1922 Watercycle

1922JunPMA hundred years ago this month, the June 1922 issue of Popular Mechanics showed this watercycle, invented by Edward Bellman of Evansville, Wisconsin.

According to the magazine, the craft was made of aluminum tubing, and could be quickly taken out of storage and assembled with thumbscrews. Buoyancy came from two inflated tubes which slipped into the frame. A propeller was driven by bicycle pedals, and the rudder was controlled by a handlebar.

The entire craft weighed only 20 pounds and could be packed in an ordinary suitcase. The inventor envisioned the craft for use as a pleasure craft or for lifesaving purposes.



Young 1922 Radio Listener

1926June26If she is still with us, the young woman wearing headphones in these photos is about 101 years old. This item appeared 100 years ago today, June 26, 1922, in the Bridgeport (CT) Times and Evening Farmer.

The young listener is the daughter of Charles C. Kolster, then the radio instructor for the First Naval District. He went on to become Supervisor of Radio for the Boston office of the Federal Radio Commission, and later Inspector in Charge of the First District of the Federal Communications Commission.

In this photo, the young Miss Kolster had the headphones placed on her head to her initial puzzlement. But this was quickly replaced by delight when she realized that she was hearing her father’s voice.



1937 Trailer Intercom

1937JuneRadioCraftI’m sure this picture would be a violation of today’s traffic safety laws. At the very least, I’m sure it would result in a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt. But 85 years ago, it was a different story, and cooking breakfast in a moving trailer wasn’t anything to worry about.

But there was a matter of telling the driver that breakfast was ready, and the intercom shown here would solve that problem. The accompanying article, from the June 1937 issue of Radio Craft points out that there were 250,000 trailers in the country, and it was an untapped market for radio sales. The trailers were practically begging to have a radio installed. It would have to be a heavy-duty unit to survive the vibrations. And equipping it with an intercom would allow the driver of the car to listen to the radio (with the radio mounted away from the ignition system and its possible interference) and also communicate back to the trailer.



Rep. George I. Clem, 1947

Seventy-five years ago today, the June 23, 1947, issue of Broadcasting magazine carried this ad from WCCO radio in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The gentleman shown speaking at the microphone is Rep. George I. Clem (no relation to the author of this website), who served one term in the Minnesota Legislature representing the 56th District, which at that time was the Pine City area, about 100 miles north of the Twin Cities.

Inexplicably, the ad copy states that Clem drove to Minneapolis to assume his duties in the Legislature, which seems unlikely, seeing that the state capital is St. Paul. But in any event, while carrying out his legislative duties by day, by night he attended WCCO’s “Radio School for Legislators,” in which station personnel taught legislators the nuts and bolts of communicating effectively by radio. The faculty included the station’s educational director E.W. Ziebarth, program director Gene Wilkey, news director Sig Mickelson, and farm services director Larry Haeg.

Rep. Clem reported that his attendance at when addressing the Pine City Commercial Club, he knew that his attendance at the school made the difference, and also made it possible for him to keep the people of his district better informed.  He served a single term in the Legislature, and died in 1988 at the age of 78.



1942 Rex Ristlite Wrist Flashlight

1942June22LifeThis ad appeared in Life Magazine 80 years ago today, June 22, 1942, extolling the virtues of the Rex Ristlite from the Flashlight Company of America of Jersey City, NJ.  The light snapped on like a wristwatch, giving you full use of both hands.  It was a “boon to mechanics, car owners, sportsmen, housewives, Army, and Navy men.”  It sold everywhere that flashlights were sold for only 98 cents, including batteries.  According to this online inflation calculator, that works out to $17.57 in 2022 dollars.

It seems like a practical idea, although it has been largely supplanted by the headlamp, of the type shown at left.  After all, if you need to look at something, then your head is going to be pointing in the right direction, so it makes sense to put the light there.  On the other hand, having it on your wrist could be handy in many cases, so they had a good idea 80 years ago.

And fortunately, the same thing is available today, only better.  And the price (including batteries) is almost the same as the 1942 price, adjusted for inflation, of course.  Like everything else, it is available at Amazon, and you can see it pictured at right.

This one also includes a clock (with 24-hour display, as our readers will appreciate) and compass.  It’s customary to wear a watch on your wrist, so the clock seems logical.  And since it appears to be much smaller than the 1942 version, you can wear it in situations where you might need a light, rather than putting it on as needed.  Many of the reviews state that the compass doesn’t work very well, although I suspect that it works well as long as it’s flat.  As long as it’s magnetized and spinning freely, there’s really not much that can go wrong with a compass.  So if you take it off an lay it on a flat surface, I imagine it will reliably point north.  And if you click on the Amazon link or the picture, you’ll see that the cost, adjusted for inflation, is about the same as it was in 1942.

One big advantage of the modern version is that you don’t have to worry about batteries.  It has a built-in lithium ion battery, and it comes with a micro USB charger.  If the charger gets lost, you can use the same one you normally use with your cell phone.



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1952 Tenna-Ship

1952JuneRadioRetailingSeventy years ago this month, if you lived in a strong signal area, but didn’t want an unsightly set of rabbit ears on top of your TV, you could instead get the Tenna-Ship for only $12.95, from the Gleam Manufacturing Company, 740 North Leavitt St., Chicago.

This ad appeared in the June 1952 issue of Radio Retailing.



Patriotic Salvage Corps, Winnipeg, 1942

1942JuneCKYYour first guess is that this picture taken 80 years ago was taken in England. After all, the truck proclaims that it’s going to feed families in bombed-out areas. The truck was on its way to Britain, but the picture was taken in Canada, specifically at 755 Henry Avenue, Winnipeg, the then-headquarters of the Patriotic Salvage Corps.

Like Americans, Canadians were encouraged to collect scrap materials for the war effort.  In this case, the funds received from selling those materials to industry were used to purchase this truck, and others like it.

The building above is still standing, and can be seen in the Google Street View image below.  The picture above appeared in the June 1942 issue of Manitoba Calling, the program guide of CKY.

755Henry



Radio Dreams 1922

1922JuneRadioNewsA hundred years ago, this radio enthusiast lived and breathed radio. And when he slept, he dreamed of radio. Of course, he’s probably sleeping during the day so that he can stay up all night pulling in distant stations.

The illustration appeared on the cover of the June 1922 issue of Radio News.



Lane Technical High School, Chicago, 1922

1922JuneRadioAgeWe’ve previously written (here and here) about the radio department of the Lane Technical High School in Chicago, and a hundred years ago this month, the June 1922 issue of Radio Age featured the school.

Shown here are students during the school’s annual military review. Orders were sent by a sending set in the school office to these students near the field of battle. The orders were then relayed to the field officers by megaphone.



1952 Grocery Prices

1952PricesFor a snapshot of grocery prices in 1952, this ad for A&P Super Markets appeared in the Pittsburgh Press 70 years ago today, June 13, 1952. While the prices look low, there’s been a lot of inflation in those seven decades. According to this online inflation calculator, one dollar in 1952 is the equivalent of $11.03 in 2022 dollars, so to compare, you need to multiply all of these prices by 11. So 51 cents per pound for chicken sounds like a bargain, but that’s about $5.50 in today’s money. And steaks for 99 cents a pound sound cheap, but that’s really the same as $11 today.

If you were going to make dinner with what’s shown in this ad, what would you make?

For a full-size view, click on the image above.