“Played cards, checkers, dominoes in the evening before the radio came around. Then we listened to the radio, “answered Ilyn Ingvalson Musser (born 1910) when asked about recreation during her youth on a Houston County farm southwest of Spring Grove.
“When we grew up, we didn’t even have radio to begin with,” said Tinka Rud (born 1915) of Spring Grove. “Of course, then radios came out and that was entertainment. We listened to music on the radio.”
During World War I (1914-1918), radio technology was critical for air and naval operations. The war brought about major developments, such as a vacuum tube technology. Vocal communication replaced the wireless telegraph. After the war, numerous radio stations appeared in the United States. The first news program, reporting on local election results, was aired August 31, 1920, in Detroit. The first commercial radio station was KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pa., also in 1920.
Thora Aasum (born 1914) recalled her youth west of Spring Grove when her parents relied on the family radio for the news. Previously in rural areas, news came with newspapers that arrived daily on the train. More immediate news was telegraphed to the local train station and then spread by word of mouth or telephone. News on radio arrived quickly and came into your own home. And radio, the first broadcast medium, offered more than the news – music, drama, comedy, quiz shows and play-by-play sports. “The Golden Age of Radio,” began in the early 1920s and lasted until television arrived in the 1950s.
Many did not go to bed until after listening to Cedric Adams and the 10 o’clock news on WCCO from the Twin Cities. Adams, who grew up in Adrian, was also known for broadcasting from small towns all over Minnesota. He once broadcast from the Houston High School gymnasium. Before the news, there was a program featuring local talent.
“Our little Philco tabletop radio was the only means of knowing what was going on in the world,” said David Beckman, who grew up on a South Ridge farm. “I don’t recall receiving a daily newspaper in the 1940s, probably because it would have been an unnecessary monthly expenditure.”
On the family farm, David’s father was not late for dinner, which was served promptly at noon. The radio was turned on by 12:15, so the family could listen to Jack Martin’s news broadcast from the WKBH studios in La Crosse. “Dad was most interested in the weather forecast and the markets. The big question throughout most of the summer was to mow hay or not to mow hay.“
Then at 12:30, Ken Allen and wisecracking sidekick Leo Johnson on the sidewalk in front of the radio building interviewed anyone walking by willing to talk on the air. There were general questions, such as “What brings you to La Crosse today?” or “What do you think about this? or that?”
Uncle Ken was also known for “The Kiddie Hour” program, which aired daily and featured local youth singing, playing a musical instrument or reading an acknowledgement for someone’s birthday or anniversary. In the mid-1940s, seven-year-old David Beckman and his cousin Joanne Boldt,= sang “This Little Light of Mine” in honor of his father’s birthday.
His mother was part of a national audience for opera, both musical and soap. On Saturday afternoon, musical opera was broadcast from New York City. Every weekday afternoon at 3 p.m., there was a soap opera, such as Lorenzo Jones, Ma Perkins or Stella Dallas.
On some mornings, David’s mother and much of the United States would tune in to ”The Breakfast Club” hosted by Don McNeil. The popular show was plugged as “a get-together time for all of us who smile before breakfast and then can’t break the habit all day long – a place to come to when a feller needs a friend.” McNeil soon abandoned the script and went to an impromptu format, interviewing audience members. The program became known as “radio’s most unrehearsed show.”
Early personalities on the show included Fran Allison as gossipy Aunt Fanny and Sam Cowling who presented “Fact and Fiction from Sam’s Almanac.” Later regulars included Homer and Jethro as well as Alice Lon who would become the Champagne Lady on the “Lawrence Welk Show.”
Beckman’s Houston High School class was in the audience on a class trip to Chicago in 1955. Class president Darlene Radsek was interviewed during the broadcast. On the air for 35 and a half years until December, 1968, “The Breakfast Club” became the longest running radio and television show.
Long after his radio debut as a seven-year-old, Beckman would enjoy another radio role while attending North College in Naperville, Ill., one of the few colleges with a broadcasting curriculum. A friend had a show playing classical records and sometimes had David read background information from the jacket cover.
Years later, in the 1960s, WKTY radio from La Crosse sometimes broadcast an interview show from Caledonia. Later, in 1984, KQYB radio from Spring Grove started airing “The Caledonia Show,” first hosted by John Ostrem, nicknamed the Johnny O Show. Lee Nieman hosted a weekly morning show from Jack and Diane’s Café. Phil Costigan became the host in 1987 with regular guests and civic leaders as well as guests from the high school and the three elementary schools.
Costigan noted, “The show was laid out in an interview format with the occasional witty barb thrown in for good measure.” It aired on Friday mornings from 8:30-10 a.m.
Doug Rusert was a recurring guest, reporting goings-on at his grocery store. County Sheriff Dennis Swedberg would drop by from time to time. State Representative Virgil Johnson from Sheldon would report legislative news from St. Paul. Larry Webinger, game warden from La Crescent, would be featured before the fall hunting season.
The show lasted until 1994 when KQYB upgraded to 50,000 watts and changed to a regional country music format. “Like many things in the radio business, it was fun while it lasted,” added Costigan.
Photo by Lee Epps
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