33-07-07 Rush the Inventor

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Young Rush is a clever kid.  He's made a contraption that is shoddy enough to trick Vic into betting him a dime he can get out of it.  In the end, it's not the dime that counts but who has the freedom to go watch the house down the street burn down.

A dime richer

SEE SOME DIALOGUE AND THE SYNOPSIS

___________________

Brainy Vic loses every battle he encounters, unless it's telling Rush to quiet down.

This is one of the few pre-1935 episodes that is believable and doesn't have a way-too emotional Sade in it.  Vic seems like the Vic-we-know here, and Rush, though he's a youngster, is becoming more 'audio Rush'-like with every ensuing episode.

I often wonder why people stuck with this show for years until the formula was right?  The very early shows had a dumb, frail, insecure Sade - and scripts that often focused on that.  Rush coming along was the best thing that ever could have happened, because 'early' Sade would have killed the show - or turned it into pure soap opera.

Meanwhile, Vic more or less stays the same throughout the transition.

Trivia:

+ The house that is on fire belongs to the Anderson family.  In four more months, another house will burn down in the neighborhood.

41-06-01 Uncle Fletcher Telephones Aunt Bess

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Uncle Fletcher, having been careless in not writing his niece Bess Helfer, is prodded by his landlady Mis' Keller to call her long distance. He goes to the Gook house where they can all say hello to the Helfers.

But Uncle Fletcher hasn't called long distance much and doesn't really know or remember the procedure and so has to ask for help. The Gooks all have their own way of calling long distance and all talk at the same time.

Poor Uncle Fletcher!

MIS' CROWE SAYS:

Uncle Fletcher comes over to make a long distance telephone call and receives some very unhelpful technical support from the family.

As dated as this might seem on the surface – long-distance phone calls are not the complicated process they once were – I think it’s extremely easy to see my own family in this episode. There have been times when my grandmother has been “helped” with a computer problem by me, my parents, my aunt, and a younger cousin all at once, and everybody involved thinks they’re the only one who knows how a computer works, and by the end you’re wondering if it’s even worth it to have one! At the end of the episode, Fletcher is so overwhelmed and defeated, he hangs up and goes home without ever having talked to Bess. If only they’d just left it to the telephone operators – they would have been happy to walk him through the process, I’m sure.

SEE THE SCRIPT (transcribed by Lydia Crowe)

________________________

A very typical episode - but that's not a bad thing!

Trivia:

+ The Helfer's phone number is Carberry 18.

🎙Hear the Vic and Sadecast 077 – Uncle Fletcher to Telephone Bess Long Distance (11/16/17)

Download the complete commercial-free, sound-improved episode!

33-04-26 Vic Fixes Sade's Iron

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNADINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Sade's after Vic to fix her iron.  She thinks Rush plays with it because it's shiny and it's electric.  "Anything that runs by electricity just gets Rush.  The other day he was foolin' around the wash-machine and…"

• Sade explains to Vic: It turns on all right.  That's what's broke about it. When you turn it on, it shoots out electricity. 

  Vic: G'wan.  

  Sade: It does.  A blue puff of ‘lectricity.  Goes whoosh.

  Vic: Don't worry about me.  I usta give Thomas A. Edison lessons about electricity.

• Vic is surprised that Sade's description of the iron's behavior is accurate.
• (Sade refers to Rush being over in Franklin Park with Freeman, refers to Miller's Department store bargain sale, refers to Mis' Fisher seeing a fella on Washington Street.)
• Sade continues to do the dishes, notices the lights are out over on Mason Street.
• (Sade refers to Celia's husband working at the power plant, refers to Sara Kephart.)
• Rush arrives and begins to assist Vic.  Sade won't even touch one of the washers Vic's removed from the iron, fearing she'll get a shock.  Vic and Rush see this as comical.  Sade notices Rush has torn his pants.  He had a coaster-wagon accident and his bottom is scratched up.  Sade sets about to apply first-aid.
• Vic tells of J. K. Hodburner: "fell off a bobsled and skinned himself. Couldn't sit down.  That happened twenty-seven years ago, The eleventh of this coming May, an' he's been standing up ever since. He was too proud to lay down." 
• Vic reassembles the iron, turns it on and blows a fuse.  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

___________________

Since we can "see" into the future, we know Vic is pathetic at fixing anything electrical or mechanical.  Perhaps this is the episode where Sade begins to also see this and wises up to the fact that Vic should not be fixing things.

33-02-06 Mr. Dempsey and Mr. Tunney Meet in a Cigar Store

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

After eating too many strawberries, Rush finds himself sick and begs to climb in bed with his parents.

Rush, who was probably all legs and arms at the time -  refuses to fall asleep until his parents tell him a story.  They proceed to make up a whale of a tale about boxers Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney counting sheep.

SEE THE SCRIPT

___________________

I absolutely love this very imaginative script. I think the reason I like it so much is that I can remember being sick or scared when I was very little (certainly much younger than Rush here - who is 9!) and climbing in bed with my parents.

They never told me a story though and I certainly would had never put my cold feet on them or I would have gotten a poke upside the snoot.  If I was in bed with them, I had to go to sleep.

Despite the fact that I love the script, we were told in another episode that Vic and Sade sleep in separate beds!

33-01-02 New Year's Day - What to Do?

