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WIBW ROUND -UP

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Der(Inber Our Thirty -Third Issue 1947

The-WIBW Round -Up Magazine is published by the WIBW Round -Up. G. W. "Doc" Embree, EditorTwo weeks' notice necessary for change of address. Subscription rates, $1.00 per year. Mailingaddress, Box 981, Topeka, Kansas.

Ad Libbing-by DocUh Huh! I thought so! You folks

like to peek at other people's mail,don't you? The comments on lastmonth's letters are still coming in.Let's dig around here on my desk andsee what we can find.

Here's a little note from a lady in

Great Bend, Kansas

Dear Doc,I want to tell you how much we

enjoyed our visit to WIBW. We werejust finishing a trip that carried usnearly two thousand miles and we visi-ted three radio stations. I must say,for that genuine friendliness, I'll takeWIBW every time. I especially wantto thank you and Don Hopkins forshowing us around. We were so disap-pointed that we didn't get to see Ed-mund Denney as he is one of our favor-ites. We did see most of the rest ofthe gang and they were all so friendly.Believe me, our radio is set on WIBWfrom morning till night.

Mrs. M. B.

Thanks for those kind words. Thoseweren't company manners the boys andgirls were wearing that day. They'realways friendly and they mean everysmile they turn your way.

Lee's Summit, Mo.

Doc -I've aimed to write and tell you every

year about Hilton's wedding annivers-ary. Guess he doesn't want it told orhe would have had it in the Round -Up before now, but I think it shouldbe printed.

It's the fifth of November. He gotmarried the next day after the big cornhusking contest that they attended inMarshall, Missouri. I'll never forgetthat. Hilton rode a horse in rain andmud all day and then went on fromthere to get married.

Mrs. W. C.

Jasper, Mo.Dear Sir,

Your article, "Radio -It's Free" (Oct-ober Round -Up) is so true I can't helpwriting you. It is an education. Ihave no car and I would not trade myradio for one of the best. My Zenithfollowed my five boys all over theworld in World War II by way ofshort wave. It was such a comfort.

Oh how true "The richest man can-not buy for himself what the poorestman gets free from his radio!"

One 'Who Is A Radio Fan

That's about the size of the lettersfor this month. Next month we hopeto devote a full page to the opinionsof our readers.

I'll bet there's not one of you whodoesn't have a few names of friends onyour Christmas list whose gifts haveyou stymied. Let me make a sugges-tion. Why not give magazines? Anymagazine makes a gift that is appre-ciated the year 'round and if yourfriend is a radio listener, and who isn'tnowadays, you can be sure a "Round-up" subscription will be a monthly re-minder of your Christmas wishes, areminder that is certain to bring hap-piness. There's the matter of economy,too. In spite of the fact that paperand printing costs have increasedgreatly, the "Round -Up" still costsonly one dollar per year. As we didlast year, when we receive your order,we hold the subscription until a fewdays before Christmas, then send yourfriend this magazine, along with a card,explaining that they are to receive afull year's subscription, with your com-pliments. All this service at no addi-tional cost to you. Address your ordersto "Round -Up," WIBW, Topeka, Kan-sas. Be sure to include your own name,as well as the names of the persons towhom you want the "Round -Up" sent.We'll do the rest.

Merry Christmas!

On Our CoverHilton Hodges

In case anyone ever asks you towrite an autobiography, the easiest andbest thing to do is to say "I'll tell himwhen he comes in." But the grumpyeditors of this "Poor Man's Esquire"have set their feet down and so (andwe'll make it brief) here's the low downon one Hilton Hodges.

