44-05-03 Russell Has Three Bosses

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, DAVID WHITEHOUSE AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Putting up the swing is a ritual

It's time to put up the porch swing and Russell is elected.  Despite plenty of others around to help (Sade, Vic and Uncle Fletcher), Russell must do it alone.  Why?  Because he's one rotten little trivial laborer, that's why.

SCRIPT (part 1) (part 2)

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Russell is at his best when thoroughly agitated.  It's shame we can't hear this one.

I imagine the ritual of putting up and taking down the porch swing was used for an episode backdrop most every year that Vic and Sade was on the radio.

TRIVIA:

* This episode implies that the Husher family lives on Virginia Avenue and is near the Gook house.  Also, the McForper family live on Virginia Ave. (To my knowledge, this is their only time mentioned).  The McForper's left their porch swing out during the winter and it's deep into spring in this episode; Sade considers this a knock on their housekeeping.

* Lodge devotee Honky J. Sponger was mentioned a few times in the script; one time his name was typed as "Honky G. Sponger".

40-08-01 S. Quentin B. H. LaBelle Jr.

Mr. Gumpox will be away: he'll be taking a walking trip to the Northwest Central part of Illinois.  In his stead will be S. Quentin B. H. LaBelle Jr., ''A man who has the lightest and most-skillful touch with garbage'' and, ''A true artist-a master-in every sense of the word, who can give cards and spades to any garbage practitioner in the United States.  He's got garbage in his blood and his passion for garbage burns with a clear, blue flame.''

''S. Quentin has all-gold teeth and won't wear sox.  He was born and raised in Apple Gully, Michigan, where he learned the rudiments of garbage.  Later, he traveled extensively through Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas. making a life study of garbage.  His place of residence was the Bright Kentucky Hotel where he has the best room in the house, a north exposure cooled by the constant rush of freight trains.''

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It is made clear (in what are, essentially, notes from Paul Rhymer) that Mr. LaBelle was a non-speaking character.

Though he seems important, his name never pops up in the audio we have, nor is he mentioned in anything I have run across so far.

The date is unknown and the title was provided by me, purely for identification purposes.  (I believe that) the information for this episode was found in a box in the Wisconsin Historical Society's Paul Rhymer collection.

XX-XX-XX Howard's Inspection

Rush tells Vic and Sade how Mr. Gumpox's horse, Howard, faces an inspection.  Rush puts eye drops in Howard's eyes so they will sparkle and indeed, Howard passes the inspection.

This episode was remembered by a Friends of Vic and Sade alumnus.  The date is unknown and the title was provided by me, purely for identification purposes.

40-12-26 Gumpox's Traveling Bed

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

There's big-doings at the Bright Kentucky Hotel as Rush, his pals and a
newspaper reporter have been invited by Mr. Gumpox to witness occupied beds traveling down hallways, passing each other!  This is just another of the bizarre things that happen in their crazy world.

SEE THE SCRIPT (part 1) (part 2)

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Yes, it's all true... and Vic and Sade are so enthralled with the story that they allow Rush to be out past 1 a.m.

Sade wants to tell the story to Mis' Donahue, who's bound to laugh out loud.

Trivia:

+ Blue Tooth's real name is William Gazelle Johnson.

+ There's yet another barber (who works at the Butler House Hotel's barbershop) living at the Bright Kentucky: Cunningham.  His bed is prone to take off too, when the long, heavy trains barrel past the run-down eyesore.

+ Mr. Gumpox says that when they are in bed and he passes Cunningham in the hall, they wave at each other and say, ''Ta ta'' and ''Bon voyage'', respectively.

+ According to Sade, it appears that sometime prior to this episode, a train jumped the tracks and plowed into Gumpox's room.  That'd be a fine how-do-you-do, wouldn't it?

+ Though we have heard and read accounts of beds traveling down the halls of the Bright Kentucky, this is the first account we have in script form.

44-04-06 Sade Rummy/Russell's Motorcycle

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND  DAVID WHITEHOUSE

For some reason, Vic has chosen Sade for a Rummy partner.  This never goes well, as Sade really doesn't care much about cards (nor the rules of the game).  While the slow game plots along, Russell enters and talks about a "motorcycle" he was given by the neighbor, Mr. Breep.  Sade wants no part of the vehicle.

