Elliott Lewis was the consummate radio man.  Actor, director and producer, Lewis was superb in both comedy and drama.  From Suspense to the Phil Harris-Alice Fay show to Nero Wolfe to the Adventures of Maisie, Elliott Lewis seemed to be just about everywhere. 

One place he was often found was on board the Scarlet Queen, an adventure ship that sailed the seven seas. 

Lewis was the narrator of the series, and also the captain of the ship. 

This episode, The Bubble Dancer and the Buccaneers, first aired on January 28, 1948.

The Screen Guild Theater was another of those programs that turned  full-length movies into half-hour radio shows.  But this show was a little different.  All the stars worked for free. 

The money they would have earned instead went to the Motion Picture Relief Fund, and it was used to build a rest home for retired performers. 

The show was on the air from 1939 to 1952, and in this episode we hear Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell present the radio version of their hit movie, His Girl Friday.  It originally aired on March 30, 1941.

John Sutter was a poor California settler who got rich when he found gold at his mill.  Right?  Nope!  In fact, that's almost exactly backwards. 

Listen to how Sutter lost his fortune, and nearly his life, because of the discovery of gold on his land. 

And marvel at how close he came to owning both San Francisco and Sacramento. 

For more articles about metal detecting and treasure hunting, and for a look at my book The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

Dragnet, Pete Kelly's Blues, Pat Novak For Hire, Johnny Modesto.  Jack Webb fans know those names intimately. 

But what about One Out of Seven? 

It was aired on the west coast only, and it ran just a few months in early 1946.  Jack Webb did all the voices, and all the ethnic accents.  The show ran 15 minutes, and each week it fought racial intelerance. 

Here are two episodes, and I think you'll find them fascinating.

What western replaced The Lone Ranger on the Mutual Network when the Lone Ranger switched to the Blue Network? 

What quiz show gave us Beulah the Buzzer? 

The town of Waters, Arkansas, changed its name to honor what radio show in 1936? 

According to the jingle, where should you never put bananas?

Find out the answers to these questions, and many more, on this week's episode of In the Old-Time Radio Corner. 

In this special program, you'll hear all the questions - and answers - from last year's Cincinnati Old-Time Radio Trivia Bowl. 

This year's Trivia Bowl, which will be held Friday night, May 31, 2013, at the Cincinnati Nostalgia Convention, is recruiting contestants now.  If you'd like to play, just find me at the convention and I'll sign you up.  Or email me at dan@radiofun.info.

The photo, by the way, is last year's winning team, the Tom Mix Ralston Straightshooters.  Left to right, Jim Widner, Meredith Granger, Dan Riedstra, and Randy Larson.

This week, a show for geeks only, as I describe the equipment and methods I use to produce In the Treasure Corner.

Though I use a $300 microphone, there's another mic almost as good that you can buy for $33.00.  With this USB mic and some free software you can download from the internet, you can produce your own professional-sounding podcast. 

The photo shows the audio track of the show as seen on the computer screen, my small mixer, and my microphone in its sound-isolating box.

So if you'd like to know how my shows are produced, and maybe pick up some tips on how to do your own show, give a listen to this four-minute explanation.

For a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, and some free articles about treasure hunting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, our west coast feared air attacks.  Private citizens were asked to constantly watch the skies for enemy aircraft. 

And in 1942, NBC created the program Eyes Aloft to promote the Aircraft Warning Service.  This series ran only on west coast radio stations.

This episode, featuring guest star Henry Fonda, aired on August 24, 1942.

The best-selling hard-boiled detective of them all?  Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer. 

Hammer first appeared in the novel I the Jury, a book that sold over 6 million copies in the United States alone. 

Spillane's detective novels have sold  over 225 million copies worldwide, and the Mutual radio network turned the popular private eye into a radio series, That Hammer Guy. 

This episode, The Saddle Shoes, first aired on April 7, 1953.

Attention, coinshooters:  Do you find more nickels, or dimes?

Do you find more wheatback pennies, or quarters?

Do you know?  Do you keep ratio records?

Here are my percentages over the years, and some reasons as to why they are what they are. 

.

For a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, and some free articles about treasure hunting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

Bobby Benson was an early - and late - kids' western show.  Bobby was an orphan who inherited a ranch in Texas. 

His ranch handyman, Windy Wales, was played by Don Knotts, who would later become much better known as Andy Griffith's deputy, Barney Fife. 

The show first appeared on the air in 1932, and last appeared in 1955.  But the show was only broadcast for 10 years, because it disappeared in 1936 and didn't reappear until 1949.

Over the years, several actors played Bobby.  Ivan Cury had the part in 1949 and 1950, and Ivan will be one of the guests at this year's Cincinnati Nostalgia Expo.  He will play Bobby Benson again at the convention, and you're invited.

The Expo will be Friday and Saturday, May 31 and June 1, 2013.  Details here:  http://expo.wayback.net.  I'd love to see you there! 

This episode, Double Dare, was first broadcast on November 25, 1949.

Hollywood Star Playhouse was a half-hour program that featured a different Hollywood movie star every week, appearing in a radio drama especially written for the show.

Marilyn Monroe made her first radio appearance on the Hollywood Star Playhouse. 

And the episode we have for you here proved so popular that it evolved into a series of its own - The Six Shooter, starring Jimmy Stewart.

Pity the stupid counterfeiter. 

Francis Leroy Henning had a brilliant idea - instead of counterfeiting something valuable (he had already been busted for making fake $5.00 bills), why not make some fake nickels?  Who pays attention to small change?  Who would notice?

Unfortunately, he made a small mistake.  And ended up dumping 400,000 counterfeit nickels into two rivers.  Most of them are still there.

This one is indeed hard to believe.

For more articles about metal detecting and a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

New York City had The First Nighter, Chicago had Curtain Time.  The shows were quite similar. 

The idea in each case was that you were not listening to your radio, but actually attending the premiere of a new play in the downtown theatre district.

Most of the plays on Curtain Time were lighthearted comedy romances. 

This play, The Dishonest Ghost, first aired on July 10, 1948.

Al Jolson was once known as the World's Greatest Entertainer.  He had his own radio show from 1932 to 1949.  He starred in the first "talkie" movie, The Jazz Singer, in 1927. 

His radio show had many names over the years.  This version was called The Kraft Music Hall, and this episode, from May 6, 1948, features special guest Groucho Marx.

This photograph caught my eye the other day.

A Garrett metal detector, put together like Dr. Frankenstein's monster, like Bizarro, with most of the parts but just put together crazily. The shaft upside down, the coil cord running directly from the coil to the control box, instead of being wrapped around the rod.

Turns out this is a counterfeit Garrett, made in China. And some of these fakes have found their way into the United States.

Here's the story.

For more articles about metal detecting and a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

In this short-lived sitcom, Janet and Jimmy played Janet and Jimmy. 

Janet Waldo (who played radio's Corliss Archer, and much later, TV's Judy Jetson) and Jimmy Lydon (who played Henry Aldrich in nine movies,  and much later was co-creator of M*A*S*H) starred.  They played a secretly-married young college couple. 

This episode, Jimmy and Janet Get Jobs, first aired on August 15, 1949.

20 Questions was one of the most popular quiz shows to ever air.  It drew as many as 20,000 letters in one week. 

The contestants were mostly the Van Deventer family - Mom, Pop, and two kids - but they used different last names so the audience wouldn't know they were related.

The show was simple. The contestants had to identify a mystery "something" by asking no more than 20 yes-or-no questions, and their only clue was that the answer was animal, vegetable, or mineral. 

From this basic concept, hilarity often ensued.

This episode first aired on September 10, 1946.

A newbie recently asked me to send him any leads I might have on buried treasures or lost mines in his area. 

And it hit me that when I was a newbie, I dreamed of finding the Big One, too.

Only after learning the basics do we realize that metal detecting brings lots of small treasures, seldom really big ones. 

And what do we do when we discover this Truth?

For more articles about metal detecting and a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

Bride and Groom was a daytime "reality" show that aired from 1945 to 1950. 

Each weekday afternoon, a happy couple told about how they met, their first date and their first kiss, and some funny stories about their romance. 

After their wedding, they were given gifts like appliances and a honeymoon trip. 

This episode first aired on May 24, 1947.

Here's one of the early radio horror shows - The Witch's Tale.  It began on local New York City radio station WOR in 1931, and three years later it moved to the Mutual Network.

Old witch Nancy cackled with glee as she introduced gory and grisly tales, and her black cat Satan screeched in the background. 

This episode, Firing Squad, first aired on August 21, 1933.

How much do you know about the coins you're finding? 

How many presidents have appeared on our coins? 

How many non-presidents? 

Who were they? 

Here's a fun little quiz to test your powers of observation.

For more articles about metal detecting and a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

Clark Kent and Superman.  Bruce Wayne and Batman.  And Steve Adams and Straight Arrow!

Steve Adams was a full-blooded Comanche indian who was raised by white settlers.  As a teen, he heard a legend of a fierce Comanche warrior who would someday appear to fight for the good and for the right.  And he decided that he was to be that warrior. 

As Straight Arrow, he had a secret cave, and a wonder horse named Fury, and a white sidekick named Packy. 

This episode of Straight Arrow, The Doctor and the Quack,  originally aired on December 16, 1948.

Stan Freberg was doing cartoon voices for Walt Disney when he was 18. 

In the early 1950s he had several national hits with satirical songs like Little Blue Riding Hood and St. George and the Dragonet. 

And in 1957, he was chosen to do a radio show as the summer replacement for the Jack Benny Program. 

Freberg's radio shows were full of satire, often swipes at network censors.  The audience loved them, the network executives were worried by them, and the show ran for just that one summer.

In this episode, Freberg fights with a network censor as he tries to sing the song Old Man River.

Many of us have found, and returned, rings. 

Here's a genuine rags-to-riches story of a homeless man who returned a ring, and came out a lot better in the end than anyone could ever imagine.

For more articles about metal detecting and a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover called this show "the finest dramatic program on the air. 

Not only did he endorse the show, he also met regularly with the show's producer-director Jerry Devine. 

He even sent Devine to a two-week FBI school so he would better understand the workings of the Bureau.

This is Your FBI was on the air from 1945 to 1953.  This episode, Campus Shakedown, first aired on March 31, 1950.

Actor Lloyd Nolan appeared in over sixty films in his career.  Claire Trevor won an Oscar for her role in Key Largo.

Together, they starred in a short-lived detective series called Results, Incorporated. 

Nolan played private detective Johnny Strange, and Trevor was his secretary Theresa Travors.  (That's Claire holding Lloyd in the photo.)

This episode, The Haunted House, was the pilot for the series.  It aired on October 7, 1944.

The other day I got a letter in the mail, handwritten, from a treasure hunter in Nevada.

He was working on a lead, and he needed help finding two old magazines that might contain information that will help him in his search.

As I read his letter, I realized how difficult this man was making it for himself by avoiding the world of computers.

This show tells that story.

For more articles about metal detecting and a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

Scattergood Baines, a small town hardware merchant, was a well-known character three-quarters of a century ago.  

He was created by Clarence Budington Kelland, who was also well-known back then.  Kelland wrote hundreds of short stories, many appearing in the Saturday Evening Post, and dozens of popular novels.  

Scattergood Baines aired on CBS for six years (1937-1942), then returned in 1949 on Mutual.  This episode, Sweet Charity, was originally broadcast on February 24, 1949.

Most well-known shows from the Golden Age of Radio ran for several years.  This week, we're going to hear one that lasted for just three months. 

Rex Harrison, who would later win both a Tony and an Oscar for his role as Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, starred in this radio series.  He played a private detective named Rex Saunders. 

This episode, A Shocking Still Life, originally aired on May 9, 1951.

When you skip over pulltabs, you skip over gold rings.  It's as simple as that. 

I found more gold in one year with my primitive, non-discriminating metal detector than I've found in the past 30 years. 

How should you set your detector if you want a shot at those gold rings? 

I explain my method in my lastest podcast, show #116 at http://thetreasurecorner.com.

For more articles about metal detecting and a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

Damon Runyon was as much of a character as the gamblers, grifters and gangsters he wrote about. 

This episode of the Damon Runyon Theater, The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown, gave us the musical Guys and Dolls, with Sky Masterson, Nathan Detroit, Harry the Horse, and Nicely-Nicely Jones (Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the movie version).

Narrator Broadway (John Brown, who also played Digger O'Dell, the Friendly Undertaker, on The Life of Riley) tells the story.

Arch Oboler was radio's Rod Serling, best known for writing and hosting the horror show Lights Out.  Remember Bill Cosby's "Chicken Heart that Consumed the World"?  That was Arch Oboler. 

So was the infamous Adam and Eve skit that got Mae West banned from radio for 30 years. 

But another side of Oboler, perhaps the most important part of his character, was his patriotism.  He created an anti-Nazi radio series in 1942 called Plays for Americans, and some of the biggest names in Hollywood lined up to take part in the show.

This episode, Letter at Midnight, stars Jimmy Stewart.  It first aired on March 15, 1942.

Last month, the United States Mint submitted a 400-page report to Congress that could make the coin identification circuitry of our metal detectors obsolete.

A move is afoot to save the government big bucks by changing the metal composition of our coins. 

No longer would a penny be a zincoln.  No longer would our dimes and quarters be made from the 92% - 8% copper-nickel ratio we use now. 

And metal detectors that are programmed to recognize our current coins would be mightily confused with different metal formulations.

This is a photo of a prototype quarter, made from a metal formulation that would give it a yellow or golden hue. (NOTE:  The picture and wording are random because the mint didn't want to create "collectible" experimental coins).

Is this the future of our United States coinage system?

For a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, and some free articles about treasure hunting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

There were lots of quiz shows on radio in the golden days.  Here's one that pitted husband against wife in a battle of the sexes.

The stunts were crazy, the audience was enthusiastic, and host Tiny Ruffner really got into the show.

Enjoy this episode from September 23, 1949.

Before Jack Webb was Joe Friday of Dragnet, he was Jeff Regan of The Lyon's Eye Detective Agency. 

He solved crimes for ten bucks a day, plus expenses. 

A year into this series, he left to begin Dragnet. 

But here, you can hear Jack Webb as a private eye.  This episode, The Lonesome Lady, first aired on July 24,1948.

A few days ago, I got an email from a treasure hunter who asked me to boycott the new dollar coins. 

Well, for starters, there aren't any new dollar coins. 

Turns out this was one of those email chain letters that just keep going and going.  Worse, it was designed to mislead people, and make them mad.

I tell the story in this show.

Jimmy Durante was a gruff, ragged burlesque and vaudeville veteran.

Garry Moore was a young, handsome, crewcut-topped radio emcee.

One night by chance they appeared together on a radio show, and a savvy radio producer was fascinated by their contrasts and convinced them to team up for a radio show.

The result is the Durante-Moore Show, which aired from 1943 to 1947.

This episode was broadcast on December 22,1944.

What do you do when you lose your team sponsor? 

Find a new sponsor, make the team members pay the fee, or disband the team.

OR...have a fundraiser. 

Even if you haven't lost your sponsor, but want money for snazzy new uniforms or a new team bat or two, have a fundraiser. 

This show explores a few fun ways to raise money for your team.

For articles on slowpitch softball, and a look at my book:  http://slowpitchbook.com

For the index to all these softball shows:  http://danhughes.net/indexs.htm

Mix equal parts of Doc Savage and the Shadow, and what do you get?  The Avenger! 

Author Paul Ernst wrote the Avenger novels on which the radio shows were based.  Ernst had two mentors:  Walter Gibson, who wrote the Shadow novels, and Lester Dent, who, under the pen name Kenneth Robeson, wrote the Doc Savage novels.

The Avenger was on the air twice - in 1941-42, and again in 1945-46. 

This episode, Keys of the City, first aired on September 21, 1945.

Why do some coins have smooth rims and others have rims that look like sawteeth? 

Why is our paper money all the same size, but our coins all different sizes? 

What two United States coins existed at the same time and were worth the same amount, but looked completely different and even had different names? 

And what does this dateless buffalo nickel have to do with this show?

These questions and more are answered in the latest edition of In the Treasure Corner.

For a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, and some free articles about treasure hunting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

Elliott Lewis, one of the most versatile radio actors who ever lived, was perfectly at home in any radio genre. 