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Early afternoon on New Year's Day:  the family sits quietly. Rush complains that there's nothing to do. He wants to go over to Squirt's house.
• Sade's already told him twice he can't because Squirt's mother has company coming in from Rockford. He suggests he could take his sled over to Roosevelt Hill.  She says nobody'll be there, and she'd like him to stay home: "You shouldn't be thinkin' of somethin' to do all The time.  New Year's Day is when families should stay home an' be nice to each other."
• Vic comments on a news story: "Milton Cagey froze only one toe. Thinks maybe he had a weakness in that toe. Sade recalls Pete Spokes had a weakness in his head and everytime he ate anything fried he went crazy.
• Rush spots Mr. Trogle walking by. Sade comments it's good to know he's all right – almost had pneumonia recently.
• Rush continues to insist there's nothing to do. Sade cautions him to be grateful.  She suggests he read a book and offers to make fudge later. He'd rather go outside.  She offers to go out with him in the backyard to make snowballs. 
• Vic suggests they go to the movies; Sade says not on New Year's Day. She suggests visiting someone. Vic stretches out for a nap. She wants to talk – he promises he won't fall asleep. Rush wants to go visit Fat Henry. Sade doesn't want to be left alone, which she'll be if Vic falls asleep.
• Phone call from Mike "Cheat" Williams: The big boss is in town to address the personnel at Plant #14. Vic has to be there.  Vic: "He's gonna start in about twenty minutes. I got to hump."
• Sade doesn't think she can get ready in twenty minutes. Vic says she's not expected to be there.
• Rush tells Sade Gus Plink just passed by and signaled "Happy New Year" like a deaf ‘n' dumb fella.  Rush: "I expect he's goin' down to the depot an' watch the Hummer come in." 
• Sade is willing to do whatever Rush wants to do for enjoyment. Rush wants to go see the Hummer come in.  Sade goes for her coat. Rush sees Mis' Marshall go by. Sade tries to attract her attention through the window but Mis' Marshall's hurrying.  
• The phone rings. Earl Keefer invites Rush over for a game of indoor horseshoes.  Rush pleads for her permission. Sade hesitates, but gives in. Rush's excited because Earl's Uncle Joe the ventriloquist will be there. Sade insists he put on a clean shirt. Rush mentions Pig Jeffers will be there and Rush might be able to collect the eight cents owed to him. Sade thinks about visiting Mis' Fisher, then asks Rush if any of the kids' mothers will be at Keefer's.Rush: "No, all The ladies went for an auto ride. Nobody home but The kids and Uncle Joe."
• Rush and Vic leave and see Sade in the window. They both decide to return home to keep her company on New Year's Day, making a detour to the drug-store to buy her some chocolate ice cream. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

___________________

In the later episodes, Sade is always occupied with something or someone so why would she feel left out?  Sade is not a needy person at all in the later episodes.

Vic wanting to go to the movies?  This is not the Vic of later programs.

It appears as if the "indoor horseshoes" idea was first formulated by Rush's friend, Earl Keefer rather than Ike Kneesuffer.

32-12-10 Locks of Sidney's Hair as Party Favors

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Rush comes home with a shaved head... his parents are upset and feel bad for him until they find out the true purpose behind the deed.

SEE SOME DIALOGUE AND THE SYNOPSIS

___________________

Again, we see how tough times were in 1932 that the party favors were locks of hair! I wonder what kids would say today if they went to a party and were given hair? "Where's my iTunes gift card?"
literally

This episode reminds me, that for some reason after 1934, all of

Rush's friends disappeared and were replaced with the gang we know today: Smelly, Cracky, Heinie, Rooster, Bluetooth, Vernon Peggles, Milton and the bunch. You could assume they all moved away or that Rush changed schools and lost his friends, but then you wonder whatever happened to...

• Sidney Call? Sister of Heinie and Freda Chinbunny. She was much older than Rush (8 years) and it appears he had a crush on her.  She was cool with this and was sweet to him.  The Call family lived right there near the Gooks.  Did she die or get married or... 
• Elton Keefer is the son of the Brickmush Man.  Where did Elton run off to?  
• Bulldog was Rush's "great enemy".  The Drummonds did not move because Mrs. Drummond is seen in the alley in an episode that Russell is in.  The Drummonds live on University Blvd./Street (yes, both), the same street that Mis' Harris lived on - in other words, Bulldog lived nearly right across the alley, but apparently, became a hermit - or died.
• Link?  Link was Rush's best pal.  They spent hours together.  But Link and his whole family aren't ever mentioned again that we know about after 1934.

What was so 'magical' about 1935 that suddenly made Paul Rhymer change Rush's friends, wholesale. And I do mean wholesale. You won't find his '32-'34 friends in his post-1934 world, or vice versa!

All of the friends on the list (above right) are important people in Rush's life (look 'em up on the character website if you don't believe me).

Trivia:

 + The phrase "given the mitten" is explained in detail, here.

 + When Vic sees Rush's baldish head, he tells him he "looks like a peeled onion" - the exact phrase Sade uses when she talks about Vic's choice of hats.

32-10-18 Rush, Sade, and the Shirt

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Rush wants his catcher's mitt – he's going to play ball in Seymour's vacant lot.  Steve Carlson's mitt had the stuffing coming out of it.  
• Sade wants him to try on the first shirt she's ever made – especially for him.  He's reluctant – she insists.  He's rude about it, she's close to tears, Then he feels badly.
• Sade refers to her sister May, age 23, in Dayton (where Vic and Sade honeymooned). 
• Rush begins to cooperate, Sade makes note of the necessary adjustments – he's reluctant to leave now. After much hemming and hawing, he apologizes.  He wants to help clean up The ravelings.  He discovers she pricked her finger while working on The shirt, and he feels worse – begins to cry.  He resolves to never be mean to her again.
• (Sade mentions Mis' Donahue and Ruthie Stembottom.)    - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason
  

___________________

Times were so hard in 1932, Sade has to make a shirt for Rush.

My mother, who sewed a lot on a machine when I was a child, never even attempted to make me a shirt. It's quite likely that Sade had no machine yet was talented and patient enough to make Rush a shirt.