SCRIPT (part 1) (part 2) (part 3)

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We know that writer Paul Rhymer would often use the scenario of a card game as backdrop, which would enable him to write a real situation for Sade to gossip in (or in this case, drag the game on and on).  The cards mean nothing to the play, other than it's a running gag that Sade hates to play and yet, does for some reason.


The "motorcycle" here has no motor... so, is it still a "motorcycle"?

TRIVIA:

* A 'Mr. Twentysixler' is said to live in Dixon.  You have to wonder if this is Dwight Twentysixler, who shows up in Series 2.

* "Ted" and Ruthie used to own a motorcycle: took trips to Iowa and Indiana on it.

* Russell had recently purchased a first baseman's mitt (for $1.75).  Rush had a few baseball gloves we knew about as well.

* Sade tells Vic that Mis' Appelrot refers to card suits as "suites".  And she's not wrong: "suites" and "suits" are basically the same word.

xx-xx-xx Howard Gets Married

Gimme a kiss....

Howard, Mr. Gumpox's horse, weds a girl horse down the block.  Mr. Gumpox performs the ceremony.

____________________

Clarence Hartzell remembered this episode in an interview he did in the 1970's. (((HEAR)))

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

38-08-02 Howard and Gumpox Have New Fields to Conquer

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN  AND BILL IDELSON

Vic comes home from work and is entertained by a giddy Sade and Rush telling him about their earlier conversation with Mr. Gumpox.  He confided in them that he and Howard are thinking about moving out of town, because they've done all they can do for the community and have new heights to climb.

The title is one I have provided purely for identification purposes.

[The gist of this episode is revealed in the book, Vic and Sade on the Radio: A Cultural History of Paul Rhymer's Daytime Series] 

41-xx-xx Howard's Red, Woolen Blanket

Uncle Fletcher buys Howard a red, woolen blanket as a Christmas gift.

The title is one I have provided purely for identification purposes.

[The gist of this episode is revealed in the book,Vic and Sade on the Radio: A Cultural History of Paul Rhymer's Daytime Series] 

40-xx-xx Mr. Gumpox takes Mr. Sludge to Pontiac

Mr. Gumpox is to take Howard and his garbage wagon to Pontiac, Illinois.  Mr. Sludge wants to go to Pontiac to visit his family who live there.  So, the two decide to go together and the Gooks contemplate how much better the two will know each other after the trip.

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

[The gist of this episode is revealed in the book,Vic and Sade on the Radio: A Cultural History of Paul Rhymer's Daytime Series]

38-04-xx Vic Put Out By Spring Housecleaning

from April 28, 1938

Vic comes home from work and Sade is busy doing spring housecleaning.

For dinner, he's given a can of beans, which he isn't thrilled about at all.

After dinner, he chooses to smoke his pipe but Sade has thrown many of his things away and the pipe seems to be one of those items.  He digs around in the trash for it.

He's ready to settle down for the evening but there's no chair to sit in!  So he makes the best of it and grabs his latest magazine that's come in the mail and sits on the floor.  Despite the hardship, Vic is not unhappy, since he has a new magazine, which is one of the joys of his life.

Later, Vic finds that there's been a mix-up and his new suit pants have been given to Mr. Gumpox to throw away.

Vic is not happy.

_________

And no one can blame him.

I was recently fortunate enough to find this archival, four-panel photo piece from 1938, and I assume this was a recent episode of Vic and Sade.

The date of this episode was almost assuredly in the spring (probably in April) of 1938.  The newspaper piece is dated April 28.

The title of the episode is one I have given the show purely 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. 

___________________

Clerk Charlie Urquhart ran the hotel under "ironclad rules."

An actual NBC promo

Kentucky Hotel's guests come under considerable scrutiny. The article states that the hotel was managed by

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.

43-08-17 Margaret Evelyn Has Died

STARRING: BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

By all accounts, a remake of 41-01-21 Death of Bernice, only Howard's sister here is named, "Margaret Evelyn" and David Whitehouse is "Russell", instead of Bill Idelson's "Rush."