Here he tackles a western, playing cattleman Hawk Larabee in radio's first adult western drama. 

Six years before Gunsmoke, Elliott Lewis, with Burton Yarborough as his sidekick, had weekly adventures in Texas of the 1840s.
 
This episode, The California Kid, aired on October 18, 1946.

When the pitching height limit was lowered from 12 feet to 10 feet, pitchers lost two feet from their pitching window. 

This show tells you how to get back the sharp drop those extra two feet gave you, without throwing illegal pitches.

For articles on slowpitch softball, and a look at my book:  http://slowpitchbook.com

For the index to all these softball shows:  http://danhughes.net/indexs.htm

Doctor IQ, which aired from 1939 to 1950, was one of the most popular quiz shows of all time. 

With six assistants roving the theater with microphones, choosing contestants, Doctor IQ handed out silver dollars to winners and boxes of candy to losers. 

The doctor was on stage, and he called on each of his assistants in turn to supply the next contestant. 

The remembered catchline from the show was "Doctor, I have a lady in the balcony."

The show moved at breakneck speed, and the questions were fairly difficult. 

This episode aired on January 26, 1942.

Even people who know little about treasure hunting have heard of the Lost Dutchman's Mine. 

And several people have lost their lives trying to find it.

Just last week, the remains of a treasure hunter who disappeared while searching for the mine three years ago were found in the Superstition Mountains.

Here are parts of some of the 62 different versions of the tale of the Lost Dutchman's Mine, to give you a brief idea of what this is all about.

According to the Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, the opening sequence of The First Nighter Program ranks right up there with the creaking door of Lights Out and the haunting, sarcastic, scornful laugh of the Shadow.

Every week for 23 years, Mr. First Nighter took us to that Little Theater off Times Square, where we witnessed Opening Night of a new production. 

Most of the shows were light romantic comedies, and both Don Ameche and Les Tremaine became famous as regular performers on this show. 

This show stars Olan Soule, who later moved to television and appeared in hundreds if not thousands of shows, including I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith, Bonanza, and Dallas.  And from 1968 to 1980 he was the cartoon voice of Batman. 

From July 20, 1952, this episode is called Speak Ever So Gently.

The American Association of Amateur Softball had their annual meeting last week. 

This program outlines the rule changes that will take effect in 2013.  Most of them are fairly small tweaks. 

But one really big change will go into effect in 2014.

They're all here, In the Softball Corner.

For articles on slowpitch softball, and a look at my book:  http://slowpitchbook.com

For the index to all these softball shows:  http://danhughes.net/indexs.htm

Before Candid Camera, there was Candid Microphone. 

Allen Funt, fresh out of the Army, worked as an idea man for the radio show Truth or Consequences. 

He had an idea of his own, and he turned it into first a radio show and then a television show that was on the air for over two decades.

Here's how it started.  A hidden microphone and a wacky situation thrust upon an unsuspecting stranger. 

In this episode, from August 10, 1947, Funt tries to get people to donate to a charity set up to help Eskimos who struggled through a too-warm winter.

Nudity!  Murder!  Suicide! And sixty-five years in an insane asylum!  All of these things are involved in the lurid story of … the Mercury dime?

Did you know that the first nude movie actress in Hollywood posed for at least one, probably two, United States coins?

Did you know that the portrait on the Mercury dime is not only not the Roman god Mercury, it isn't even a male?

Did you know that the real Mercury had wings on his sandals, not his head?

And do you know what mythical character appeared on more United States coins than all other subjects (presidents, statesmen, historical figures) combined?

You'll know all that and more after you listen to this program.

For a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, and some free articles about treasure hunting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

And here's the complete index to all these In the Treasure Corner shows.

Do you know the connection between the TV shows I Love Lucy and Green Acres? 

You'll find out when you listen to this episode of the Old-Time Radio Corner. 

Gale Gordon, Bea Benaderet, and Parley Baer starred in Granby's Green Acres, a spinoff of My Favorite Husband. 

Though the show featured three of the biggest stars in radio, it lasted just two months.  

This episode, Granby Lays an Egg, first aired on July 31, 1950.

Does your team do practices?  I have four teams, and we have non-mandatory, informal batting practice every Sunday. 

In the last couple of years, attendance at these practices has dropped dramatically. 

This program examines a few of the possible reasons.

For articles on slowpitch softball, and a look at my book:  http://slowpitchbook.com

For the index to all these softball shows:  http://danhughes.net/indexs.htm

In 1951, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were major Hollywood stars.  They had met and fallen in love while they were making the movie To Have and Have Not. 

He was 44, she was 19. 

They made three other films together, all hits:  The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, and Key Largo.  And in 1951, they starred together in a radio series, Bold Venture, for which they were paid $4,000 for each half-hour episode. 

Bogart played the owner of a hotel in Cuba, and Bacall was his sidekick.  Jester Hairston was the mysterious singer who advanced the story lines with his songs.  And Bold Venture was Bogart's ship.

In this episode, from May 28, 1951, Lauren Bacall is framed for murder.

This week's show takes a look at a senior league with opposing lifestyles. 

Half the teams play to win; the other half play for fun. 

What happens when one meets the other?  It ain't pretty. 

Here's how one league made a rule change that helped level the playing field.

Click http://slowpitchbook.com for articles on slowpitch softball, and a look at my book.

And click http://danhughes.net/indexs.htm for the index to all these softball shows.

Before Tom Swift, before the Hardy Boys, before Jack Armstrong.  There was Frank Merriwell, the All-American Boy. 

Frank was a Yale athlete, a star in baseball, basketball, football, track, and crew.  He also solved mysteries.  And he neither drank nor smoked.

Frank first appeared in a juvenile serial magazine, Tip Top Weekly, in 1896. 

His creator, Miles L. Standish (real name Gilbert Patton), was one of the most prolific authors of all time.  He wrote a 20,000-word book a week, every week for 20 years.

In the early part of the 20th century, Frank Merriwell books actually outsold the Bible.
 
His radio show ran briefly in 1934, then weekly on NBC from 1946 to 1949. 

This episode, Sold At Auction, first aired on July 24,1948.

From 1999 to 2008, every state in the union was honored with its own state quarter. 

Five a year for ten years, and then six bonus coins, for Washington, DC and the United States territories.

These coins can still be found in general circulation, and some of them are worth money.

This episode of In the Treasure Corner describes how the series came to be, and tells you about a few of the coins that are worth much more than their face value.

Everybody remembers Jack Benny and Fibber McGee and Molly.  But there was another radio program that was in the Hooper Radio Ratings Top Ten for many years, and it is not so well remembered. 

It was called Mr. District Attorney, and it was the most popular crime show on radio throughout the 1940s. 

It was gritty, true to life, and written by an attorney who spent most of his time at bars and dives, talking with the people he was writing about. 

His scripts were so realistic that he was once visited by the FBI, who thought he was somehow getting information they couldn't get.

Jay Jostyn starred as the nameless District Attorney, and Len Doyle was Harrington, his chief investigator.

This episode, The Case of the Hijacked Worker, aired on August 19, 1942.

Have you written your metal detecting or treasure hunting book yet? 

Too hard, you say? 

Nah. 

If Michael Lotito can eat this Cessna 150 (he did!), you can write a book. 

Because the method is the same - eat a plane, or write a book, one tiny bite at a time. 

Here's how I write my books, and how you can do it too.

Screen Directors Playhouse was one of those shows that let you watch a movie on your radio. 

Each week, a movie director would introduce a radio version of his latest film, often featuring the same stars that had appeared in the movie.  And after the show, the director chatted with the stars. 

Screen Directors Playhouse ran from 1949 to 1951.  This episode stars a young Lucille Ball, recreating her movie Miss Grant Takes Richmond.  It originally aired on May 19, 1950.

You're playing a team that is absolutely horrible.  Can't hit, can't field, can't run, can't pitch. 

And they have two team bats:  a wooden one, and a Hammer.

Do you show no mercy and win by 30? 

Or do you cut them some breaks? 

Thoughts on that, and more, in this show.

Click http://slowpitchbook.com for articles on slowpitch softball,and a look at my book.

And click http://danhughes.net/indexs.htm for the index to all these softball shows.

Mayor of the town was part comedy, part drama, a Norman Rockwell picture of small-town life during World War II. 

Lionel Barrymore starred in this program that aired from 1942 to 1949.

Agnes Moorehead played his housekeeper, and Conrad Binyon was his young ward. 

This episode, The Mayor Takes Care of Five Cats, originally aired on June 23, 1943.

The Buffalo nickel first appeared in 1913, a year later than planned.  In this podcast, you'll learn what caused the delay, and why the coin design was changed midway through the first year of its issue. 

The identity of the Indian, and the identity of the buffalo (which isn't a buffalo) are both still somewhat of a mystery today. 

Here's the story.

Here's a show that failed to click on both radio and television. 

The idea behind Wanted sounded good on paper - real-life crime stories, using the actual voices of the policemen and victims who were involved in the cases. 

The stories were interesting -this one is about the famous bank robber Willie Sutton.

But the problem was that the police officers and crime victims were the real thing, not actors, and some of them had trouble reading their lines realistically. 

The show aired for just one summer, in 1950.  This is the pilot episode.

What do you do when you have two strikes on you, and the next pitch is on its way?  You swing at it.  

Unless it's totally out of your reach, you swing at it.  

Because you never know what the ump is going to call it, and you look like a complete idiot if you're called out on strikes.  

And that's what this program is all about.

Like The Whistler and Inner Sanctum, the Mysterious Traveler was a half-hour radio series of strange tales narrated by an all-knowing host. 

The Mysterious Traveler was on the air for ten years, from 1943 to 1952, on the Mutual network. 

This episode, about a mysterious wagon train trapped in a cave, is one of the most popular of the series.  It aired several times over the run of the show.  This version was broadcast on November 6, 1951.

I used to write regularly for Treasure Quest magazine.  I subscribed to Treasure and Treasure Search and Treasure Found and True Treasure and Treasure World. 

What do these magazines have in common?  None of them exist now. 

Why did they all disappear? 

In this episode of In the Treasure Corner, we examine several reasons that magazines find it difficult to survive today.

For seven weeks in early 1948, the question on the lips of America was, "Who is the Walking Man?"

The Walking Man was heard walking across the stage every week on the radio show Truth or Consequences, and the prizes awarded the winner of the contest totalled nearly a quarter of a million dollars in today's money.

The winner, and the Walking Man, are revealed in this episode of Truth or Consequences.

Truth or Consequences, created and hosted by Ralph Edwards, ran from 1940 to 1956 on radio, and from 1950 to 1978 on television.

This episode, with guest William Bendix who was then starring in The Life of Riley, first aired on March 6, 1948.

I've been playing softball for over 30 years, and I still make some fundamental mistakes sometimes. 

Blame it on laziness, stupidity, or senility, it doesn't matter - they still cost my team runs. 

Here are a couple of baserunning problems I see crop up time and again, often from people who should know better. 

Like me. 

For a look at my more sane moments, and some articles about playing slowpitch softball, and a plug for my book on coaching, managing, and playing adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Paul Frees was a lot like Mel Blanc, only not so well-known by the public. 

Frees was the voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy, Boris Badinoff, Professor Ludwig Von Drake, and two of the Beatles in the popular cartoon series. 

He was both female voices when Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis posed as women in Some Like It Hot. 

He was the deep-voiced narrator of hundred of films, from The Manchurian Candidate to Hardware Wars to Earth vs. the Flying Saucers.

And he did every single voice heard on the short-story radio series The Player.

This week, we present two episodes of The Player, starring Paul Frees, Paul Frees, and, of course, Paul Frees.

What was the first coin you ever found with a metal detector?  For the great majority of us, it was a Lincoln penny.  There are more Lincoln pennies out there right now than all the other coins combined.

How much do you know about the Lincoln cent? 

Who was responsible for its being issued? 

Why was it such a gutsy move? 

Why Lincoln? 

And who was Viktoras Barnauskas and why was he important?

These questions and more are answered in this program about the lowly Lincoln penny.

And please check out the ad for my book (which I wrote myself) (the ad AND the book) at http://treasuremanual.com.  Guaranteed to make you chuckle!

P.S.  Thanks to eagle-eyed (or rather, eagle-eared) Coin Magnet of coinhunting.net for catching a mistake in the show - I said "buffalo nickel" when I should have said "Liberty nickel." 

Easy Money was a show about crooked gambling. 

Two-time Emmy winner Larry Haines played Mike Trent, a professional magician turned private eye who specialized in exposing dirty gambling schemes.

In this episode he takes on a crew of crooked dice gamblers.

From November 11, 1954, this episode of Easy Money is called Galloping Ivories.

This show covers lots of common questions beginners ask.  

How do you pitch the knuckleball?
What's the best way to do a rundown?
Should I buy a new bat?
Why shouldn't you use a warm-up bat donut?

And for managers:
How do I find sponsors?
How do I set my batting order?
Where do I recruit new players?
What do I do about late-comers and no-shows?
Get your pencil and papers ready, here are all the answers.

(And here's the complete index:  http://danhughes.net/indexs.htm)

A Bulldog Drummond episode on In the Old-Time Radio Corner is long overdue, so here's a show from the detective series that ran from 1941 to 1954.

Over the years, several different radio actors played Bulldog Drummond, the Brtitish World War I hero-turned-private detective. 

In this episode, Help Wanted, from August 13, 1945, Ned Wever takes on the title role.

This show covers lots of common questions beginners ask. 
What detector should I buy? 
Where should I hunt? 
How can I get better depth? 
What if a policeman approaches me?  Uh-oh!
Get your pencil and papers ready, here are all the answers.

And here's the complete index:

http://danhughes.net/indext.htm

You can also read some articles on metal detecting, and my spiffy book ad, at http://treasuremanual.com.

Other radio quiz shows paid under $100 to their winners, but Break the Bank often gave prizes in the thousands of dollars. 

Bert Parks and Bud Collyer were both on Break the Bank at the same time, and the show aired from 1945 to 1955. 

This episode was first broadcast on October 5, 1949.

Oh no, another birthday!

Rather, two birthdays in the same week.

My show is four years old, and I'm 65.

In this birthday episode, I look back on previous shows and recommend a few you might have missed. And I reveal the most-listened-to show in the series.

I also discuss the new program index, which is at:

http://danhughes.net/indexs.htm

This week, another show that had a tremendous audience in its day (it lasted for 17 years), but is pretty much forgotten now.

It was called Vox Pop, which means "Voice of the People." 

Each week, the hosts would have bizarre conversations with people chosen at random, asking strange questions and awarding them small amount of cash if they could properly answer a quiz question. 

This episode, from September 9, 1939, was recorded live at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Oh no, another birthday!  Rather, two birthdays.

My show is four years old, and I'm 65. 

In this birthday episode, I look back on previous shows and recommend a few you might have missed. And I'll tell you the top three downloaded shows since the series began.

I also discuss the new program index, which is at http://danhughes.net/indext.htm

Spike Jones began as an ordinary musician, but somewhere along the line he went totally nuts. 

He added new instruments to his band that had never been heard before, like pistols and anvils and cowbells and a stringed toilet seat called the Latrinaphone.

He wore suits that must have been specially made for him, because nobody else alive would wear them. 

And he had lots of hit records in the 1940s.  His radio show aired from 1945 to 1949, and on this episode his special guest was Lassie. 

After the show, stay tuned for a special bonus:  Spike's hit record, Cocktails for Two.

I have three main hobby interests:  treasure hunting,  magic, and softball.  In the past five years, there have been dozens of books published about treasure hunting, probably over a hundred books on magic, and exactly three on slowpitch softball. 

In this podcast, I speculate on why that is, and I name the three books that should be in every serious softballer's library.

Here's a quick look at the reasons why so few new books are being written, and how you can pretty much own a complete library of the current softball literature by buying just three books.

Two of the books are reviewed in my podcasts #70 and #72, and information on the third (mine!) is at http://slowpitchbook.com.

Nick Carter was a fictional detective who, over the course of more than a century, starred in hundreds of books, a dozen movies, forty years' worth of magazines, and a 13-year radio series. 

So why haven't you heard of him? 

Dan tells all, before he plays you the January 21, 1945 episode called Death by Ricochet, or Nick Carter and the Mystery of the Abandoned Gravel Pit.

