Radio Articles

Before School Greetings Delight the Youngsters

“Good morning, Children. It is exactly eight o’clock Central Standard Time, your station is WIL and this is your ‘Don’t Be Late For School Program.’”

Daily the children all over St. Louis and surrounding territory tune in for this greeting. The station has numerous letters from young people who say they have not missed a single “Don’t Be Late For School Program” since it went on the air three years ago.

This program is sponsored by the Papendick Bakery Company who have through this medium made popular their Soderholm Swedish Rye Bread and Old Home Doughnuts.

The period opens with the National Emblem March which is so lively that it makes sleepy eyes open in spite of themselves. Then comes the program which is varied. There is lively music, which children enjoy, then cute songs and funny tunes, but every few minutes in an encouraging voice the announcer warns that minutes are passing and they must hurry. Some mornings there is a real geography lesson, not just an ordinary lesson of facts and figures; but off the children fly to the strange country, where even street noises are heard and a friendly voice describes the interesting sights on every side and almost without realizing it, they have acquired interesting and historic facts and all too soon the lesson is over.

8:15 and through the air comes the voice of the “Man from the Land of Make Believe,” to greet the little folk of the “Land of Everyday” and to each and all who have a birthday that day he sends birthday greetings and rings the silvery birthday bells. At the request of the man from the “Land of Make Believe,” the announcer then reads the names of the lucky little folks who are celebrating a birthday. Over 18,000 have been wished “Happy Birthday” in one year.

When the clock points to the hour of 8:30 once more we hear the National Emblem March and children are warned not to be late for school. Then the Safety Slogan – “Go to the curb – stop – look up the street – look down the street before you cross.”

WIL and Papendick Bakery Company is delighted to receive the many letters from children telling of their efforts and success in following the advice to be on time. Forming the habit of being prompt, while a child, will be of tremendous value when the young folks of today become the men and women of tomorrow. “

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 11/14/31.)

The new $250,000 studios of Radio Station KMOX, the Voice of St. Louis, which are now being constructed in the New Mart Building, are rapidly nearing completion. When finished these studios will be the most modern in the country and will be equipped with every new device that will afford better mechanical operation as well as the latest in studio construction and acoustical treatment. The construction of these new studios was made necessary thru (sic) the increased number of programs originated by KMOX, it is reported, and to afford studio facilities comparable to the new 50,000 watt transmitter completed last year at a cost of approximately $450,000.

The increased facilities will enable KMOX to originate many chain features of national importance for the Columbia Chain of which it is a member because of its central location and tremendous power. The equipment and studios have been so arranged and so constructed that it will be possible for KMOX to broadcast a local program, send another program to Eastern cities and at the same time send still another to the Pacific coast. The layout has been designed and constructed so that with the advent of television it will not be necessary to alter the studios or the mechanical control arrangements.

Five Separate Studios

The facilities which occupy two floors of the Mart Building will be the finest of any radio station in the country. There are five large studios, four of which extend two floors in height. Studio “A” which is the largest is 42 feet long and 22 feet wide and directly faces an auditorium which seats over 600 people.

The studio has been designed and constructed so that it will be used for the television productions of the future. Studio “C” is also enormous in size, being 41 feet long by 25 feet wide. This studio is of sufficient size to permit broadcast of the largest of symphony orchestras. The other three studios are approximately 28 x 25 feet, all facing a long corridor that extends from the entrance the complete length of the five studios. The studio fronts are large plate glass windows, permitting the guests of the station to watch the radio performers in action. The corridor will be elaborately furnished for the comfort of visitors.

A unique construction feature of the studios is its special acoustical treatment. The walls are nine inches thick with over four inches of a new scientific sound proofing material in the center. Over all this is a layer of special material which completely prevents tone distortion and unwanted sound reflection. The floors are also treated in a like manner. Underneath the top flooring is a thick layer of special padding which deadens sounds and prevents vibrations of the building from being transferred into the studios. The ceilings are similarly treated, with the exception that there is a space of nine inches between the ceiling of the building and ceilings of the studios which is filled with a special limestone preparation for acoustical perfection.

Finest Electrical Equipment

The third floor arrangement is similar to the second. There will be a large reception room which extends the full length of the five studios. From this reception corridor one may look down into the studios and watch the artists broadcasting. This corridor will also be furnished with lounges, chairs and other home-like furniture for the use of guests. On the third floor will be a large audition room where programs which are being rehearsed may be heard. This room will also be used so that clients of the station may hear programs which they are considering using for advertising purposes. This audition room will be used, too, for business conferences and meetings of the executives of the “Voice of St. Louis.”