___________________

This episode was apparently just recently found and may be available soon, but this is something that is unconfirmed. It does, however, seem to to be a new disc find.

The title is one I have given the episode only as a point of reference.

44-06-05 No One Missed Uncle Fletcher

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, DAVID WHITEHOUSE AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Uncle Fletcher arrives at the Gook house at breakfast time and it slowly dawns on Vic, Sade and Russell that Fletcher has been away in Dixon for a week.

SCRIPT (page 1) (page 2) (page 3)

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Uncle Fletcher relays one of the benefits of Hyena Grease: removing grass stains from doilies!  Why would there be grass stains on doilies?   You have to love writer Paul Rhymer's humor.

In the first half of 1944, Uncle Fletcher was obsessed with Hyena Grease.

39-02-17 Bess's Letter - the Gumpox Petition

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON 

Mr. Gumpox is thinking of resigning from his position as garbage man in town because he feels he's not being paid enough money. 

But not really. What's he's actually doing is circulating a petition that says the citizens do not want him to quit and don't want the city to accept his resignation.  And if he doesn't get 600 names on the petition, he won't even threaten to resign.

READ THE SCRIPT

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Meanwhile, Sade has another letter from her sister Bess to read to her family; they suggest to her that whenever she has a letter from Bess to read that she gets a chip on her shoulder.

Francis Kleek was mentioned.  He was a very absent-minded fellow from Dixon that used shoe-horns to get his shoes on with and then forgot to take them out.

Gumpox was once dubbed the Grand Old Man of Garbage by the citizens of Dwight and Streator.

Jim Sizemore (Doodlemeister.com) has graciously allowed me to re-post his article about this episode here:


THE GENIUS OF PAUL RHYMER

Paul Rhymer's knack for writing dialogue is nowhere more evident than when a character delivers a telephone monologue. Sometimes it's Vic on the phone curtly dealing with a salesperson or a wrong number, or Rush gabbing with Bluetooth Johnson, Nicer Scott, or another of his buddies from the neighborhood. Most often, though, the telephone monologue falls to Sade when she's home alone taking a break from her domestic duties. The monologue I've chosen as representative is from an undated script, most likely from the early 1940s, since Sade's amiable Uncle Fletcher is featured. Uncle Fletcher joined the show as an on-mike character around that time, and here makes one of his slapstick entrances. When he enters, in the company of Rush, Sade's telephone monologue, or "solo," is transformed into a trio. Actually it's a quartet if you count "Ruthie," on the other end of the telephone line.

ANNOUNCER: Well, sir, it's early afternoon as we enter the small house half-way up in the next block now, and here in the living room we find Mr. Victor Gook all by herself. Mrs. Gook is at the telephone conversing with her close friend and confidante Mrs. Frederick Stembottom. Listen:

SADE (to phone): I didn't take you away from anything, did I, lady? Well, ish, I haven't really got anything to say now that I've called you. (giggles) Yes . . . well, what happened I went like a house a-fire all morning long and done nine million jobs around the house and then got dinner and pitched in on my upstairs the minute the boys left for the office an' school, and finally did quit and wash and put on a clean apron and then discovered I'd been on the go so much I couldn't settle down. (laughs) You know how that is lady. Person gets theirself all keyed up and they hafta slow down gradual or the boiler explodes. (laughs) Yes . . . so I telephoned you. Hey, maybe that's not very complimentary. (loud lady laugh) No, but you appreciate how I mean, Ruthie. Sure. Yes, isn't it a quiet afternoon. One of them hushedy-hushedy afternoons where a person sits and listens to pins dropping. Little bit ago I was out on the back porch shaking my mop and ‘way off in the distance somewhere I heard some fella say giddap to his horse and I bet twenty-five cents he was clear away over on Chestnut Street and that's eight hundred miles from here if it's an inch. Yeah . . . you run inta real still afternoons every so often. Like Sunday kinda. I was sayin' to . . . say, lady, hang on a second, I think I heard my kitchen door. (calls) Hello? Groceries? You, Irving?