32-09-21 Restart Excercising (Underwear By Mail Order)

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Sade has trouble getting Rush out of bed. He asked to be wakened at 7 and now regrets it.  He and Vic plan to start exercising together.  Rush protests: "A fella really shouldn't get outta be too fast.  It's bad for the liver and…"
• Rush doesn't intend to wear a shirt: "It's better to exercise naked."
• Rush bets he could sleep from Christmas Eve 'til after the Fourth of July.  Sade says if he did that he'd miss Christmas presents and fireworks: "Better go to bed the day after Christmas and get up the day before the Fourth."  Rush: "Sure. Then I'll get all my Christmas presents on Christmas, go to bed, and wake up and shoot off a lotta firecrackers."
  Sade: "Better tell your friends to give you firecrackers for Christmas.
• Rush goes off to wake Vic. He reminds Vic of their agreement to exercise. Vic cheerfully starts to get up but begins to drift back to sleep. Vic suggests Rush exercise, and he'll watch, offering helpful advice.
• Rush threatens to sit on Vic's stomach, Then he threatens to involve Sade.
• Sade wants to know: is Vic up and exercising?  He shouts double-talk, wants to know if breakfast is ready.
• Vic suggests The exercise program should be started tomorrow. He says he feels stronger already. Sade calls them to breakfast, hopes they're not too worn out to eat. Rush says they're fine and turns to find Vic's still not out of bed.  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

___________________

Unlike some of the other earlier episodes from 1932, I can actually see this one happening.  Missing are the worries that have plagued the Gooks in earlier episodes.

This episode contains the very funny Rush-Sade exchange about buying underwear via mail order (the bathtub, water etc.).

Audio Re-creation by American Radio Theater

32-09-16 Vic Worries About Employment

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY AND BERNARDINE FLYNN

• Sade had locked Vic out, having been frightened when she saw tramps in the neighborhood. She teases Vic coyly, asking him to kiss her through the screen door.  Vic says he can get all the free kisses he wants, but won't say where.  (they greet Harley Runsatchel as he passes.) He says he'll kiss Sade through the screen door.  (Vic greets Mr. Dunslob, who's passing by.)  Sade's been cooped up in the house all day and suggests they sit in The swing awhile.
• Vic agrees. He mistakes a little girl for a boy.  Sade: "It's little Helen Foos, pretty as a picture, an' her dad is homely as a mud fence."  Sade mentions Helen's mother Margaret Mary Foos isn't as pretty as she was since her last two babies arrived.
• Rush has gone to the movies with Squirt. This is the night children under 12 get in 2 for five cents. The kids went early to get the front seats. 
• (Bob Karl is greeted as he passes.)  Sade says Mis' Donahue says Bob Karl is an inventor. Vic recalls some invention that was sort of a cross between a balloon and a plate of mashed potatoes. Vic concedes the guy may not be a half-wit – has an idea or two.
• (Mis' Claysnort is greeted as she passes.)
• Vic brings up The possibility that he'll get laid off. He regrets that if it happens, she and Rush may suffer a little. Sade reassures him he's done fine.
• He admits he has half a notion to quit his job, figuring he could buy a gasoline station. He worries since he's not advancing at work anymore he's liable to become timid and lose his aggressiveness and fight.  "Gets so he looks forward to pay-day and old age like it was a relief."  He asks Sade to think about his gas station idea.  She says, "I'd be right behind you, whatever you did, Vic."  She asks for a kiss.
• Mr. Jordan, passing by, witnesses the kiss. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason 

___________________

The story about the inventor, Bob Karl, seems to be the first attempt we have seen at write Paul Rhymer making up a ridiculous, imagined character.  The Karl character is something straight out of the Uncle Fletcher friendbook, so to speak.

32-09-10 Is Rush Going to Stay?

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY AND BERNARDINE FLYNN

• Sade greets Vic as he arrives home.  She'd seen him stop and chat with Harry Plink, who told him a joke that "wasn't a ladies' story".  She saw him smile at Mis' Bucksaddle – doesn't understand why men find her attractive. She expects Rush and Squirt rode their bikes up to the lake and won't be back in time to eat with them.  Besides lots of housework, Sade's been thinking – she got a letter from Rush's mother, Mary Meadows.
• Seems Mary Meadows' sister, Flory (Florence) married a man from Colorado eight or nine years ago. Somebody left him a lot of money. They never had children, and they'd be willing to take Rush in, seeing as how Vic and Sade "ain't got much to do with" (she's afraid Vic is going to lose his job and won't be able to support Rush.)  Vic greets Steve Croucher going by, and then Mr. Clem as he passes.
• Mary didn't suggest it outright but Sade fears Mary thinks Rush would be better off with folk who can give him advantages money affords.  Vic tells her Rush wouldn't be any happier than he is with them.  He says Mary's just testing Sade to see how she feels about it.  Sade thinks it might have been better if they hadn't taken Rush at all.
  (Jonathan Spicer walks past.)
• Sade sat down to answer Mary's letter in a hurry, but then couldn't think of what to say. Vic brings up the possibility he'll be laid off – says white collar execs will be the first to go.  He'd still be on the payroll, but might only work one or two weeks in a month.  It's the guys in overalls that get the actual work done.
• Vic's saying if he gets laid off, they couldn't do right by Rush.
• Sade thinks he means they should send Rush to Flory. Vic says no, there should be no whooping, hollering, or crying if and until things do get bad.  He just wants to be prepared.  He asks Sade to give him a good laugh.  She does. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason 

___________________

Some of these early episodes just don't feel like they are a part of the Vic and Sade we know. This is one of them.

There are no crazy stories, just the depressed and worried couple sitting on the front porch.

