The Shady Lane Matter - Ep 4: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (July 12, 1956)

“The Shady Lane Matter - Ep 4” is an episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, the old-time radio show, first broadcast July 12, 1956. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar arrives in Shady Lane, Vermont to investigate the murder of Ellen Bates, the invalid wife of Ben Bates. Ben becomes the prime suspect when gossip connects him romantically to waitress Millie Wells, a woman who stood trial for murder years ago. Johnny uncovers that Ben's stolen squirrel rifle—the type used to kill Ellen—was never reported missing at the time of the theft, though Ben claims his wife knew who took it and wanted to recover it quietly.

Shady Lane, Vermont, a small rural township in the hills

Characters: Johnny Dollar, Ben Bates, Jed Bramler, Millie Wells, Ellen Bates, Sarah Preeney, Grody Hawkins

Listen for: Johnny's investigation into Ben's suspicious behavior and his confrontation with Grody Hawkins at the feed store, where Grody pulls a rifle on them; Constable Bramler's insistence on Ben's innocence despite the mounting evidence.

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.