Learning about TV from Grandma

With all of the forms of media that I have discussed with my grandma so far, TV is probably the one that has the most influence on her life today. TV is one of the most pervasive forms of entertainment, with over ninety percent of Americans having a TV in their home. In addition to broadcast entertainment, television provides news, sports coverage, full-time weather channels, and specialty channels for almost any interest. Essentially, TV has taken on the roles of every other form of media.

A TV similar to the one Grandma had 

© Flickriver user roadsidepictues

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TV is unique because it allows viewers to see and hear content, sometimes as it is happening. With so many memorable moments in the rich history of television, I had high hopes for this interview.
My grandparents did not get their first television until the 1950's, after they had been married for a few years. They bought it new, and it was black and white, and "not too big." It sat in their living room, but they did not get many channels. Grandma remembers getting two channels, channel eight from Columbia and channel six out of Sedalia. These stations mainly aired educational programs, kids shows, and cooking shows. She remembers one program in particular, Miss Francis, which was hosted by a woman who would teach children's lessons. Even though they did not have a lot of choice in programming, Grandma says, "we watched what we could." Channel six was so local that several  local residents got their opportunity for "fame." During the interview, Grandma told the story of my uncle's small screen debut at the age of seven. His first grade class got to take a trip to the station and be on TV. Their teacher mainly just asked them questions about school, but of course this was must-see entertainment.
When Grandma and Grandpa got their first TV, they did not watch it much because there was not a lot on, so it did not have a very big impact on their home life. In addition, they were typically busy throughout the day so they did not have the opportunity to watch it all the time. They mainly watched TV at night, aside from some daytime soap operas. Of course, the stations would go off the air at a certain time at night, but they were likely in bed by that time anyway.
When I asked how TV changed her home life, Grandma focused on how she got the news. She and her family were now exposed to more world news, so they felt more connected. They were able to hear, and now see, more than what they read in the newspaper or heard on the radio. Later, she commented on the development of news programs, saying, "They're so much different. They show more of everything, all the violence. The anchors tell it like it is. They have people out on the street to catch everything on camera. They're right on top of it." News reporting has come a long way since the days of Walter Cronkite. Now, instead of one person giving all the news, each station has its own team of reporters and anchors that specialize on topics and give coverage to local and national news. She commented on the ability of news stations to give more up-to-date news, so now we can learn about events as they are happening.
Like most people, Grandma remembers watching news coverage of the Kennedy assassination and the moon landing on TV. When President Kennedy died, she said, "it was a sad day for everybody." This illustrates a point that Grandma alluded to, that TV connects people by allowing them to experience the same things at the same time. When TV became popular, she said, "everyone got one because it was what you had to have." Once people saw their family and friends with TVs, they knew they needed one for themselves, or they would be missing out.
Later, when Grandma and Grandpa got more channels, they were able to watch national favorites like I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and more. Grandma referred to these as "good clean programs, not like there are today." In addition, she could watch more cooking shows, as well as soap operas, both of which she still watches today.

An episode of I Love Lucy from 1955

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/I_Love_Lucy_1955.JPG

Now that they have satellite TV, Grandma said, "I don't know if we're better off now or not." They have countless channels, but they are only interested in watching a few.

Overall, Grandma and Grandpa enjoy their TV. They have never had a DVR or VCR, but they get by just fine without them. They watch whatever is on, just like they always have. They watch a lot of TV now, she says "it passes the time." TV has replaced radio as their main source of entertainment, as it has done with the rest of the country. Grandma remarked, "I can't believe its progressed to what it is today." They enjoy having access to many stations, but mainly, they like to be able to watch the same shows that they saw back when TV was new and in black and white. Some of their old favorites, Gunsmoke and Bonanza, are on everyday, and The Andy Griffith Show sometimes comes on in the evenings. Having access to these old programs is important to them because it brings back memories of those times, and no matter where they go, they can always have that comfort.

