If you are interested in owning a piece of property with ties to Arkansas pop culture history, you are in luck.
The Jot 'Em Down Store and the Lum and Abner Museum on Arkansas 88 West in Pine Ridge are for sale. Along with the store and museum, the listing includes a former post office dating to 1886; a 1,470-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home; a 1956 GMC firetruck; and a barn on more than 24 acres. The asking price is $777,000.
Oh, and all the Lum and Abner memorabilia, along with other antiques and artifacts in the store and museum, convey.
Lum and Abner were the characters created by Chester "Chet" Lauck and Findley Norris "Tuffy" Goff, two friends who grew up together in Mena. The immensely popular "Lum and Abner" radio show aired from 1931-1955 and was set in the fictional Arkansas town of Pine Ridge, where the pair ran the Jot 'Em Down General Store. Along with the radio show, Goff and Lauck made six Lum and Abner feature films during the 1940s.
Inspired by the popularity of the program, citizens of the community of Waters in Montgomery County changed its name to Pine Ridge in 1936. The buildings that house the museum and store date to the early 1900s and were originally the A. A. McKinzie General Store and the J. R. "Dick" Huddleston General Merchandise Store, according to an entry in the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
In 1969, Ralph and Dorothy McClure bought the Huddleston Store and its contents and in April 1972, a dedication was held for the Jot 'Em Down Store and the Lum and Abner Museum. The buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places on Oct. 4, 1984.
Since 1979, the museum and store have been owned and operated by Dorothy McClure's son, Lon Stucker, and his wife, Kathy Stucker. Kathy is the author of the Arkansas Encyclopedia entry about Lum and Abner as well as the entry on the store and museum. She also wrote the 1992 book "Hello, This is Lum and Abner."
After years of operating the store and museum, it's time to slow down, Kathy said last week.
"We love it, but the trouble is we are both in our 80s and we have to take care of each other."
Scott Lauck is a Hot Springs attorney and the grandson of Chester Lauck. He said he has often visited the store and museum and admires how the Stuckers have contributed to keeping the Lum and Abner legacy going.
"They have really put their heart and soul into the museum and the store. I hope they find a buyer for the store and the museum that will love it and take care of it as much as they have. I know it has meant a lot to them and it has meant a lot to our family that they have helped keep the memory of Lum and Abner alive all these years."
email: sclancy@adgnewsroom.com