Another thing - there are many characters in this episode that are never heard from again.

There's a Steve Croucher in this episode; he must be the son of Emil Croucher, the grocer.

32-08-20 Vic Forgets Sade's Birthday; Makes a Quick Recovery

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Vic, Sade, and Rush relax on the porch in the evening. Vic and Rush talk baseball; Sade's grumpy but denies the emotion.  Suddenly she announces she's going to walk to Ruthie Stembottom's house – alone.  
• Vic's frightened by this behavior, and he and Rush have no clue what caused this mood in her.  He guesses maybe she's worried about gaining weight or her hair, complexion, or clothes. Vic attributes this to her age.  Rush asks how old she is. Vic: "She's 33… pretty near 34.  Be 34… (pause) … (all of a sudden) Great Jumpin' Jiminy!" Vic asks Rush if it's the 20th of August. Rush doesn't know. They check the paper (the Daily Pantagraph).  It is The 20th – Sade's birthday. Vic berates himself for having forgotten.
• Rush says "Let's go get her. Carry her home. Tell her we knew it all the time."  They prepare for an emergency party.
• Vic calls Old Man Mulraney, who lives over his jewelry store. He wants to buy Sade a wristwatch and a nice Eastern Star pin. Mulraney's  boy will run them over and stop at Croucher's to grab a quart of ice cream.
• They continue to prepare and Sade shows up, calmer.  They pretend nothing unusual is in the works.  
• She tries to tell Vic a story about Fred and Ruthie. Vic pretends he's sleepy and cues Rush to go in with him.  Sade thinks she'll stay up awhile. Vic lures her inside by telling her the sink's clogged up. 
• She sees the table and screams in ecstasy.  Rush asks if she's laughing or crying. She says she's doing both. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

___________________

According to this episode, Sade was born August 20, 1898.  However, like Rush, she will age at a rate of about one and a half year for every six years she was on the show...

The newspaper is the Daily Pantagraph.  And guess what?  It's a real paper - as a matter of fact, it's currently online and it covers the Bloomington/Normal, Illinois area.

Are we to believe that Vic is a member of the Eastern Star?  Sade hates the lodge - why would he buy her such an impractical gift?

33-08-11 Tarzan in the Kitchen

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

1932 film poster

• Vic's working on the July invoices. Sade promises to keep his work area quiet.  Rush is at Seymour's vacant lot and probably won't be back til noon.  
• Vic begins: Toledo – 259, Cleveland – 458, Indianapolis – 784, Akron – 752, Muncie – 180.  Rush bursts in, having torn his pants.  A salesman at the back door is selling collar buttons and shoelaces. Does Vic need any?
• Sade: "Gov is as cranky as a man with prickly heat."
• Rush comes back in to see if Vic wants to buy any safety pins.
• Vic: "Bring that man in here, Rush, and I'll shove his safety pins down his throat. Now get out!"  Sade interrupts Vic to ask if Rush is bothering him. Rush swats a fly on Vic's head.
• Rush, back in the kitchen, lets out a Tarzan yell. He and Sade apologize to Vic. They didn't think he could hear them.  Vic: "Hear you?! Pretty near broke my eardrum."  Rush says it wasn't like the fella did it in the movie anyway. Sade agrees; Rush demonstrates again.  Sade corrects him – shows how it should be done.
• Vic accuses them both of having fallen asleep in the Theater, and he gives it a try, then asks for quiet. Just as he gets back to work, the phone rings.  
• Nosy Mis' Fisher called to see "What's doin'?"
• Vic goes back to work and stops to try the Tarzan yell several times. Sade thinks Vic's calling her.  Rush runs in. Mis' Donahue stopped to borrow something and he had to hide ‘cause he's only wearing underwear. Vic tells him to sit on the davenport like a statue.  Rush offers Vic a piece of peeled orange. He tosses a piece which lands on Vic's work. Sade enters; Mis' Donahue wonders what's the best way to drive to Lake Bloomington.
• Vic gives directions; Sade can't remember them.  He refuses to repeat, claiming he's been driven insane.
• Rush sees visitors approaching: the Spotheaven family.  "And they got their dog."
• Vic tells Sade and Rush they're going to hear how Tarzan of the Apes yells when he really yells.  (And he yells like everything.) - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

___________________

This was specially broadcast at the World's Fair from Chicago.  We have a photograph of the cast at the World' Fair, probably from this same date in 1933:

August 11, 1933

August 11, 1933 was Children's Day at the Chicago World's Fair.

Every now and then, there is an episode where Vic is at home, extremely busy but summons up empathy for Rush and becomes a boy right with him.  This is one of those episodes.

Combine that with the fact that Sade also seems to want to interrupt Vic for no good reason and you have a "crazy episode."

Lake Bloomington is circled

There are a few important facts to note about this episode: Lake Bloomington was mentioned for the first time; this provides us more incentive to believe the town the Gooks live in is Bloomington, not Cropper, Cooper etc. etc.

There seems to be real evidence here that Tarzan the Ape Man (the first film of the franchise from 1932) was shown at the Bijou and Rush was a fan.

This may have been the first mention of Mis' Donahue.

32-08-09 Sade Keeps a Secret Under Her Hat

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Sade gets her hair cut by Ruthie and though Rush notices it, Vic misses it completely.  This upsets Sade and she runs off crying.

Rush doles out expert advice to Vic on how to solve the problem.

THE SCRIPT

________________________

Trivia:

+ This was probably a better than average episode.

+ This is the first time we've heard about Mr. Bucksaddle.

