Subject: [removed] Digest V2002 #267
From: "OldRadio Mailing Lists" <[removed]@[removed];
Date: 7/14/2002 4:16 PM

To: <[removed]@[removed];

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

                                The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                                  Volume 2002 : Issue 267
                             A Part of the [removed]!
                                     ISSN: 1533-9289

                                     Today's Topics:

      Root Beer                             [ "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed] ]
      Obscure Soda Pop Still Lives          [ Larry Groebe <lgroebe@[removed]; ]
      more on Edwin Howard Armstrong, fath  [ "Ellsworth Johnson" <eojohnsonww2@a ]
      Tonic, anyone?                        [ Bill Harris <radioguy@[removed] ]
      Bob Cook's CBSRMT site                [ "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@earthli ]
      Today in radio history 7/14           [ Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed] ]
      Tonic!!!                              [ "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed] ]
      Name of a news anchor                 [ JJLjackson@[removed] ]
      Fizzies                               [ "Bob Watson" <crw912@[removed]; ]
      Radio Spirits Sale                    [ Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed]; ]
      new "retro" brands of pop             [ Greg Przywara <gmprzywara@students. ]
      The Line Up                           [ JaRRod Della Chiesa <gobojoe@[removed] ]
      computers in radio                    [ "Arte" <arte@[removed]; ]
      Re: More Coke Talk                    [ Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed] ]
      Bob and Ray Tapes                     [ Grbmd@[removed] ]
      SPERDVAC article                      [ "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@hotm ]
      my last word on vintage soft drinks   [ Maxjo@[removed] ]
      Electronic First Aid?                 [ "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@ ]
      Bob and Ray and all day otr           [ "Larry Josephson" <larry@[removed] ]
      conrad binyon                         [ Chet <cien@[removed]; ]
      premature burial                      [ Osborneam@[removed] ]
      Clair Schultz and NBC Chimes          [ lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed]; ]

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 09:44:28 -0400
    From: "Irene Heinstein" <IreneTH@[removed];
    To: "OTR" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Root Beer

    Mark Kinsler wrote:

>     Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer is still available in Central Ohio.  I saw
>     it at the Kroger's, I think.

>     Barq's root beer has only recently become a national brand.

    Both Dad's and Barq have been sold here in the SF Bay Area for quite a
    while, along with an incredible array of 'designer' root beers in dark,
    long-stemmed bottles as well as Hire's and A&W.

    My first two years of college were spent at Ohio Wesleyan U in Delaware Ohio
    and I was so surprised when taken to a root beer drive-in because root beer
    did not have that kind of following in suburban NYC.  This was in 1957.   Do
    they still have root beer stands in Ohio?

    You mentioned Kroger's.   I had never heard of it until I went to Ohio and
    one spring vacation I took a school friend home to NY and she said her dad,
    a Kroger exec, had asked what shows we might like to see in NY because
    Kroger's could get us tickets.    We picked the hot ticket shows 'My Fair
    Lady',  'West Side Story' and something else I can't remember and for the
    first time in my life I sat in the orchestra of a Broadway show.  We could
    only afford the nosebleed seats when I went to the theater with my high
    school friends.    Made me a big Kroger fan, and aware of the value of
    having friends in high places, where 'sold out' doesn't really mean 'sold
    out'.

    Irene
    IreneTH@[removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 09:45:17 -0400
    From: Larry Groebe <lgroebe@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Obscure Soda Pop Still Lives

    Jay [removed]

>     when I had the money, I would go to our local Owl Rexall and order a Green

    River.

    OK, Jay, and everyone else who's been waxing nostalgic about Vernors',
    Blenheims', Grapette, Moxie, Cokes and Dr. Peppers with real sugar, and the
    like. I'll let you in on a little secret:

     There's a store here in Dallas that carries all of those, and a hundred
    more sodas besides. (I once made a friend for life when I told a lady where
    she could find a "Chocolate Solider.")

    The store is called "Ifs, Ands, & Butts" and is run by an old advertising
    copywriter other than myself.