James Arness as Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke, 1974

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/James_Arness_Gunsmoke_1974.JPG

Grandma does not watch any TV over the internet, but with so many streaming services available, that seems to be the future of  TV. In fact, with Hulu, I have access to many classic TV shows, including I Love Lucy and The Brady Bunch, that I grew up watching at my Grandma's house. We live in a unique time, where technology is rapidly changing and advancing, but there is still a demand for entertainment that was intended for audiences in the fifties and sixties. These programs seem to be timeless, since younger generations, including myself, are still enjoying them today. Knowing that I can watch and enjoy the same programs as my grandparents makes me feel closer to them, so I am glad that these shows have not been lost with the modernization of TV. 
With this being the last interview, I would like to reflect a little on this experience. This interview project has been the most enjoyable assignment of my semester. I really appreciate having had this opportunity to not only learn about media from my grandma, but to learn about her life and experiences as well. I know that she enjoyed sharing her stories with me, and I am glad that I got the opportunity to listen. What I learned in these interviews will hopefully make me more conscious of how media is changing, and how it affects my life. Media is an essential part of life, and knowing how it has evolved makes us better consumers today. Media is ever changing, but one thing is certain; it is here to stay. The great CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite used to sign off each of his nightly broadcasts with the quote "And that's the way it is," referring to the news stories of the night. As I "sign off" this blog, I hope that I have succeeded in treating the subject of media the same way that he treated his broadcasts, with respect for the source and with the faith of proper reporting. Now, I say, in regards to media, that's the way it was, but not necessarily how it will stay.

Learning about Advertising from Grandma

A common complaint that I hear today is that advertising is everywhere, and we cannot get away from it. From billboards on the highways, to the endless stream of TV and radio commercials, to pages of ads in newspapers and magazines, sometimes it really does seem like advertisers have a monopoly on our attention. But according to Grandma, this was not the case when she was growing up. Ads must not have had much of an effect on her, because even though she remembers seeing them, she does not remember what they said. Her family did not travel very much, so she does not remember seeing many billboards. She does, however, remember seeing Burma Shave signs on the

Burma Shave signs along Route 66 in Arizona 

Photo credit: Ken Koehler

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/byways/Uploads/asset_files/000/014/002/burmashave.jpg

roads. She did not remember any that stood out, but remarked that "They were fun to see." Like the case with billboards, she remembers seeing some airborne signs, like those that trail from airplanes, but she does not remember any specific ones.
Out in the community, advertising was more prominent. Several stores around her hometown had window displays, including the Five and Dime and the local clothing store. In regards to these, Grandma said, "They were pretty tame. They weren't lit up or anything." They would simply be a selection of whatever the store had to offer.
Grandma's most fond experience with advertising came from the seasonal catalogs that her family received in the mail, most notably the Sears and Roebuck publication. She and her siblings would

A Sears catalog from 1928 

© Cornell Publications 

http://www.cornellpubs.com/Images4/Sears%201928%20cover.jpg

take turns flipping through its big, glossy pages, one by one, every time it came. The attraction came from the fact that "it made you think you could get everything." As expected, Grandma's favorite items to look at were the toys and clothes, but on the whole, the Christmas catalog was her favorite. Even after they tired of looking at the items, the catalog still served as a source of entertainment for the kids. After everyone was done looking through it, Grandma and her sisters would cut paper dolls out of the pages to play with.

