Nick Carter's Christmas Adventure (old time radio program)

As we are getting close to Christmas, I am going to try to showcase some of the Christmas and Holiday themed shows that are available via old time radio. If you have Sirius/XM, you can listen to Greg Bell's Old time radio channel (#82). He has a number of great programs available this week. You can also get a large number of these programs at a variety or resources on the web. One place to find these shows is the 500 OTR Christmas Shows from the Internet Archive. This is a great resources for many of these wonderful radio shows!


Here is a old Westinghouse Radio that I saw on display at the John Wayne Airport (Orange County, California) in 2012. Thought it was appropriate.

I cannot remember when it was, but I heard recently a commercial in a show talking about how a radio would be a perfect gift for anyone this Christmas who spends so much time in the kitchen. Ironically, I listen to a lot of old time radio when I am baking in the kitchen - but with a bit more high-tech MP3s through my clock radio. So not quite like the housewives of old - but I guess the best I can do these days! So I will be listening to many of these programs while I am baking and preparing holiday meals. (More about this ad later this season)

One of the shows I really like is Nick Carter, Master Detective. He is...well, a master detective (bet you did not see that coming). On Christmas Day, 1943, Nick Carter's Christmas Adventure was broadcast. There are so many different programs that borrow from Dicken's A Christmas Carol, and this sorta does one better. Nick Carter starts out collecting money for his Settlement House Christmas Party and runs into a gentleman named Ben Rasper, who had many of the characteristics of Ebeneezer Scrooge. After turning down the opportunity to contribute to the party. Nick went out and figured out why we was so bitter this time of year. In the end, it is not ghosts from his past who change his views of Christmas, but some good detective work to find people from Ben Rasper's past to show him the true meaning of the holidays. So while it is not really at all like A Christmas Carol, it has so many of the elements without any of the spirits of Christmas present, past or yet to come!

Here is a link right to the Nick Carter Christmas show: Nick Carter's Christmas Adventure (December 25, 1943)

Here are some links to programs relating to Nick Carter:

• Nick Carter episodes via the Internet Archive
• Nick Carter on Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs
• Nick Carter on the Thrilling Detective Web Site
• Also visit 500 OTR Christmas Shows from the Internet Archive.