    And fortunately for readers of the OTR digest, Hamilton (the owner) has a
    website and toll-free number, and he'll ship you bottles of any of the 100+
    sodas he stocks. So if you dare to try a Fukola Guarana Cola or a Rat
    Bastard Root Beer or even just a Nehi Grape, it's OK by me. Check out:

    [removed]

    (Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with "Ifs, Ands, or Buts" -- I'm
    simply a satisfied drinker. It's where I get my Dublin Dr. Peppers. We now
    return you to your regularly scheduled discussion about RADIO.)

    --Larry

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 09:45:53 -0400
    From: "Ellsworth Johnson" <eojohnsonww2@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  more on Edwin Howard Armstrong, father of FM

    I puchased a book more than 10 years ago---titled--" The Legacies of Edwin
    Howard Armstrong "-- published by The Radio Club of America Inc. I
    personally lived through those days of radio in our family business of radio
    sales and service. I have to chuckle when I think that Armstrongs estate
    made ever single one of the patent infringers pay royalties into the 1960s

     AmongThe good guys who paid royalties from day one were Philco and Zenith.
    Among those who tried to evade payment were corps like RCA who were made to
    pay by court order.

    Another writer in this book I have believes Armstrong was murdered and I
    tend to agree based on things I have read in this book. He did have enemies
    who wanted him dead.

    Another of the reasons for FM radio was the possibilites for Hi-Fidelity
    radio . And of course the elimination of static.

    Elklsworth Johnson
    Spokane, Wa

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 09:46:07 -0400
    From: Bill Harris <radioguy@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Tonic, anyone?

    "Richard  Carpenter" <sinatra@[removed]; said:

>        I'm enjoying the current thread about various kinds of soda and the
>     terms used to describe it -- soda, pop, soda pop, and even dope.

    We also used to use the term "sweet water".

    Bill

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 09:46:52 -0400
    From: "Scott Eberbach" <seberbach@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Bob Cook's CBSRMT site

    Hi All!
    Does anybody out there have any info on Bob Cook's CBSRMT site?  I did a
    search on Google and came up empty. There were references to the site on
    other sites though the references seem to be from either prior or right
    after his site went off line.  Several months ago it came back on line, but
    I recall reading here that a lot of people were having trouble accessing the
    site (myself included) and if they did manage to get in downloading shows to
    completion was almost impossible.  I liked his site the best because in most
    cases, not all, there was a short blurb as to what the show was about and a
    rating on the sound [removed] found both quite useful when deciding which
    shows I wanted to download.  Any info would be [removed]!

    Scott

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 09:47:13 -0400
    From: Joe Mackey <joemackey108@[removed];
    To: otr-net <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Today in radio history 7/14

      From Those Were The Days --

    1948 - Mr. Chameleon, starring Karl Swenson, debuted on CBS radio. Mr.
    Chameleon was so named because he was known as "the man of many faces".

    1957 - Funnyman Stan Freberg debuted a new weekly comedy program on CBS
    radio beginning this night. Freberg was a late entry into the radio
    program race, though he was well known for many famous radio commercials
    over the years.  The Freberg show only lasted a short time and that
    newfangled contraption, television, was blamed for the show's quick
    demise.

      Joe

    --
    Visit my home page:
    [removed]~[removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 09:47:55 -0400
    From: "Russ Butler" <oldradio@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Tonic!!!

    Thanks to Richard Carpenter for posting the
    Boston definition of "soda pop" [removed]
    And it's not what you put on your hair, gentlemen,
    like those radio commercials for Bryll Cream
    ("a little dab will do 'ya") or Fitch Dandruff Remover Shampoo  ("laugh
    awhile, let a song be your smile with Fitch Shampoo" on The Fitch Bandwagon
    show) and such.

    Yessir, in Boston, tonic is [removed] soda pop.
    Now, Richard - we'll have to tell the list about
    Frappes and Floats and Brigham's Vanilla Ice Cream to make a hot fudge
    sundae with marshmellow and chopped [removed] a cherry!