Sears 1956 Spring and Summer Catalog 

© SearsCatalogsOnline

http://searscatalogsonline.com/sears-1956-spring-and-summer/#jp-carousel-1442

When I asked how newspaper and magazine ads have changed over the years, Grandma's first comment was that now there are just more of them. She explained that there are more things to advertise now, so everything tries to catch your eye. She picked up a recent copy of our local newspaper and flipped through it. Pointing to several ads, includi
ng some for a diet center, plastic surgery, and assisted living center, she said, "They would never have anything like this," referring to newspapers from when she was young. Another interesting thing that she mentioned was that she does not remember businesses taking out full page ads in the past. Now, those are fairly common, but previously, ads were "more to the point."
Grandma expressed similar sentiments over today's television and radio ads compared to those of the past. Again, there is a greater variety of things that are advertised on those mediums now, such as medicine and alcohol. Such things just were not advertised on TV in the past. In addition to subject matter, the nature of advertising has changed. Grandma does not remember jingles being used as much in the past as they are now. She said businesses just used to say "what they had to." Now, they work to find creative, memorable ways of marketing their products. This has resulted in a lot of unconventional ads, which Grandma says can be "downright nutty."
Overall, Grandma's opinion of advertising today is that "There's too much of it." Even so, she does not necessarily feel like she cannot get away from it, because she can turn off her TV and read a book. When she is watching TV, she says she doesn't pay much attention to the commercials. Even though they can be irritating at times, she understands that they are a necessary part of business.
This conversation about advertising made me think about how much of it that I see on a daily basis. Sometimes it does seem like we are constantly being told what to buy, how to think, or how to act. Imagining a world with less advertising is hard, because it is something that permeates almost every aspect of our lives. It is something that I have always lived with, so it is strange to think that it has not always been this way. Advertising interests me because I think it is fascinating to be able to influence another person through a few simple words and pictures. Learning about advertising from Grandma has made me more aware of how it affects me, and how much it has changed in such a relatively short amount of time. I do not think we will ever get back to the "simpler" days of advertising, but I am interested to see if advertising changes as much in my lifetime as it has in my Grandma's.

Learning about Movies from Grandma

Movies. Most people love them. There is a reason that they are one of the top forms of entertainment in our world. We love to watch movies, but do we love to go to the movies? Actually going out to the movie theater is not as popular as it once was, but it is still a common and relatable form of entertainment. Talking to my grandma about movies was the most fun interview so far, and I learned a lot about her experiences and our family.

Heidi starring Shirley Temple, 1937

© imbd.com

According to Grandma, her local theater in Bessemer, Michigan, was “just like any theater.” As she remembers it, the theater had no concession stand, no balcony, and one movie screen, but it was within walking distance from her house. Westerns were popular there, but some of her favorite films were ones starring Shirley Temple, such as Heidi. As was the practice with most theaters, this one would show news clips before the movie started, and sometimes cartoons for the kids. Prices for this theater ran at about fourteen cents for a child’s ticket, and maybe a quarter for adults. Grandma told me, “You paid, or sometimes the girl would let us in for nothing. But sometimes the man would count the tickets, and then go [in the theater] and count the people.” Grandma and her siblings would go to see a movie whenever they had money. As children, they got some spending money from their parents, but as a teen, Grandma was able to earn a little money by babysitting. “Going to the show” was one of the main activities on which she spent her money. It was not even that important to know what was playing, because they would “watch whatever was on.” Going to the theater with friends was a favorite pastime with Grandma and her siblings, and according to her, it was about all there was to do in their town.  

Grandma did not remember many details about the movie theater, so I reached out to two of her siblings to see what they could remember, and they shared some of their memories with me. The Rex theater, as it was called, was an old building that was rumored to be an old horse barn, so it was sometimes called “Dan’s Horse Barn.” The first ten rows of the theater were wooden benches, and unaccompanied children had to sit there, as opposed to the cushioned seats in the back. Of course, kids often tried to sneak back to the better seats, but the theater owner would routinely check them and send the kids back to the front. Kids would go to the grocery store next to the theater to buy their candy to take in with them. Friday night was the most popular night for kids to go because they could usually see cowboy movies, with actors like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. 

    

Left: Roy Rogers and Mary Hart in Shine on Harvest Moon, 1938 

 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Roy_Rogers_-_Hart_-_1938.jpg

Right: Gene Autry, 1950

 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Gene_Autry_1950.jpg

Movies directed more towards adults were shown on Sundays, with a higher price. Apparently, the theater would change its film three times a week, so one would be shown on Sunday and Monday, and then a different one would be shown through the week with a new one coming in for the weekend. The “better” movies were shown on Sundays and Mondays. Also, it would typically screen the movie twice in one night, and customers could stay for both showings if they wanted. One interesting observation from my uncle was that “movies back then had to have some singing in them, even when it didn’t even fit into any plot.” We do not see much singing in movies today, besides an occasional musical, so that might reflect the changing interests of audiences. There was never a movie that Grandma’s parents would not allow the kids to see, but the theater owner would not have shown anything that was not kid-friendly. Grandma remembered the cashier at the theater letting them in for free sometimes, but her sister remembers a different way of getting tickets. According to her, a friend’s mother collected tickets and would pass them out to the kids so they could get in for free. 

