The Original Old-Time Radio BBS

Does anyone have any info on this soap? A almost complete run of episodes survives from 46-07-12 to 48-04-16 (461 episodes) which is a miracle in its self. Goes from ep 1340 to ep 1840 with only 11 episodes missing

Its seems to have started in 1941 and ended in the 50's.

This series was released as a distro by the Old-Time Radio Researchers Group about three years ago. I have listened to just over twenty episodes and find it to be pretty good. The audio quality is excellent, the plot above average, and the original music and Kroger commercials are intact. The "harmony" part of the title stems from the fact that in many episodes musical numbers are performed as part of the script. Usually these are romantic ballads.

In his Historical Dictionary of American Radio Soap Operas (pp. 97-98), Jim Cox calls Hearts in Harmony "a regional Midwest favorite for the Kroger bakery and grocery chain," notes that the main character Penny is an entertainer, points out the show's patriotic connection with the American war effort in World War II, and states that the series ran from 1941 to 1944. The dates on the distro largely coincide with those given by mstevens90. Cox mentions that the series was transcribed, so these episodes must have been part of a rebroadcast which occurred a few years after the original release.

The only other radio soap opera I am aware of that has as many extant episodes covering what seems to be a continuous story line is Aunt Mary. In 2007 the Old-Time Radio Researchers Group put out a distro containing (if I counted correctly) 477 episodes.

Thanks for your reply. I have listened to the first 30 episodes and am hooked. The OTRRG set did not have episode 1522 but I managed to get a copy of it so my set have one more episode than theirs does.

The Kroger commercials point out that there is no grain fed beef in the stores because all the grain is being shipped to Europe to feed the people of Europe.

Now back to finding out if Penny can save Freddie.

Well I now have a mystery. These episodes are not rebroadcasts of the world war 2 episodes but appear to be new episodes made after the war. Is is possible the the soap ended in 1944 and then was restarted after the end of the war? One web site states that the soap lasted into the 50's.


In the world war 2 episodes penny was a member of the USO and alway dating GIs.
The war has disappeared from these new episodes. Casting different too.

Both the world war 2 episodes and these episodes were sponsored by Kroger tho.

mstevens90 wrote: Is is possible the the soap ended in 1944 and then was restarted after the end of the war? One web site states that the soap lasted into the 50's..

Jay Hickerson's excellent reference states Hearts in Harmony was broadcast "1941 - 4/14/50+"
981 shows available 7/12/46 - 4/14/50

Oh thank you, you wonderful person. Every reference I looked at stated that it ended in 1944 and i knew that could not be the case. So according to you there is still 500 more episodes still out there somewhere.


Also I am going to order the reference book you just mentioned.

Here is a link to more information about Jay's book:
http://www.old-time.com/sponsors/hickerson.html

(If you note the initials Jay used after the Hearts in Harmony entry, and look in the front of the book, you MIGHT be able to contact somebody who has the extant recordings! Unfortunately, the collectors are not alphabetized, so it will be a challenge)

Just a note to thank you for recommending Jays book. It just arrived yesterday and is a goldmine of information.

Thanks Again

Mike


I have now listened to 290 episodes of Hearts in Harmony.