Subject: [removed] Digest V2003 #376
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 10/17/2003 6:40 AM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

    ------------------------------

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2003 : Issue 376
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      More comments on Ohio-isms            [ "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@hotmail. ]
      Ciro's Scary Drink Tab                [ Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed] ]
      Re: Mystery Science Theatre 3000      [ Dixonhayes@[removed] ]
      Cavalcade of America & Challenge of   [ "Chuck Case" <ccase3@[removed]; ]
      Shortwave radios                      [ danhughes@[removed] ]
      Re: "Empire Builders"                 [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Accenting Accents                     [ "david rogers" <david_rogers@hotmai ]
      Yours Truly Johnny Dollar Five Part   [ Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed]; ]
      Of sacks and bags and pokes           [ "Charles Sexton" <csexton@[removed] ]
      The Investigator                      [ "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed]; ]
      regional dialects                     [ "Mike Mackey" <[removed]@[removed] ]
      Tales Of The Frightened               [ Musiciantoo47@[removed] ]
      Perry Mason                           [ "Sharon Wright" <write@[removed] ]
      RE: Thanksgiving twice in 1939?       [ "Cynthia Van Cleave" <cvc@[removed]; ]
      Yesterday USA                         [ BryanH362@[removed] ]

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:19:59 -0400
    From: "B. J. Watkins" <kinseyfan@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  More comments on Ohio-isms

    Craig mentioned:

>     Go get some Pop, at the Groshery store  acrosst the [removed]

    Yep! That sounds good to me. EXCEPT we left off the "e" in "groshry."

    And Irene got me to wondering about the bags/sacks thing.

>     In Northern California, at least in the Bay Area,  we also leave the market
>     with our
>     stuff in bags, [paper or plastic]  not sacks.

    When they're filled with groceries, I might say a "bag" of groceries, but
    when they're empty, I definitely call them "sacks". For example, "Bring me
    an empty sack to put this stuff in" or "Please take out that sack of
    garbage". A garbage BAG is normally plastic, not paper. I've never had a
    plastic sack. So the grocery clerk has to ask "paper or plastic" [bag].
    That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.  :)

    Interesting stuff.

    Barbara

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:41:05 -0400
    From: Conrad Binyon <conradab@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Ciro's Scary Drink Tab

    Whether or not Ciro's restaurant was haunted, what raised the hairs on the
    back of my neck the only time I ever entered the place was not that I was
    standing next to Bob Hope one Friday night, but that the price of my beverage
    was something like $[removed] for the Vodka Tonic I was used to paying thirty five
    cents for down at my usual watering hole. (I sorta jumped the gun in my
    introduction to John Barleycorn. at the beginning of the 'Fifties.   *Grin*
    CAB
    ---
    conradab@[removed]  (Conrad A. Binyon)
    Encino, CA
    Home of the Stars who loved Ranches and Farms

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 17:58:28 -0400
    From: Dixonhayes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Re: Mystery Science Theatre 3000

>     I am a huge MSTie fan and know that particular episode
>     very well.  It was the earliest film they [removed]

    "I Accuse My Parents" via "Mystery Science Theatre 3000" should still be
    available on Rhino Video.  This particular installment, BTW, is also the one
    I mentioned awhile back that had so many OTR references, most memorably one
    to Fibber McGee's closet.   (And those references came from the 'Bots, *not*
    from the movie itself.)

    Dixon

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 18:08:25 -0400
    From: "Chuck Case" <ccase3@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Cavalcade of America & Challenge of the Yukon
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

       Hi All,
         I would like some help finding as many shows of the series Cavalcade of
    America and Challenge of the Yukon as I can. I have read that there are many
    many episodes of these shows available but I have only been able to find about
    200 of each. If anybody has any information about where I can get more of
    these shows please e-mail me off list or send responses to the list.
        Thanks
         Chuck

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 18:08:56 -0400
    From: danhughes@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Shortwave radios

    A few points:

    1.  Early this summer I bought a cute little 7-band radio at Big Lots for
    something like eight bucks.  Alas, it would not pick up a single
    shortwave station so back it went.  I have a Sony portable that does
    marginally well; it cost maybe $125.

