The Olden Days-------before Tv

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:33 pm

One thing nice about being an old fart is that you get to enjoy the perspective of TV vs. RADIO shows.

I was a kid during WW2 and listening to The Lone Ranger, Gangbusters, I Love a Mystery & Captain Midnight on the radio was exciting. My favorite, INTERSANCTUM would open the show with a creaking door. I would turn off all the lights and the only light came from the green dial on the old Zenith radio. I would pretend that the green light was an evil eye. Imagination is a funny thing. We kids could actually imagine being in the program we were listening to.

Some of these radio shows are available online as free downloads.

theia · Post by **theia** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:59 pm

Oh the wonderful days of the "wireless" in the 50s

Settling down to hear "Listen With Mother"

Two Way Family Favourites, The Navy Lark, Hancock's Half Hour...I still enjoy listening to plays on Radio 4. And the visuals are all our own.

nvalleyvee · Post by **nvalleyvee** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 4:04 pm

My Grandparents raised me and we didn't have a TV until the early 60's. We sure as heck listened to the radio though - after dinner. We also played outside a lot. Who remembers whiffleball? We played with old milk cartons and the broom. Kick the can. Hide and seek. See if you can get your brothers to jump off the garage onto the springs of a 1942 junk car:sneaky: king of the mountain.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 4:27 pm

They play Mystery Theatre on the radio in some areas. Once in awhile Ill get lucky and catch it when I hop into bed. Its like reading a good book, you get to use your imagination.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:10 pm

nvalleyvee wrote: My Grandparents raised me and we didn't have a TV until the early 60's. We sure as heck listened to the radio though - after dinner. We also played outside a lot. Who remembers whiffleball? We played with old milk cartons and the broom. Kick the can. Hide and seek. See if you can get your brothers to jump off the garage onto the springs of a 1942 junk car:sneaky: king of the mountain.
I remember the whiffle ball, and hula hoops and pogo sticks. We used our roller skates to go everywhere. Of course, we had a TV when I was about 5 or 6, never watched it too much. I still don't today, too many other things to do!

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:23 pm

i am a news junkie. but rather read a book. history v. news, a dichotomy for me.

cars · Post by **cars** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:46 pm

Lon wrote: One thing nice about being an old fart is that you get to enjoy the perspective of TV vs. RADIO shows.

I was a kid during WW2 and listening to The Lone Ranger, Gangbusters, I Love a Mystery & Captain Midnight on the radio was exciting. My favorite, INTERSANCTUM would open the show with a creaking door. I would turn off all the lights and the only light came from the green dial on the old Zenith radio. I would pretend that the green light was an evil eye. Imagination is a funny thing. We kids could actually imagine being in the program we were listening to.

Some of these radio shows are available online as free downloads.

A few others come to mind also. The Shadow, The Green Hornet & kato,

Boston Blackie, Gangbusters. As well as Life of Riley, Stella Dallas, Beulah.

My Folks got our first TV (A "13" inch screen, B/W) for us around 1949ish, and there were like only 3 or so TV shows that I can remember. "The Milton Bearle Show", with Uncle Miltie & "The Texaco Show of Stars", with Red Skelton, "The Dinah Shaw Show", with Dinah. We were the only one's on our block in the neighborhood that had a TV, so many of our neighbors would drop by to watch the shows with us. Sometimes we had around 16 or 17 people, it was like a small movie house. Back then the shows were only like "15" minutes long, & the shows were not continuious, they were at scheduled times. So it still left plenty of time to read books, news paper, & play time. (Ah yes, "The good old days")

Bridget · Post by **Bridget** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:22 am

Cars, Enjoyed all of the above. Fibber Magee and Molly was my favorite. I would wait every week for him to open that closet door then giggle like a nut. Loved the Squeaking Door.

scotty · Post by **scotty** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:33 am

My wife and I (yes I know very posh)stayed in a backpakers hostel in Oslo recently which didnt have televisions, my god we didnt know what to do with ourselfs, well actually we did , but after that we were lost:wah: lol

It`s true no wonder they had large familys back then.:wah:

actionfigurestepho · Post by **actionfigurestepho** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 9:18 am

I love listening to Paul Harvey on WTAM. "The Rest of the Story" is fantastic! He has an amazing voice. If we ever have some sort of huge widespread panic inducing global disaster, I want Paul Harvey to be the one to break it to us. I bet it would sound almost good coming out of his mouth.

pina · Post by **pina** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 11:49 am

scotty wrote: My wife and I (yes I know very posh)stayed in a backpakers hostel in Oslo recently which didnt have televisions, my god we didnt know what to do with ourselfs, well actually we did , but after that we were lost:wah: lol

It`s true no wonder they had large familys back then.:wah:

Who needs TV.

scotty · Post by **scotty** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:00 pm

pina wrote: Who needs TV.