RUSH (off): Hi, Mom.

FLETCHER (off): Afternoon, Sadie honey.

SADE (calls, in some surprise): Well—hello. (to phone) Uncle Fletcher and Rush just walked in, Ruthie. I can't imagine what Rush's doing home from school. (crash in the kitchen) Oh, my goodness. (calls) What happened?

FLETCHER (cheerfully, off) Fell down.

SADE (calls sharply) Who fell down?

RUSH (off, cheerfully): We both fell down.

SADE (not loud): Oh, for mercy's sake. (to phone) What, Ruthie? No, we don't need to hang up. There's no reason why we hafta cut our conversation short just because . . . huh?

RUSH (approaching): Uncle Fletcher tripped on his shoelace, Mom.

FLETCHER (approaching, cheerfully): No broken bones, Sadie, Honey, no broken bones.

SADE (to phone): Well whatever you say, lady. Seems like a shame though. I take you away from whatever you're doing and just because my family busts in we hafta cut short our . . . (giggles) . . . well, ish.

RUSH (coming up): Principal called a special teachers' meeting, Mom.

FLETCHER (coming up): Using the telephone, are you, Sadie?

SADE (to phone) No, you needn't bother to call back, Ruthie.

FLETCHER (gently): Mama's using the telephone, Rush. I'd stop my titters, whimpers, and guffaws.

RUSH (amused): O. K.

FLETCHER (sententiously) When the older folks is using the telephone it's always best to let up on the titters, whimpers and guffaws.

RUSH (chuckling): I'm letting up on ‘em.

FLETCHER: You're a good boy.

SADE (to phone): Well, all righty, Ruthie, whatever you say. Dandy. Fine.

FLETCHER (to Rush, sententiously) There was a little boy in Detroit Michigan neglected to let up on his titters, whimpers and guffaws while Momma was using the telephone and he disappeared and all they ever found was one of his tiny patent leather booties, the tassel singed at the bottom.

RUSH (chuckles): I'll remember that.

FLETCHER (gently): Yes—it teaches us a lesson.

SADE (to phone): All righty then, Ruthie lady, we'll leave it like that. You bet. All righty, Ruthie. You betty, lady. Goodbye. (hangs up)

The Last Word

Even before Uncle Fletcher and Rush enter in this example, Sade's monologue—through Rhymer's word choices and emphasis, including pauses, giggles and laughs—becomes a dialogue. It really is a solo, of course, but written so skillfully that we can almost hear her duet with Ruthie on the other end of the line. clip2Rhymer, by his example—assuming we're interested enough to pay attention—is teaching us how to write humorous dialogue even when what he presents appears, at first, to be a monologue. As with the example above, all his lessons are subtle. If we want what he has to teach us, we have to dig it out. After all, Rhymer's purpose in "Vic and Sade" is not to conduct a writing craft class, he simply want's to entertain us. But sometimes it does seem that he also intends to instruct us directly, as in the following excerpt from a 1939 script. As we join the Gook family this time, Sade is explaining to Vic that she has been asked by Mr. Gumpox, the garbage man, to circulate a petition in the neighborhood. Seems he's unhappy with his rate of pay and will consider staying on the job only if Sade can get six hundred signatures, which he assumes will influence the city to give him a raise.

SADE: Let's see. I think I can remember most of that petition. "We, the undersigned, being in sane mind an' sound body, do hereby command, request, an' implore that Francis Gumpox be retained by the city. As homeowners with a passionate love for a beautiful town in which to live we feel that this community could never stand to lose the services of Francis Gumpox, who knows and loves garbage like no other man on earth."

VIC (laughs): Oh, for gosh sakes, does that guy . . .
SADE: Wait a second, I left out a word. "Who knows and loves garbage disposal like no other man on earth."

VIC (chuckles): Thunder.

SADE (giggles): The other word sounds funny . . . "knows an' loves garbage like no other man on earth."

VIC (chuckles): It all sounds funny.

