Category Archives: World War 1

The Class of ’20

Shown here is the Class of ’20 (1920, that is) who graduated from the Furness School of Philadelphia on this day a hundred years ago, June 22, 1920. These girls are performing the “Welcome to Summer” dance as part of the commencement exercises, and this picture appeared in the next day’s issue of the Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger.

Since the school was a junior high at the time, these were probably eighth graders, probably born in about 1906. Their older brothers very well might have gone to war, and we hope that most of them came back to attend the graduation.

A few years after this picture was taken, their families probably got their first radio. They were 23 years old when the stock market crashed, and they lived through the depression as young adults. Then, another war came. They were a little too old to go to war, and most of their children were too young. All of them, boys and girls, undoubtedly fought on the Homefront.

When they were in their 40s, they saw their first television, and probably bought one soon thereafter. They worked hard and retired with more wealth than their parents. A handful of them bought a computer and sent e-mails to their grandchildren. A few of them lived to see 9/11 on their television screen.

Welcome to Summer, Class of ’20.

A few weeks ago, I recorded this message to the Class of 2020:

Flag Day 1920

This illustration appeared a hundred years ago today on June 14, 1920, in the Washington Evening Star.

The paper reported that the 143rd anniversary of Old Glory would see celebrations around the city. Children in all of the schools took part in special exercises, and veterans of the World War took part in paying tribute. The evening culminated with a mass meeting an patriotic pageant on the east steps of the Capitol.

President Wilson was unable to attend, but sent a message. The Marine Band (presumably, about 2-5 Mhz) played, along with a chorus of a thousand voices singing patriotic and folk songs.

Secretary of State Bainbridge_Colby had spoken the prior evening, stating:

The American flag speaks today, as it has always spoken, a message of cheer and help to the oppressed; a clear note of leadership to the aspiring in all lands, a note of aid and succor to liberty wherever liberty falters or is assailed. It speaks for the redemption and not the repudiation of the nation’s pledges.

It is the flag of work, of service, of courage. It is the flag of chivalrous men and noble women. It is a flag of glory. It is a flag which has moved forward on every field, never backward, and today and at this hour it cannot be an emblem of a moral retreat upon the field of highest service, the rescue of the world, to which our destiny as a nation calls us.

When Secretary Colby spoke those words, American boys, and a few girls, had only recently returned from the fields of Europe. Some of them never returned.

Did they rescue the world? They tried, and they did so very imperfectly. A quarter century later, their sons (and a few of their daughters) went back under the same flag. They didn’t do a perfect job, either. But the flag moved forward, and not backward, toward the rescue of the world.

Today, on the flag’s 243rd anniversary, it has two more stars, is still a flag of glory, and can’t be an emblem of moral retreat. Do we have a perfect Union? No. We have disease; we have racism; we have violence; and we probably have a hundred other problems that we can’t even see. But as heirs of those men and women who went before us, we too can move forward to make this a more perfect Union and a more perfect world.

Memorial Day

Los Angeles Times photo.

On Decoration Day 1920, these World War 1 nurses marched in a Los Angeles parade.

Surgical Mask for Smokers: 1919

Masks during a pandemic are nothing new, as shown by this illustration during the Spanish flu epidemic.

Shown here is Edward T. Duncan, modeling his invention, an influenza mask suitable for smokers. To the standard issue mask, he affixed two corn plasters, one on the inside, and one on the outside. A hole is poked, and the cigar or cigarette can be inserted.

“When you draw on your cigarette, all the little germs hovering around take advantage of the chance and try to get in. But when they have gone through the fire of your cigarette they become purified, and are quite harmless by the time they get to your lungs.”

When not smoking, the hole was plugged with a cork.

This invention appeared in the May 1919 issue of Popular Science.

Treaty of Versailles Rejected: 1920

New York Tribune, Mar. 20, 1920.

On this day one hundred years ago, March 19, 1920, the Treaty of Versailles was rejected by the U.S. Senate for the second and last time. There had been a prior straight vote on the treaty, which was rejected. A second vote included fourteen reservations proposed by Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge. The final vote fell seven votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to ratify.

The war formally ended for America in 1921 when Congress passed the Knox–Porter Resolution.

From The People Who Brought You the Flame Thrower…

This young woman, even if she weren’t armed with a giant magnifying glass, could easily change records without soiling her finger nails, thanks to the Vacuum Record Lifter, from Vacuum Record Lifter Ltd., 701 Seventh Avenue, New York.

The device appears to be a suction cup which is placed on the record. It had a vent hole at the top, which was covered by one finger. When the record is safely lifted, the vent can be opened, and the record falls gently into the other hand.

The device was invented by Joseph Menchen, whom the article calls the inventor of “the first liquid fire appliances used by the Allied armies.” Sure enough, Wikipedia lists Menchen as the inventor of a flame thrower, as well as “self-made businessman, film producer, screenwriter, and literary agent.”