32-08-05 Vic Enjoys Being With Sade

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY AND BERNARDINE FLYNN

• Sade: "Vic, how'd you like to be real young again and be over ‘cross the street havin' a good time?"   
• Vic: "Never younger in my life than I am this minute, Sadie.  I never had a better time in my life than just sittin' here with you."- compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

___________________

No longer can we complain that Vic and Sade aren't lovey-dovey toward's one another as this show apparently was about that very thing.

AFFECTION

One of my favorite episodes of the Burns and Allen radio program is the one in which they try to teach playboy Bill Goodwin how to act like a happily married man, in order to win a choice film role. At one point, Gracie asks him how, in that character, he would tell his wife he loves her. The room is soon awash with his wave of romantic passion. As affectionate as his answer was, it reduces Gracie to a fit of giggles. She then demonstrates how a happy husband really answers that question: she opens the study door, and calls, “George? Do you love me?” George Burns answers, “Yes. Close the door.”

We laugh because it's funny — and we laugh because it's true. People who know and care about each other on their most elemental level, don't need pretty speeches to reinforce that relationship. In fact, affection can become “affection:” something affected, and therefore insincere. This is the case with Victor and Sadie. They are a “couple.” (As beautifully described by Carl Sandburg, via Norman Corwin.) They have their differences, their disagreements, and their disappointments in each other. Ultimately, though, they like to be with each other. They fit with each other. They, too, are a Couple. - SARAH COLE

[Schwarz didn't take many notes for this episode; it seems either the script wasn't very exciting or she didn't feel like messing with it.]

32-08-03 Strawberries and Baseball

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

The Gooks are cropping strawberries, which transitions into them all three playing catch with a baseball.

When Sade breaks Mis' Fisher's window with a wild throw, the family goes and hides out down-cellar.

SEE THE SCRIPT

_________________

A very playful episode, though it's missing many of the elements that we are used to.

Trivia:

+ Mis' Donahue grows peonies, a REAL flower.

+ Mis' Fisher has chickens.  Many of the neighbors have chickens, including Mis' Harris and the Call family. 

+ Despite this being 1932 and in the middle of the Depression, the Gooks are going to eat cream and sugar on their strawberries. Both were considered to be opulent.  Speaking of which -- no one seems to be upset that they are going to have to pay for a broken bay window...  Are the Gooks' rich?

+ Vic calls Sade, ''Baby'' twice and he's not kidding.

32-08-02 Rush Has a Toothache

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Rush isn't eating his breakfast.  Vic: "Y'oughta eat, son. Make blood and muscle so's you'll be full of snap and ginger all day. If you don't eat any breakfast, your pals'll get ahead of you in whatever you're going to do today."
• Vic and Sade think maybe he needs a checkup from Dr. Jeffers. But it unfolds that he needs to see Dr. Keevy, the dentist.  Vic tells of George W. Hulsizer, the famous spit-ball pitcher who played for the Cardinals long ago. He had to have six teeth pulled and went to Dr. Keevy.  Rush doubts that. Vic swears to it.
• The pitcher was in the dentist's chair for all of four minutes – he raised cain because he thought Keevy hadn't done his job – but the job was done and George never realized it. Rush is impressed.
• Sade offers to buy the tooth for $1.  She suggests Vic go along to show Rush it's painless.  Vic panics, as he has a tooth that needs pulling. Sade calls Doc Keevy.  As soon as she hangs up, Vic and Rush reappear, claiming Keevy's out of town in Clinton.  
• Vic: "And it makes it kinda bad because Rush and me are in a sweat to get our teeth pulled out." - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason 
 

SEE SOME DIALOGUE AND THE SYNOPSIS

___________________

Not just Rush but Vic is afraid of dentists...

TRIVIA:

* Dr. Keevy would be the dentist for Vic and Rush the entire series.  It is unknown what dentist Sade went to, or if she even visited the dentist.

32-08-01 Rush Comes Home

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• It's 3 am.  Rush hasn't yet come home. Vic and Sade are beside themselves with worry. Optimism rises and falls. In exhaustion, Sade drops off to sleep.
• Rush slips in the door. Vic chastises him for causing Sade so much worry.  Rush had gone for a long walk, and finally, thinking about how much he cares for Vic and Sade and his fear of the dark, he ran home six miles from near Mr. Call's farm.
• Vic says Rush needs no further punishment than looking at the worry he's caused Sade. He says they'll probably never again mention his having run away.
• Rush had bought some chocolate for Sade at a hot dog stand and cigars for Vic. He fell and dropped them in the mud and tried to wipe them off.
• Rush wakes Sade with kisses. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

See the partial script + notes

___________________

A continuation of the previous episode.

Here we have the sweet side of Rush.

It seems this episode may have bit more like a soap opera than the previous episodes.

We know Mr. Call lives across the street from the Gooks but it appears as if he runs a farm 6 miles from his house as well.

See the complete notes

32-07-25 Vic Runs Into Mike Towers

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Vic isn't eating breakfast, worried he'll run into Mike Towers, and he can't afford to be in a street brawl.  Rush thought he was arranging something wonderful. Mike phones again and threatens Vic.
• This came about because Vic has bragged to Rush that he defeated Jack Johnson in Mexico City, using his Tornado Twist Uppercut and the Jumping Jab.
• Rush's beauty contest is still on and Vernilla's dad, Mr. Lincoln-Washington is involved.  He's the Great God Pan of the Royal Dragons of the Moonlit Universe lodge, and he sports a uniform of purple cloth, gold braid and 60 to 70 buttons.  Vernilla's costume will be fashioned from that.
• Sade's worried about a potential fight and takes Rush aside to explain that Gov's no prize-fighter – he tells such stories to entertain him and instill family pride.  Rush is disillusioned, thinking Vic's a coward.  Sade tells of how Vic beat up a drunk who was bothering her when they were   dating, and Rush understands Vic doesn't fight for the sake of fighting, but will fight when necessary.
• Vic arrives home with a cut lip, head cut from falling on a curb, and two black eyes. He couldn't reason with Mike. Sade wants to involve the police. Vic says Mike's in the hospital. Rush lets out a wild yell.
• Rush: "Yowsa!  Hey, Mom, yell!  We got a champ! Yowsa!" Sade laughs in spite of herself.  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

___________________ 

This episode is a continuation of the previous episode.

