Bob Hope was not only an entertainer but a passionate supporter of the troops both during World War II and after. The night of D-Day, June 6, 1944, Americans were tuned to their radios, eager for any invasion news updates that they could get. Most shows were pre-empted for news broadcasts, but Bob Hope went on the air at 10:15pm on NBC. Instead of his normal antics, he began his show with this sober and reverent monologue that withstands 70 years of time.
old time radio
Trying to relax
This weekend has been all about resting and letting my body recuperate from what I put it through this past week.
I’ll be the one with my head in the sand
21st century life is, at least 90% of the time anyway, absolutely overwhelming. Continue reading
A Sentimental Journey of sorts
I’ve been busy lately and have had a lot of things related to my obsession with the 1940s and World War II come up, so this is going to be a hodgepodge of an update. Continue reading
Guess who got another antique radio?
Dear eBay, f*** you. You’re going to kill me with all your thousands of RCA Victors, Philcos, Wards Airlines, etc. I should have never gone to that damn site and entered “antique radio” into the search bar. Since then, I can often be found gazing at my iPhone screen, cursing at my eBay app because some total creep used eSnipe and outbid me at the last second.
Anyway, I managed to win an auction finally (because I play fairly and don’t cheat like a big butthead) and scored myself a 1942 Firestone Air Chief Intercepter. The seller didn’t know the year, but since he was kind enough to list the model number, I was able to locate it. It was only $53 with shipping! When it came, it was in a huge box! Imagine my surprise to find out that this baby is 19″ long and 12″ tall!!! It’s a monster!
Here it is:
And here’s the original ad for it:
So I’m up to six radios now! And I’m totally bidding on another because it’s an addiction!
New address for this blog!
I’ve got a new address! Now, when you go to gettinsentimental.wordpress.com, it will redirect you here to 14thandoak.com.
So you might be asking yourself, “What the heck is 14th and Oak?”
I chose this domain in honor of my beloved Fibber McGee & Molly. Anyone who is a fan of the show knows that anytime anything ever happened in the lovely little town of Wistful Vista, it happened at 14th and Oak. Bank robbery? At 14th and Oak. Fibber’s car stolen? He last parked it at 14th and Oak. Fibber’s hand caught in a mailbox? It was the one at 14th and Oak. Molly headed to the Bon-Ton Department store to check out the new fur coats? She did that at 14th and Oak. Fibber craving ice cream from the soda counter at Kramer’s Drugs? That was located at 14th and Oak.
Free domains associated with Fibber McGee & Molly are hard to come by. I was very happy when I stumbled upon this one. So in honor of my favorite show from the golden age of radio and the two stars, Jim and Marian Jordan (who feel like family to me because of the hours I have spent listening and laughing at their antics) my blog, too, is now located at 14 and Oak!
I can’t stop messing with my dining room…
Ever since we got the new table and then I bought the new radios, I just keep going back into my dining room and rearranging things. I did it again today and I think I’m finally done (for now.) I was keeping an old radio upstairs that needs restoration but I decided to finally bring it down, in all it’s shabby chic glory, to keep with my other radios. I polished up and rearranged things that were already in the room. I also did some research on it – it’s a Philco Model 38 Lowboy (because it has legs.) My best guestimate is that it is from 1933-34. It’s missing the dial and knobs and I’d like to find replacements and have it refinished.
And so my antiques display in the room changed yet again (thank you, iPhone panorama photo option):
Plus, I’ve had this poster for a while and I finally got a frame and hung it up today. It’s my absolute favorite World War II-era propaganda/war effort poster!
A sucker for vintage advertising
I have a problem.
I ordered an entire case of Pet Evaporated Milk. 12 12-oz. cans. None of why I have an actual need for.
Why did I do this?
I blame Fibber McGee & Molly.
Sometimes, I go to Dollar General Store to buy over-the-counter medicine. Rexall brand to be exact.
Why do I do this?
I blame The Phil Harris – Alice Faye Show.
I ordered an 18-count pack of Lux soap.
Why did I do this?
I blame Lux Radio Theater.
You see, I am highly susceptible to 1940s & 1950s radio advertising. Modern advertising doesn’t get me so much (save the Apple computer ads in 2003 with Verne Troyer and Yao Ming that suckered me into getting my first Mac.) It makes me giddy that I can still get the same products that were advertised 70+ years ago. Through the 1940s, the sponsor of Fibber McGee & Molly was Johnson’s Wax. In the early 50s (1952 to be exact), Pet Milk took over as the sponsor. I’ve been listening to the 1950s episodes of FM&M on my way home from work lately and their slogan for Pet Milk – “sweet, country milk condensed to double-richness” – just resonates with me for some stupid reason. Like, so much that I searched for Pet Milk and was first dismayed that I couldn’t buy it locally and then overjoyed when I found out I could order it from the Smuckers website. I did the same thing for Lux soap because I’m a huge fan of Lux Radio Theater, which aired from 1934 to 1955, and imagine my frustration to find out that it’s neither made nor sold in the US anymore. I ended up ordering it from Amazon, but it was made in Egypt! Both the Pet Milk and the Lux soap came today, which was my biggest bright spot during an otherwise cruddy afternoon.
So anyway, beginning tomorrow, I’m going to use Lux soap when I shower (it smells divine!) and add Pet Milk to my coffee because, after all, it’s condensed to double-richness!!!
Life on Wild Hare Farm 