Each Christmas, I get in the holiday mood by playing old Christmas radio shows from my collection. Unlike television, radio lets its listeners formulate images of their favorite radio stars without displaying them on a small usually black and white screen. My four favorite programs from the 1930s and 40s are listed below. For you youngsters, they can be heard on the Internet.
Between 1945 and 1956, the traditional annual Thanksgiving Day dinner was sandwiched tightly between two separate Burley Bowl celebrations. This much anticipated event consisted of a parade held in downtown Johnson City in mid-morning, followed by a football game at Memorial Stadium in the afternoon.
I noted in my last column that I acquired an American Flyer train during Christmas of 1947. On Christmas Day in 1952, I received my second one, a Lionel “O” gauge assembly that was the dream of every young boy. I had wanted a Red Rider BB gun that year, but you can readily surmise why I didn’t get one. My parents were afraid I might shoot my eye out.
Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy old miser from Charles Dickens’ 1843 classic, underwent a life changing experience on Christmas Eve from three disembodied spirits known as the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Future. Today’s column is a glance back to some of my Christmas pasts in the 1940s and 50s.
While my father was serving his country overseas during WWII, he received a black and white Christmas card from his employer, Eastman Kodak Company in Kingsport, with these expectant words:
July 4thholidays of yesteryear were observed with colorful flag displays, community synchronized events and wholesome family get-togethers. The one for 1897 was no exception with festivities being held the following day on Monday.
Christmas 1912 was a pecuniary delight to the pocketbooks of about 9,000 local inhabitants because of abnormally low Christmas tree, poultry and fruit prices.
Margaret Hougland recently mailed me some old newspapers, including one dated Wednesday, December 19, 1945. My column today is a summary of local news from that holiday paper.
Tennessee celebrates Arbor Day on the first Friday in March, but originally it was observed in the fall. The holiday, which began with a mission to plant trees across the nation, traces its origin to the 1870s. Each state soon chose a date for its observance that corresponded with the ideal tree-planting time for that region.
My cousin, Larry Reaves, and I recently reminisced about a small business opportunity we shared as young boys during the Christmas holidays of the early 1950s.
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