Item Seed: The Ten-Pie Pete Radio Show.

The Ten-Pie Pete Radio Show, Volume 1

(1947)

Description: A collection of 10 LP vinyl records, printed by Columbia Records in 1954.  Each LP features an episode from the Ten-Pie Pete Radio Show, a half-hour combined comedy/musical radio performance hosted by General Foods.  The LPs are packaged in a worn but intact album with a cartoon of Ten-Pie Pete (a friendly-looking hobo carrying a pie) on the front.

First found: 1997, in a Brooklyn second-hand thrift shop.  No other items of this type were ever found in that establishment.

Never heard of Ten-Pie Pete?  Well, neither has anybody else (certainly nobody has at Sony or Kraft Foods, and they were asked to rather comprehensively check).  The actual presser is a company that nobody’s ever heard of; and the cast is likewise unknown, except maybe for a ‘Janet E. Ace’ (listed as ‘Mrs. Missus’).  It definitely looks authentic for 1954.

But more importantly, it sounds authentic for 1954.  The ten radio programs featured are all fairly straightforward: Ten-Pie Pete wanders around the town of Wontucomin, Indiana, hammering and sawing and telling jokes while getting pies.  The comedy is fairly dated — well, of course, it’s from 1947 — but if you know the decade the jokes are hysterical.  It’s a good show; most people who listen end up deciding that it’s a shame there aren’t more episodes.

But there’s nothing really esoteric about it; well, there is one thing that’s odd. Each show features a live musical performance from one of the popular songs of the day.  All but two of the artists are known, but only about seven of the songs are familiar (and one known song is sung by an unknown artist). Needless to say, there’s no record of any of these artists performing in this particular venue, either — but that was probably already obvious, right?

But there’s nothing else that’s weird about the album!  Usually there’s something weird, or foreboding, or esoteric, or at least vaguely eldritch.  But this? Nothing. Zip. Nada. As anomalous items go, the Ten-Pie Pete Radio Show album is easily the most boring one to be found.  Nobody’s even gotten killed over owning it!

So good luck figuring out the mystery.  But, why even figure it out? For the bragging rights, of course.  People In The Know have been trying to decipher the mystery for a couple of decades, now: whoever finally cracks the case on this one will get a bit of fame out of it.  Very specialized fame, but an increased reputation is an increased reputation.

2 thoughts on “Item Seed: The Ten-Pie Pete Radio Show.”

  1. Personally I’m wondering what it is about Indiana that attract oddball settings like this.

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