NOTE:  A COMPLETE INDEX TO ALL THE "IN THE TREASURE CORNER" SHOWS IS NOW POSTED AT:

http://danhughes.net/indext.htm

Roy Volker was a prospector, a diver, and a professional treasure hunter. 

Dick Richmond was a newspaper writer and a good friend of Roy's.

Together, they wrote a classic book on treasure hunting.  Short but packed with great advice, TREASURE UNDER YOUR FEET came out in 1974. 

The book consists of 26 chapters covering all aspects of treasure hunting, from coinshooting to relics to sunken ships to ghost towns.  Eight of the chapters were written by "guest experts," so you're getting ten authors here for the price of one.

Long out of print but easy to find on the internet, this book will whet your appetite for your next hunt.

For a look at MY book, and some free articles on treasure hunting and metal detecting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

The short story spawned a novel, the novel spawned a movie, and the movie spawned a radio series. 

The novel and the movie were Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse, and the radio show was Mr. & Mrs. Blandings. 

The movie and the radio series both starred Cary Grant, and in the radio version, Mrs. Blandings was played by the real-life wife of Cary Grant, Betsy Drake (seen in this photo). 

The series lasted less than 20 episodes, reportedly because Grant felt he wasn't being paid enough.

This is the pilot episode, from November 8, 1950.

Sure, you know the infield fly rule. 

What about the force out vs. appeal play rule? 

This show tells you how to get your rules straight, and how to talk to some of the best umps in the country about softball rule interpretation.

ASA, USSSA, NSA - Whatever rules your league uses, you'll find the answers here.

For tips and tricks on playing adult slowpitch softball, go to http://slowpitchbook.com.

Dizzy Dean was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season, in 1934, and he won TWO world series games that year.  He entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.

But he is probably better-known by more people as a hillbilly baseball play-by-play announcer.  He was on the air from soon after his retirement from baseball in 1947 until 1965.

He did a 15-minute weekly show in the summer of 1948, and in these two episodes Dizzy discusses the 1948 All-Star game, and he lists his own All-Time All-Star team.

NOTE:  A COMPLETE INDEX TO ALL THE "IN THE TREASURE CORNER" SHOWS IS NOW POSTED AT:

http://danhughes.net/indext.htm

The chart here shows average North American temperatures for the past century, with the heavy line showing the rise since 1975.  Let the politicians argue why - what concerns us is how to handle the changes.

As heat becomes oppressive, people have a harder time coping.  So this is the perfect time to know that CPR rules have changed.  It's a lot easier now - no breathing into the mouth of the victim, no switching activities while you work to save a life.  Just chest compressions. 

This show explains how you can give CPR without taking a course, and without carrying an instruction sheet in your wallet.

So invest less than three minutes to save a life. Listen to this show.

Please.

Many of the movies on the Academy Award Theater did not win Academy Awards.  The only requirement was that either the movie, or one of its stars, had been nominated for an Oscar.  That left the door open for a huge number of movies to appear on this radio-adaptation series. 

The Academy Award Theater ran for just one season, in 1946. 

This episode, My Sister Eileen, starred Rosalind Russell (who was nominated for Best Actress) and Janet Blair, both in the movie and in this radio version of the movie. 

It originally aired on May 18, 1946.

CPR rules have changed.  It's a lot easier now - no breathing into the mouth of the victim, no changing activities while you work to save a life.  Just chest compressions. 

This show explains how you can give CPR without taking a course, and without carrying an instruction sheet in your wallet.

It's also about playing ball in extreme heat.  The chart here shows average North American temperatures for the past century, with the heavy line showing the rise since 1975. 

Let the politicians argue why - what concerns us is how to handle the changes.  Herewith, some tips on keeping safe in hot weather.

For tips on pitching, hitting, fielding, and managing adult slowpitch softball, and a look at my book Managing and Coaching Adult Slowpitch Softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Though Jack Paar is best known as the host of the Tonight Show before Johnny Carson, he was active in radio in the 1930s and 1940s. 

He was a DJ on stations in Cleveland, Indianapolis, Detroit, and Buffalo before World War II.  He entertained the troops in the South Pacific during the war, and one of the fans who saw him perform was Jack Benny. 

Thanks to some inside pull from Benny, Paar was named  the summer replacement for Jack Benny in 1947. 

In this episode, broadcast on August 17, 1947, Jack Benny is a contestant in a talent contest designed to find a "fall replacement" for the Jack Paar Show. 

When the temperature outdoors tops 100 degrees, and the ground is hard enough to break your Lesche digger, it's time to change your treasure hunting tactics. 

In this show, I discuss a couple of ways you can continue your metal detecting without breaking your tools, or harming the grass, or overworking yourself into a stroke or worse.

For more secrets of treasure hunting and a look at my book on metal detecting, visit my site:  http://treasuremanual.com.

Here's something different - three short radio promos for the Walt Disney movie Song of the South, featuring all the stars and Walt himself. 

These shows were sent to radio stations in October, 1942, when the movie premiered.

After the movie promos, we have time for a short Vic and Sade script that was written on the spot by Paul Rhymer when he realized the show was running short and he needed to add one more bit. 

Only Rhymer's twisted mind could come up with these methods of measuring yourself for ordering the right size of mail-order underwear.

This is the 100th program from In the  Softball Corner, and instead of discussing softball this time, I give you an inside view of how and why this show exists. 

Why do I do the show? 

Why is each episode so short? 

Why are there no guests or co-hosts, or groups of people around the microphone for rousing discussions? 

Get the inside scoop - give this episode a listen.

And for free articles about playing, coaching, and managing adult slowpitch softball, visit my book page, http://slowpitchbook.com.

NOTE:  The inline audio player that normally appears here has evidently been discontinued by Google.  So to hear the show, you need to either click the POD icon up top left, or click the Direct Download link on the next line:

Groucho Marx was approached by a radio producer with the idea of hosting a quiz show.

Groucho wasn't excited.  Then they told him he could adlib. 

He gave it a shot, and the rest is history. 

This episode of You Bet Your Life first aired on October 25, 1947.

The inline audio player is no more, so to listen to this show just click the POD icon up top left, or click the "Direct Download" link down below.

This is the 100th program from In the Treasure Corner, and instead of discussing metal detecting this time, I give you an inside view of how and why this show exists. 

Why do I do the show? 

Why is each episode so short? 

Why are there no guests or co-hosts, or groups of people around the microphone for rousing discussions? 

Get the inside scoop - give this episode a listen.

And for a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

(NOTE: I'm having trouble posting the automatic player here - please click the POD icon up top left, or the  "Direct download" link below to hear the program.)

Blackstone was perhaps the most famous magician of the World War II era.  His extravagant stage show was legendary, and his career spawned both a comic book and a radio show. 

The radio show was Blackstone, the Magic Detective.  It ran on the Mutual network from 1948 to 1950 as a fifteen-minute Sunday afternoon show.  Most episodes began with the telling of a mystery that Blackstone had solved, and then Blackstone taught the radio audience a trick they could play on their friends. 

The scripts were written by Blackstone's friend Walter Gibson, a professional magician who also wrote novels.  Under the pen name Maxwell Grant, Gibson wrote over 300 stories of The Shadow.

Here are two episodes of the Blackstone radio show, both from the spring of 1949.

Time for another book review! 

The book is Fast- and Slow-Pitch Softball, by Mario Pagnoni and Gerald Robinson. 

Basically, an excellent book which I highly recommend, and you can buy a used copy for just a penny on Amazon!  (But you pay $3.99 for shipping - and it's still a good deal.)

Also, a followup on the five-dollar Easton early composite bat I talked about in the last show.

For a look at my own book on Coaching, Managing, and Playing adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Like Frank Merriwell and Jack Armstrong, Dick Cole was a schoolboy athlete hero who also got involved in mystery and intrigue.

Dick Cole was a comic book hero from 1940 to 1950, and he got his own radio show in 1942.

This episode was probably broadcast in the summer of 1942.

I was just five minutes late for the Buy of the Century. 

At a Goodwill store in Plainfield, Indiana, I saw a treasure hunting newbie buy a like-new Minelab Sovereign metal detector for $14.98.

I was luckier a few years ago, when I scored a Teknetics Coin Computer detector for ten dollars at a garage sale.  This is a machine that sold new for $749.95 (I found an old ad after I recorded the podcast).

In this podcast, I talk about thrift shops, yard sales, and flea market finds.

What great finds have you made at thrift shops and yard sales?  I'd love to hear from you!

For a few of my articles about metal detecting and a look at my book, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

Jimmy Durante was born in New York City in 1893, and he played ragtime piano in honky-tonks when he was still in junior high. 

His 1934 record Inka Dinka Doo propelled him to national prominence, and he was a radio regular from then on. 

He got his own radio show in 1943, and this episode, from October 29, 1947, featured guest star Lucille Ball.

P.S. The Petrillo joke at the beginning of the show refers to the musicians union boss who forbid union musicians to record music in the mid-1940s (in a bid for higher royalties for musicians).

This weekend I bought a Freak 98 for two dollars. 

Do you do yard sales, thrift shops, church sales, and flea markets?  If not, you may be missing some of the greatest bargains ever on softball equipment. 

In this show, I talk about some of my best finds. 

What have you found at these sales?  I'll bet there are finds out there that make mine look like small potatoes.

For more articles on slowpitch softball, and a look at my book on playing, managing, and coaching, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

For the second week in a row, we are spotlighting an obscure old-time radio show. 

As its name suggests, Radio Reader's Digest was a radio adaption of stories that originally appeared in Reader's Digest magazine. 

From the episodes available, my best guess is that the show ran from 1943 to 1948.

This performance, He Fell in Love With a Picture, is a humorous adaptation of the romance of Mark Twain and Olivia Langdon.  It originally aired on October 17, 1946.

A couple of shows ago we talked about the cost of other sports and hobbies that make metal detecting look like a bargain. 

The response to that show was phenomenal.  Listen to what people wrote me about the cost of their other pastimes. 

You'll never complain about the cost of a metal detector again.

For more articles about treasure hunting and a baldfaced ad for my metal detecting book, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

I still marvel at how little is known or remembered about old-time radio.  We know more about the history of ancient Rome than we do about radio shows of the 1940s. 

And here's another example - a program that is nearly forgotten, though it ran for over a year on the Mutual network during World War II.

The show is Murder Clinic, and it adapted murder mystery short stories into half-hour radio shows. 

This episode, Murder at Marsden Manor, featured Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot.  It was first broadcast on October 6, 1942.

Last time we talked about the cost of other sports and hobbies that make softball look like a bargain. 

The response to that show was phenomenal.  Listen to what people wrote to me about the cost of their other pastimes. 

You'll never complain about the cost of a bat again.

For free articles about playing adult slowpitch softball, and a look at my book, Managing and Coaching Adult Slowpitch Softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com. 

This week's Radio Corner show was a needle in a haystack. 

Though Art Linkletter's House Party was on the air for 24 years, it seems that nobody saved any of the episodes. 

I searched everywhere, and just as I was about to give up, I found the website of the granddaughter of a radio engineer who had recorded an episode of House Party in 1947.  The photo is the label of that recording.

And here's the show, just for you.

Though you should never use a rock tumbler to clean collectible coins, there are times when a tumbler can help you in your metal detecting hobby. 

This podcast tells you how.

For more articles on metal detecting and treasure hunting, check out http://treasuremanual.com.

Nightwatch was the first true-life, real-time radio police procedural.  Reporter Don Reed rode with Culver City, California cop Don Perkins on the night shift. 

Reed's tape recorder saved for posterity the drama of Officer Reed's exploits.

The show ran just one year near the end of the old-time radio era, from April 1954 to April 1955.  This episode, Three Time Loser and Shotgun Boy, aired on August 7, 1954.

Softball is probably one of the most expensive sports ever, right? 

No, not right!  Not at all. 

Compare our costs to the price of bowling, fishing, hunting, golf - and folks, it ain't so bad.

Listen to the show, then tell me what hobby or pastime YOU do that costs a lot more than softball.  Bet we get quite a list!

For free articles on coaching, managing, and playing adult slowpitch softball, and a look at my book, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Will Rogers Junior was much like his father - down-home, folksy, and always spouting gems of country wisdom.  

And Rogers of the Gazette was the perfect program for him. 

Rogers played a small-town newspaper editor who was constantly called upon to solve the problems in his community. 

With Georgia Ellis (radio's Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke) as his assistant Maggie Button, and Gunsmoke's Chester, Parley Baer, as the local doctor, there are several voices in this show you'll recognize. 

This episode also features Howard McNear, Gunsmoke's Doc Adams and Andy Griffith's Floyd the Barber.

From July 8, 1953, this is Newspaper Being Taken Over.

Metal detecting is probably the most expensive hobby ever, right? 

No, not right!  Not at all. 

Compare our hobby to bowling, fishing, softball, golf - and folks, it ain't so bad.

Here are some numbers to pass on to the little lady (or in some cases, for the little lady to pass on to her significant other) when he/she raises an eyebrow at the cost of that metal detector.

Check out my book, The Metal Detecting Manual, and read a few free articles about treasure hunting while you're there.

Peg Lynch is a national treasure.  She's still going strong at 95, and as funny as ever.

She assures us that she comes from a family of good genetic stock, her grandmothers living well into their 100s.  Speaking of one of them, Peg says: "She collected three war pensions.  Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War I.  And I think she was a drummer boy in the Revolutionary War."

Peg performed last week at the Old-Time Radio Convention in Cincinnati.  She was a national radio fixture from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s, first writing and starring in Ethel and Albert, then writing and starring in The Couple Next Door (same show, new name).  She wrote nearly 800 shows over two decades. 

Peg and her late partner, Alan Bunce, played a married couple who talked with each other.  A simple concept, and absolutely hilarious.  But rather than me talk about it, let's just listen to it.

Here are two 15-minute shows:  Ethel and Albert, More Storage Space, from June 4, 1945, and The Couple Next Door, Barking Test for Brownie, from May 7, 1959.

Should the pitcher use a big glove, a small glove, a light glove, a heavy glove? 

What about that favorite baseball glove you used in high school or college?

Does it really make much difference?

This show is for newbie pitchers who aren't sure what glove they should be using when they pitch.

For more articles on coaching, managing, and playing adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Rin Tin Tin is known as the Dog That Saved Warner Brothers.  There are still rumors that he beat out Emil Jannings for the 1929 Oscar for Best Actor, but the Academy was too embarrassed to give the Oscar to a dog. 

Be that as it may, Rin Tin Tin ruled Hollywood from the late 1920s into the Depression.  He was discovered as an orphan pup by American soldier Lee Duncan somewhere along the French-German border in 1918.  When he died in 1932, news bulletins broke into radio programming around the world to report that Rin Tin Tin had passed away.

Rin Tin Tin enjoyed a second round of fame in the 1950s, when he became the star of a television series.  For most of 1955, Rin Tin Tin was also on the radio again. 

This episode, The Ambassador, first aired on November 13, 1955.

Treasure hunter Aaron Marcy says it's like playing the lottery, except if you don't win, you get all your money back.  

It's called Kitchen Table Koinshooting, it was "invented" by legendary treasure hunter Karl von Mueller, and anybody can play.  

This show tells you how. 

(THIS JUST IN - One listener tells me that for the past four years, he has averaged 150 silver coins per year with this method).

The photo is the cover of a pamphlet written by Karl under his psuedonym Deek Gladson.

For articles on getting better depth with your metal detector, what accessories you should be using, and much more, including a look at my book The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

How much do you know about old-time radio? 

Match wits with the experts at the Cincinnati Old-Time Radio Convention!  This week's show was recorded at last year's convention, and it consists of the questions and answers from the 2011 Old-Time Radio Trivia Bowl. 

This year's convention is Friday and Saturday of this week - April 13 and 14, 2012. 

We need contestants for this year's contest, and if you're coming to the convention, I urge you to play the game!  Grab three partners - there are four players to a team - and put your heads together to answer the old-time radio questions. 

This is a photo of last year's winners.  Take a look - don't you think YOU could beat these guys?  C'mon, give it a try!

Complete rules are at http://CincyOTR.info. 

If you make it to the convention, please look me up.  I'd love to meet you!

Whether you like it or not, you pay taxes to support your local library. 

Here's how the avid softballer can take advantage of his or her library. 

