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It’s their annual Christmas story. Becoming more beautiful and meaningful with the passing years, it has become a mainstay since 1931 when it first aired.
We join three travellers on a Christmas mission. Grandpap, Abner, and Lum trudge through the snow to meet up with Doc Miller with groceries and supplies. Some feller named Joe something or other was in the county seat to pay taxes, but he had to take shelter for the night in an old run down barn so his wife Mary could have a baby.
Following the East star, the trio are guided as they talk about what Christmas means to them. Doing something for others, especially those who aren’t in a position to give back, is the best gift a person could hope to give. Not only the groceries, but Doc’s services are willingly given, and offered without expectation of being paid back.
What word awaits with doc as the trio arrive? The blankets, space heater, and food will be appreciated by the out of work carpenter. Lum and Abner plan to keep the charitable spirit going by making work for Joe, and Grandpap’s woman, Charity would be more than glad to give a warm place to stay for the new family.
Note: You can hear the tears in Lum’s voice as the shows final words wrap it up. A detail that Chet Lauck claimed always came natural everytime the show was performed through the years.
PS: According to Tim Hollis
From the NLAS archives, by special request of Nancy Lauck and Chet Lauck, we travel back to the Lauck home on Christmas morning 1946, when the family received a surprise present from Chet’s oil tycoon buddy Corny Stroube of Corsicana, Texas… a live elephant! Apparently the two had been in a yearly competition to see who could give the other the most outrageous gift. Chet reciprocated the next Christmas by borrowing an elephant skeleton from a natural history museum and having it erected in the living room of Stroube’s new home, with a sign: “Thanks, it was delicious!”
