goes out to the things of the world rather than the things of the spirit." - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

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Though Hank had part-time jobs (very, very part-time) this job as a detective was the only job that lasted any amount of time.

It seems he had a place to live at least most of this time (recall he was going to live in a barbershop once and was seen sleeping near the railway and on the courthouse lawn.) He probably did some singing to scare up a few bucks every now and again - at weddings and christenings and what-all.  But  I wouldn't doubt half of income during the job drought came from Vic.

He also may have made some money playing pool for at one time, as he hung around the Lazy Hours Pool Hall. 

The job as detective would last from this date (February 9, 1944 until the end of the show's run.)

If his writing tells us anything at all, Paul Rhymer was probably fond of peanuts as they are mentioned often.  Sunday school is mention a lot too.