Remembering the Golden Age

I interviewed my Grandma Verla May. She recently turned eight-two years old and was born in 1925 and had plenty of things to say about radio's Golden Age. For example, she told me that her father (my great grandpa) bought the families first radio when she was just twelve years of age. Growing up in Poplar Bluff, she explained that the family radio was not very good in quality and also had limited reception and frequency. She described that her family lived in "the hills.," or out in the middle of nowhere. The radio was a very important part of the family for many years. She told me that usually, right after dinner, the whole family would sit around the radio, and also they would listen to many radio prorgrams, sometimes until 10:00 in the evening. My grandma said that the radio was very family oriented back in the thirties and fourties, and that the family would walk about a quarter of a mile to a friends house to listen to the news. She remembers that her parents' friends got a much better radio and had better reception on the unit. My grandma told me that her favorite radio program was the Grand Ol' Opry, which first debuted in 1925 and remained on-air until 1960, making it the longest running radio show in American history. The show was purchased by NBC and syndicated many years later. She also told me that she enjoyed listening to the Bing Crosby show and how the music on the show had influence on her life. My grandma told me that the she would like the younger generations to realize that the radio really paved the way for television, and that the "golden era" of radio was an important time in American history.

I learned a couple of things from this assignment. For example, by interviewing my Grandma I realized just how important the radio really is, and how it made the invention of the television possible. Furthermore, during the interview, I realized that my grandma is a very knowledgeable person and that the knowledge of the older generation needs to be respected by young people.