    Russ Butler  oldradio@[removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 09:48:12 -0400
    From: JJLjackson@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Name of a news anchor

    I received a question that I hope someone can answer, for a friend of mine.
    He's looking for the name of the "anchor" for the evening news program that
    ran about 8 pm each night in the Central time zone, which was sponsored by
    the AFL-CIO, in the late 1940s. (The guy died a few years ago.) He mentioned
    that the guy had very interesting editorials.
    Thanks.

    Joy Jackson
    Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 09:48:24 -0400
    From: "Bob Watson" <crw912@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Fizzies

    Yep, I remember them.  They were here in the middle Georgia area into at
    least the mid to late 60's, the time I was growing up.  I remember that I
    loved to watch them dissolve.  Can't open a pack of Alka Seltzer without
    thinking of them.

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 09:48:55 -0400
    From: Rick Keating <pkeating89@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Radio Spirits Sale

    I got an E-Mail from Radio Spirits announcing a "50
    percent off" sale on most of their products, with the
    warning that once they're gone, they're gone.

    Sounds like they're cleaning out some of their
    inventory. Now, the question is, why? They've had
    occasional half price sales on selected items, but
    never this many (at least 150). Is Media Bay trying to
    unload its Radio Spirits inventory or is there another
    reason for this apparent generosity?

    Rick

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 10:23:28 -0400
    From: Greg Przywara <gmprzywara@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  new "retro" brands of pop

    as long as this list is turning into the OTR InDIGESTion due to all the
    recent articles on discontinued brands of pop that would probably give me an
    ulcer the size of a baseball if I tried them, here's a little something on
    retro pop brands here in Madison,WI:

    Stewart's and Sprecher's both sell soda fountain quality pop in a variety of
    flavors, the best being orange and root beer, in these skinny 8 [removed]
    that truly look like something out of the 40s and 50s. For a while, it was
    only available at the trendier downtown restaurants and theaters, but now
    it's popping up at the major supermarkets like Woodman's chilled for a
    paltry 99 cents a bottle!
    Excellent stuff, very smooth, rich taste, and NO HEARTBURN like with Faygo.
    If you're ever in town, don't leave without trying some.
    Greg Przywara
    world's biggest Lux Theatre and Sprecher fan

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 10:38:14 -0400
    From: JaRRod Della Chiesa <gobojoe@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  The Line Up

    Hi,

    I recently got a few episodes (from the Radio Spirits Grab Bag) of "the
    Line Up" starring Bill [removed] 2 episodes that I got are from
    1952.  Does anyone know more about this series?  How long it was around,
    and stuff like that?  Thanks!

    -Jarrod :0)

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 10:42:28 -0400
    From: "Arte" <arte@[removed];
    To: "OldRadio Mailing List" <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  computers in radio

    Dr Mike asked:

>     (were they really using a computer for the ads as early as
>     1988??? Wow!!)

    We were using a computer at KGHX to run our station in 1984.
    The music was on tape and the ads etc were on carts, and the
    computer switched each according to the program I entered
    (via 10-key) each evening for the next 24-hours.

    Actually, automation in radio goes back much farther. I
    worked at another station which had input via thumwheel
    switches that had to entered for three hours at a time in
    1968. I'm sure there are many others and earlier.
    (Obviously, since these machines were mass-produced.)

    Even the "live" announcements like news, weather and sports
    scores were carted and run a few minutes later by the
    "Treadmill" as we called it. (with a nod to Fred Allen)

    I don't think anyone in radio (except station managers &
    owners) actually likes automation.
    And the equipment manufacturers.

    Arte
    [removed]

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 10:40:33 -0400
    From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
    To: <[removed]@[removed];
    Subject:  Re: More Coke Talk

    On 7/14/02 9:43 AM OldRadio Mailing Lists wrote:

>     When Jolt Cola came in, it advertised that it had twice the caffeine and it
>     only used real [removed] this came the closest to tasting like the old Coca
>     Cola of the forties.  Alas, they have now gone and augmented the sugar with
>     the fructose corn syrups of the modern day and it does not taste the same
>     anymore.  That real sugar gave it that zip.