The ad appeared a hundred years ago this month in the February 1920 issue of Talking Machine World.

Freddy Fender Museum, San Benito, TX

We recently had the opportunity to visit the Freddy Fender Museum in San Benito, Texas. We are shown above in front of Freddy’s motorcycle and one of the suits in which he performed. The museum is part of the Museums of San Benito, along with the San Benito History Museum and the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

We were shown around by a friendly volunteer, and the visit was well worth the small detour we took to get there. Unfortunately, the exact future of the museum is in question, and it might not be there when you read this. On the very day we visited in December 2019, some of the Freddy Fender exhibits were being removed. The museum will be moving to a new location, but the exact new location is not known at this time. Some of the exhibits were apparently on their way back to Freddy’s widow in Corpus Christi. The volunteer seemed optimistic, however, that the museum would continue in either San Benito or Corpus Christi. But the exact future location has not been determined. Before making a special trip, I would contact the museum to check on the status. The museum is currently open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Fortunately, some of the exhibits remained, and are shown here. Notably, Freddy’s two gold records are still on display, for Before the Next Teardrop Falls, and Wasted Days and Wasted Nights:

Of particular interest to our readers is this chair, marked “Zenith Arm Chair Radio,” in which Freddy Fender probably sat. I’ve heard of Zenith chairside radios, but this is the first I ever heard of an actual Zenith chair. The tag on the exhibit indicated that the chair was from “the 1970s”. Perhaps it was in use then, but my guess would be closer to the 1930s or 1940s. The tag indicated that the chair was last used at the Rio Grande Music Company recording studio, 1165 Sam Houston, San Benito, TX.

The museum also contained another room displaying some of the equipment from the studio, shown below:

The “Rek-Kut” record cutting machine is shown below. You can click on the images for a larger version:

There were also two Ampex recorders, one identified as a Model 354:

As mentioned above, there were two other museums in the same building, and this radio was part of the display in the general history museum:

I couldn’t make out any brand name, but it appears to be from the late 1930s or 1940s, and covers the broadcast band and 5.8-15 MHz shortwave.

Finally, this shell casing was in the museum. It was from a captured German gun from World War 1, and was engraved with the names of the American soldiers against whom it was directed. The engraved text was very hard to read, and I unfortunately didn’t have time to try to transcribe much of it. It would be a great service if some reader in the area could take the time to transcribe the text and post it online somewhere. I’m sure that the relatives of the soldiers listed would be very appreciative.

The North Russia Intervention and Christmas 1919

US troops guard Bolshevik prisoners. Wikipedia photo.

I had never known until recently that the soldiers of the U.S. Army had battled communists, on Russian soil, but they did, just over a hundred years ago. In fact, 83 U.S. soldiers were killed in action, and another 84 died of disease or accidents. An additional 29 were missing in action, and 12 were captured.

The U.S. entered the First World War after the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II. The Russian Provisional Government pledged to keep fighting, but the Bolsheviks came to power in October 1917, and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) signed a peace treaty with Germany and the Central Powers a few months later.

The British and French felt the need to intervene and support the White Russians, who would continue the war on the eastern front, and keep supplies in Arkhangelsk from falling into German hands.

In July 1918, they persuaded President Wilson, against the advice of the War Department, to send U.S. troops as the American North Russia Expeditionary Force. The campaign was known as the North Russia Intervention, or informally as the Polar Bear Expedition. Allied troops sailed in to Arkhangelsk in August 1918. The Americans ultimately withdrew in April 1919, leaving the White Russians in a most precarious position.

A hundred years ago, a small band of those White Russians set off on skis to Finland, hundreds of miles away. Among their number was Anatol von Spakovsky. In a Wall Street Journal article, his son recounted the Christmas Eve spent during that retreat. It’s reprinted a number of places, including the Heritage Foundation, and it’s well worth reading.

FDR Re-Elected 1944

Seventy-five years ago today, November 7, 1944, Franklin Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth term as President. Shown here is “the piano playing candidate,” the Vice-President-Elect, Missouri Senator Harry S Truman, celebrating with some buddies from his service in World War I. The picture appeared in the Milwaukee Journal, November 8, 1944.

Just five months later, Truman would become President upon the Roosevelt’s death on April 12, 1945.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from OneTubeRadio.com!

The picture above was taken a hundred years ago today on Halloween 1919. This young woman in Texas or Oklahoma is dressed up as a Gypsy as her Halloween costume.

The photo is courtesy of Jennifer of Jennifer Chronicles blog, jenx67.com, and used with her permission. It came from a photo album she found in an Oklahoma City flea market. The gypsy in the photo was probably the owner of the album, since she appeared in many of the pictures. A common theme of the album is soldiers at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, along with their girlfriends. Other pictures show this woman dressed as a Red Cross nurse. You can see more photos from the album at this link and at this link.