Where to find books on softball, and why the books on baseball (which are much more plentiful than softball books) can also help you play softball better.

More tips on hitting, pitching, fielding, and coaching adult slowpitch softball here:  http://slowpitchmanual.com.

Bill Stern was the Walter Winchell of sports commentary. 

His stories were outrageous, dramatic, exciting, and often false. 

But he was so interesting to listen to that most listeners forgave him his exaggerating. 

Stern was on the air from 1937 until 1956, and the sensationalist broadcasters of today could learn a lot from listening to old tapes of Bill Stern. 

Here are two of his shows.  The first, from December 7, 1945, features boxing legend Joe Louis.  The second, from February 18, 1949, has New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel as guest.

Back in show #77, we talked about business cards for treasure hunters.  In this show, we take another look at the do's and don't's of business cards. 

Why a card can be TOO good-looking, why it can scare people away, with several tips about what NOT to put on your treasure hunting business card.

For more tips on treasure hunting and using a metal detector, and a look at my book The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

Take It or Leave It was a quiz show that doubled the prize with each correct answer.  First you won a dollar, then two, then four, and on up to the top prize of $64.00. 

When the show went to television, it worked the same way, but the top prize was a thousand times more - hence the show name, The $64,000 Question.

The radio show was on the air from 1940 to 1952, and over the years it had several well-known hosts, including Phil Baker, Eddie Cantor, Garry Moore, and Jack Paar.

This episode, which first aired on November 8, 1942, featured special guest Jack Benny.

How does pitching strategy in co-rec softball differ from pitching strategy in all-guy or all-girls ball?

Should you have a guy pitching and a girl catching, or vice-versa? 

Are there situations where it might make sense to intentionally walk a guy? Or to intentionally walk a girl?

This show looks at some of the differences in the two games, and how a change in strategy may help you win some ball games.

For more tips on coaching, managing, pitching, hitting, and fielding adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Red Ryder was a juvenile western that for a time rivaled and even topped The Lone Ranger in the Hooper ratings. 

First a series of short stories, then a newspaper comic strip, Red Ryder was so popular in the early 1940s that it spawned a series of movies and a comic book. 

Red Ryder was responsible for tons of branded merchandising items, including the Daisy Red Ryder BB rifle made famous in the movie A Christmas Story.

The radio series was on the air from 1942 to 1951.

Red Ryder was called "Red" because he had red hair and wore a red shirt.  He had a sidekick called Buckskin and a native American juvenile partner named Little Beaver. 

This episode, The Law Comes to Stovepipe, first aired on January 12, 1943.

Here's how you can apply 19th century philosophy to 21st century treasure hunting. 

The profits made from the ideas in this program were responsible for the founding of Temple University, and the lecture from which they came was as famous in its day as the Gettysburg Address and the Bill of Rights.  ("Its day" being the late 1800s through the early 1900s.) 

Confused? 

Listen to the show and it will all be clear.

For more tips on treasure hunting, and a look at my book The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

Red Skelton began working in show biz when he was ten years old. 

He did vaudeville and burlesque, and he made his first radio appearance in 1937. 

He soon had his own show, and he was on the air with his own program (first radio, then TV) for 32 years.

In this episode, from January 8, 1950, Red is required to take a physical for CBS.

So you've just been named the manager of your new church co-rec softball team. 

What's the best way to set up your batting order?

This show suggests a simple but solid method to get started, and then offers suggestions for fine-tuning your line-up as the season progresses.

For more tips on coaching, managing, and playing adult slowpitch softball, read my articles (and buy my book) at http://slowpitchbook.com.

There were a lot of quiz shows on old-time radio, but none were quite like Author, Author. 

Famous authors, led by Ellery Queen, had to create a story that made sense out of a nonsense situation that was thrown at them. 

Ellery Queen was really two people - a pair of cousins named Manfred Lee and Frederic Dannay. 

This is the pilot episode, and the host here is humorist-poet Ogden Nash.  When the show was picked up for the regular schedule three months later, the host was humorist S.J. Perelman.

This pilot episode, The $2,001 Watch, was originally broadcast on January 4, 1939.

Coin World magazine is well worth a look by treasure hunters. 

In recent issues, you'd have learned that because our pennies and nickels cost more to make than they're worth, we may be getting new pennies and nickels, unlike anything we've seen before.

And yet another bill has been introduced in Congress to replace dollar bills with dollar coins - this one sponsored by two heavyweight senators, Iowa's Tom Harkin and ex-presidential candidate John McCain.

And for our friends in Canada - it looks like there will be a new loony, replacing the current one.  It will be lighter and made of multi-ply steel. 

These stories and more, in this edition of In the Treasure Corner.

Warm weather will soon be here - you need a copy of my book!  Check it out at http://treasuremanual.com.

Yukon 2-8208!

Old-time radio aficianados know that as the phone number for Candy Matson, San Francisco's female private eye. 

Created by Monty Masters and starring his wife Natalie Parks in the title role, Candy Matson ran on radio for three years, from 1949 to 1951.

This episode, Devil in the Deep Freeze, was originally broadcast on November 10, 1949.

A Reminder:  The Cincinnati Old-Time Radio Convention is almost here!  For all fans of old-time radio, the show will be held Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14.  Come meet Bob Hastings, star of radio's Archie, and Lt. Elroy Carpenter on McHale's Navy.  Complete details at http://CincyOTR.info.

Co-rec softball is a whole other game. 

Five men, five women, with two of each in the infield, two of each in the outfield, and one of each at pitcher and catcher. 

What's the best defensive strategy for a new coed team that is just getting started? 

Where do you put your best players, your worst players, your good gloves and your slow runners? 

How does your infield affect your outfield? 

We offer a good starting placement, but you may have to change things around a bit to get the most out of your unique set of players.

I've written a book on coaching, managing, and playing adult slowpitch softball.  Check it out, along with some helpful articles, at http://slowpitchbook.com.

The Old Gold Comedy Theater was a short run (just one season, 1944-45) program that attempted to turn 90-minute movie comedies into 30-minute radio comedies. 

The show was not as successful as it should have been, lasting just one season, 1944-45. 

The host, Harold Lloyd, had been a movie star in the silent era, and was perhaps thought to be no longer relevant. 

And the shows had to move very fast and leave out a lot to finish in just 30 minutes. 

Still, the program was able to draw many of the biggest box office stars of the time, from Lucille Ball To Edward G. Robinson to June Allyson to Dick Powell.

This episode, Brewster's Millions, is about a man who must give away a million dollars in 30 days, or lose an inheritance of 30 million dollars. 

It aired on March 18, 1945.

Facebook users are under 13 years old, and over 100.

Soon, there will be one billion members.  That's three times as many Facebook users as there are people in the United States.

With all this activity, there is bound to be something for the metal detecting community there.

In this show, we take a look at how treasure hunters can use Facebook to do things besides laugh with friends and insult enemies.

For more tips on metal detecting and treasure hunting, and a look at my book, The Metal Detecting Manual,  visit http://treasuremanual.com.

The Falcon was a private detective who first appeared in a short story, and it was so popular that it spawned 16 Falcon movies in the 1940s. 

The radio version was on the air from 1943 to 1954. 

Over the course of its run, five different actors played the Falcon:  Berry Kroeger, James Meighan, Les Tremayne, Les Damon, and George Petrie.

This episode, The Case of the Puzzling Pinup, was broadcast on November 19, 1950.

Facebook users are under 13 years old, and over 100. 

Soon, there will be one billion members.  That's three times as many Facebook users are there are people in the United States. 

With all this activity, there is bound to be something for the slowpitch softball community there.

In this show, we take a look at how softballers can use Facebook to do things besides laugh with friends and insult enemies.

For more tips on coaching, managing, and playing adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Roy Rogers was the King of the Cowboys (after Gene Autry relinquished the throne), and Dale Evans was Queen of the West. 

Together they rode the happy trails on Trigger and Buttermilk.

Where the Lone Ranger had silver bullets, Roy and Dale had a German shepherd  named Bullet. 

And where Gene Autry had a comic sidekick named Frog, Roy had a comic sidekick named Pat Brady. 

Roy's radio show was on the air from 1944 to 1955.  This episode, Ed Bailey's Bad Luck, originally aired on October 12, 1951. 

A "reality" treasure hunting TV show is due to air in the spring, and it looks like a doozy. 

A pro wrestler, his "enforcer" son, and his wife from Joisey (that's how some people say New Jersey) comprise the team that will "convince" homeowners to let them dig up their property - with a bulldozer. 

As Dave Berry says, I am NOT making this up.

I also discuss a reality treasure show that is now available on the internet.  The URL is http://exploringhistorystreasures.com.  (And the URL to purchase the downloads is here.)

Check out my own reality at http://treasuremanual.com.

Blondie was the most popular comic strip in America in the early 1930s, and in 1938 it became a movie series, with 28 films made and released in just the next 12 years. 

Blondie and Dagwood were played by the same actors in the movies and on the radio.  Penny Singleton was a redhead who had to dye her hair blonde for the part, and Arthur Lake played Dagwood.

The radio series began in 1939 and ran until 1950. 

This episode, The Entertainment Committee, ran on April 8, 1940.

Another show aimed at the newbies. 

What piece of equipment is more important to your softball game than your glove? 

What's the best glove size for an infielder, an outfielder, a pitcher? 

When should you not swing at a good pitch? 

These questions pose no problems for the long-time players, but newcomers to adult slowpitch softball have problems with them. 

This show will help you get started on the right foot.

For more tips on playing, coaching, and playing adult slowpitch softball, visit my book site, http://slowpitchbook.com.

Elliott and Cathy Lewis were two of the most talented radio actors who ever lived.  They were equally at home doing comedy and drama.

They appeared in thousands of radio shows, and in 1953 they starred in their own weekly radio theater. 

This show, Cathy and Elliott Lewis On Stage, showcased their talents for a year and a half, but it was created near the end of the radio era, and the explosion of television took away much of its luster. 

This is the premiere episode, from New Year's Day, 1953.  It's a fun story about a man who posed for a perfume ad, and found himself lusted after by the entire female population.  Sheldon Leonard (the smooth-talking "tout" on the Jack Benny Program) is hilarious in this show, The String Bow Tie.

Reality TV!  Has anything ever been so misnamed? 

Twice last year I was approached by reality television producers looking for a host for their proposed treasure hunting shows.

In this podcast, I explain what they wanted to do, and why I turned them down. 

For some REAL reality, read my book, The Metal Detecting Manual (http://treasuremanual.com).

Most of our shows are episodes of popular, well-remembered old-time radio shows.  This one is different - it's the pilot episode of a show that was not picked up as a regular series. 

It had two names:  The announcer calls it The Adventures of Max Chandler, but old-time radio fans call it The Whisper Men. 

Karl Swenson starred as Max Chandler, a spy-fighting radio commentator.  Karl was best known in radio as Lorenzo Jones in the series of the same name, and in television he played Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie.  He was also Eddie Haskell's father in Leave It to Beaver.

This episode of The The Whisper Men was broadcast on the Mutual network on October 20, 1945.

What's the best way for an outfielder to catch a routine fly ball? 

Which foot should an infielder have forward when he's waiting for the batter to hit the ball? 

Surprisingly, many long-time players don't know the answers to these questions. 

This episode of In the Softball Corner looks at some of the often-overlooked basics of playing defensive softball.

For more tips on coaching, managing, hitting, pitching, and fielding adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Double or Nothing was a quiz show that ran for 14 years.  Over that time there were four hosts:  Walter Compton, John Reed King, and Todd Russell, and Walter O'Keefe.

Prizes were small, but the emcees were interesting enough that the program always drew a good audience. 

John Reed King, the host of this episode, was a World War II news correspondent for CBS before he moved to the Mutual Network and took over Double or Nothing.

This episode, from August 12, 1945, is unique in that early in the show it has a incorrect war bulletin.  A newsman breaks into the program to announce that Japan has agreed to sign the surrender papers agreeing to the Allies terms.  But later in the show another bulletin interrupts, stating that the first bulletin was in error and that Japan had made no such announcement.  (The actual announcement came three days later.)

Can a small town library really help you find places to hunt for old coins and relics? 

You bet! 

In this show, learn which parts of the library seem to help but really don't, and which parts can actually lead you to local treasure.

And check out my tips on how to find valuable, useful information in your library that remains hidden to other people.

For more metal detecting secrets, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, was the longest-running radio detective show of all time.  In the 18 years it was on the air, it aired 1,690 episodes. 

Mr. Keen began in 1937 as a three-a-week serial, and in December 1943 it became a half-hour stand-alone show. 

Mr. Keen was played by Bennett Kilpack, and his dimwitted partner, Jim Clancy, was played by Mike Kelly.

This episode, The Case of the Leaping Dog, first aired on April 13, 1944.

Another book review from the Softball Corner. 

This one is Let's Do It, a 1989 book divided into three sections:  The Team, The Practice, and The Game.

The Practice is the largest part of the book, with 41 pages of what each player does in each possible game situation. 

For example, what does each defensive player do with one out and a runner at second if the ball is hit to the left fielder? 

I think this situational strategy is the weakest part of the game for most players, and this section will help your guys learn how to handle most of the game situations you'll encounter.

For hints and tips on managing, coaching, and playing adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Of all the teen sitcoms that aired during the golden days of radio, none was more popular than The Aldrich Family. 

Henry began as a minor character in a 1938 Broadway play, then moved to radio first as a one-time skit on the Rudy Vallee show, then as a weekly feature on the Kate Smith Show, then as the summer replacement for Jack Benny, and finally as its own stand-alone show in 1939.

Besides its radio success, Henry Aldrich has his own comic book, television series, and 11 Paramount movies. 

Ezra Stone played Henry (with time out as a soldier during World War II), and Jackie Kelk was his best friend Homer Brown. 

This episode, Girl Trouble, originally aired on October 17, 1939.

Recently (show #83), we looked at the attempt of some members of congress to phase out dollar bills and replace them with dollar coins. 

But in a sudden about-face, the White House has announced that the dollar coins will be virtually eliminated, except for those made for collectors. 

That is, they will not compete with paper money now. 

Listen to this show for the details.

For more articles on metal detecting and treasure hunting, check out http://treasuremanual.com.

The old-time radio program Gang Busters is famous for adding a phrase to the Dictionary of American Slang:  "Coming on like Gang Busters."  And indeed, the program had one of the wildest openings of all, with windows breaking, guns firing, and sirens screaming.

Gang Busters was created by Phillips H. Lord.  The show dramatized police cases, both famous and obscure.  FBI director J. Edgar Hoover begrudgingly promoted the show even though he wished it were not on the air. 

At the end of each episode, the description of a wanted suspect was broadcast, and over the 22 years that the program was on the air, it was responsible for the identification and capture of hundreds of suspected criminals.

This episode, The Case of the Unknown Killer, was first heard on June 9, 1944.

Earlier we talked about the new ASA rules that will take effect on January 1 (2012).  In this show, part two of a two-part series, we look at some of the rules that DIDN'T make it.

Some of these proposed rules are good enough that they will probably appear again next year, and some are just plain weird.   

Consider, and enjoy.

And for more articles on playing, coaching, and managing adult slowpitch softball, click:  http://slowpitchbook.com.

Many of the great authors who prospered during the Golden Age of Science Fiction were represented on the radio show X-1.  Its early shows were adaptations of stories appearing in Astounding Science Fiction magazine, and most of its later stories were from Galaxy Science Fiction magazine.

Poul Andersen, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Robert Bloch, Theodore Sturgeon, and Ray Bradbury all had stories dramatized on the show. 

This episode was written by Ray Bradbury.  It originally appeared in The Saturday Evening Post on September 23, 1950, under the title The World the Children Made.  It aired as an X-1 episode entitled The Veldt on August 4, 1955.

I might add that this version has a happier ending than does the original story.

I love thrift shops.  They have given me many books and magazines that now occupy places of honor in my treasure library. 

In this podcast, I discuss resale store treasure hunting.  I also describe a magazine I recently picked up at a Goodwill store - a magazine with an article that virtually screams, "Get your old coins here - nothing newer than 1900!"

Well, mostly coins older than 1900, anyway. 

Because this once-prosperous village pretty much died when it was left an orphan by the railroad in 1873. 