--  Jim Sizemore Doodlemesiter.com  © 2013 Jim Sizemore

40-11-22 Third Lieutenant Stanley - Bright Kentucky Hotel

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON 

In an episode that will remind you of 42-03-xx Mis' Applerot's Petition, Sade comes home from her Thimble Club meeting upset that Mis' Appelrot hijacked the ladies with a silly petition to knock down the Bright Kentucky Hotel.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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This is actually the earlier of the two scripts and it appears as though the scripts are similar, there was a major re-working done in the other script.

This script does not include Rush saying over and over, "I will not sign!" (the petition) but he does allude to the fact that Uncle Strap and Mr. Gumpox would be out of a job and a place to live, respectively.

This episode is also full of Rush reading from an unnamed Third Lieutenant Stanley novel.  He reads:

Third Lieutenant Stanley gave the villainous crew of counterfeiting smugglers one supercilious glance. Then his eyes softened as he turned and gazed at the oval face of Lady Margaret. The beautiful woman smiled bravely, revealing twin rows of perfect teeth the rich color of old ivory. Her hand trembled slightly as she twirled her dainty pink parasol and her small foot in its fashionable French spat tapped nervously. Third Lieutenant Stanley touched her arm. "Let us share a hug an' kiss before we fight these miserable wretches," he grunted. Nothing loath, the beautiful woman lifted her veil an' thrust her lovely head forward. Jabbering amongst themselves, the counterfeiting smugglers watched the exchange of tender caresses an' there was a burst of rude laughter as Third Lieutenant Stanley began to cry. "Sweetheart," he blubbered, "Five minutes from now I may be dead. But, sweetheart, I want you to know that my love for you transcends everything in...   The handsome young officer faced death valiantly. "You fellows can go jump in the creek, I'm not scared," he growled to the leader of the counterfeiting smugglers. But for Lady Margaret he had a sweet smile an' eyes that twinkled merrily. "Give me one more kiss an' one more hug before I kick the bucket, sweetheart," he gloated. The beautiful woman simpered and coquettishly pretended that the mother-of-pearl buttons on her fashionable French spats had come unbuttoned. Finally, blushing furiously, she lifted her veil an' thrust forward her lovely head. "Just one hug an' one kiss now," she warned an' Third Lieutenant Stanley howled loudly his satisfaction an' approval.

The best part of the book was a part he did not get to read, but instead, gives us the juicy details:

The counterfeiting smugglers try to murder Third Lieutenant Stanley by tying him to a tree an' smearing melted marshmallow all over his clothes an' releasing two grizzly bears from a cage. Grizzly bears are very fond of melted marshmallow so it looks like curtains for Third Lieutenant Stanley.

While in the world of Vic and Sade, ridiculous things happen to all of the characters, the things that happen to them must not break the laws of physics or nature - that is, the world of Vic and Sade is a real world.

The world of books and motion pictures, however, go beyond ridiculous, even in the world of Vic and Sade.  The marshmallows and the grizzly bears are an example of this, as are most Third Lieutenant Stanley novels dealing with animals.

There is a story in this episode about Mr. Gumpox that is well worth pointing out.  Rush explains:

He'll be asleep an' a fast passenger train'll flash by the Bright Kentucky sixty or seventy miles an hour an' by George the building starts to shake from the vibration an' he'll ride all around the room in his doggone bed just like you'd ride around in an automobile. One time he rode right outta the bedroom into the hall-way. Woke up the next morning in the hall by the fire-escape, thirty-five feet from the spot where he'd retired.

In an audio interview conducted in the 1970's, Jean Shepherd relayed this same story, but confused Gumpox with Rishigan Fishigan. [There may have been an episode like this about Fishigan, but consider that we know that Fishigan lived on the penthouse floor and the ground floor would be much closer to the trains than the penthouse.  It is also inferred that Fishigan was the only roomer on the penthouse floor.  So we assume that Shepherd was simply incorrect.]