    Interesting fact: the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup in Coca-Cola as a
    substitute for cane sugar beginning in February 1980 is not the first
    time substitutions were made in the formula. During WW1, sugar was
    dropped and replaced by saccharin --- and thruout WW2, cane sugar was
    replaced by sugar extracted from beets. During both of these periods,
    ingredient labeling was not required by law, and consequently, the
    Coke-drinking public seems to have been unaware of the change --
    although one would think the saccharin substitution would have been
    particularly noticeable.

    As a very heavy Coke drinker all my life, I'm convinced the cane
    sugar-corn syrup issue is more psychological than anything else: if we
    *know* a substitution has been made, we're going to insist that we notice
    it, whether or not it actually makes a difference. (On the other hand,
    the reduction in phosphoric acid levels in "New Coke" *did* make a
    difference -- you could measure it with litmus paper if you were
    obsessive about such things. Less acid equaled less "zip" equaled an
    inane drink.)

    Personally, I think the real difference is that Coke today is very rarely
    served properly: it's almost always too warm, and temperature greatly
    effects flavor. According to a Company policy established in 1927,
    Coca-Cola is intended to be served at exactly 34 degrees farenheit -- and
    route salesmen used to carry thermometers to ensure that coolers and
    fountain equipment were properly calibrated. Today, this sort of quality
    control is no longer practiced by most retailers -- and you can taste the
    results.

    OTR Content: Another Coca-Cola-sponsored program I forgot to mention in
    my previous post on the subject was Edgar Bergen's -- with Coke taking
    over his show after the end of Bergen's long relationship with Chase and
    Sanborn and NBC. Bergen became a frequent guest in the early 1950's at
    Robert Woodruff's plantation outside Atlanta, where he enjoyed quail
    hunting. He also brought along Charlie McCarthy on these trips, and put
    on free shows for the plantation's staff.

    Elizabeth

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 11:18:03 -0400
    From: Grbmd@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Bob and Ray Tapes

    Bryant recently mentioned Bob and Ray programs, as have some others in the
    past.

    A while back I received a blurb in the mail -- I was probably on someone's
    list -- offering discounted prices on cassette tapes of old B&R shows.  I
    took them up on it.

    This was a collection of 16 tapes in four boxes titled "Classic Bob and Ray:
    Selections From a Career, 1946-1976."  It was put out by RadioArt with the
    catalog numbers RA 2005-4 through RA 2008-4.  I'm working my way through
    them, and they're a blast.  I listen to them on my Walkman as I'm working out
    at the gym, and I'm sure the others in the room must wonder about that old
    guy over there who keeps chuckling to himself.

    On the box, RadioArt solicits additional recordings in your collections that
    you would be willing to lend to them.  They give a phone number of
    212-595-1837.  I suppose that number would do also for inquiring about
    purchasing tapes.

    Spence Coleman

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 11:18:08 -0400
    From: "Martin Grams, Jr." <mmargrajr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  SPERDVAC article

    Proud to report to any interested parties that Larry and John Gassman, the
    brothers who were majorly involved in SPERDVAC in California, just appeared
    in a newspaper in California this week.  I don't have a direct link to the
    article, but for any interested parties, I can suggest to visit
    [removed] and type something like "Larry Gassman" and or John Gassman"
    and I am sure it will pop up.  The article appeared in last Sunday's Orange
    County Register.  Shows what they've been up to and Larry's wedding. :)