And no, it's not in the old west.  Ghost towns can be found in virtually every state, and this one is in Indiana.

Christmas is here, and you probably know someone who would love a copy of my book The Metal Detecting Manual.  Check it out at http://treasuremanual.com.

Hopalong Cassidy was a national phenomenon in 1950. 

He was on television, in movies, in comic books, and in newspaper comic strips.

His image was on over a hundred products, from T-shirts to lunchboxes to toy guns to flashlights to pajamas. 

This episode of the Hopalong Cassidy radio show , The Mystery of Skull Mountain, originally aired on January 22, 1950.

Last time we talked about the new ASA rules that will take effect on January 1 (2012).  In this show, Part One of a two-part series, we look at some of the rules that DIDN'T make it.

Some of these proposed rules are good enough that they will probably appear again next year, and some are just plain weird.   

See what YOU think. 

And for tips on pitching, fielding, coaching, and managing, see my website http://slowpitchbook.com.

Ann Sothern is probably best remembered for her role as Susie McNamara in the TV series Private Secretary. 

But before that, she had starred in 11 movies about Maisie, a burlesque dancer who got herself into fixes that would have stymied even Lucille Ball. 

Maisie became a radio series in 1947, with Ann Sothern reprising her movie role. 

This episode of Maisie, Department Store Clerk, was broadcast on November 24, 1949.

Two short shows instead of one long one this week. 

First, an addendum to my earlier program about headphones for treasure hunters. And here's some info about the five-dollar headphones I talk about in the show(though they are more than $5.00 here):  http://tinyurl.com/6vc5m2z

Then, a look at a book written in 1860, and why it sparked my treasure hunting instincts.

For more of my articles about treasure hunting, and a look at my book on metal detecting, click to http://treasuremanual.com.

In the course of his radio career, Dick Powell played two detectives named Richard.  He is most famous as Richard Diamond, but before that he was Richard Rogue. 

Richard Rogue had a gimmick.  Whenever he was knocked unconscious (that is, in every episode), his alter ego Eugor spoke to him, giving him a clue as to how to proceed with the case. 

This episode of Rogue's Gallery, The Pat Flynn Case, first aired on June 6, 1946.

The proposed rule changes for the 2012 ASA season have been announced. 

The biggies including changing the distance between bases, allowing senior league players to swing the Big Bats, and the banning of bat warmers. 

In this show, I list the eleven rule changes the ASA is instituting next year.

NOTE:  I made a reading error on rule 6.  The first part is right, but then I said the word "attached" was changed to "taped."  I should have said the word "taped" was changed to "covered."  The rest of the statement is correct.

UPDATE:  ASA has now published the new rules in their final form, and they have dropped the reference to BPF numbers.  They have also stipulated that this change is for senior championship tournaments only:

Rule 3 Section 1A [4]: Exception: Senior Softball bats may be used in Senior Championship Play.

Comment: Add an exception to Rule 3 Section 1 that Senior Softball bats may be used in Senior Championship Play only.

For more of my articles on pitching, hitting, fielding, and managing adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

John Charles Daly is best known for hosting What's My Line in the early days of television, but before that he was a CBS newsman who anchored a unique radio program that went back in time. 

The show was called You Are There, and in it the CBS News department covered historical events live, like the landing of the Pilgrims, the assassination of President Lincoln, and in this episode, the battle of the Alamo. 

Originally broadcast on August 18, 1947.

Karl von Mueller was a mystery man.  His real name was Dean Miller.  He sometimes wrote as Deek Gladson.  But he mostly called himself Karl. 

He began his treasure hunting career in the 1920s, and he was still active well into the 1980s. 

Some of his books sell for several hundred dollars nowadays.  Little information is available on Karl, and if you have something to add please click the Comments button below and let us hear from you.

Listen to this show for info on Karl, and some of his insights on keeping your mouth shut.

For more stories and articles about how to become a better treasure hunter, visit my website http://treasuremanual.com.

UPDATE - THANKS TO THE DETECTIVE WORK OF ONE OF OUR LISTENERS, WE HAVE CONFIRMED THE BIRTH/DEATH DATES OF KARL. 

He was born Dean Miller on February 3, 1915, and he died on January 27, 1990 - one week shy of his 75th birthday.

Before Casey Kasem's American Top 40 Countdown, there was Your Hit Parade.  America tuned in every Saturday night, from 1935 until 1953, to find out what song was Number One. 

Each week, Your Hit Parade featured the top seven songs, performed not by the hit artists, but by the stable of singers who appeared on the show every week. 

Several regular performers on the show became stars, including Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Dinah Shore, and Gisele MacKenzie.

See how many songs you remember from this episode, with Frank Sinatra, which originally aired on December 30, 1944.

Here's a look at an obscure softball book that was written over 20 years ago by two Canadians.  It's a small book with lots of drawings, and it is an excellent reference book for newbies to the game.

In this show, I walk through the book and point out some of the tips contained therein.

For more tips on playing and coaching adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Cabin B13 was one of those fondly-remembered radio programs for which no recorded episodes survived.  Or so it was thought, until tapes of three of the shows were unearthed. 

Cabin B13 was the cabin of the ship's doctor on a luxury cruise liner, and the doctor was the narrator of the stories.  He was played by Arnold Moss, a Broadway actor who also appeared in movies and even a Star Trek episode.

This is the premiere episode of Cabin B13, and it originally aired on July 5, 1948.

If certain members of congress get their way, the one-dollar bill could soon become extinct.  There is a serious move afoot to replace the paper dollar with a dollar coin. 

Dollar coins have been tried and rejected before.  Compared to the Susan B. Anthony dollar, the Ford Edsel was a roaring success. 

But this time around, the dollar coin would be forced upon us, because the dollar bill would no longer be made. 

And by the way, did George Washington really throw that silver dollar across the Potomac River?  You'll hear that story here, too.

For more articles about treasure hunting and metal detecting, visit my book website at http://treasuremanual.com.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was the first radio science fiction series.  It was based on the comic strip which started in 1929, and the radio version was on the air for fifteen years, from 1932 to 1947. 

Several actors played Buck over the years, and the program went from fifteen minutes to a half hour and then back to fifteen minutes. 

On this show, you'll hear the very first episode and, fifteen years later, the very last episode.

From April 5, 1932, and from March 28, 1947, here is Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Every other Thursday, I post a new episode of In the Softball Corner. 

But this morning I woke up with laryngitis.  The only sounds I can make are barely-discernable croaks and squeaks. 

So rather than try to whisper my way through this week's show, I'm instead shutting up completely and presenting one of the all-time classic vaudeville duos, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, and their most famous routine, Who's On First. 

Hopefully my voice will be back for the next show, but for now, please enjoy Abbott and Costello.

For articles on softball strategy, visit my website http://slowpitchbook.com.

The Adventures of Ellery Queen was a fun detective radio show, because the audience was given a chance to solve the crime before Ellery fingered the culprit. 

Near the end of each episode, Ellery would stop the show to announce that he had the necessary clues to solve the mystery, and he then invited the listening audience to name the villain. 

He often had famous guests in the studio who were challenged to figure out the clues.  After guesses were made, the program began again and revealed the criminal.

This episode, The Adventure of the World Series Crime, originally aired on September 30, 1943.

Most of our legendary treasure hunters are gone now.  Karl von Mueller, Bill Mahan, Hardrock Hendricks. 

But one of their cohorts is still with us, as active as ever.  Norman "Indy" Stiles began treasure hunting in 1956, with a metal detector that ran on five radio tubes and a 45-volt battery. 

Indy is still going strong today, and he gave me a few tips on finding small gold and silver for me to pass along to you in this show.

If you'd like to contact Indy Stiles, he welcomes new friends at indystiles@yahoo.com.

For more articles on metal detecting and treasure hunting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

Victor Jory played an evil plantation overseer in Gone With the Wind.  He played Lamont Cranston and the Shadow in the movie serial The Shadow.  And he was in over 150 movies. 

He was also the lead actor in each episode of the radio series Dangerously Yours, playing a different character every week.

In this June 1944 pilot episode, Masquerade, Jory plays an espionage agent in a one-on-one battle of wits with another spy - who happens to be female, and beautiful.

Slowpitch softball has lost nearly half a million players in the last three years. 

Why?

There are a myriad of reasons, and this show examines five of the big ones. 

There is a sixth big reason that I neglected to mention in the show - video games.  Why exert yourself in real life when you can play all the games you want with just your thumbs?  You don't have to buy bats or gloves or special shoes, you don't even have to leave your room to play.  (Thanks to the guys at softballfans.com for the heads-up on this one.)

Can this exodus be turned around?  Probably not. 

If you have ideas, please click the Comments button and let us know your thoughts.

For more articles on how to play, coach, and manage adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

NBC had a hit radio series with A Date With Judy (see show 52), and CBS wanted a similar program.  They found a series of humorous stories about a precocious teenage girl in Good Housekeeping magazine, and CBS adapted the stories for radio.

The result was Meet Corliss Archer, which aired from 1943 to 1956.  The legendary Janet Waldo was Corliss, and 40 years later she was still playing teenage girls, including Judy Jetson on the TV series The Jetsons.

Corliss had a boyfriend, Dexter, played by Sam Edwards, a famous character actor who many years later played the banker on Little House on the Prairie.

The radio series was so popular that it spawned a book, a comic book, a Broadway play, and a television series.

This episode of Meet Corliss Archer, Rival Boyfriend, originally aired on June 23, 1946.

No, not THOSE kind of strip searches!

Did you know that in most communities, it is perfectly legal for you to hunt those grassy strips in front of homes between the sidewalk and the street?  This is because those strips are owned by the city, not the homeowner.

But does this mean you should feel free to hunt those strips without permission?  Not on your life!

This show explains it all.

For more articles about treasure hunting, visit my website http://treasuremanual.com.

Sad Sack is chiefly remembered as the star of a comic book, but he was also the star of a 1957 movie (he was played by Jerry Lewis!) and a 1946 summer replacement radio series (in Frank Sinatra's time slot).

On the radio, Herb Vigran played the Sad Sack and Jim Backus was his roommate (in the radio series, Sad Sack was a veteran, World War II being over by the time the series was on the air).

This is the first episode of the series, Sad Sack Returns Home From the Army, from June 12, 1946.

Some authors claim that softballs carry farther in hot weather, but anyone who has played knows the opposite is true.  Why the confusion? 

It has to do with relative humidity and air density and ball compression.

Normal ASA ball compression is 375, which means that it requires a force of 375 pounds to push the surface of a softball one-fourth of an inch deep. 

Harder balls have higher compression numbers, because it takes more pounds of force to "squash" the ball a quarter-inch.  And the higher the compression, the better the trampoline effect when the ball hits the bat. 

Ergo, high compression = more distance.  And a 375 ball at 70 degrees becomes a 555 ball at 40 degrees. 

Listen up, it's all here.

For more of my articles on adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Can You Top This? was a joke show in which listeners sent in jokes, and the three resident comics tried to top those jokes. 

It ran from 1940 to 1954, and it was so popular that it spawned two books of jokes from the show, and it attracted upwards of 3,000 letters per week at the height of its popularity.

The jokemasters were Senator Edward Ford (not a real senator, but the creator and owner of the show), Harry Hirshfield, a popular cartoonist of the day, and ex-vaudevillian Joe Laurie, Jr. 

This episode was originally heard on December 5, 1947.

Administrivia:  It is now possible to get automatic downloads of new In theTreasure Corner shows as they are posted, without getting my other shows on old-time radio and softball. Go to http://danhughes.libsyn.com/rss/treasure and subscribe only to the old-time radio podcasts.

And now, back to your regularly-scheduled program:

This show is about gold. Here are a couple of things I couldn't fit into the program:

1.  If you are going to sell your gold, read this first:  http://tinyurl.com/3fcnhod.  There are a LOT of similar scams going on with the price of gold as high as it is.  

2.  Here's the formula to determine how much your gold ring is worth:

  A. Weigh the ring in grams.  Most men's rings are between 12 and 22 grams; most women's rings are between 4 and 10 grams.

   B.  If a 10K ring:  Multiply grams X .0134 X value of one ounce of gold (found daily at top of this page:  http://goldprice.org).

   C.  If a 14K ring:  Multiply grams X .01875 X value of one ounce of gold.

   D.  If an 18K ring:  Multiply grams X .0241 X value of one ounce of gold.

UPDATE:  Here's a site that will do all that math for you automatically, and it even knows the current-to-the-minute price of gold:  http://www.dendritics.com/scales/metal-calc.asp

Thanks to New Hampshire Bob for this info!

For more articles about treasure hunting, and a look at my book The Metal Detecting Manual, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

Great news!

It is now possible to get automatic downloads of new In the Old-Time Radio Corner shows as they are posted, without getting my other shows on treasure hunting and softball. 

Go to http://danhughes.libsyn.com/rss/oldtimeradio and subscribe only to the old-time radio podcasts.

Tales of the Texas Rangers was on the air from 1950 to 1952 as a radio show, and from 1955 to 1957 as a TV show.  It was an adult show on radio, and a kids' show on television. 

The radio version starred film star Joel McCrea as Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, and it was rather like a western version of Dragnet.  McCrea used modern police procedural methods to solve Texas crimes.

This episode, White Elephant, first aired on July 15, 1950.

I've now got three years of In the Softball Corner under my belt, and in this birthday show I look at the All-Time Top 10 Shows of the series. 

Also, a couple of recent shows that are getting a lot of listens, and thoughts of shows for the future.

For more articles on managing, coaching, and playing slowpitch softball, visit my site http://slowpitchbook.com.

In 1943, a little-known author named Frederick Collins wrote a best-selling book called The FBI in Peace and War. 

A year later, CBS radio turned the book into a weekly series starring Martin Blaine as FBI field agent Sheppard. 

The program remained one of the best-rated crime shows on radio until it went off the air near the end of the old-time radio era, in 1958. 

This episode, Unfinished Business, aired on August 2, 1951. 

I've now got three years of In the Treasure Corner under my belt, and in this birthday show I look at the Top 10 Shows of the series. 

Also, a couple of recent shows that are getting a lot of listens, and thoughts of shows for the future. 

For more articles on treasure hunting and metal detecting, visit my site http://treasuremanual.com.

Dennis Day had TWO radio shows, and Jack Benny had only one.  Dennis often kidded Jack about that on the Jack Benny Program. 

This is the second show Dennis had - A Day in the Life of Dennis Day.  It ran from 1946 to 1951. 

In his own show, Dennis played the same naive young innocent that he played on the Benny show.  He had a girlfriend named Mildred whose parents couldn't stand him, and he had a boss named Mr. Willoughby, played by the great John Brown.

This episode, Second Job, originally aired on October 22, 1947.

This show explains how I bought a Worth PST Quad, brand new in wrapper, for sixteen bucks. 

And how our team masher took four pitches (out of twelve) out of the park with it.

And how you can maybe get one cheap, too.

For more articles on slowpitch softball, visit my site http://slowpitchbook.com.

Did you ever hear Bill Cosby's routine about being terrified by a horror show on the radio when he was a kid, about a giant chicken heart? 

Well, that show was a real episode of Lights Out, a program that offered horror and the supernatural every Wednesday night. 

Lights Out was created by Wyliss Cooper (top photo) in 1934, and taken over by Arch Obeler (bottom photo) in 1936. 

This episode, Cat Wife, is one of the most popular shows of the series, and it was repeated several times.  This version stars Boris Karloff, and it originally aired on April 6, 1938.

I'm a treasure hunter.

I'm a metal detector hobbyist.

I'm a metal detectorist.

I'm a  - what?  What should we call ourselves?

In this show, I discuss several appellations and find that none of them are spot on.  Can you help?

Click the Comments button to post your thoughts.

For more articles about treasure hunting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

Remember Ted Baxter's girlfriend (and later, his wife) Georgette on the Mary Tyler Moore Show?  See if you don't think her character might have been based on Irma from this old-time radio show, My Friend Irma. 

This show was so popular in its day that it also gave us a newspaper comic strip, a comic book, two movies, and a television series.

My Friend Irma was on the radio from 1947 to 1954.  This episode, Irma's Inheritance, first aired on April 5, 1948.

Do you use a donut on your bat before you step into the batter's box?

If so, you are costing yourself three to five miles per hour with your swing.
 
