By Doug Boilesen,
2003
The popularity of
the radio grew in the 1920's and the wireless wonder emerged
as the home's pre-eminent entertainer, a position previously
held by the phonograph and the piano.
By the end of the
1920's, with the Great Depression starting to seriously impact
the economy, many phonograph manufacturers were disappearing.
Edison's cylinder machines had already lost popularity and in
1929 Edison made it final by discontinuing production of all
cylinder phonographs and records.
Sales of disc records
made by companies like Victor, Columbia and Brunswick significantly
declined. The
movement of phonographs from the parlor to the attic became
part of the aftershock of the radio's seismic impact on the
phonograph industry. After all, how could phonographs compete
with the new magic box that produced free music and such a variety
of entertainment?
The radio produced
popular shows and one of best was "The Hour of Charm."
Airing on Sunday night at 9:00 pm it was a mainstay on the CBS
Radio Network and NBC from 1935 to 1948. (1)
Advertised as radio's
most celebrated "All Girl Orchestra and Chorus" it featured
Arlene Francis as Mistress of Ceremonies. Vogue Records immortalized
this group in 1947 in its own unique way with a picture record
of Blue Skies and Rhapsody in Blue (see below,
Vogue Picture Record Blue Skies and Rhapsody in Blue
R726).
"The Hour of
Charm" was Betty Ann's favorite radio show. Even though
they never had a phonograph in their home when Betty Ann was
growing it probably wouldn't have been able to compete with
the radio and "The Hour of Charm." A special relationship
seems to have existed between Betty and this show because Betty
felt that this orchestra of women was performing every week
just for her and it was therefore something that she couldn't
miss.
The challenge for
Betty Ann, however, was access to the radio. Her older step-brother
and his wife, Chris and Hilda Vogt, at one point were living
with them and even after they moved out they were often there
on the weekends. The problem for Betty was that on Sunday evening
Chris often listened non-stop to the radio.
Times were hard for
Chris and Hilda as they were for so many families during the
Great Depression. Chris sold brooms during the week, driving
the backroads of Nebraska in the hope of a few sales. By the
weekend when he returned home I think Betty Ann thought Chris
always got extra consideration for his difficult schedule. Of
course Betty Ann was still a school girl (being twenty years
younger than Chris) but in her mind she didn't think her vote
counted the same as the adults of the house when it came to
the radio.
Their farm had a
windcharger for charging the radio's wet cell batteries and
it was always questionable if there was going to be enough battery
power by the end of the day. For Betty Ann, therefore, the weekly
questions were always the same:
Would Chris and
Hilda be at home Sunday evening?
How many radio
programs would Chris tune into during the day?
Would the batteries
be strong enough at 9:00 pm on Sunday?
Unfortunately, the
answer sometimes resulted in Betty Ann missing "The Hour
of Charm".
But like other persevering
farm families who stayed in Nebraska during the 1930's Betty
Ann hoped that better times were just around the corner and
that next week it would be her time to tune in "The Hour
of Charm".
Betty had some help
in 1936 when Congress, led by Nebraska's Senator George Norris,
passed the Rural Electrication Act for the purpose of bringing
electricity to rural areas like Howard County, Nebraska.(2)
When electricity reached their farm the radio's dependence on
battery power was gone and better times indeed seemed on the
rise.
Years later Betty
Ann's stories of listening to the All Girl Orchestra and
Chorus on the radio were one of the highlights of her childhood
that she enjoyed retelling.
Clearly, the "Hour
of Charm" had an impact that lasted more than 60 minutes
each week.