44-04-24 Howard, the Runaway

STARRING: BERNARDINE FLYNN AND RUSSELL MILLER

• In the alley behind Graham Street, Howard suddenly bolted – all the way to Seminary Avenue. 
• Russell: "…shrill screaming and high-pitched yells of wild-eyed people."
• Russell: "Howard lost a good many true friends by his rash action."  Mr. Gumpox cried at having been betrayed by his old friend.
• Smelly Clark thinks Howard did it out of boredom, Heine Call thinks he was startled out of an exciting dream. Oyster Krecker thinks he was just blowing off steam.
• Mis' Razorscum thinks he was probably bit by an insect (also Sade's idea).
• Russell resolves to stand by Howard unless and until "it's proven his action was deliberately malicious."
• Russell (about Howard): "He's innocent as the new-mown hay." - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

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Howard is a horse most everyone loves.  But at this point in his life, he was a bit of a dangerous creature.

Two months later, he would knock holes in two garbage boxes, perhaps the product of getting loose and creating helter skelter.

40-08-15 Garbage Box Awards

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON
 
Mr. Gumpox is giving away prizes for the prettiest garbage boxes. 

____________________

The transcription disc for this episode survived but was either sold to Radio Spirits in the 1970's or was donated to the Library of Congress. (That might mean that we may never hear this episode.)

xx-xx-xx Howard Refuses to Work

Bernardine Flynn told a story about Mr. Gumpox and his horse, H
Howard.  The following is a paraphrase of Flynn's story:

Mr. Gumpox had two suits; one was for Sunday and the other was for everyday.
 
There came a time when the old working suit was no longer good enough to wear anyplace.  So then he bought a new one for Sunday (the former Sunday suit would be the work clothes.)

Gumpox showed up one day at the stall to get Howard.  Howard saw him wearing the old Sunday suit and refused to get up.  The horse thought it was Sunday.

(((HEAR)))

___________________

The date is unknown and the title is made up by me only for identification purposes.

44-xx-xx Garbage Box Mystery Solved

Sade had noticed a big chunk broken out of the garbage box. She had some theories and Vic and Russell too wondered what had happened to the box.

In the episode about the box, a resolution never came and we were left to wonder what happened.

Sometime after the episode above, this episode aired; Sade and Gumpox apparently talk about the garbage box and Gumpox apologizes. It seems that Howard was responsible for breaking the box and unbeknownst to the Gooks, he also broke the Razorscum's box.

____________________

The actual title is unknown. I provided the title just for identification purposes. It's quite likely that this episode aired at the very end of July or the very first part of August (more than likely July 29 or 30th.)

44-03-09 Uncle Fletcher Plans Entertainment For Roy Dejectedly's Visit

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, DAVID WHITEHOUSE AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

• Fletcher still expects a visit from Roy Dejectedly.  He's riding down with Harry Giggletta, who's on his way to Springfield on business and will drop Roy off from 7 am to 7 pm.
• Planned entertainment includes a ride on Mr. Gumpox' garbage wagon, an introduction to Ernie Fadler at the Interurban Station, a visit with Pelter Unbleet at the Bright Kentucky Hotel.
• Roy and Pelter both spent the summer of nineteen-aught-nine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, yet they've never met each other.  Also a visit to B. B. Baugh at the Butler House Hotel barber shop, because they're both inventors.
• Fletcher clarifies: Roy didn't actually invent Hyena Grease, but he did discover the ingredients that make it suitable for smearing on shoes.  Uncle Fletcher wants to include a visit to Vic's office on the schedule.  Vic suggests a full inspection tour of the whole works, and Fletcher is thrilled.  "Roy Dejectedly'll scream like a half-wit panther!"
• Vic reads news article aloud: "Windsor, Ontario man experiments with raw oysters."  Sade resents interruption of her own reading.
• "Hartman L. Kacker, little-known merchant of Windsor, Ontario claims he expects to astound science in the near future with new and…"
• Uncle Fletcher on the weather: "Might sneeze itself up a light snow before morning."  - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

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If this episode is any indication, the visit by Roy Dejectedly was planned four months ahead (since December 21, 1944 - this would also mean that Paul Rhymer must have had this trip planned in his head/on paper for almost four months).

You wonder why there is a 12 hour window for Gigletta to drop off Roy?

Though the entertainment for Roy seems sparse, one would imagine any of Fletcher's friends in town would enjoy that kind of entertainment; Roy probably would also.