Jack Johnson was the focus of one of filmmaker Ken Burns' films: Unforgivable Blackness, which I have seen.  Johnson wasn't an angel but was a victim of racism by the boxing world.  Certainly an interesting study if you ever get a chance to view it; it's occasionally on PBS.

It's fun to see a mention of another lodge on the show that isn't involved with the Sacred Stars of the Milky Way.

32-07-23 Miss Keno and Kid Gook

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Rush wants to enter Sade in the Miss Keno beauty pageant.  The pageant was a combined idea of Rush and his new friend, Link Lincoln-Washington.
• Sade thinks she'll look a silly old woman next to all the pretty young girls.  Vic tells her she'll be as, "Pretty as Vernilla, the colored candidate."
• They assure her she's prettier than Marcella Noonan, 17, Sidney Call, 17, Sissy Cooper, 18, and Vernilla Lincoln-Washington, 16, sister of Link.
• Rush thinks Sade is about 20 years old.  Sade tells him she's 33 years old and it would be foolish to enter such a contest. She suggests he ought to back Sidney Call in the pageant.
• Vic rushes in, furious because Rush has posted his picture all over  town, and it's labeled "Kid Gook, the Wild Tiger of the Ring will box all comers  at the grand opening of the Happy Hour lemonade stand at the corner of Franklin and Virginia Avenues."  
• Rush tells Vic he's trying to arrange for him to fight Mike Towers, the railroad bully. Vic's relieved Mike didn't accept, but then Mike phones and says he's going to "get" Vic. Rush saw him breaking coal with his bare hands and bragged about Vic's skills.  That changed Mike's mind. Vic groans.  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

___________________

This was probably a very funny episode, it's a shame we can't hear this one.

It's not explained what Keno is.  After much research, I have found that Keno was often a game played between features at the movie theater.  Therefore, we can assume the beauty contest took place at the theater between films.  (That seems like a lot of trouble to go to for kids to arrange...)

Franklin Avenue isn't mentioned in the episodes we have audio for.

According to Barbara Schwarz, this episode ran on a Saturday.

32-07-20 Vic Gives Rush A Bawling Out

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Vic's furious.  Rush left him stranded on the roof when he removed  the ladder he was using to fetch the newspaper, and he also put a craw-daddy (crayfish) in Vic's bed.
• Leaving him on the roof is "distinctly beneath his dignity as Chief Accountant."
• Rush apologizes about the ladder, but still thinks the craw-daddy was something to laugh about.
• Vic asks if this is the worst bawling out he's endured, and Rush says no, that had to do with a snowball incident back home. Vic gives him a quarter to say it was the worst to satisfy Sade. They stage a fake whipping and Sade bursts in to stop it. Rush, through sobs, tells Sade he's had the worst bawling out of his life and won't cause anymore trouble.  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

__________________ 

This episode seems to be a continuation of the previous episode, 32-07-19 Vic Trapped on the Roof Getting the Newspaper.

Vic commenting on the challenge of his dignity makes me think of him with the pistols when he visited the Brainfeebles' home.  Dignity, my eye!

32-07-19 Vic Trapped on the Roof Getting the Newspaper

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• The newsboy has again thrown the morning paper on the roof. Vic borrows Mis' Fisher's ladder. He must read the speech "Rubbish" (Mr. Ruebush) gave to the Home Builders Club last night. Rush is off playing "mailman" with Squirt, so he can't go up on the roof.  Vic calls the office to let Miss Lutz know he'll be delayed ‘til 9:30.
• Vic goes up on the roof, gets the paper and finds the ladder gone. His feet are burning. Sade figures Rush took the ladder for the "mailman" game.
• Sade hands Vic up a chair, which draws a crowd of onlookers.  The phone rings. Miss Lutz calls to connect Vic to the boss, and she tells Ruebush Vic's on the roof. Sade finds this comical.  Vic starts yelling at the onlookers (including a Mr. Morris).
• The phone is handed to Vic. He tells Ruebush he's on the roof. An onlooker yells, "We know you're on the roof!"    Vic: "G'wan, ya half-wit! Soon's I get down from here I'm gonna…"   Sade: "Vic!  Mr. Ruebush thinks you're callin' him a half-wit!"
• Vic alternates trying to explain the situation to the boss and yelling at the onlookers to go away. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

___________________

This episode seems to be turning the strongest tide so far from soap opera to comedy.  By reading the notes, it's hard to imagine this being funny (compared to the outrageous Vic and Sade shows that we know now) but in 1932, these slapstick/confusion-type skits were setting the world on fire (and apparently, Vic's feet as well.)

32-07-18 Rush Persuaded to Stay Two More Weeks

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Sade's frantic, trying to wake Vic. She can't find Rush. they find he had crawled into Vic's bed.  Vic: "Show this rattlesnake outta here."
• Vic is cajoled to allow Rush to stay in his bed for another fifteen minutes while Sade makes breakfast. They talk baseball; Vic played for the Normal Community Wolves as a pitcher.
• Rush goes to talk with Sade. He has a new friend – Squirt.  He mentions he likes Vic and Sade very much, but he's going home tomorrow.
• Sade says she knows he's homesick, and they've got great plans for good times. Rush then agrees to stay a little longer. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

___________________

Not that it matters too much but I believe this is the first time I have heard of sleeping arrangements involving a married couple in radio (and I listen to a lot of old radio...)