    2.  Shortwave stations, like AM stations, seem to no longer boom in like
    they did just a few years ago.  More and more electrical interference in
    the air, and budget-cutting (power-cutting) and closing of international
    broadcast stations share the blame.

    3.  When I go to Indianapolis (90 miles east of Champaign, IL, where I
    now live) I seem to get much better reception with my shortwave radio.
    Closer to the Atlantic?  Surely not less interference there??

    ---Dan

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 19:38:42 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: "Empire Builders"

    On 10/16/03 2:01 PM [removed]@[removed] wrote:

>     Has anyone ever heard of a radio show called "Empire Builder"?  If so, I'd
>     like some info on it--and in particular are there any copies and/or scripts
>     available.

    "Empire Builders" was heard over NBC-Blue from January 1929 to June of
    1931, and is one of the earliest major network dramatic series. It was a
    presentation of the Great Northern Railroad, and during its first season
    the program stressed dramatizations of stories from the history of the
    Northwest US, with an emphasis on how the railroad aided regional
    expansion. The series took its title from Great Northern founder James J.
    Hill, a larger-than-life nineteenth-century railroad magnate who relished
    his press reputation as "The Empire Builder."

    The program's second season featured an unusual promotion -- several
    scripts were written by listeners, probably the first time this gimmick
    was used on radio.

    For the first two seasons, the program was aired out of New York, but
    beginning in the fall of 1930, NBC announced a policy to transfer all of
    its dramatic series to Chicago, to take advantage of the newly
    constructed Merchandise Mart production facilities.  "Empire Builders"
    had been perhaps the most elaborate drama program produced in New York
    during its tenure there -- NBC's sound effects department even erected a
    steam-locomotive whistle on the roof of 711 5th Avenue in order to
    generate realistic outdoor train sounds, but their effort was foiled by
    the constant din of Manhattan traffic noises bleeding into the background
    when the effect was used. The move to Chicago was accompanied by even
    more elaborate sound effects, including the construction of a complex
    bell-and-whistle system on the Merchandise Mart roof for generation of
    the train sounds.

    The central figure of the series was a character known as "The Old
    Timer," who during the first two seasons was a sort of living-embodiment
    of Northwestern lore, acting as a sort of omniscient narrator figure, but
    during the third season the series changed its focus -- and with it came
    a change in the Old Timer's role. Beginning in the fall of 1930, the
    series focused on stories revolving around events on board "The Empire
    Builder," Great Northern's flagship train on the Chicago-to-Seattle run,
    and the Old Timer began to take a direct role in the stories themselves,
    as a wise old Great Northern employee who often acted as an advisor to
    the characters in the stories.

    A number of important radio actors were featured in the series,
    especially during the Chicago season, where Don Ameche frequently played
    male leads, opposite a young actress by the name of Bernardine Flynn.
    Both these performers would, of course, go on to other things.

    The Old Timer was played thruout the run by Harvey Hays, who was a
    mainstay of the NBC dramatic staff in New York thruout the late twenties.
    He was an old-time Broadway actor who had spent most of his adult life
    playing wise old men, and he played variations of this character on a
    great many programs during the network's early years, his most unusual
    being "Halsey-Stuart's Old Counselor," an Old Timer clone who gave out
    investment advice on behalf of the Halsey-Stuart brokerage house.

    The New York series was supervised by Raymond Knight -- better known for
    his comedy work -- and the Chicago season was helmed by Don Bernard.

    Great Northern had airchecks made on uncoated aluminum of most of the
    1930-31 season, and these were last known to be in the posession of the
    James J. Hill Reference Library in St. Paul, Minnesota. The discs were
    transferred to tape in the mid-1980s in the studios of a local radio
    station, a procedure which was poorly done using incorrect equipment --
    and the audio was badly compromised as a result. There was also evidently
    corrosion on some of the discs, a consequence of poor storage. About half
    the programs that were transferred later leaked into OTR circulation, and
    are available from several dealers.

    These are, as has been mentioned, the earliest known recordings of a
    network radio drama -- and they do, indeed, confirm that "crude" is not a
    word properly applied to top-level radio drama in the early thirties. The
    programs also reflect the casualness about profanity that tended to
    characterize 1930s radio drama: hells and damns are heard frequently in
    the scripts.