Listen to this show to find out why.

For more articles on slowpitch softball, visit my site http://slowpitchbook.com.

Who's buried in Grant's Tomb? 

That question originated on the old-time radio show It Pays to Be Ignorant, which ran for nine years, from 1942 to 1951. 

Easy questions were presented to a team of idiots, who mangled their answers until nobody quite knew what was happening. 

Host Tom Howard (on the right in the photo) tried to moderate the three contestants, (left to right) Harry McNaughton, Lulu McConnell, and George Shelton. 

This episode was first broadcast on July 14, 1944.

Everybody carries business cards, why not hobby cards?  A card announcing you as a treasure hunter can open doors for you.

It can help you make friends with your local police department, it can reassure strangers that you're not a pervert, it can get you business in finding lost objects.

This show takes a look at designing business cards for the treasure hunter, and it offers suggestions for using the card after you make it.

And please visit my website for more of my treasure hunting articles.

WXYZ radio in Detroit was the home of three classic juvenile radio shows - The Lone Ranger, the Green Hornet, and Challenge of the Yukon.

Challenge of the Yukon ran on radio from 1947 to 1955, and then on TV from 1955 to 1958.

It was set in the Alaskan Gold Rush of the 1890s, and the show featured a dog named King.  At first he was a husky, but somewhere along the way he became a malamute.  He was the lead dog for Sergeant William Preston, the star human of the show.

This episode, The Fraud, was originally broadcast on September 18, 1947. 

Does anyone know Dennis Stern, of St. Paul, Minnesota?  In 1980 he wrote this manual, and I'd like to talk to him. 

It is an excellent collection of tips and tricks for playing slowpitch softball, and though it is outdated now, it still has a lot of excellent information that holds up today.  It deserves to be updated and republished, perhaps as an eBook. 

This show relays some tips on hitting and pitching, as taken from Dennis Stern's manual.

For more articles on adult slowpitch softball, see http://slowpitchbook.com.

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts was on the radio from 1946 to 1956, and on television from 1948 to 1958.

Some of the stars discovered by the show were Patsy Cline, Pat Boone, Tony Bennett, Jonathan Winters, Wally Cox, and Connie Francis. 

But Arthur missed the biggest star of all, a singer who auditioned for the show, but was not picked to appear - and that was Elvis Presley. 

A future star appears in this episode from April 18, 1949 - comedian Lenny Bruce.

Everybody tells you you'll find more if you slow down.  But slow down what? 

Your swing speed?  Your walking speed? 

This program gives you a step-by-step procedure for determining the proper swing speed for your detector, and it also tells you the secret of getting a beep from the deepest coins your detector is capable of finding.

Hey!  Two shows in one!  So pay attention!

And pay attention to this:  http://treasuremanual.com, for articles and a video that will make you a better treasure hunter.

Though Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were most famous for their baseball skit Who's On First, they actually did several other routines written with that same basic formula, where Lou misunderstands what Bud is trying to tell him. 

This show has one such skit, about the Hertz U-drive company.

Actress Veronica Lake is the guest in this episode from December 2, 1943.

New bats look great! 

But what about their performance? 

How do they compare to the old bats? 

In this show, we compare the old and the new, and maybe destroy your hopes for improvement, but then maybe build them up again.

Or...Is 98mph really 98mph?

For more articles on coaching and playing adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Many of our In the Radio Corner shows are the first show of a series.  This time, we're giving you the last show of a series.

Murder and Mr. Malone ran on ABC and then NBC for four years, from 1947 to 1951.  A television version aired in 1951 and 1952. 

John J. Malone was a criminal lawyer.  He was created by Craig Rice, a female mystery novelist who appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in 1946, but has since been mostly forgotten. 

Malone was first played by Frank Lovejoy (better known as Nightbeat's Randy Stone), then Gene Raymond (Broadway and movie actor; husband of Jeanette MacDonald), and finally George Petri. 

Petri was in television for over half a century, with recurring roles in shows ranging from The Honeymooners to Dallas to Mad About You.  He also played Eddie Haskell's father on Leave It To Beaver.

This final episode, Haste Maketh Waste, was broadcast on July 13, 1951.

Are you still in high school?  Or college?  Or grad school? 

Are you now, or will you someday be, taking a basic speech class? 

Then this show is for you.

While the other students are giving the same old boring speeches on how to make spaghetti and why we should bomb Granada, you can grab the attention of your audience (and your instructor) and grab that "A" by talking about....treasure hunting!

Listen and learn.

And learn even more by reading my treasure hunting tips at http://treasuremanual.com.

P.S.  The box with coins and pulltabs (bottom photo) is explained in the show.

Here is one of the all-time classic old-time radio broadcasts.  Actress Jan Miner delivers a masterful virtually-solo half-hour performance as a frantic wife trying to save her husband (via telephone) from execution.

The show was the premiere episode of NBC's Radio City Playhouse, which ran for just a year and a half but was universally praised for its strong writing (many famous authors wrote especially for the show) and its excellent acting.

This episode, Long Distance, was originally broadcast on July 3, 1948.

Are you still in high school?  Or college?  Or grad school? 

Are you now, or will you someday be, taking a basic speech class? 

Then this show is for you.

While the other students are giving the same old boring speeches on how to make spaghetti and why we should bomb Granada, you can grab the attention of your audience (and your instructor) and grab that "A" by talking about....softball!

Listen and learn.

More great softball articles here:  http://slowpitchbook.com.

Gene Autry was 21 when he began singing on the radio, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

A year later he signed a recording contract with Columbia records, and he moved to WLS in Chicago, where he was on the National Barn Dance for four years. 

He made his first movie in 1934, and his radio show, Gene Autry's Melody Ranch, aired from 1940 to 1956. 

This episode, Cattlemen's Money Stolen, was originally broadcast on June 9, 1951.

(And by the way - that's not a lighter in the picture, that's the flashlight I describe in the show.)

Most treasure hunters agree that intelligent research is a necessity for increasing your odds of finding older coins. 

But research can be difficult in many ways - it may require travel to libraries and museums, and poring over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, and bothering people, and taking more time than you have to spare.

But there is another way!  "Instant Research" is at your fingertips.  This podcast gives you tips on giving yourself a good head start on researching small towns and communities before you arrive in person.

For more articles on treasure hunting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

Himan Brown envisioned a creaking door as an introduction to a spooky radio series.  He created the series, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, but he couldn't

get the sound he wanted from a door.  So he used a creaking chair, and that's what you hear at the beginning of each episode of Inner Sanctum.

The early episodes were hosted by a ghoul named Raymond, who was full of morbid jokes and ghastly puns. 

This episode, The Man From Yesterday, originally aired on December 21,1941.

Some players and coaches have short fuses. 

Does this put them at a disadvantage as far as close calls by the umpires go? 

In this show I interview a veteran ump on the subject.

For articles on playing and coaching adult slowpitch softball, check out my website, http://slowpitchbook.com.

The New Adventures of Michael Shayne was one of several incarnations of the radio version of the famous detective series. 

In the 1948-1949 run, Jeffrey Chandler starred as Shayne, and Dragnet's Jack Webb worked on the series as an uncredited script advisor. 

This episode, The Hate That Killed, originally ran on August 27, 1948.

A review of Relic Hunter, the Book, by Ed Fedory.

Ed was for many years the relic hunting columnist for Western and Eastern Treasures magazine. 

This was his first book, and it does a fantastic job of covering all the bases for the relic hunter.

For more of my articles on treasure hunting and metal detecting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

Beyond Tomorrow was the first adult science fiction series on radio - maybe.  Some sources say three episodes aired on CBS in April 1950, but other sources say the programs were  recorded and scheduled, but never aired. 

The series was hosted by John W. Campbell Jr, perhaps the most influential person in the development of science fiction from the late 1930s through the 1960s.  Campbell was the editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine (which later became Analog) all those years, and he directed his authors with a strong hand.  He insisted on specific themes for his magazine, and he directed authors to change endings if he didn't like what they had written.

This episode, a western-science fiction story called Incident at Switchpath, was written by Theodore Sturgeon.  The magazine version was named The Sky is Full of Ships, but they changed the title for radio because they were afraid the words "ships" might be heard as something else.

From April 11, 1950, here is Beyond Tomorrow and Incident at Switchpath.

Herewith, a short review of a compact book. 

Though eight years old now, this book still fits the definition of a "modern" softball book.  The information on bats is dated, but the rest of the book contains a lot of valuable information. 

By no means as comprehensive as the huge Complete Guide to Slowpitch Softball reviewed in show #70, nonetheless this book is tightly packed with solid information. 

Topics covered include hitting, fielding, coaching, attitude, improving arm/leg strength, increasing stamina, and a lot more. 

For more articles on coaching, managing, and playing adult slowpitch softball, check out my website http://slowpitchbook.com.

Have Gun, Will Travel was on television for over a year before a radio version was created.  John Dehner, who had just finished a year as Englishman J.B. Kendall in Frontier Gentleman, was chosen to play the radio version of Paladin.

Paladin was a gun for hire, but somehow he always managed to fight for the good.  A good guy dressed all in black - not a common sight on the western scene.

This episode,  Death of a Young Gunfighter, originally aired on March 15, 1959.

The photo shows radio's Paladin, John Dehner, with TV's Paladin, Richard Boone.

The first article I ever sold to a treasure magazine was called Photography for the Treasure Hunter.  It appeared in the November 1977 issue of Western and Eastern Treasures.

This podcast is an update of that article. 

Two points I discuss in the show are illustrated by this photo (which appeared in the original article). 

Note how I framed Kathy by shooting through a swing, and also note the use of the Rule of Thirds.  That is, she is in the top third/left third of the picture - approximately where lines would cross if you drew a tic-tac-toe board on the photo.

Also note the error in this shot - she looks like she has a post growing out of her back.  I should have repositioned her a bit before I took the photo.

For more articles about treasure hunting, visit my website http://treasuremanual.com.

People Are Funny hit the air in 1943, with Art Baker as host. 

Baker was fired and replaced by Art Linkletter, ostensibly because Linkletter would work for less money. 

The show was a hit with Linkletter, and it stayed on the radio for seventeen years,  from 1943 to 1960.  The TV version was on the air from 1954 to 1961. 

The show generally followed this formula:  Send an audience member out on the street at the beginning of the show to do a stunt, then do several on-stage stunts with other audience members, and finally bring back the first audience member to relate his or her experience outside the studio.

This episode is from January 13, 1952.

Discussed in this podcast are three basic situations for the second baseman: 

Glove size and fielding grounders, turning double plays, and relaying throws from the outfield. 

Also, a heads-up play that may allow you to make a put-out on a batter when the third baseman or shortstop throws the ball past the first baseman.

For tips on slowpitch topics like pitching, fielding, and setting your team lineup, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

A Date With Judy was on the air for a full decade, from 1941 to 1950. 

It was so popular that it spawned a movie starring Jane Powell and Elizabeth Taylor, a TV series which ran from 1951 to 1953, and a comic book which was issued from 1947 to 1960. 

The show was similar to Henry Aldrich and Archie, but its star was a teenage girl rather than a teenage boy.

This episode, A New Dress for the Dance, originally aired on May 18, 1946.

Pictured are Judy (Louise Erickson) and her boyfriend Oogie (Dick Crenna).

What quiz, you ask?  Well, I have a little confession to make.  The last program, called Treasure Hunting Safety, really wasn't about Treasure Hunting Safety.  It was a secret quiz just for those special people who listen to my shows all the way through. 

That show sure enough started to be about safety, but about two minutes in, it morphed into a general-knowledge quiz. 

Trivia quizzes are like treasure hunts - it takes the same qualities to ferret out the correct answers as it does to find a hidden treasure - research, perseverance, and some solid detective work.

The winners have already been announced, but if you missed the quiz and would like to give it a try, go back and listen to show #70 before you listen to this one, because this one has all the answers.

Check out my articles on treasure hunting, and my video on how to dig a coin, at http://treasuremanual.com.

Mr. and Mrs. North began as a series of magazine stories, then was expanded into a mystery novel (actually 26 of them), then a Broadway play, then a radio series, and finally a TV series.

This is the pilot episode of the radio show.  Mr. and Mrs. North were a happily-married couple, a bit on the eccentric side, who happened to be adept

at solving crimes.  It starred Carl Eastman and Peggy Conklin (who also played Pam in the Broadway show).

The roles of Jerry and Pam were given to Joseph Curtin and Alice Frost after the pilot was picked up by NBC.  (The show moved to CBS in 1947, hence the CBS mic flag in this photo of Joseph and Alice).

This episode, Picnic, originally aired on NBC on December 30, 1942.

P.S.  Visit the Cincinnati Old-Time Radio Discussion Board at http://cincyotr.info.

When you were a kid, didn't you hate to write book reports?  Me too!

But this book was a pleasure to read, and I highly recommend you buy a copy. 

This is the first and only book I've ever seen that lives up to the title of a COMPLETE guide to slowpitch softball.  It's big, it has an instructional DVD included, and it covers virtually everything. 

In this show, I look at the many pros and the few cons of this book. 

For more articles about slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Rather than play an episode from an old-time radio series this week, we present all the questions and answers from the First Annual Old-Time Radio Trivia Bowl, recorded at the Cincinnati Old-Time Radio and Nostalgia Convention on May 7, 2010. 

I've edited out dead air and spaces between questions and answers, so the show moves along quickly.  If you'd like to play the game, get your paper and pencil, and keep your finger on the pause button as you write your answers.

In the photo, last year's winning team, the Tom Mix Ralston Straightshooters (left to right, Jim Widner, Jack French, Meredith Granger, Randy Larson).

Visit the Cincinnati Old-Time Radio Discussion Board:  http://cincyotr.info.

I've been hesitant to write on this topic, because, frankly, I think most treasure hunters will find it boring.  Who amongst you enjoyed Traffic Safety Class in high school? 

Treasure hunters want action and excitement, not lectures on how to stay safe in the field.

But I've been asked, so I have answered.  I'm predicting this episode will have fewer listeners than most - let's see if you prove me wrong.

And if you want to send me a note, pro or con, about this episode, I'm at danhughesmail@gmail.com

For more articles on treasure hunting and metal detecting, and a video on how to dig a coin, visit my web site. 

In 1938, Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1, a comic book that has reportedly sold for as high as one and a half million dollars. 

In 1939, Superman became a daily comic strip.

And in 1940, Superman took to the air with a three-afternoons-a-week radio show. 

Who played Superman on the radio?  It was a closely-guarded secret until 1946, when Clayton Collyer was identified as the voice of the Man of Steel.  Collyer is better known to early television enthusiasts as Bud Collyer, host of game shows like Beat the Clock and To Tell the Truth.

This episode, The Mystery of the Mechanical Monster, first aired on December 10, 1949.

In the photo:  Jackson Beck, the announcer whose never-to-be-forgotten words "Faster than a speeding bullet!  More powerful than a locomotive!" began each episode; Clayton Collyer; and Joan Alexander, who played Lois Lane.

The NCAA has changed its technical standards for baseball bats this season, and because of that both pitching and hitting statistics are changing. 

Does this portend similar changes for softball? 

In this program we take a look at the new college baseball bat and what it is doing to the game.

For more articles on adult slowpitch softball, check out my website.

Wild Bill Hickok (Guy Madison) and his rotund sidekick Jingles Jones (Andy Devine) rode across our radio dials - and television screens - from 1951 to 1956 (radio) and 1951-1958 (television). 

Guy Madison (real name Robert Moseley) was on leave from the Coast Guard in 1944 when he was "discovered" and cast in a small movie part.  His good looks got him several roles, but his lack of acting ability kept him from being a star until he was cast as Wild Bill Hickok.

This was a cowboy show for kids, with lots of shooting and yelling and simple plots of bad guys vs. good guys.

Our episode is Six-Gun Serenade, from December 1, 1954.

This week's program finds us out on a tangent from our regular treasure hunting topics. 

Flashlights probably aren't on the "A" list of metal detecting tools for most people. 

But as you'll hear in the show, I've always been excited by flashlights, and I always have one with me. 

In this program, I explain my fascination with them, and offer a couple of tips as to how they can come in handy in treasure hunting.

For other articles that probably make more sense to treasure hunters, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

The Jack Benny Show is probably the most-often named Favorite Show of All Time amongst old-time radio fans. 

