Do you recall, “Just Plain Bill”? How about “Pepper Young’s Family” or “Young Widow Brown”? Unfortunately I do. What brought the memory of what were daytime radio shows – real soap operas – was the fact that we had the Old Time Radio club at our social this week. No they did not recreate the aforementioned programs. If they had, everyone would have gone home in tears rather than chuckling. I used to spend time at my grandmothers when I was a young pup. She loved the daytime shows, and since I was there I had to listen to them as we were out in the country in Western Pennsylvania and there was not much else to do.
Her house had no electricity, gas, or running water so I couldn’t even take a book and shut the bathroom door. The “bathroom” was a little building out back where in the summertime the bees liked to visit, and in the winter it got rather cold. Actually it got very cold out there in the winter, but it wasn’t much better inside the house as the small potbellied coal heater wasn’t that great at spreading the heat. She did have one of the first battery radios so the soap operas where available. The worst one was “Stella Dallas”. Many, many years later, I can still hear old Stella’s whining voice.
Now this is not to say that I considered radio a bad thing. When I was home and school was over, I used to listen to a bunch of fifteen minute serials that were on. In those days, you didn’t see everything on a big screen with every nuance – good or bad – played out before your eyes. Thus, when Tom Mix and his Ralston Straight Shooters came on, I could imagine the horses running through the sage brush. (I believe Tom’s horse was named “Tony” – which I think is more old western than “Trigger”}. There was also Superman, Captain Midnight, Don Winslow of the Navy, and Little Orphan Annie among others. They all had decoder rings or other “great” prizes for which you send an envelope requesting same – and usually were disappointed when it finally came.
Among the after school programs mentioned was above was also, “Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy”. He was a great guy, but one has to wonder what they would call the program today. I do know that they would ruin it as they have recently on TV with what used to be a good program for kids – Archie Andrews. Have you seen “Riverdale”? You certainly do not have to use your imagination anymore. Along that line of using imagination when listening to radio was an old quiz program called “Truth or Consequences”. I t was based on the contestants telling the truth or paying the consequences. I used to think it was the greatest program around. Then it eventually appeared on TV – ugh!
When the night time shows came on you could really use your imagination. You could scare yourself silly by listening to “Lights Out” or “Inner Sanctum.” On the other hand, you could also listen to the “FBI in War & Peace” as the Feds saved the country. I do not recall many issues that they face today being given much airtime. There were episodes of “The Lone Ranger” and the “Green Hornet”. By the way, did you know that the Green Hornet was the great nephew of The Lone Ranger? It is a small world even in radio.
You can still use your imagination but not quite as easy as in the old days. I think I may try using mine and imagine that The Blonde in the house is making a rhubarb pie!
Barry Evans writes about Life in The Villages for Villages-News.com
