Monthly Archives: December 2022

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from OneTubeRadio.com!

For the cynics who believe that the New Year is just a conspiracy by the Big Calendar Companies to sell more calendars, you can beat them at their own game. There are only 14 possible calendars (January 1 falling on Sunday through Saturday, for both regular years and leap years), so it is quite possible to re-use your old calendars.

2023 starts on a Sunday, as did 1911. So rather than spending your money on a new calendar, just print out this perfectly good 1911 calendar, taken from the 1911 edition of the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

The book is full of other interesting information, such as the 1911 postal rates:

The distinction between the 1 cent and the 2 cent letter rate is that the 1 cent rate is the “drop letter” rate. It covers letters brought to the post office to be delivered to a customer who picks them up at the same office. But if the office has either local delivery or rural delivery, or if it’s sent to another post office, then the 2 cent rate applies.

The book also contains a description of the 1910 appearance of Halley’s Comet, which I was able to see (albeit barely) in 1986.

Crosley Mobile Television Demonstration Unit, 1952

Seventy years ago, television was spreading around the nation, but not all areas could yet receive a signal. But that didn’t stop Crosley dealers from taking orders and making sure the town was ready for TV the day the first station signed on.

They could accomplish this with the Crosley Mobile Television Demonstration Unit, which would roll into town weeks before the first station came on, complete with a television studio on wheels, two cameras, monitor boards, and 800 feet of coaxial cable. It was as exciting as a circus, and would give the people their first taste of live TV.

The photo appeared in a Crosley ad in the December 1952 issue of Television Retailing.

1922 Librola Library Table-Phonograph

A hundred years ago, if you were in the market for both a fine piece of furniture and a deluxe phonograph, you couldn’t go wrong with the Librola, a combination “library table” and phonograph. It is shown here in an ad from Talking Machine World, December 1922. The set was made by the Seaburg Mfg. Co. of Jamestown, N.Y.

If you now have your heart set on owning your own Librola, this one is available on Facebook Marketplace. You’ll need to repair the phonograph, but we’re confident that most of our readers are able to tackle that job.

Kerchunk: The Sound of Safety

Don’t let anyone tell you that kerchunking your microphone is a bad thing. For at least sixty years, the kerchunk has been the sound of safety, as explained in this ad from the December 1962 issue of Radio-Electronics.

1942 WERS Transceiver

This woman is providing civilian defense communications as part of the War Emergency Radio Service, using a 112 MHz transmitter-receiver shown in the December 1942 issue of Radio News.

The set was completely self-contained. It’s transmitter section put out a hefty ten watts, and the batteries and dynamotor were built in to the cabinet. Both the transmitter and receiver could tune the entire 112-120 MHz band.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from OneTubeRadio.com!

We present Zamfir, the Master of the Pan Flute.

Night Before Christmas, 1822-2022

Library of Congress Image.

Today marks the 200th anniversary of the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas” or “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Clement Moore reportedly penned the poem on December 24, 1822, while traveling home from Greenwich Village, where he had bought a turkey to be donated to the poor. He read it to his children that night, and it was first published on December 23, 1823.

Moore, a professor of Oriental and Greek literature at the General Theological Seminary in Manhattan, was reportedly embarrassed by the light verse, and didn’t publish it under his own name until 1844.

Here, you can listen to the poem, read by Lorne Greene:

Radio Christmas 1922

A hundred years ago, Santa was getting ready for Christmas. When it came time to make his list and check it twice, he made sure he got the most current information by radio, as shown in this illustration on the cover of the December 1922 issue of Radio Age.

Lonely Wife: 1942

Eighty years ago today, the December 21, 1942, issue of Life Magazine featured on its cover this portrait of a lonely wife whose husband had gone to war. The cover actually depicts a model, namely actress Joan Thorsen, playing the role of the lonely wife. But the accompanying feature details the plight of a number of real ones, along with advice from author Ethel Gorham, who had written a handbook for them, So Your Husband’s Gone to War.

The magazine noted that no two situations were the same, but it showed the example of one lonely wife who put many of the couple’s goods in storage and moved to a smaller apartment. But author Gorman stressed the importance of keeping the overall living style similar to that enjoyed before the war, since the husband will undoubtedly be home on furlough.

The book also provided pointers on finding a job. The woman shown in the Life article took a job in a record store, shown here. According to the magazine, work which involved meeting and talking to people was advisable for women living alone. She also had a civilian defense job answering the telephone in a New York precinct station house report center.

1922 “Little Aristocrat” Crystal Set

A hundred years ago today, the December 19, 1922, issue of The Rock Island Argus and Daily Union carried this ad for Franc’s Furniture Store, featuring a complete radio set for only $15, which could be paid just $2 down and $1 per week. It was assembled and guaranteed by the S&M Radio Shop of neighboring Davenport, Iowa.

The set, the “Little Aristocrat,” featured a mahogeny case, and included detector, headphones, antenna wire, and insulator. It was touted as having a range of 100 miles, and would pull in station WOC, which was then licensed to the Palmer School of Chiropractic. The set was billed as an ideal eleventh hour Christmas present.