I chose this episode not because of its content, but because I own the actual script that Jack edited (in pencil) and read from when this particular show was originally broadcast (on October 7, 1945). 

I have posted the first three pages of the script at http://danhughes.net/radio/jackscript.htm, so you can read along as you listen to the program.

See if you don't think the changes Jack made to the script make the show even funnier.

The photo is of my daughter Karen in her JACK JACK JACK (on the front) BENNY BENNY BENNY (on the back) shirt, with Jack Benny impersonator Eddie Carroll. 

For more photos of Karen with OTR celebrities, visit http://danhughes.net/khugged.htm, and for more Jack Benny photos visit http://danhughes.net/waukegan.htm.

ALSO - A reminder that the 2011 Cincinnati Old-Time Radio Convention is on May 13 and 14. Admission is just $10 -  Check it out.

This podcast discusses Quick Topic internet bulletin boards, which my team uses to contact each other, and to post stats, photos, important phone numbers, etc.

There are three versions of the system, ranging in price from free to $49.00 per year.  Your team might find the free version handy, and the price is certainly right. 

I use the Pro $49 version, and once you pay your money you can set up as many Pro bulletin boards as you like without paying any more money.  I have about 25 Pro boards now, which drops my price to about two dollars per year per board.

Here are the sample links:

The $49 per year board (my senior softball team):  http://www.quicktopic.com/41/H/SUgW7YkfUSd

The free board (a high school class):  http://www.quicktopic.com/42/H/hHQUV9LmpKdmV

For more articles on pitching, hitting, fielding, and a lot more, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

The Great Gildersleeve was a spinoff of Fibber McGee and Molly.  Hal Peary was introduced as the character in 1939, and in 1941 Gildy got his own show. 

His exasperating pre-teen nephew Leroy, was played by Walter Tetley, who was actually 26 when the show began.  His niece Marjorie was  played by several different actresses, starting with Lurene Tuttle, who was replaced by Louise Erickson and then Mary Lee Robb.

Gildersleeve was blustery but lovable, the water commissioner of Summerville.  He was constantly in and out of romances, and several regular characters, including Druggist Richard Q. Peavey and Judge Horace Hooker, added to the fun.

This episode is an audition show that never made the air.  Three months later, it was rewritten and used as the first episode of the new series.

Here is a list of popular treasure hunting and metal detecting forums (in alphabetical order).  They are all clickable links!  If you have a favorite that I have left out, please email me at danhughesmail@gmail.com so I can add it to the list.

GENERAL FORUMS

American Detectorist

Find's Treasure Forum

Friendly Metal Detecting Forum

Lucky Dan's Metal Detecting Forum

My Treasure Spot

THunting

Tom's Treasures

Treasure Depot

Treasure Net

Treasure Quest Metal Detecting Forum

World Metal Detector Community

 
REGIONAL FORUMS (Most of these welcome anyone, whether you live in the area or not)

Canadian Metal Detecting

California Metal Detecting

Great Lakes Metal Detecting

Metal Detecting Maine

Metal Detecting New England

New Hampshire Bob's Metal Detecting Forum

Northeast Metal Detecting Forum

 
MAGAZINE-SPONSORED FORUM (You do not have to subscribe to participate)

Lost Treasure Magazine Forum

 
SPECIALIZED FORUMS

Geotech Technology Forum (Mostly technical discussions by technicians/engineers)

Nuggethunting Forum (Mostly prospecting, but this is their treasure hunting page)

White's Electronics (discussion of White's detectors only)

 
NEWSGROUP FORUMS (These use email addresses, because you send your notes via email)

(Go to http://groups.google.com/ or http://groups.yahoo.com/ to join)
alltreasuretalesusa@yahoogroups.com (mostly concerned with Big Finds)
alt.treasure.hunting@googlegroups.com
metaldetecting@yahoogroups.com (lots of spam)
metaldetecting2@yahoogroups.com (lots of spam)
metaldetectingfamily@yahoogroups.com (excellent group)
treasurehunter@yahoogroups.com (lots of spam)

For more of my articles on metal detecting and treasure hunting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

The Archie comic book was also a radio show in the late 1940s, starring Bob Hastings (later Lt. Elroy Carpenter on McHale's Navy, and bartender Tommy Kelsey on Archie Bunker's Place) as Archie. 

In the photo, left to right:  Alice Yourman as Archie's mom, Harlan "Hal" Stone as Jughead, Bob Hastings as Archie, Gloria Mann as Veronica, Arthur Kohl as Archie's dad, and Rosemary Rice as Betty.

With a live studio audience composed mostly of boisterous children, the show was pretty noisy, to say the least.

This episode, The New TV, first aired on May 21, 1949.

NOTE:  Archie and Betty (Bob Hastings and Rosemary Rice) will both be at the Old-Time Radio Convention in Cincinnati on Friday, May 13, and Saturday, May 14, appearing in old-time radio re-creations. 

All attendees are invited to audition for parts in the shows, so you might get to act with the stars!  More info at http://CincyOTR.info. 

The Cincinnati convention is more informal than most, with the stars mixing with the audience.   If you're able to come, look me up and say hello!

In these bleak economic times, team sponsors are becoming harder and harder to find.

This show offers some suggestions on which businesses are the best to approach, and how to treat your sponsor right (and what NEVER to do).

We also look at an unorthodox sponsor setup that has been wildly successful for a smalltown team.

For more articles about adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com

Casey, Crime Photographer ran from 1943 to 1950, then again in 1954-55, on the CBS radio network. 

Jack Casey took crime pictures for the Morning Express, and his adventures turned him into a reluctant detective. 

Staats Cotsworth, who played Casey for most of the show's run, started in radio in 1937 as an actor in the soap opera Pepper Young's Family, and he was still going strong in 1974, when he appeared often on the CBS Mystery Theater.  He also appeared in guest roles on various television shows in the 1950s and 1960s. 

This episode, Acquitted, about a policeman with a temper that often gets him into trouble, first aired on July 3, 1947.

Does the fact that you have to pay extra for a coil cover for your metal detector indicate that the manufacturers think you don't really need one?

Or are they hoping you'll wear a hole in your coil and have to buy a new coil from them?

In this show, I discuss some reasons you should use a coil cover, and some reasons you may not want to use one after all.

For more articles about metal detecting and treasure hunting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

Let George Do It was a one-of-a-kind radio show.  It started as a funny mystery/detective show, and over the years it evolved into a more hard-boiled private eye program.

Bob Bailey, best-known for his later work as Johnny Dollar, starred as George Valentine, a returning World War II veteran.  Valentine had saved up a little money, and he used it to open a business where he would do things other people needed done but didn't want to do themselves. 

The show was quirky and fun to listen to.  George was a happy-go-lucky optimist who seemed to enjoy life, no matter what.

This is the pilot episode, The First Visitor.  It aired on September 20, 1946.

Wherein Dan reminisces about his days as a ticket-pusher for the Atlanta Braves, and how what he learned there might help you find a team sponsor today.

For more free articles about slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Duffy's Tavern was one of the most popular radio shows of the 1940s.  The title character, Duffy, never appeared on the show. 

Each episode began with Archie (Ed Gardner), the manager of the tavern, answering the phone and talking to owner Duffy.  You only heard Archie's side of the conversation. 

Miss Duffy, the owner's daughter, was a wacky dame played by several different actresses over the run of the show. 

Eddie was a smart-aleck waiter who always talked back to his boss. 

And Finnegan was an easy-talking lush who was later copied by Frank Fontaine when he played Crazy Guggenheim on the Jackie Gleason show.

Duffy's Tavern was tried on TV, but it did not work, mainly because Ed Gardner could not learn his lines.  He worked fine with a script in his hands, but you can't do that on television.

This episode of Duffy's Tavern is called "Archie Wants to Patent Electricity," and it first aired on February 23, 1949.

Sure, anyone can find coins and rings.  But what are some of your stranger finds? 

Most every treasure hunter has an assortment of uncategorizable odds and ends, often accompanied by good stories.  Here are some of mine.  What are some of yours?

Please tell us your story by clicking the Comments button ((bottom right-hand corner of this episode listing). 

We'd love to hear from you!

For more of my articles about treasure hunting, and information about the new edition of my book, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

This crime drama was on the air for five years, from 1949 to 1954.  Detective Danny Clover was a Manhattan native who knew his neighborhood, and his people. 

Larry Thor starred as Danny Clover, and the producer and director was the legendary Elliott Lewis, who was also an excellent actor equally at home in comedy (he was Remley on the Phil Harris-Alice Fay Show) and drama (he played the captain of the Scarlett Queen and often appeared in shows like Suspense).

Listen carefully and you'll hear the distinct voice of Howard McNear (Andy Griffith's Floyd the Barber) in this episode.

From May 12, 1950, this is The Marcia Dean Murder Case.

Do you go through a stretching routine before you hit the softball diamond?

A surprising new study done for the American Academy of Orthapaedic Surgeons indicates that you might be wasting your time.

This week's show takes a look at that study, and offers a suggestion about pregame warmups.

For more articles on slowpitch softball, and a look at my book on managing and coaching adult slowpitch softball, visit my website.

The Whistler was one of those shows that delighted in surprising us with a trick ending, sometimes even a double trick ending.  Think Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, and even farther back to O.Henry's stories. 

The title character, The Whistler, was a mysterious apparition who narrated the program but never had an active part in it.  He talked to the other characters, though they couldn't hear them, which was just as well, because what he had to say was never pleasant.  His snide, mocking attitude was a big hit with listeners.

The Whistler began as a west coast-only program, and it was sponsored by Signal Gasoline, a company that existed only in California and a few other western states. 

To many old-time radio listeners, Signal Gasoline will always be associated with The Whistler.

This episode, The Gentle Way, was first heard on June 23, 1947.

What's the best way to dig up the coins you find with your metal detector?  That's a trick question, because even the experts disagree on the answer.

This show discusses digging tools and techniques, and it names by name one tool that is highly respected, and a copycat tool that probably won't hold up for you.

Here is the video that goes with this program.

After you watch the video, scroll down that page and click on the first article, Recommended Metal Detecting Accessories. 

There you will find photos of a couple of the tools mentioned in this podcast, and more information about detecting accessories.

If you would like to leave a comment or tell us what tools you prefer, click the Comments line and leave your message.

If you enjoy these podcasts, you will doubly enjoy the new edition of my book, The Metal Detecting Manual.

Frontier Gentleman ran only one season, in 1958, near the end of the old-time radio era. 

John Dehner, who played Paladin in the radio version of Have Gun, Will Travel, also played the Frontier Gentleman, J.B. Kendall. 

Kendall was a British newspaper reporter covering the American west for the London Times. 

He was good with a gun, and he often ran into famous people, like Wild Bill Hickok and General Custer. 

The show had humor, drama, and excitement, and was one of the best adult westerns old-time radio had to offer.

This episode, Honky Tonkers, first aired on February 16, 1958.

There are nearly a hundred softball discussion forums on the internet.  Some are all-inclusive, some specialize in specific geographic areas or are aimed at a specific audience (church leagues, fastpitch, etc).

This show looks at several of them.  Which ones should you be reading? 

Here are the links to the boards mentioned in the show:

SOFTBALL BOARDS FOR EVERYONE

Softball Fans

For Softball Fanatics

The Old Scout Message Board

Addicted2Softball (brand new - get in on the ground floor)

Serious Softball (over 70 different forums)

REGION-SPECIFIC BOARDS

Florida Softball

Georgia Softball

Louisiana Softball

Pennsylvania Softball

Northeast Softball

Please check out my book, Managing and Coaching Adult Slowpitch Softball, at http://slowpitchbook.com.

Just four characters - husband Victor Gook, wife Sade Gook, stepson Rush Gook, and beyond-insane Uncle Fletcher - were the only people who appeared on this 15-minute-a-day, five-day-a-week program.

Each show took place in the Gook house, "halfway up in the next block."  They talked.  And talked.  And we laughed.  Until the tears streamed down our faces. 

There was no studio audience, no laugh track, just these four strange people carrying on bizarre conversations. 

Vic, who was super-serious about his kitchenware job and his lodge.  Sade, the sane wife who almost kept the show grounded.  Rush, the eager and excitable young high school student.  And Uncle Fletcher, a confused visitor from another galaxy.

The writer of this marvelous show, Paul Rhymer, had a rare talent for humor perhaps not seen since Mark Twain. 

Often the engineers had to duck their heads below the studio window, they were laughing so hard.  They were afraid that if the actors saw them, they wouldn't be able to keep a straight face as they read their insane lines so matter-of-factly.

Vic and Sade is an acquired taste.  At first you just shake your head in wonder, but after a few episodes you begin to catch on.  I urge you to find more of these shows and give them a listen.  You won't regret it.

This show consists of three clips from Vic and Sade episodes originally broadcast in 1940 and 1941.

And now, let's drop in on radio's home folks, Vic and Sade.

Three reasons to use headphones, and which headphones to use. 

One thing I neglected to emphasize in the show is being sure your headphones are comfortable. 

No matter how good your headphones are, you won't enjoy them much if they squeeze your head or hurt your ears. 

Worse, you'll quit detecting sooner and thereby miss a lot of finds.

Here's a set I like:

AudioPhoneII

What about those super-expensive headphones?  Here are links to both sides of the argument:

PRO:  expensive headphones
CON:  expensive headphones

And if you don't like to read, check out my Metal Detecting Manual.

Jack Webb was a radio comedian, if you can imagine that, working as a disc jockey in San Francisco in 1945. 

In 1946 he created and starred in a radio series called Pat Novak for Hire, then he did Johnny Modero:  Pier 23.

And in 1949, Dragnet.  Webb wanted it to be as true-to-life as possible, so he rode with police detectives and took classes at the police academy.  He knew more about being a policeman than many of the actual cops.

When Jack Webb died in late 1982, the Los Angeles Police Department honored him by flying its flag at half-mast.

Here's Jack Webb and Dragnet, and The Big Grab, which was aired on June 29th, 1950.

Composite bats are banned in Little League baseball, high school baseball, college baseball, and major league baseball.  That pretty much leaves softball, and the writing may be on the wall there, too.

In this show, I discuss the history of softball bats, and then I take a look at a recently-published study that shows that some composite bats pose a real danger, especially for pitchers and third basemen.

Here are the references mentioned in the show:

Little League:  http://tinyurl.com/2ecyfdm
College:  http://tinyurl.com/46dlprg
High School:  http://tinyurl.com/4js5c93
USSSA:  http://tinyurl.com/4aekesm
Sport Journal article:  http://tinyurl.com/486mwsc

For more articles about adult slowpitch softball and a look at my book, Managing and Coaching Adult Slowpitch Softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Until the 1950s, most radio science fiction stories were aimed at children.  Shows like Superman,  Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon were regular afternoon fare for the kids.

But science fiction magazines for adults were going strong in the early 1950’s.  Titles like Fantasy and Science Fiction, Astounding Science Fiction, Fantastic Universe, and Amazing Science Fiction were popular. 

Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, Isaac Asimov, and many more legendary authors wrote for the pulp science fiction magazines.

In 1950, the NBC radio network created a new radio series of science fiction for adults, called Dimension X.  It first aired on April 8th, 1950, and it ran until September 29, 1951.  It made a return appearance as X Minus 1 from 1955 to 1958.

This story, Dwellers in Silence, was written by Ray Bradbury, and was a chapter in his novel The Martian Chronicles.  It originally aired on July 19th, 1951.

Do you have friends who question your sanity because you are a treasure hunter? 

Do you wish you had a snappy comeback when they heap scorn upon your beloved hobby? 

This show gives you some good answers for those idiot friends of yours.

The second edition of my Metal Detecting Manual is out now. Buy your copy here.

When popular comedian Red Skelton was drafted, the bandleader of his radio show was offered a chance to create a replacement show.  

And thus was born The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.  

The bandleader, of course, was Ozzie Nelson, and the band's vocalist was his wife Harriet, who had sung professionally under the name Harriet Hilliard.

So virtually overnight, Ozzie and Harriet moved from the world of music to the world of acting.  

Their radio show aired from 1944 to 1954, and the TV version ran from 1952 to 1966.

This episode, Card Tricks, was first broadcast on January 23, 1949.

The only New Year's Resolution I ever kept earned me over $30,000.  You can hear the story here.