    A complete episode from the program (contributed by me) -- and a
    fascinating article on how the Chicago run was produced -- can be found
    at Rich Samuels' excellent NBC-Chicago website,
    [removed]

    Elizabeth

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 19:39:27 -0400
    From: "david rogers" <david_rogers@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Accenting Accents

    I have been sick lately (vertigo - again!) so I have been listening to a
    couple of otr mysteries, namely:

    "Paul Temple and the Conrad Case"

    and

    "Have is Carcass" (with Ian Carmichael)

    I must say that to my (English) ears the accents fit the roles very well.
    Also to my ears the Home Counties, upper class accents had a soothing impact
    on me.
    My question is regarding hearing US accents on OTR shows and the impact that
    they have. (A southern accent makes me [removed] a New York makes me [removed]
    A Texan accent makes me [removed]).  What/who do you like/dislike etc?

    Related to this my wife was telling me that the BBC website had an article
    about non-native English speakers reaction to different English accents and
    the finding said that many of them preferred a Birmingham accent.  Well I
    come from about 20 miles from Brimingham and I must say that a lot of
    English people do not like the accent.  It is interesting the different
    reactions that different groups of people have.

    Love as always, David Rogers

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 20:27:42 -0400
    From: Jim Kitchen <jkitchen@[removed];
    To: Old Time Radio Digest <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Yours Truly Johnny Dollar Five Part Serials

    A few Parts of the Yours Truly Johnny Dollar Five Part Serials are
    missing from my YTJD collection.  For instance, I missed the thrilling
    conclusion to The Sealegs Matter because Part 5 is missing.  Other
    missing parts are:  Part 3 of The McClean Matter; Part 2 of the Salt
    Lake Matter; Part 4 of the Lonely Hearts Matter; and Part 2 of the
    Imperfect Alibi Matter.  Anyone know where to find these missing Parts?

    Jim Kitchen

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 21:26:01 -0400
    From: "Charles Sexton" <csexton@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Of sacks and bags and pokes
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    With all the chatter about sacks and bags, I'm surprised no one has mentioned
    pokes - as in "Don't buy a pig in a poke."  In other words, don't buy
    something you haven't examined first.  I heard this term used mostly in the
    south but we used it occasionally in Indiana, too. My book of curious
    expressions even gives the size of a poke.  "It's an old fashioned name for a
    bag smaller that a sack"!!  No foolin'

    Charles Sexton

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 21:29:32 -0400
    From: "MICHAEL BIEL" <mbiel@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Investigator

     I just discovered a legitimate link to a recording of the famous 1954 CBC
    anti-McCarthy drama "The Investigator" complete with the program open and
    close which I've never heard before.  It is an authorized transfer from the
    CBC's master tape.  Go to the Journal of Multi Media History
    [removed]  and go down to the From the Archive title and
    click on The Investigator.  There also are two detailed articles about the
    background of the program and of its author, Reuben Ship.  I had no idea
    that he had been one of the main writers on the radio version of The Life
    of Riley, and that during the McCarthy witchhunts of the early 50s he was
    deported to his native Canada.  This program was written in retaliation to
    that action.  I'll tell you that from now on I will be having a much
    greater appreciation of The Life of Riley programs.

    Michael Biel  mbiel@[removed]

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 22:20:07 -0400
    From: "Mike Mackey" <[removed]@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  regional dialects

    As concerns regional dialects, I think I, too, have noted the
    blurring of regional terminology that is on the air, especially with
    the loss of local programming of local radio and the homogenizing of
    broadcast speech, as others have already noted. I think once one is
    listening to every day speech (not on air), however, it is amazing
    how many unique regional idioms persist. When my family moved from
    Oklahoma to Oregon when I was 11 years old in 1966, the change in
    speech to us was dramatic. I haven't been back to OK since '69 and
    I've wondered how much change in language use I would note. I suspect
    the differences would still be significant, though different.

    If we had the level of radio drama and comedy today that we had in
    the Golden Age, I wonder how our regional dialects would be reflected
    by the writers, directors and actors today. Garrison Keillor does a
    good job in this area, I believe.