The fact they have separate beds might be a Hays Code thing (or whatever it was called for radio at the time.) We know that 1950's and 1960's TV showed us separate beds for all of the couples there as well.

Normal is just north of Bloomington

It's interesting to hear that Vic played baseball for an organized league and probably did so as an adult or near-adult. 

Normal is a suburb of Bloomington - and as you probably know, Bloomington seems to be the setting for the Vic and Sade show.

Maybe it's just a part of human nature that I'm not very familiar with but children being homesick seems to a recurring theme in the show. (Recall that Leland Richards was homesick as well in another episode.)

32-07-15 Little Boy's First Day

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Sade wakes Vic because "Victor" is homesick and sobbing.
• At breakfast Vic says his bicycle doesn't fit – what's he supposed to do with it?  
• Young Victor loves the bike, wants to know how much Vic would sell it for.  Vic says, "Five cents – because it's been used."
• Victor offers to buy the bike and hands Vic a nickel, which Vic bites to insure it's not a phony nickel.
• Vic and Victor work together on learning to ride the bike.
• They decide they can't both use the same name so "Rush", the boy's middle name, is settled on.  Vic asks him to call Sade "Mom."
• Vic: "Yeah. the reason for that is one time I heard about a fella called all the ladies "m'am"… and he strained a tonsil and he couldn't never say anything else but ‘pass the butter'."
• They settle on "Gov" for Vic, too.
• At breakfast Rush tells of his acquaintances, especially a Freck Johnson and riding his bike into a Mr. Peckinpaugh.
• Rush gets a wave of homesickness while talking of his sister, Hannah. He leaves the table and Vic and Sade discuss whether they should send him back to Mary. they've already become very attached to Rush. Vic says let's wait awhile – things'll work themselves out."
• Vic decides to stay with the boy all day to keep him from feeling homesick.  He suggests they go swimming.  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

____________________

This episode is really the first time we get to "see" Rush interact at length.

I can't imagine Rush actually being homesick, since we know Rush pretty well. But then again, he was only 9 years old at the time (in radio years, anyway.) I suppose it's very possible. It just seems to go against his nature.

Perhaps the most fascinating things to come from this episode is we find out why Rush calls Vic, "Gov" and we find Rush has a sister, Hannah.  He certainly never mentions her in the audio episodes... but that should be no surprise as he never mentions his mother, either.

In an interview, Bill Idelson commented that this was a very emotional episode.

32-07-14 Vic and Sade Wait For the Boy To Arrive

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

• Vic and Sade are on the porch. Mary and the boy were supposed to arrive two hours earlier.  (Andy Sampson walks past.)
• Vic admits he's excited – couldn't concentrate on his work at the plant.  The boy's coming from 400 miles away.  (Grace and George Peterson and Mr. & Mrs. Vance walk by.)
• Sade: "Well, Mis' Hess told me that Mrs. Vallenga told Mrs. James that this Mrs. Vance told Mrs. Wheaton that she… that she thought I was a gossip and talked behind her back."  They begin to wonder if Mary changed her mind about giving up her son.  Vic figures they'd have wired if that were the case.
• They've painstakingly prepared the boy's room, including Vic's old Harry Shootstraight books.  And Sade put Uncle Huber's piss-pot in the room because it's so far to the bathroom. ["Piss-pot" was the term in Barbara Schwarz's original notes.  I have no idea if these are her words or words from the script. - Jimbo] (Steve Adsit passes, as well as R. D. Foley, whose wife makes his life miserable so he stays out walking all the time.)
• Vic and Sade get more downhearted as time passes, and go inside and Vic tells Sade a story he's invented to amuse the boy, and they both fall asleep in the living room.
• Vic snores.  there's a knock on the door… and another.  A little voice says, "Hello… anybody home?  Hey, Mister, wake up! Wake up! C'mon…" - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

_________________

Announcer Bob Brown talks about the early days of the show: {{{HEAR}}}

Bill Idelson talks about the early days of the show: {{{HEAR}}}

This seems like it would be a wonderful episode. The ending is absolutely perfect and even reading the notes from the script, you can feel the anticipation building and then Vic and Sade being let down.

This still has a soap opera feel to it (at least from reading) but now Rush is on scene. It won't be long before the soap opera feel leaves and is replaced by a whole different feel (although it won't happen right away.)

What's intriguing is that the show goes from one extreme to the other - soapy scenes to absolute craziness.

[Most of the characters the Gooks encounter in this episode do not have character profiles.]

32-07-13 Five Dogs Arrive

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY AND BERNARDINE FLYNN

• Vic has brought home a dog that Mr. Ruebush has bought for him.  
• Mis' Hess over on Virginia Avenue also sent them a dog that morning, a Boston Terrier who's in the kitchen. 
• Sade gets a letter saying the Meadows boy, Victor, is arriving tomorrow.
• They're excited, and they laugh over Mis' Fisher's nosiness.
• Another dog arrives, sent by Emil Croucher.  This is the Croucher who runs the market/butcher shop that we know so well from later episodes.
• Vic admits his secretary, Miss Lutz, intimidated him as he'd never dictated a letter before. He realizes he needs to get up to speed on the job, but when the boss gave him the dog, he used the excuse to get away from Miss Lutz.
• Yet another dog arrives, sent by Stanley Fogarty, the man at the gas station – another Boston Bull.
• Vic practices dictating letters to Sade but stops at the salutation. Sade suggests he write the letters on his shirt-cuffs and read them to Miss Lutz. Vic loves the idea.
• An unknown man pushes another dog in the door and leaves. the dog looks mean, and now, with five dogs in the house, they're a little upset.
• Mis' Fisher snoops around the back door as the five dogs fight in the kitchen. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

______________

The Vic we "know" is very rarely intimidated (although he surely has a problem with women intimidating him, think of the many times Sade has done so and remember his fear over Mis' Korkel's football-playing, desk-smashing mother.)  Add in the fact that Vic never talks about his mother or sister (if he has one.)