Most resolutions are impossible to honor for very long. 

In this show, I give you some tips on making resolutions that you can keep, and that just may make you a better softball player.  (Or earn you a lot of money.)

Check out my book on Managing, Coaching,and Playing adult slowpitch softball.

The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio says:  "The Adventures of Sam Spade remains today the pinnacle of radio private eye broadcasts."

In 1930, author Dashiell Hammett wrote what is perhaps the most famous private detective novel of all time:  The Maltese Falcon.  The book was made into a move twice before the ultimate film version starring Humphrey Bogart was released in 1941.  Bogie made Sam Spade an unforgettable character, the original hard-boiled private eye.

In 1946, ABC radio brought Sam Spade to the airwaves, starring tough-talking Howard Duff as the title character.  The show remained on the air until Duff decided to take a spin on the movies in 1950.

Here's The Farmer’s Daughter Caper, originally broadcast on September 3, 1950.

I made a New Year's Resolution that has earned me over $30,000 so far - and it keeps earning more every day!

Here's the story of the only New Year's Resolution I've ever kept, and some suggestions for some resolutions of your own that you can actually follow for the entire year.

Check out the new edition of my Metal Detecting Manual.

Fred Allen was a radio humorist whose humor was much more sophisticated than that of most comedians. 

His show first aired in 1932, and its final episode was broadcast in 1949. 

During that time, Fred had a famous feud with fellow comedian Jack Benny, after Fred insulted Jack’s violin skills.  The feud sparked the careers of both entertainers, and continued for years on the air, even though they were great friends in real life.

Fred carried on another feud, too – this one a real one – against the radio censors.  His deleted material wasn’t blue – it was simply insulting to the network executives.  He was often cut off by the censors in mid-sentence. 

Fred was not particularly fond of Hollywood or the people who ran it. Here is one of his famous quotes:  "You can take all the sincerity in Hollywood, place it in the navel of a fruit fly and still have room enough for three caraway seeds and a producer's heart."

From June 26, 1949, this is Fred Allen's last radio show.

Last time we challenged you to test your knowledge with a 10-question quiz about major league baseball.

In this program, I run through all the questions again, and this time I also supply the answers. 

The list of winners rounds out the show.  Congratulations to you all, and I'll see you again Next Year!

Fred Foy, the announcer on The Lone Ranger radio program whose voice will live forever with the immortal line "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear," died this week at the age of 89.

Foy also played the Lone Ranger himself in one episode, when Brace Beemer, the radio voice of the Lone Ranger, had laryngitis. 

Here is that episode, Burly Scott's Sacrifice, as it originally aired on March 29, 1954.

The girl in the photo with Fred is my daughter, Karen Hughes, who had the privilege of acting with Fred in several radio re-creations of the Lone Ranger. 

For a short video clip from a re-creation of Burly Scott's Sacrifice, visit http://tinyurl.com/yhe4fez. 

And by the way, I play one of the outlaws - that's me in the dark T-shirt.

And so another year comes to an end. 

In this wrap-up program, I talk about a REAL treasure park (write Mike Post at info@allaroundashevillenc.com), and I bring you up to date on my attempts to retrieve my childhood treasure.

I also talk about my new book.  Well, actually, the second edition of The Metal Detecting Manual.  Check it out at http://treasuremanual.com.

He first appeared as a jewel thief in a pulp magazine in 1914, then he showed up in the silent movies, then in the talkies, and then on the radio.  Finally, he had his own TV show in the early 1950s.

I'm talking about Boston Blackie. 

He was played in the movies and initially on the radio by Chester Morris, but Richard Kollmar (husband of Dorothy Kilgallen) took over the radio role the second year and held it until the show went off the air in 1950.

This episode, Murder With an Alibi, originally aired on March 5, 1946. 

It's the holiday season, and I'm in a gift-giving mood, so this week's In the Softball Corner show is a baseball trivia quiz. 

Be one of the five winners of a copy of my book Managing and Coaching Adult Slowpitch Softball. 

Enter by sending an email with your ten answers and your name and mailing address to:

cornerquiz@gmail.com

Entry deadline:  Midnight CST December 24, 2010.  First five correct entrants will win a book; if there are fewer than five perfect scores, the five best entries will receive a copy of the book.

Decision of the judges (that would be me) are final.

For a look at the prize, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Jimmy Stewart is best-remembered for his movie roles in films like It's a Wonderful Life, Harvey, and Rear Window.

But in the fall of 1953, he starred in a radio series.  He played wandering cowboy Britt Ponset, the title character of the western series The Six Shooter. 

Though the series lasted just one year, the writing was excellent and Stewart was at the top of his form.  The plot was simple:  Ponset travelled around the wild west, and each week he had a new adventure. 

Some of the shows were serious, some of them were funny, and some of them were classic stories retold with a western background, like Cinderella and A Christmas Carol.

This episode, Silver Annie, was first broadcast on October 11, 1953.

Come one, come all, to Treasure World Park!

No, it's not open yet, but we're working on it. 

Well, thinking about working on it. 

Well, thinking about getting someone else to work on it. 

Here are some off-the-wall ideas for a dream park for treasure hunters, especially those who are looking out windows at ice and snow and frozen ground for several months of the year.

Join the fun - tell us what you'd like to see in a Treasure Park.  Click the comment button (lower right corner) and add to the craziness.

For more articles about treasure hunting, see http://treasuremanual.com.

P.S. Here's the newsletter that Bob didn't like and thereby started this whole idea:

Dan's Christmas Newsletter

One of the funniest programs ever to air. 

Phil Harris as a vain, happy-go-lucky bandleader, Elliott Lewis as his scheming guitarist Frankie Remley, Alice Faye as the wife and family anchor, two actresses playing the precocious daughters, and Walter Tetley as the brash, insulting grocery delivery boy.

In this episode, Remley needs a family to seal an inheritance, and so borrows Phil's wife and daughters as his own. 

This show originally aired on December 5, 1948.

The Amateur Softball Association of America (the ASA) just held their annual meeting, and in this program we take a look at the rule changes they made that will go into effect for the 2011 season.

The major change is a new ball.  Not mandatory now, but it probably will be within two years.  It's "bouncier," but softer than the current ball, so it goes slower and won't hurt as bad when it hits you.

Another change - you can paint your name or your number on your bat now, or ever laser-cut your name or number right into your bat.

Lots of other changes, but most of them are minor.  Hear them all in this program.

For more articles on adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

The Halls of Ivy ran from 1950 to 1952.  It was a weekly half-hour sitcom set on the campus of Ivy College. 

Ronald Colman starred as William Todhunter Hall, the college president.  Colman’s real-life wife Bonita played his wife Vicky, an ex-star of the English theater. 

One of the regulars you'll recognize is Willard Waterman, who was also the second Great Gildersleeve, as Colman’s friend on the college board of governors.

This episode, Student Editorial, was the second show of the series.  It aired on January 13, 1950.

Wherein your brave correspondent sticks his neck out and dares to make specific recommendations. 

Four entry-level detectors are compared feature-by-feature, to help you make an informed choice. 

The machines in question:  Fisher F2, Garrett Ace 150, Tesoro Compadre, and White's Coinmaster.

P.S.  Here's the site that offers the Fisher F2 with the 4" coil, AND a pinpointer, for $215: 

http://tinyurl.com/27xmy4v 

Also, several internet dealers are offering an F2 package with the 4" coil and the 10" coil for $275.

For more articles about metal detecting, see my website.

Frank Lovejoy starred as the nighttime beat reporter for the Chicago Star in Nightbeat. 

This episode will be of particular interest to Gunsmoke fans, because the radio actors who played Matt Dillon, Chester, and Miss Kitty all appear as guests.

So with Frank Lovejoy in the lead role and William Conrad, Parley Baer, and Georgia Ellis in supporting roles, here's Nightbeat, from October 13, 1950, and Einer Pierce and His Family.

Wherein your correspondent bestows heaps of pity upon himself as another year of softball comes to a close.

For more softball articles, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

On radio and in the movies, Basil Rathbone WAS Sherlock Holmes.

He played the part from 1939 to 1946, appearing in hundreds of radio shows and fourteen movies.

Along with Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, here's Basil Rathbone in The Unfortunate Tobacconist, which originally aired on April 30, 1945.

A program especially for newbies.  Thoughts on picking your first metal detector. 

What if you buy an expensive machine and then find you don't like the hobby? 

What if you buy a cheap machine and then find that you love the hobby? 

With dozens and dozens of brands and models available, at prices from under a hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars, where in the world do you start?

This show helps you begin your search.

For more articles on treasure hunting, visit my website http://thetreasurecorner.com.

Information Please! was a popular quiz show, on the air from 1938 to 1951. 

Listeners sent in questions to stump the panel.  If the listener's question was used on the air, the listener won a few dollars. 

If the panel couldn't answer the question, the listener won a few more dollars.

Clifton Fadiman was the moderator of the show.  The panel consisted of three regulars who had an immense knowledge of music, sports, literature, popular culture, and several other fields. 

They were joined by a different celebrity panelist every week. 

Some of the celebrities who played the game were Orson Welles, Dorothy Parker, Boris Karloff, and Mike Wallace, when he was still known as Myron Wallace.

From June 20, 1939, here’s Information Please, with guest panelist Gracie Allen.

Upon hearing of the death of a teammate from several decades ago, I thought I'd like to do a show about some of my cherished softball memories.

Pop Palmer and his two sons played on my Media Blitz team. 

We were mostly radio broadcasters in real life, and most of us were a lot better at describing and analyzing the action on the field than we were in actually creating it. 

But we had a lot of fun, and a lot of laughs, and hopefully the stories here will bring a smile to your face.

The fall softball season ended last week, the temperature is dipping below the freezing mark at night, and it's time to sit back and relive the good times.

The guys in the photo, left to right, are Joe and Ron Palmer, and their father, "Pop" Palmer.

For more softball stories, visit my website http://slowpitchbook.com.

The Shadow was created in 1930 as the narrator for a radio show that dramatized stories from Detective Story magazine. 

The character became more popular than the shows he introduced, and soon The Shadow magazine was born. 

The Shadow radio show appeared in 1937, with Orson Welles as one of the early Shadows. 

This episode, the Gibbering Things, was originally broadcast on September 26, 1943.

In 1958, I buried a treasure in the back yard of this house. 

Here's the story of what it was, how it came about, and why I've had so much trouble trying to recover it for the past half-century.

For more articles about treasure hunting and metal detecting, visit my website http://treasuremanual.com.

Though at least seven actors played The Saint on the radio over the years, Vincent Price is the Saint to most of us who listened to the show. 

The Saint got his name from his initials - ST, for Simon Templar.  He was a suave, clever, fun-loving and lovable criminal whose targets were pretty much rich bad guys. 

The Saint first appeared in 1928 in a book, moved to the movies in 1938, then to radio in 1940, and finally to television in 1968.

This radio episode, The Corpse Said Ouch, stars Vincent Price and was first aired on August 6, 1950.

Back in Program #53, we took a look at the pros and cons of fastpitch bats.  I invited listeners to send me their stories about using fastpitch bats in slowpitch softball.

Mark Jones of Minneapolis sent in a report of his experiences with fastpitch bats. 

He talks about the reaction of other players, including a friend who shrugged off the fact that he could consistently hit harder and farther with a fastpitch bat.

Check out my other softball articles at http://slowpitchbook.com.

How many old-time radio sitcoms do you know of that were also a television series, and a movie?  I'll probably hear from listeners who have other answers, but the one that springs to mind for me is Our Miss Brooks.

Connie Brooks was a high school English teacher who had a crush on Mr. Boynton, the science teacher.  Gale Gordon played the blustery principal, Mr. Osgood Conklin.  And a very young Richard Crenna played the high school student who dated the principal's daughter. 

Incidentally, forty years later, Richard Crenna played Colonel Denton Walters in the movie Hot Shot Part Deux - a reversal of his Our Miss Brooks character, Walter Denton.

This episode, Student Government Day, originally aired on January 16, 1949.

Old, abandoned drive-in movie theaters can be a coinshooter's paradise.

This is a look at the history of drive-in theaters, their rise and fall, and the two main reasons they are now nearly extinct.

And some suggestions on how to find those old, dilapidated screens and concession stands that lie forgotten, patiently waiting to be rediscovered by the persistent coinshooter.

For more treasure tales and helpful articles on metal detecting, visit http://treasuremanual.com.

In the late 1950s, radio as a dramatic medium was dying out, giving way to disc jockey formats.

CBS radio tried to hold on a while longer by putting on radio what the public adored on television:  westerns!

This western, Luke Slaughter of Tombstone, perhaps would have been a huge hit twenty years earlier.  It was produced by the same folks who gave us Gunsmoke. 

But, good as it was, it was just too late.

This episode, Tracks Out of Tombstone, was originally broadcast on March 3, 1958.

Fall Ball is different.  Less pressure, more fun, fewer fans, snowstorms.

This program is a lighthearted look at the differences between summer softball and fallball.

And don't miss the tip about fallball bats - what bats NOT to use when the weather is cold.

For more articles about playing, coaching, and managing adult slowpitch softball, see my website http://slowpitchbook.com.

Richard Diamond on radio and Richard Diamond on TV were two different animals. 

The radio Diamond (Dick Powell) was rather lighthearted and funny, and the television Diamond (David Janssen) was more hardboiled and serious.

Dick Powell himself does the whistling that opens the radio show.  This episode, the Ralph Chase Case, was originally broadcast on May 15, 1949. 

What you see here are the innards of a Long Distance Locator that sells for $1595. 

According to an engineer who disassembled it, the circuit board comes from an AM transistor radio that sold at Radio Shack for $6.99. 

He also says this pricey machine detects nothing but AM radio stations. 

Here's a full report:  http://tinyurl.com/2br2hrb

This podcast discusses the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of these expensive machines.

For more articles about treasure hunting and metal detecting, visit my website: http://treasuremanual.com.

This is the show that evolved into television's I Love Lucy.

Three years before Lucy and Ricky on TV, there were Liz and George on the radio. 

The radio program was called My Favorite Husband, and many of the radio episodes were rewritten for use as scripts on the I Love Lucy TV show.

Lucy played Liz, but George was played by Richard Denning, who was replaced by Lucy's real-life husband, Desi Arnaz, when the show went to television.

So listen now to an early version of I Love Lucy.  Here's Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband, from August 20, 1948.

The rundown is one of the most exciting plays in softball. 

This show looks at the rundown from both the runner and fielder sides. 

The runner can be ejected from the game if he makes one particular mistake, and the fielder can also be thrown out if he breaks one particular rule. 

Hear about them both in this program.

For more articles on playing, coaching, and managing adult slowpitch softball, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.

Inner Sanctum Mysteries ran from 1941 to 1952, and in those 11 years over 500 shows were broadcast. 

Many old-time listeners refer to it by its signature sound effect, The Creaking Door.  It was hosted by a ghoulish character who enjoyed bad puns.

The show was similar to television’s Twilight Zone, with stories that mixed humor with horror. 

From September 25, 1945, here’s Inner Sanctum, and The Lonely Sleep.

Everybody hunts modern schoolyards, but what about the old, abandoned schoolhouses out in the country?  In this show we offer some tricks to help you find these often forgotten rural schoolyards.  We also tell you how to discover where in those schoolyards you are most likely to find the good stuff.

For more tips and tricks in treasure hunting and metal detecting, check out the articles at http://treasuremanual.com

Philip Marlowe was a hardboiled private eye created by hardboiled author Raymond Chandler.

He began in the pulp detective magazines, then moved to the movies and then to radio.

Marlowe was played by film star Van Heflin on the radio, then later by Gerald Mohr.

This is the very first episode of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe.  It originally ran on June 17, 1947 on the NBC radio network.

Fastpitch bats in slowpitch softball?  Wimpy, right?

Maybe not.  This show examines the differences between fastpitch and slowpitch bats. 

Weight, length, and resultant power. And more importantly, how to determine what's right for you. 

That pink fastpitch bat may just raise your batting average dramatically!  So, do you dare use it? 

I'd like to hear your thoughts on fastpitch bats.  Write dan@danhughes.net.

For more articles on slowpitch softball - on coaching, managing, pitching, hitting, and more, visit http://slowpitchbook.com.