The Ironwood Theatre today 

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2761/photos/108209

© cinematreasures.org user Jasperdo

There was another theater in nearby Ironwood, which still hosts events today as a historic landmark, but Grandma said that she did not go to that one often because it was farther away. However, according to her younger brother, their father would sometimes take them to Sunday matinees there as a treat. They would ride the bus the seven miles there and back. Interestingly, neither Grandma nor her siblings could remember their mother ever going out to a movie. 

The Esquire Theatre at night, 1938

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© cinematreasures.org user Comfortably Cool 

The Little Gallery area of the Esquire Theatre, 1941

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© cinematreasures.org user dallasmovietheaters

After moving to Chicago in the 1940’s, Grandma still liked to go to the movies. She remembers “the nice theater around the block,” called The Esquire, that she would attend with her sisters and roommates. After she met my grandpa, they would go there on dates. Drive-In theaters were also a popular attraction. They went sometimes in Chicago, and continued to go after they got married and moved to Missouri. They would take their 1934 Ford and cruise to the Highway 50 Drive-In during the late 1940s and 1950s. The drive-in had stations with speakers that visitors would hang on their car windows, and ramps to elevate the car. It also had a concession stand in the middle of the lot and it featured a playground for kids. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by a tornado in 1980, but a new multiplex theater was built in its place. 

After their kids were born, Grandma and Grandpa did not go out to movies as often. Grandma remembers taking my mom and uncles to the drive-in when they were little, even though they do not remember it well. In addition to the drive-in, there were two indoor theaters in town, the Uptown and the Fox. They frequented the Fox more often, because it was “more modern,” and had “better shows.” It also featured serial movies, which would come out on Saturday nights, so it was the popular place to be. The Uptown and the Fox were where my parents, aunts, and uncles saw many movies throughout their youth. 

Ad for the grand opening of the Hi-Way 50 Drive-In, Sedalia, MO, 1949

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© cinematreasures.org user dallasmovietheaters

Grandma did not mention many specific favorite movies, but Grandpa, who was listening in, was quick to chime in with his love for Westerns. Luckily for him, Westerns were very popular in the theaters, so he was rarely disappointed. One popular actor of the time they did not care for was Elvis Presley. Grandpa said, “He didn’t go over very big here.” Needless to say, they did not go see many of his movies. However, they did go to see reruns of older movies, like Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz when the theaters would screen them.

Grandma reiterated a few times that she and her friends went to movies because there was not anything else to do in their town. I relate to that because that is how my friends and I feel now. Seeing a movie is always our standby when there is not anything else going on. It is an easy way to spend time together and share an experience as a group.

These days, movies are not a big part of my grandparents’ lives. The last movie they remember going to the theater to see was Pearl Harbor, which came out in 2001. They watch movies on TV occasionally, but they usually prefer regular TV programs. They never rented or bought movies, and I do not think they ever had any kind of video player. Movies went from being one of their go-to pastimes to just something that they used to do.

Movie theater attendance may be lower than in the past, but we still love movies. Streaming services like Hulu and Netflix are part of our culture, and they will continue to play a huge part in our entertainment in the future. Movies are how we pass many nights with friends and family. Our favorite movies say something about us, which is why when we get to know someone we often share our favorite movies. Movies can be the common ground we find with new friends. They are how we escape our own world for a couple of hours and enter one that is more exciting, more dangerous, more outrageous. People have been searching for this escape since the days of the “peep show” galleries in the late nineteenth century. Today, we regularly see multimillion-dollar blockbusters that attempt to create unique, larger-than-life viewing experiences. While much has changed about movies over the years, our reasons for seeing them are largely the same. That just shows that my generation is not so different from our grandparents after all.

Learning about Print Media from Grandma

"How appropriate," I thought, as I brought a magazine in to my grandma on the day that I interviewed her about print media, including magazines, newspapers, and books. Even more appropriately, it was a Reminisce, which is a nostalgia magazine that she likes to read. I had high hopes that this would be a good interview because I know my grandma loves to read, and I was not disappointed.

