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1930s - The Amazing Radio
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| Photo at right from National Archives, sent by Walt Samson who was reminded
by it of his own boyhood evenings around the radio,. |
| Review written by Joyce M. Tice |
| See Also The Doylemarx Story
1898-1948 |
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The introduction and widespread availabiltiy of the radio in the
1930s was as exciting to the population of that era as the Internet
has been to us. It is hard for us to think of sitting around as the
people in the photo are doing just to listen to the radio. We play
it all day in the background in our homes and offices and
automobiles and don't give it a second thought. Prior to this the
major communication channel was the newspaper. The radio offered
entertainment, music and news with a voice. In the 1930s a naive
populace panicked when H. G. Wells tale of a Martian invasion was
broadcast and many thought it was real. It is still one of our
major resources for music and news while we are on the move. In
Elmira's 1923 Directory only three businesses were listed as
offering Radio Supplies and two as Radio Apparatus Manufacturers.
The 1936 Directory lists 26 businesses under the heading of Radio
Sets & Supplies. By 1940 WENY was the sole entry under the heading
Radio Broadcasting Stations in Elmira. Radio Repairing had been
added as a heading with just one entry, and under the heading of
Radiotricians, a word lost to the language if it ever in fact was
admitted, was Douglas Radio Repairing as the only entry. 36
businesses were listed as selling radios and associated apparatus.
It was less than a decade later that the first television sets
entered the scene.
More information about Early Radio History can be found at
http://earlyradiohistory.us/index.html
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Proud to show off the new radio, my mother, Marcella Miller, demonstrates
its use.
Photo by Veryl WELCH "Miller" whose photo also is on the top of the radio.
For those of you seeing this who remember when radio was new, send me a note
about what it meant to you and your family and I'll add it to this page.
For myself, I don't remember when there was no radio, but I paid no attention
to it. My first memory of it was the program "Little Snookums" that (correct me
if I am wrong) was by Fanny Brice. I remember that she died and they played
funeral music during the scheduled broadcast. I'm not sure I knew what died
meant but I could tell it was not a good thing and it meant she would not be
doing the program any more.
Walt Samson tells me that Fanny Brice played Baby Snooks. I knew there was
something wrong with my memory of that- close but no cigar. |
Joan NASH O'Dell comments on the radio - The other thing that I
remember about early radios other than the fact that I was a great
radio fan---still am! When Aunt Myrtle (Myrtle McCONNELL Updyke)
lived in the Carolyn McCONNELL - Alvie Gray farm she had a floor
model radio that had a bright green eye. The eye's iris changed like
our pupil does telling you if you were exactly "on the station".
Probably the first radio I ever saw was electric (not sure) & it was at my
Aunt Lena BEARDSLEE Canedy's house in Sylvania. No big horn but I
don't remember it ever playing---it was just there. Our first radio
was a table model. Gam had a shelf built for it to set on near the
outside dining rm. door so the wire could be threaded outside for
better reception. Henry & Gam always listened to Fulton Lewis, Jr.
every night for the news. I listened to the usual when I got home
from school like Jack Armstrong, Fibber McGee & Mollie & the Shadow
Knows. Gam often listened to classical music when it was available
from WHCU in Ithaca after she got an FM radio Guess I have rattled
on enough
JO