Grandpap & Dick Demand Squire’s Arrest: Laws, Loyalties, and Fire Hazards

Originally Aired: June 19, 1935

In Lum & Abner #133, “Grandpap & Dick Demand Squire's Arrest,” the heat rises in Pine Ridge—not just from the summer air, but from rising tensions over Squire Skimp’s new theater. Although Squire is breaking an old city ordinance by running a theater on a second floor, Lum hesitates to shut it down, worried the townsfolk will accuse him of abusing his office to quash competition. Abner, Grandpap, and Dick Huddleston aren't having it. They demand Lum act before a tragedy occurs, warning that Squire's overcrowded, single-staircase theater is a firetrap. Faced with the threat of being ousted and the moral weight of public safety, Lum finally agrees to issue the warrant. The episode balances satire, ethics, and public duty with the show's classic rural humor.

Cast:
Chester Lauck (Lum Edwards), Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), voices of Grandpap Spears, Dick Huddleston, and Squire Skimp