An issue of the Ironwood Daily Globe from July, 1938 

https://newspaperarchive.com/ironwood-daily-globe-jul-20-1938-p-2/

An issue of The Bessemer Herald from Dec. 1933

https://newspaperarchive.com/bessemer-herald-dec-08-1933-p-1-203532737-thumbnail.jpg

The Katzenjammer Kids 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Katzenjammer1901.jpg

I began by asking Grandma about newspapers; she said that her family always subscribed to the local paper when she was growing up, and it was their main source of news other than the radio, so everyone read it. She surprised me by remembering the names of both newspapers that they read: the Ironwood Daily Globe, which was the daily paper, and The Bessemer Herald, which was a weekly paper. She told me that her brother was a paperboy, so the Daily Globe would get dropped off  at their house every afternoon for him to deliver around the town. Her dad was likely always the first to read the paper, and Grandma commented, "I doubt if Grandma (her mom) had a lot of time to read the paper with us kids." Later, she added, "She'd read the newspaper and go to sleep."

I asked about the content of the newspaper, and she looked at 
the latest copy of our local paper and noted how similar it was--sections of sports, news, comics, obituaries--the norm for local papers. She flipped through the comics section, reading the names of the classics that have been in print for decades, but even these are different from what she read as a child. She mentioned a favorite, The Katzenjammer Kids, which was originally printed in 1897 in the American Humorist.



Since I know that doing newspaper crossword puzzles is one of my grandma's favorite pastimes, I asked if she did them when she was young. She surprised me by saying no, and she actually seemed a little surprised by her answer. Doing puzzles was a hobby that she picked up as an adult, and it is how she passes a lot of time today.
As the conversation shifted to magazines, Grandma told me they did not have many magazines at home when she was growing up because they could not really afford them. However, as an adult, she subscribed to some magazines, including some typical women's magazines of the time: Good Housekeeping and McCall's. She would even read Grandpa's Legion magazine. Magazines are still a relevant part of her life. She reads the aforementioned Reminisce, as well as Birds and Blooms and Reader's Digest, among others.
Asking about books revealed stories and history that I had never heard from my grandma. She began by telling me how she and her siblings would get their books. During the summer, their school library was open a few days a week, so they could go down and check out what they wanted to read. They would pick out "anything that looked interesting," but The Bobbsey Twins were a favorite. When I asked if there were any books that she tried to check out that she was not allowed to read, she said, "There weren't any that the lady wouldn't check out to me, and I don't know if grandma even looked at them."

The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bobbsey_Twins_at_the_Seashore.djvu

With year round access to the school library, the family never really bought any books. However, another interesting source of literature was the neighbors. Grandma said that she and her sisters would get "love story books" from "the neighbor lady's daughter," when they were in junior high and high school. They would go there and read them "when we should have been doing our chores at home."
To this day, Grandma still reads books, magazines, and the daily newspaper. While I do not know if she still reads "love story books," I know she enjoys mysteries and her daily devotionals. The love for reading is something that has certainly been passed on in our family. Some of my earliest memories with books include scribbling my name inside the front cover, excited to have something to call my own. I even enjoy Reader's Digest, which is something that I share with both my grandma and my mom. Even though that particular magazine has changed some over the years, it is still relevant and enjoyed by millions.
Print media are unique in that they have the ability to last for generations. Unlike many forms of electronic media that seem to be here today and gone tomorrow, newspapers, magazines, and books have a permanence to them. We clip out meaningful articles, we save recipes for future use, we pass to our friends books that we think they might enjoy. Print media connect people. They connect generations. In my case, they connected me to my grandma. I now have a greater appreciation for these "legacy media" because I realize that even though they have been around for practically forever, they continue to have an immeasurable impact, and I think they are here to stay. 

Learning Music From Grandma

When I first learned that I would have to do an interview project with an older person, I immediately thought of my grandma. I knew that she would love to tell me stories about her childhood, and I know that she has seen and done a lot in her ninety years. More than anything, I was excited for the chance to hear stories about her that I never knew. For the first interview, I asked her about her experiences with radio and music. 