    The differences noted by other participants here don't seem odd at
    all to me, isn't that interesting?  Sack or Bag? I'm sure I use them
    inter-changeably today. But when was the last time you heard it
    called a "poke"? I remember my mother in the mid-sixties telling me
    she wanted me to "give her a little sugar" (kiss). But I don't recall
    her using that expression again even with my younger brother and
    sister. Mom always kept alot of her accent, but lost most of the OK
    terminology. Oregon had its influence.

    "Regionalisms" that I remember as a kid that were not only
    interesting, but in some cases downright confusing were ones such as
    lunch/dinner/supper  (I remember our family in 1967 almost showing up
    at noon for a "dinner" invitation, when it was, of course, intended
    for the evening meal.)

    Couch/sofa/divan/davenport  (We always called that long settee
    the "divan" when I was a kid in OK and I'll never forget the
    expressions on the kids at school in Oregon. They had no idea what I
    was talking about. They'd never heard the word.)

    soda/pop/soda-pop  (In our part of Oklahoma, we called it "pop" and
    when those on national television called it "soda" it sounded prissy
    to us.)

    Slacks, trousers, britches, pants  (In Oklahoma in the 50s and 60s,
    we usually called them britches, unless we were going to Church when
    we wore slacks. The use of the word "pants" that we heard in Oregon
    was down right embarrassing since the only use of the word we'd ever
    heard before was in reference to under-garments, ie "under-pants".)

    Perhaps we're getting afield of OTR here, but when dramatizing a
    regional dialect, as they so often did in "old" OTR (30s & 40s),
    accuracy was important, or those who actually lived in that region
    would catch the error immediately and might even possibly be
    offended. On the other hand, it was important that the national
    listening audience understand the meaning of any conversation.

    Language is a wonderful thing and I delight in its analysis and, as a
    purely auditory medium, radio--especially Old Time Radio--is based on
    it

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 23:19:09 -0400
    From: Musiciantoo47@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Tales Of The Frightened
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Hi - just wondering if anyone has a copy of Boris Karloff's "Tales Of The
    Frightened" or "Thriller" LP that they have or could put on CD that they
    would be
    willing to part with a copy of, and for how much? Of course I'm glad to
    compensate or return the favor. Emails always welcome!

    Thanx,

    Kenny

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 23:19:27 -0400
    From: "Sharon Wright" <write@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Perry Mason
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    Does anyone know how many complete Perry mason stories still exist? I have
    many shows but no complete story.
    Sharon

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 23:34:18 -0400
    From: "Cynthia Van Cleave" <cvc@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  RE: Thanksgiving twice in 1939?

    "Matthew Bullis" asked:

>     Was there some question as to when
>     Thanksgiving should be celebrated in 1939? Thanks a lot. Matthew

    IIRC there was some discussion whether Thanksgiving should be the
    *fourth* Thursday in November or on the *last* Thursday in November
    (which may but needn't also be the fourth).  I recall a Warners Brothers
    cartoon on the topic, with a very frazzled turkey running from Thursday
    to Thursday (IIRC also featured a walk-through by animated Marx
    Brothers).

    Cynthia Van Cleave

    ------------------------------

    Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 00:20:38 -0400
    From: BryanH362@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Yesterday  USA
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative
    X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain

    This weekend  on Walden Hughes' program  on  Yesterday USA .
    Friday , Saturday  and Sunday    at  10:30  EDT / 7:30  PDT
    [removed]

    Friday

     Bing Crosby KFI special produced  by Frank Bresee

    Saturday

    A.  Interview with Les Brown JR.

    B.  Sandy Singer  interview--  part three of Gordon Jenkins

    C.  Gassman interview with Stan Freeberg

    D.  Gassman interview with Lou Marrow Children.

    Sunday Tanya Tucker

      *** This message was altered by the server, and may not appear ***
      ***                  as the sender intended.                   ***

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2003 Issue #376
    *********************************************

    Copyright [removed] Communications, York, PA; All Rights Reserved,
      including republication in any form.

    If you enjoy this list, please consider financially supporting it:
       [removed]

    For Help: [removed]@[removed]

    To Unsubscribe: [removed]@[removed]

    To Subscribe: [removed]@[removed]
      or see [removed]

    For Help with the Archive Server, send the command ARCHIVE HELP
      in the SUBJECT of a message to [removed]@[removed]

    To contact the listmaster, mail to listmaster@[removed]

    To Send Mail to the list, simply send to [removed]@[removed]