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Assabe and Sabina was a regionally popular Pennsylvania German dialect radio program that was broadcast from radio station WSAN in Allentown, Pennsylvania from 1944 until 1955.
| Genre | Comedy |
|---|---|
| Running time | 15 minutes per episode |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Home station | WSAN |
| Starring | Harry Hess Reichard, Paul R. Wieand |
| Created by | Lloyd A. Moll |
| Written by | Lloyd A. Moll, the Rev. Clarence R. Rahn |
| Original release | 1944 – 1955 |
The show centered on the relationship between Der Assabe Mumbauer, a Pennsylvania German farmer, and his wife, Die Sabina Mumbauer. The character of Assabe was a "humorous prankster who frequently was in difficulty with his wife or with his neighbors."[1]
Lloyd A. Moll created the program, and played the role of Der Assabe until his death, just a few weeks after the show's launch.[1] Dr. Harry Hess Reichard, professor of German at Muhlenberg College and noted Pennsylvania German scholar, then assumed the role of Assabe.[1] Paul R. Wieand, a local teacher, author and writer of dialect plays, played the role of Die Sabina, Assabe's wife.[1]
The show was first broadcast on January 16, 1944, and ran until 1955. It ran each Sunday, from 1:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.[1]
After Moll's death, scripts were written by the Rev. Clarence R. Rahn. These scripts were archived in the Shadek-Fackenthal Library of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster,[1] but are currently in the collection of the Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society at Lancaster Theological Seminary. A larger collection of Assabe and Sabina scripts is at Muhlenberg College.
Assabe and Sabina was extremely popular amongst the Pennsylvania German-speaking populations of Lehigh and Northampton counties, and thousands listened to the program weekly.[1] The show served to sustain interest in Pennsylvania German language and culture in the period during, and immediately after, World War II.
- Gregory J. Hanson (translator), The Radio Adventures of Asseba and Sabina (“Doh Wil Ich Awer!”) (2009) ISBN 9780998707440
- Rosenberger, Homer Tope (1966). The Pennsylvania Germans: 1891-1965. Lancaster, PA: Pennsylvania German Society. OCLC 1745108.
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