Merry Christmas from OneTubeRadio.com!
We present Zamfir, the Master of the Pan Flute.
Category Archives: Christmas
Night Before Christmas, 1822-2022
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.
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.
Radios for Christmas: 1922
Christmas of 1922 was going to be a big one for radio, as evidenced by this ad in the Washington Herald a hundred years ago today, November 15, 1922. As shown here, Santa’s workshop was busy turning out radio sets, many of which would show up under the tree.
We previously profiled this dealer, White & Boyer, 812 13th St. NW, Washington. In addition to running the retail dealership, they were the licensee of station WJH, thus ensuring their customers had something to tune in.
Motorola Playmate Junior, 1947
Seventy-five years ago, these youngsters, shown on the cover of the January 1947 issue of Radio News, had been especially good, since Santa had brought them, among other gifts, this Motorola Playmate Junior portable radio (Model 51M1U).
The four-tube (1R5, 1U4, 1U5, 3S4) portable covered the broadcast band, and ran off batteries or AC. On AC, the set used a selenium rectifier.
Actress Jeanne Crain had apparently also been a good girl, since she is also shown with the same model in the ad below, which noted that the set was the company’s most compact portable and had excellent signal pickup and shock-resistant tubes. It also notes that the antenna is conveniently built in to the cover. Since the ad mentions the film “Take Care of My Little Girl,” it must have been from about 1951, meaning that the set remained in production for quite some time.
Party Game Idea
Sixty years ago this month, the December 1961 issue of the British publication Radio Constructor gave some ideas for devices to liven up a Christmas party or, for that matter, any party. According to the author, the self-explanatory design here was an “oldie,” but was largely forgotten. To play the game, one needed to move the ring from one side to the other without touching the metal rod. According to the magazine, this feat required a remarkably steady hand, and was no doubt good for many hours of fun as the guests made an attempt.
The magazine noted that if the party was one for charity, then the guests could be charged a fee to play, earning a refund if they were able to successfully move the ring from one side to the other without sounding the bell.
Perhaps if Junior is looking for a science fair project, this one could be used as a basis for determining which of their classmates had the steadiest hand.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas from OneTubeRadio.com!
We present the 17th Century French Christmas Carol Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle (Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabelle).
It’s sung in French at the video above, but here are the lyrics in English:
Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella!
Bring a torch, to the stable call
Christ is born, tell the folk of the village
Jesus is born and Mary’s calling.
Ah! Ah! Beautiful is the Mother!
Ah! Ah! Beautiful is her ChildWho is that, knocking on the door?
Who is it, knocking like that?
Open up, we’ve arranged on a platter
Lovely cakes that we have brought here
Knock! Knock! Open the door for us!
Knock! Knock! Let’s celebrate!It is wrong when the Child is sleeping,
It is wrong to talk so loud.
Silence, now as you gather around,
Lest your noise should waken Jesus.
Hush! Hush! See how He slumbers;
Hush! Hush! See how fast He sleeps!Softly now unto the stable,
Softly for a moment come!
Look and see how charming is Jesus,
Look at Him there, His cheeks are rosy!
Hush! Hush! See how the Child is sleeping;
Hush! Hush! See how He smiles in His dreams!
Santa Claus Beacon Activation
Once again this year, to assist him with precision navigation, Santa Claus has asked OneTubeRadio.com to activate its non-directional beacon (NDB). We will, of course, be complying with this request, and we have activated a beacon on 1610 kHz. Santa will use the automatic direction finding equipment (ADF) installed in his sleigh to home in on the beacon. (He is currently employing equipment more modern than shown above in a picture from the December 9, 1922, issue of Radio World.) We expect that while aloft, Santa will be able to pull in the signal from the North Pole.
Even though COVID-related travel restrictions have eased, Santa Claus is still required to adhere to a flight plan, and this beacon will allow him to navigate very precisely. To view his progress, we recommend visiting the official NORAD Santa Tracking website. (We previously wrote about the history of this project here.)
At ground level, the signal will have a range of about one mile. If you are located close to the OneTubeRadio.com world headquarters, you can tune in to this special broadcast. If you are further away, you can listen online:
Reception reports are welcome. You can contact us at como-radio@usa.net.
1941 Homemade Toys
Chances are, the hot new toy that you planned on buying Junior for Christmas is stranded somewhere in a flotilla of container ships off the coast of Long Beach. Maybe they’ll break the logjam before Christmas, but as our Secretary of Transportation had to admit, we probably shouldn’t count on it.
But despite the official concessions of gloom, there’s no reason why ineptitude needs to spoil Christmas. If you get to work now, you can make toys that are far superior to the unobtainium Chinese imports. And for the younger children on your Christmas list, you can’t go wrong with these colorful animals from the October 1941 issue of Popular Science.
All you need is a band saw or jig saw, and a single piece of 3/4 inch plywood 12 by 24 inches. The plywood might be more expensive than usual this year, but it’s probably sourced in North America, and you shouldn’t have much trouble tracking it down. If you don’t already have the saw, keep in mind that they’re also waiting off the coast of California, so you’ll want to get that right away before everyone else gets the same idea.
Complete plans are found on page 178 of the magazine, which you can read at this link. Instructions are also given for the bases and storage box, as shown below. The pattern for cutting the animals is shown at left (click on the small image for the complete full-size version). You simply trace the design onto a piece of 1/2 inch graph paper and use that to cut. When you’re done, the animals should be painted in bright colors, and the magazine reminds readers to “be sure to use nonpoisonous, washable, enamel” paint.
When finished, the set will keep youngsters happily occupied for many hours. As the magazine points out, the toy teaches how to discriminate between colors, recognize the various animals, develop creative instinct, and rewards the child with a sense of accomplishment, all factors recognized as essential to proper development. Chances are, the Chinese toy doesn’t have all of these advantages.
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