The electrical equipment will be the finest of any studio in the country. Each of the studios has its own individual control room which is octagonal in shape, covered with glass and raised two feet above the studio floor level to afford a better view to the radio engineer who is operating the mechanical end of the broadcast. Each of the control rooms is equipped so that in an emergency it can be used as the master control.

The business offices of KMOX will be located on the third floor. They are large and spacious and equipped with a speaking system that will enable the hearing of any program which is being broadcast or rehearsed in any of the studios.

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 10/3/1931.)

A broadcast service that will keep the public informed of all the latest local news has been resumed by WIL after three years intermission.

Two prominent newspapermen are identified with the new “air newspaper.” They are Bill Bradley, former managing editor with the Times, stationed at police headquarters, and Clem Hurd, son of Carlos Hurd, who is county reporter.

With complete coverage of important local news, WIL is now able to broadcast important events direct from the scene over the mobile transmitter. Even prior to the use of the mobile transmitter on the broadcasts three years ago, prominent scoops were brought to the public hours ahead of the newspapers.

(Originally published in Radio & Entertainment 11/18/1933.)

It sounds like a fairy tale…or a Horatio Alger story…and it’s one of those things that, in these days, happen only in radio.

The Columbia Broadcasting System has just announced the election of J. L. Van Volkenburg as President and Member of the Board of Directors of The Voice of St. Louis, Inc., owning and operating company of KMOX, the 50,000 watt station in St. Louis.

Thus far it’s just another announcement, but – Van Volkenburg is only 29 years of age, probably the youngest man in the country holding such a responsible position; he came to KMOX as Sales Manager in October, 1932, was made Director of Operations in January , 1933, and on June 15, 1933 was elected to the position herein announced.

And that isn’t all that is amazing about this young man’s lightning-like strides up the ladder of success. To the “veterans” of radio, Van Volkenburg’s career is parallel to the miraculous growth of the industry itself, which, in only ten years’ time, has taken its place among the leading industries of the country. For KMOX was his first radio station.

Of course he had the kind of background that augured success, if intelligently used…as it was. For five years preceding his affiliation with KMOX, Van Volkenburg was manager of the radio department in the Chicago offices of a national advertising agency, where he had complete charge of the production of both local and network programs. In his earlier days on the Keith circuit, traveling from one end of the country to the other as a single and also part of a singing-playing team, gave him a sound knowledge of what the public wants in entertainment. He is a versatile musician, playing the piano, pipe organ and trombone, as well as the possessor of a fine voice.

(Originally published in Radio & Entertainment 6/25/1933.)

By Nancy Frazer

The heartiest voice of all – that characterizes Harold Bolande’s particular claim to glory and all of you who hear him daily over KMOX will agree.

There is a secret for that particular trait and that lies in his interest in radio and in his unfeigned friendliness for everyone. He is just as friendly and enthusiastic when his voice first comes over the air for the Early Morning Band Wagon as it (sic) is at noon for the Farm Service Hour and later at night when he introduces The Citizen of the Southwest. He lives, thinks and eats radio – eats it, of course, when his many devoted listeners send him samples of their cookery and helpful suggestions.

He’s a Yankee, too, and so disclaims the reserve usually attributed to that Eastern section of the country. He is from Norwich, Connecticut. He early saw the light, however, and came out to the middle west when he was only eighteen.

Harold has held all sorts of colorful jobs in the intervening years until he finally found the niche that suited his many and peculiar talents.
He had been talking into a dictaphone for quite awhile until one of the stenographers in a large music house where he was employed remarked one day that she was always happy when she had to type his work for his voice recorded clearly. The idea intrigued him and he decided to make a few records and play them back. He was the only one that was surprised that he sounded so well (sic) for his associates and friends had known it all along!

It occurred to him to go to KMBC and try out and his voice was typified as one having perfect pitch. He became a guest announcer, then a full-time one and then served as program director and chief announcer at the various stations in Kansas City.

When KMOX was putting on a circus program last April, they invited him to come and try out for the place of “barker” – and the rest was easy. He became a regular announcer here specializing on the Farm Service Hour. He used to live on a farm and loves everything connected with it so he has an earnest wish to help and entertain farm folks.

But that isn’t all. One night when my own program ran a bit short, I was amazed to see him dart over to the piano and beautifully “fill” the few seconds before another feature. He is an accomplished pianist, playing both by ear and note. He studied voice at the New England Conservatory of Music. And you should see him take Sad Sam’s accordion and make it do musical flip flops!

