• Blog
  • Books
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
Bascomb James
Author | Scientist | Science Fiction Fan

Radio and the Fabric of our Lives

7/17/2014

0 Comments

 
PictureMontgomery Ward radio, circa 1936.
Up North Stories.  I borrowed this tombstone style radio from a colleague for a photography project and it brought back a lot of memories. This particular model (Model number 62-185) was manufactured around 1936 by Montgomery Ward and Company (remember Monkey Wards?) in Chicago, Illinois.

The date reminded me of stories my Mom would tell about listening to the radio.  On Friday evenings, her family would go down the road to Aunt Nellie’s house on Helmer Lake and both families would sit close to the radio and listen to programs from far away. It was an important social event. They listened to variety shows and serials sponsored by soap companies (hence the name “soap operas”).

Mom is gone now so I cannot ask her what programs they listened to most, but she told us about the Jack Benny Show and Fibber McGee and Molly. The Shadow was so disturbing that some people wouldn't listen to it.

Radio transformed America because it brought strangers and strange ideas right into the American home, the bedrock of the American gestalt. Radio personalities from far off cities were discussed as if they were members of the community and some, like they were family members.

Radio continued to be important even after TV became available. The radio brought us news throughout the day--local happenings, breaking events, weather, and sports.  I remember my Dad and uncles listening to Detroit Tiger games on the radio. My father-in-law did too. My Mom had the radio playing in the kitchen almost all the time.

AM signals didn’t travel far during the day but when the sun went down, we would get signals from all over. My favorite stations were WOWO in Ft. Wayne, CKLW out of Windsor Ontario, and of course WLS from Chicago. They played rock and roll and Top 40 songs all night. This was our “secret” vice. My Dad didn’t like “Rock and Roll crap.” His derision made the music even more delicious. More importantly, we could listen to our heart's content using an inexpensive transistor radio and an ear phone. Many of us strung wires in our bedroom to improve reception. We got even better reception with the car radio.

Ah, the car and the car radio. Two freedom machines, one inside the other. We could go where we wanted and play our music out loud!  We could howl with Wolfman Jack, drum along with Wipeout, and sing with everything. Sometimes we even sang the right words! And who could forget submarine races and making out while the radio played in the background? (Mom would be saying “Oh my!” right about now.) 


Picture
Multiband dial with station call signs
When I looked closely at the dial of this old radio, I was surprised to see radio station call letters printed on the dial. No manufacturer would do that today. Things change too quickly. I am also struck by the amount of empty space between the stations. Those of us who use the scan button to find new stations know it takes forever to scan through the frequencies. In cities, there is almost no space between signals. There are more frequency gaps Up North, but they too are filling up.

Radio has been with us for a long time. Today we have many radio options--FM, AM, satellite radio, and internet radio just to name a few. We can listen to radio stations from around the world in real time. We also get uber-local information from the same device. Radio has changed a lot since my Mom’s time but it's still woven into the fabric of our lives.

You may be interested in these Up North Story posts
New Feature:  Up North Stories
Skinny Dip
Radio and the Fabric of our Lives
Early Reading Experiences
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    ​@BascombJ

    Follow @BascombJ

    Archives

    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

    Categories

    All
    Completion
    Earth Day
    Earthrise
    Environment
    Far Orbit
    Fountain Pen
    Horror
    Hyperpowers
    Last Outpost
    Poetry
    Prompt
    Published Stories
    Publishers
    Pushpin
    Science
    SciFi General
    Sharing
    Space
    Thank You
    Up North Stories
    Writing
    Writing Help

    RSS Feed

    Tweets by @BascombJ
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.