His new job and new secretary intimidate him.  It's kind of hard to fathom, since we know that Vic goes on to become the head of his lodge and is a big man around town.  Maybe Vic is secretly a misogynist?

Although not specified by Barbara Schwarz, we assume the dogs were a gift for the coming Victor Meadows (Rush.)  Everyone in town seems to have gotten the same idea.  

Mis' Fisher seems like she could really present a problem to the Gooks - IF they were doing something they didn't want her to know about.  But it seems their life is pretty tepid and therefore, Mis' Fisher is worth a laugh rather than being angry about.

46-08-15 Thimble Club Emergency (AFRS)

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

This is the day Sade is to host the Thimble Club meeting but she's completely forgotten about it. When she realizes the ladies are on their way, she gets Rush, Uncle Fletcher, Vic, Harry Dean, Mr. Sprawl and even Mr. Ruebush (he runs the carpet sweeper) to help her clean up the house.

________________________

The sound isn't the best in this episode but it's mostly tolerable.

This is like a mish-mash of some other scripts together.  The one good thing about this episode is a couple Uncle Fletcher stories.

Trivia:

+ This was an Armed Forces Radio broadcast.  To my knowledge, this is the only AFRS broadcast made of Vic and Sade.

+ Uncle Fletcher tells the story of Owen V. Coonbreef He traveled extensively in the eastern part of North Dakota. He became an armed guard at the Ohio Home for the Obstinate but later changed positions to become an armed guard at the Missouri Home for the Agreeable. He converted all of his money into nickels and dimes to "make it convenient." He married a woman 21 years old - he was 24. Died in 1909.

+ Uncle Fletcher tells a story about Charley H. McSpillter from Belvidere. He married a woman 38 years old (he was 42.) He divided his time between Little Rock, Arkansas and Somerset, Kentucky. He sat aside every Thursday afternoon to practice on the automatic valve trombone, which he could play by ear. He could also play the violin, pipe organ, rope and steam [unintelligible] by ear. He loved cold oatmeal - preferred it to beef steak.

+ Uncle Fletcher tells another story near the end of the broadcast but it's just too muddled to make out what exactly is being said.

+ The Thimble Club meets on Thursdays.

+ Mrs. Thomas (who lives on West Chestnut Street) and Mis' Adams (of N. Stockton Blvd.) are members of the Thimble Club and were mentioned for the first time, as were their streets.

+ Mr. Sprawl, as always is obsessed with his "peanuts with the chocolate smeared on the outside" and is seeking his daughter (Mis' Harris) - something else he seems to be doing often.

+ Harry Dean comes over.  He brings homemade ice cream that his wife had made and had left over.

+ It's not known who played the part of Mr. Ruebush. 

Download the complete commercial-free, sound-improved episode!

42-05-28 Doctor Keevey's Flower Garden

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY AND BILL IDELSON

Sade calls Rush and tells him that he and his father are to meet her and the Stembottoms at Dr. Keevy's house to see his flower garden. Afterwards, the two families will go downtown and eat at the Little Tiny Petite Pheasant Feather Tea Shoppy. Vic however, is too tired to walk that far (I think.)

________________________

The sound is so bad in this episode that the ending is kind of marred that we don't really know what happens.

It's also missing the introduction.

Trivia:

+ Dr. Keevy lives on the 1200 block of Oakland Avenue.

+ Sade called Rush and told him expressly not to allow Vic to lie down on the Davenport (for fear he would fall asleep.)

+ At the flower garden the Gooks are going to inspect, the garden is supposed to have a large section of Panther's Blood flowers.

+ Sade likes flowers and "especially Panther's Blood."

Download the complete commercial-free, sound-improved episode!

32-07-12 Vic Gets the New Job

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY AND BERNARDINE FLYNN

• Sade has difficulty waking Vic. He hasn't slept much, worrying over his job, and he doesn't look well.  He insists he needs to go in because someone will get Frank Whitson's job. He berates himself because they're broke and he's a washout. Sade calls the office and baby's him. Mis' Fisher   phones and is nosy, wondering what Vic is doing home.
• Vic says the (proposed adopted) boy can't come; Sade won't hear of it.
• Mr. Ruebush calls to ask about Vic's health and says nothing about the job, which Vic assumes to mean Charley Kilgore got the job. Vic's very upset, having devoted five energetic years to the company and having taught Charley everything he knows about the business.
• There's a voice outside: "We want Vic Gook! We want the new boss!" Vic and Sade both cry. Vic goes out on the porch to address the gathering. Sade doesn't want him going out there wearing pajamas, but he's too thrilled to be  embarrassed. - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

________________________

This seems to be another dramatic episode, although it's hard to tell without hearing the audio, which I am afraid will never surface. (Although isn't it nice to go through these early episodes anyway?)

I'm not a fan of these maudlin Vic and Sade episodes, especially since they seem to have both Vic and Sade as very emotional. While Vic's nature is show his feelings readily (especially anger and happiness) Sade, as we know her post-series, isn't quite as open. It's interesting to see how these things changed.

It's also interesting how these episodes don't seem funny, either.

If Vic is 'broke', you wonder why he spent $34.00 on a new bicycle just days earlier?

The Mis' Fisher character seems like a Gladys Kravitz type (TV's Bewitched ) and I wonder where she disappeared to in the later years?