He learned to play the accordion when he was in the music business just for the sheer love of learning new things. He does a rollicking good job of wangling tunes out of one too.
Recently he has been interested in dramatics and is taking the leading role, and very ably too, in the series of “The Scoop” dramas heard every Tuesday and Thursday on KMOX. That delights him and he is spending long hours on mastering the dramatic art.

About five feet ten, he has almost black curly hair, keen friendly grey-blue eyes and a spontaneity that is impossible to resist. He likes to think up new features and production ideas – in short everything that has any connection with radio work.

Probably his greatest admirer is his own eleven-year-old son Donald whose greatest aspiration is to be a radio announcer. Harold plays football with his youngster, teaches him the diction necessary for the radio and in odd moments teaches him French. “Bolande” came from the French name “Boulande” and Harold’s heritage enables him to speak a good brand of his father’s native tongue. He served with the 35th division in France, and so augmented his knowledge of the language.

Just to give you an idea of his versatility, here are some of the positions that he has held: jewelry salesman; assistant chief clerk, telephone company; shipping clerk; specialty salesman; time keeper, pipeline company; pianist in a theater; hotel bellboy and waiter; stacker during harvest; cowboy riding fences and herding cattle; credit manager; sales promotion man, music company; radio, piano and book salesman; radio work including manager, program director and announcer; also radio salesman; two and one half years USA-AEF 35th Division; plays piano, piano-accordion and mandolin; and his favorite sports are: hockey, tennis, billiards and baseball and swimming.

But fortunately he is here at KMOX making new friends every day in the work that he loves the very most!

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 11/26/1932.)

Mary and Ruth Miccolis are excellent examples of how good, old-fashioned tenacity could pay off for radio entertainers during the medium’s heyday.

Born in the early ‘20s in the Cook County suburb of Melrose Park, the girls moved to the St. Louis area while in their teens to pursue their dream of breaking into show business. Even now it’s hard to imagine two youngsters making such a break from their parents, but back then, it was almost unheard of for young girls to take such a step. They did, however, have a good reason for taking the chance.

A talent scout for KMOX had heard their work in an audition and offered them a job on the radio. It was 1938, and there was still a lingering economic Depression, so having a job at such a prestigious station made their decision a bit easier.

St. Louis, while not the city Chicago was, offered Mary and Ruth plenty of opportunities. They won a national yodeling competition, which was held at Kiel Auditorium, employing a vocal technique known as triple-tongue yodels. They became part of Pappy Cheshire’s group on KMOX and regularly participated in the Barnyard Follies show and The Old Fashioned Barn Dance show, sponsored by “Uncle” Dick Slack’s furniture stores, endearing them to the rural listeners as well as those in the city. They also were on a Saturday morning show that KMOX fed live to the CBS Network.

Pappy Cheshire was a promoter, and he schooled the girls in the realities of the radio business for entertainers. He didn’t pay his people as well as one might expect because, he reasoned, the radio exposure created plenty of opportunities for personal appearances, and that’s where the money was. And there was plenty of demand for the Miccolis Sisters.

There were many hillbilly entertainers leading the same sort of life, among them a comic musician named Ambrose Haley. Haley had played the stand-up bass with several groups at KMOX and was kept busy doing the personal appearance circuit too. His infectious comedy, which was a throwback to the days of Vaudeville, made him a popular booking at county fairs throughout the Midwest, and he approached Ruth and Mary about joining his program, which was then being broadcast on KXOK. That station, owned by the St. Louis Star-Times had its studios in the newspaper’s building at 12th and Delmar, just a few blocks north of the KMOX Mart Building studios.

Their work on KXOK also gave the Miccolis Sisters more national exposure, this time on the fledgling ABC Radio Network. Because their change in stations came during World War II, Mary was forced to expand her act a bit. The war had tapped many of radio’s male entertainers for conscription into the service, and Haley’s act needed a straight man. Mary became the “straight woman.”

KXOK was also a conduit for the two women to strike up a professional relationship with one of Hollywood’s most famous cowboy stars, Roy Rogers. He came to town for an extended appearance and visited the station, where he met Mary and Ruth, and he invited them to join him in his visits to local veterans hospitals and military posts and in his act, which was playing at the Fox Theater.

When Ambrose Haley got an offer of a job at WIBW in Topeka, he took it and moved the Miccolis Sisters too. After many years in the broadcast entertainment business, Mary and Ruth Miccolis retired in the Kansas City area with their families.

(Reprinted with permission of the St. Louis Journalism Review. Originally published 07/08)