LOL@ pina, :wah: :wah: :wah:

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:10 pm

Who remembers this ?

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:13 pm

What would todays kids think of this ???

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:16 pm

I remember this so well....

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:20 pm

did anyone have a muffin the mule puppet ?

scotty · Post by **scotty** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:22 pm

Bez you are showing your age, it says 1935 on the song sheet, surely not.

I have heard of ovaltine but havent tasted it , whats it like ?

SOJOURNER · Post by **SOJOURNER** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:22 pm

Ah yes. I remember them both.

My Dad was killed in WWII and up until I was 6, we (Mom & I) lived with my grandparents in Cleveland, Ohio. We did not have TV, but we did have a radio. The radio sat on top of the fridge (which was still referred to as the icebox). My grandparent's home had a large kitchen which had an easy chair in it where my grandfather usually sat to keep company with my grandmother while she worked in the kitchen.

My grandfather rose early to work in the steel mills, and so would retire early. My fondest memories were of my grandmother ironing in the kitchen, me curled up in Grandpa's easy chair and Grandpa in bed, but still in conversation with us about the radio program we were all listening to.

Not only did I listen to the radio, I watched it. It was like by watching it I could cull some image from it to supplement that which I was hearing. Not a word was spoken by any of us during the program, but during a break, we would jabber about what happened and what we thought would be happening. It was such a peaceful, happy, secure time...............

Then my mother bought a TV. It was incredible. A movie theather right in the livingroom. Magic with a capital M! It opened up a whole new world......

In hindsight, what it actually did was isolate us. We sat absorbed and we did enjoy the programs, but the conversations stopped. There wasn't much to talk about -- cause we all had "seen" it. What more can one say about it. The interpretations were done for us; we did not have to imagine anything anymore........

Television was a great invention, but the radio of my youth is where my heart is, as nothing has come close to the experience of sitting in Grandma's kitchen watching the words come from that old Zenith.

scotty · Post by **scotty** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:25 pm

Is that the lady F Craddick ?

I`m just a youngster you know lol

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:44 pm

scotty wrote: Bez you are showing your age, it says 1935 on the song sheet, surely not.

I have heard of ovaltine but havent tasted it , whats it like ?

Not quite a senior citizen...born in 1946, but the Ovaltineyes were going into the '50s I think.

It tastes good...chocolaty, malty, made with hot milk....good bedtime drink.

scotty · Post by **scotty** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:53 pm

It sounds nice, some of those winters were cold, I can remember as a child the window glass inside my bedromm covered with ice , Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing.

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:56 pm

Oh yes...the joys of double glazing.

I got married in 1966....we still had coal fires and a coke boiler then ...oh yes...and parrafin heaters

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:58 pm

Bez wrote: Not quite a senior citizen...born in 1946, but the Ovaltineyes were going into the '50s I think.

It tastes good...chocolaty, malty, made with hot milk....good bedtime drink.
Olvatine is good-got that lovely malt with the chocolate taste. It is a great drink for kids, used it with my kids so they would drink enough milk.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:31 pm

actionfigurestepho wrote: I love listening to Paul Harvey on WTAM. "The Rest of the Story" is fantastic! He has an amazing voice. If we ever have some sort of huge widespread panic inducing global disaster, I want Paul Harvey to be the one to break it to us. I bet it would sound almost good coming out of his mouth.

He drools on himself too Steph.

actionfigurestepho · Post by **actionfigurestepho** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:28 pm

You're just jealous that you're not a hot 70 year old yet. Don't worry, you'll get there.

capt_buzzard · Post by **capt_buzzard** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:33 am

In Ireland they never heard of Sex until Television was introduced in the 1960s. :wah:

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 10:49 am

capt_buzzard wrote: In Ireland they never heard of Sex until Television was introduced in the 1960s. :wah:

Yeh..yeh...yeh....