Widder Beaumont’s Telegram

Originally Aired: January 19, 1940 In Lum #246, "Widder Beaumont's Telegram," Lum Edwards has his head in the clouds after responding to a newspaper advertisement from a wealthy Texas widow seeking a "kindly middle-aged man capable of handling a large estate" for matrimony. Having already sent off his letter and photograph, Lum is convinced he's about to marry into a fortune and now spends his time studying stock market reports instead of tending to the Jot 'Em Down Store and tourist cabins. He's even planning to use money from the cash drawer to travel to Nashville as soon as the widow accepts his proposal. Abner Peabody grows increasingly exasperated with his partner's wild fantasies. While Abner tries to manage the business and furnish their tourist cabins with secondhand furniture, Lum talks about leaving him a "downmint" (endowment) and claims he's been unconsciously waiting all these bachelor years for this woman he's never met. Despite Abner's protests that Lum doesn't even know if she'll marry him, Lum remains undeterred, insisting he'd marry her even if she looked like a hippopotamus—though he quickly adds he'd only do so if he were in love.