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Turn on the Radio

© Mary M. Alward

Can you imagine gathering around the radio instead of the television to be entertained? This is what life was like in the Great Depression of the 1930's.

We've already learned that life was hard during the Great Depression. If a family was lucky, they might own a radio. If so, they often gathered around a floor model in the living room. This was done in the evening when all the chores were done. Other families had table radios. Stories were told by the broadcaster. Some were taped by other people and the broadcaster just ran the tape. Comedy shows were popular. This was the family's entertainment. They used it much like we use television. Instead of seeing a picture, they listened. Their imaginations gave them the pictures in their heads.

Radio was an inexpensive way to have a little fun. Many families had a radio before the Great Depression hit America. All that it cost was a little electricity to hear their favorite programs. They listened to soap operas, plays, dramas, hockey games, music and thrillers.

Crooners such as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra were loved by all who listened to radio. They sang about being on top of the world. Teenagers danced to swing bands in their living rooms. Farmers in remote areas could listen to events at Carnegie Hall in New York City. News traveled fast over the air waves. The people could keep track of what was going on in the world. They didn't have money to buy newspapers. If they did, they were often shared by friends and neighbors.

One of the greatest Canadian broadcasts of the time was the coverage of The Moose River Mine Disaster. People all over the world tuned (turned their radio) in to listen, hoping the men would be rescued. The news of the disaster traveled across the airwaves in minutes.

Radio had a large audience during the Great Depression. Hysteria (panic) broke out on a large scale in 1938. Orson Welles was a writer, actor and producer. On October 31, 1938,(Hallowe'en) his War of the Worlds program aired. It was listened to by thousands of people all over the world. War of the Worlds was a fictional (not real) story about the invasion of Earth by aliens. It was so well written that people thought it was real. They began to panic. There was chaos in many cities all over the globe.

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