The Ice Man: Tales of the Texas Rangers (March 2, 1952)

“The Ice Man” is an episode of Tales of the Texas Rangers, the old-time radio show, first broadcast March 2, 1952. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

On September 17, 1948, a burglar strikes a farmhouse nine miles from town, stealing over $80 and leaving a distinctive calling card. Texas Ranger Jase Person arrives to investigate what appears to be the work of a criminal known as the Ice Man, a serial burglar who operates in a predictable pattern and always hits two nights in a row on opposite sides of town. Following the thief's trail, Jase and the sheriff track footprints leading southeast from the farmhouse toward the highway, searching for clues to the burglar's identity and destination.

A farmhouse nine miles outside town in Texas, September 1948, and the surrounding fields and highways.

Characters: Ranger Jase Person, Sheriff, Mrs. Dryer, Mr. Dryer, Cap Stinson

Listen for: Details about the Ice Man's methods, including his use of an ice pick to breach doors, his habit of eating from the family's icebox before robbing, his preference for gloves and snuff, and his pattern of striking twice in the same area on consecutive nights.

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.