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 11:53:25 -0400
    From: Maxjo@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  my last word on vintage soft drinks

    otr & soda pop fans,
    as i have stated  delaware punch & cream soda were my favorites as a kid,but
    in about 1939 , at the age of four,i conducted an experiment with disasterous
    but,fortunately temporary, results for [removed] grandfather owned a large dance
    hall &bar in oklahoma [removed] was a really large facility for the [removed]
    were several large cooling boxes filled with beer & every imaginable flavor &
    color of soft [removed] of my young cousins & i were granted free access to
    these [removed] we didn't bother with the beer,but the soft drinks
    were a different [removed] of a scientific bent i decided to see if i could
    drink one of each flavor & color in a very short [removed] results were
    [removed] seldom see people upchuck in a rainbow of [removed] was as
    sick as a mule for a couple of [removed] to say it reduced my craving for
    soft drinks & experimentation for [removed] does this have to do with
    otr?well, they had a telephone hookup to a radio station for live broadcasts
    on friday & saturday nights,with such stars as merle salathiel & his barnyard
    boys,bob wills & the texas playboys,& all the western swing bands of the era.
    max salathiel
    del city oklahoma

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 13:39:35 -0400
    From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Electronic First Aid?

    Fred Berney, in speaking of tape hiss, advises,

>     If you own a tape head degausser, then turn off the tape recorder and
>     use the degausser on all of the heads on your machine. If you don't own
>     one, you may be able to buy one at Radio Shack or some of the mail order
>     stores specializing in recording supplies.

    This reminds me of an episode from my college days.  I'd a tape recorder
    back then that was tied to my other audio gear.  In order to ensure
    higher quality sound, I had one of the degaussers in a little box labeled
    "Head Demagnetizer,"  which I used with some regularity, just to make
    sure.

    One day a classmate with zero background in technology who was visiting
    me in my room happened to spot the box.  He regarded it for a moment,
    then asked, "Steve, how does anybody's head get magnetized?"

    Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 14:49:14 -0400
    From: "Larry Josephson" <larry@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Bob and Ray and all day otr

    Bryant White asked where he could find more Bob & Ray recordings.  You can
    find 21 Bob & Ray albums on The Official Bob & Ray Website,
    [removed].  The latest series, Bob & Ray, The Lost Episodes, are
    available on three 4-CD sets.  All of them feature Mary Backstayge, Noble
    Wife, along with Wally Ballou and all the other beloved Bob & Ray characters.

    Also, check out Bob & Ray: A Night of Two Stars, recorded live at Carnegie
    Hall, available on either on 2-CD's or 2-cassettes.

    If you need more information, please email me at larry@[removed].

    Hang by your thumbs.

    Larry Josephson,
    Producer,
    Bob & Ray 1982-present

    [removed]  I will be interviewed about Bob & Ray tonight at 8 PM Eastern by Bill
    Bragg on the Yesterday USA Radio Network, [removed].  Click on
    New Player - Listen Live to download a player, then listen to this
    "broadcast.".  Bill has a lot of interesting stuff on his website.

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 14:49:22 -0400
    From: Chet <cien@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  conrad binyon

    conrad binyon hasn't been heard from on here for quite [removed]
    you could send the word out and perhaps someone knows if he is ok
    chet norris

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 17:47:39 -0400
    From: Osborneam@[removed]
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  premature burial

    Forgive me for injecting a comment on an older digest.  I've just returned
    from vacation and am catching up on those issues I missed.)

    In OTR Digest #252, Herb Harrison notes:

>     and there have been enough recent *documented* cases of people "waking up"
>     on a morgue slab that '"buried alive" stories on Suspense and Alfred
>     Hitchcock were not without some basis."'

    Which reminds me of something that happened in the Boston area just
    last summer.  A woman woke up inside a body bag at a local funeral home!
    Police had found her 'body' and thinking she was dead, had the ambulance
    attendents deliver her there.  Yikes.

    Arlene Osborne

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

    Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 17:47:22 -0400
    From: lynn wagar <philcolynn@[removed];
    To: [removed]@[removed]
    Subject:  Clair Schultz  and NBC Chimes

    Hello Everyone:

        I am trying to find a gentelman named Clair
    Schultz.  He has written many stories on otr People.
    If anyone knows of his e-mail or snail mail address
    please let me know.

    NBC Chime:

    I could not remember if this this Web site was listed
    before durning all the discussion on the chimes,
    but for what its worth here it is.

    [removed]

    Check it out!  It's worth the time!!

    --------------------------------
    End of [removed] Digest V2002 Issue #267
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