My grandma Margaret was born in Michigan in 1928, and was one of six kids. Growing up in the 1930s and the era of the Great Depression, her family did not have a record player, but her grandma did have a wind-up phonograph that she remembers listening to. Although she did not listen to many records growing up, her family did have a radio that was an important part of their daily lives. It was a Philco radio that Grandma describes as “a big tall thing.” It sat in their dining room, and the

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Abbott_and_Costello_1950s.JPG

family would gather around it together to listen to whatever was on. They did not get many stations, but she remembers some of the programs they enjoyed, including Fibber McGee and Molly, The Shadow Knows, and Abbott and Costello. Her father was an avid news listener who got most of his news from the radio.

Interestingly, that radio is still in the family. My great-uncle has it at his house, and says it was still working when it was put into retirement. It dates to the early 1930’s, and cost about seventy dollars, which is equivalent to about $1,000 today. 

Back of radio 

Photo © Bob Gamache.

 Used by permission

Front of radio 

Photo © Bob Gamache. 

Used by permission

Without a record player, the family listened to most of their music on the radio. A popular program was The Hit Parade, which was a top ten countdown of the most popular songs. I enjoyed hearing about that because I watched a lot of music countdown shows on TV when I was younger, and I sometimes listen to them today. I think it is interesting that that has been a part of our country’s popular culture for so long. 

Although remembering specific songs and artists was harder for Grandma, she did come up with a few names right away. As soon as I started asking about music, she mentioned The Andrews Sisters, along with one of their songs, “Don’t sit under the apple tree.”

The Andrews Sisters, LaVerne, Maxene, and Patty 

 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/The_Andrews_Sisters_1952.JPG

Another song that she named right away was “Hallelujah, I’m a bum.” After the interview, I found both these songs on YouTube and listened to them. The sound was exactly what I expected from music of that era based on what I have seen and heard in movies and TV shows. The slightly canny sound of the voices and the smooth instrumentals really seem to reflect that time. Other artists that Grandma mentioned were Kate Smith and Benny Goodman, who were both very popular at the time. 

Listening to the radio was a family affair. All the kids would gather together during the evenings and listen to the programs. It was especially popular as a summer evening pastime. Some nights, however, they would go to a local park and listen to live bands play. Those nights were popular community events, since Grandma says “there wasn’t much else to do” in their small town. These concerts featured a variety of music, mostly instrumental. Since the park was close to their house, the family could just take a short walk to enjoy some evening entertainment. 

After my grandma graduated high school, she and her twin sister moved to Chicago to get jobs to help with the war effort. They had a small radio there that they listened to music on, but they had to keep it down because of the other girls who lived in their tenant house. 

Several decades later, some things have stayed the same. Radio has been a fixture at my grandparents’ house for as long as I can remember.  After spending the night at their house when I was little, I would always wake up to the sound of the local news coming from the radio in the kitchen. At lunch, we would sit together while the local country station played in the background. Listening to classic country music at my grandparent’s house inspired my love for the genre. To this day, I still listen to the songs that used to play on their old RCA radio, and hearing them takes me back to that time. Of course, now I listen to those songs as playlists from apps on my phone. A lot has changed in the world of media; most of my music consumption comes from on-demand sources like Spotify and YouTube, and the presets on my car’s radio. No longer are we at the mercy of a few radio stations playing programs at set times. 

Even though the ways in which we consume media have changed, the reasons for it have stayed mostly the same. Just as we typically go to our TVs for entertainment in the evenings today, my grandma and her family would do the same with radio. It was their source of broadcast entertainment, how they stayed connected to the world beyond their home. After all, that is why we consume media. It allows us to experience something bigger and connect with others, all from our own homes. 

In just one short interview with my grandma, I learned a lot about her and our world as it was many years ago. Listening to her stories gave me a better appreciation for today’s media, as well as perspective on how far we have come. My grandma represents “The Greatest Generation,” so I know that hearing and preserving her stories are important. I can’t wait for our next interview, when I will get to learn more about her through her media experiences.