The facts recorded in Nuckolls Coun-ty, Nebraska Courthouse show a malechild born on May 23, 1913 in MountClare; son of Fred N. and Ada B.Hodges. Fred's birthplace; Illinois.Ada's; Kansas. The young man spentnine years helping his dad sell prunes,kerosene (with potatoes on the spouts),dry goods, etc., before the family movedto the farm for two years. Meantime,there was another male child, Wayne.Anyway, the two young boys rodetheir pony to school, gathered eggs,read Capper's Weekly and heaved al-falfa to the hungriest gang of Okla-homa calves to ever leave the Pan-handle. It was too much work for dadtoo, so we moved to Nelson for twoyears and then to Clay Center, Neb-raska, where Fred and Ada both an-nounced and Fred sang with the KMMJGospel Singers.

After high school, two years in DoaneCollege and one year at the Universityof Minnesota, the 1933 depressionmoved in and forced our hero to quitschool. He luckily landed a job withKMMJ-in the tire department, sell-ing, mounting, counting, carrying andpractically eating tires and tubes of alldescriptions. When the tire departmentceased to function, my boss and goodfriend, Mott Johnson, told me therewas one job open-that of an announ-cer. Nothing had ever seemed so far-fetched to me as sitting there all byyourself and wondering if anyone ever

(Continued on Page 11)

Coming EventsBIRTHDAYS

Hoppi Corbin December 19Jerome DeBord January 2Bobbie Dick January 8Henry Peters January 13

ANNIVERSARIESMr. and Mrs. Chuck Wayne

December 24Mr. and Mrs. Clark Wayne

December 28Mr. and Mrs. Jimmie McGinnis

January 1

Elmer Curtis -POET LAUREATE

Unsuspected talent has a way ofcropping up around a broadcasting sta-tion but probably the biggest surpriseto all of us here at WIBW was the dis-covery that Elmer Curtis follows otherpursuits than coyote hunting. To re-lieve the suspense, I'll tell you . . .

Elmer writes poetry!Elmer chooses his material from little

homey instances and from such of hispossessions as may fall in his line ofvision when he feels a poetic moodapproaching.

We are going to pass along what weconsider Elmer's masterpiece. . . Wehope you like it. Entitled "My ModelA", the poem was inspired by the ja-lopy that accompanies Elmer in thepicture on page 8.

MY MODEL "A"By Elmer Curtis

My Model "A"-My Model "A",No worry for me on the price of hay.I feed you on good Phillips gas,And he same brand of Oil makes your

innards last.You take me o'er hill and dale,If I should say the word I know you'd

sail.If you had wings I bet you'd fly,And take me way up in the sky.But this I know is not so sound,Pug and Gene can fly, I'll take the

ground.In mud and slush, and snow and sleet,My Model "A" just can't be beat.With your fenders held fast with bail-

ing wire,When I say you run sixty-they call

me a liar.It's the truth, I have to check the files,To learn you've run three hundred

thousand miles.Yes, this Model "A" is here to stay,And as she runs I hope and pray,That Ford will build another "A".

Its An EpidemicThere has been quite an outburst of

"new car-itis" around WIBW. MissMaudie and Dude Hank led off with anew Oldsmobile convertible, closelyfollowed by Art Holbrook with aStudebaker convertible and HenryPeters with a Buick convertible. Ed-mund Denney blossomed out with anew Dodge, but as yet he is waitingdelivery on a heater and defroster at-tachment.

There has also been some evidence

DECEMBER, 1947

Pie -Supper Time

One American tradition that carrieson year after year is the good old-time pie -supper. Of course, they needa good auctioneer to do the spielingalong about supper time, and that'swhere Colonel Combs enters the pic-ture. Colonel, you know, is a graduate

auctioneer, and when he gives out with"sold" you can be sure that a top pricehas been bid. In the above picture,Colonel is auctioning a box at theSilver Lake 4-H Club pie supper. GeneShipley holds the WIBW mike.

of vandalism concerning the new Buickradiator emblems. These emblems havea circular piece of chrome that thegirls around town find attractive asbracelets. The day following Henry'spurchase, the emblem was pried fromhis car and also from Ambrose Haley'sBuick. Those emblems cost aroundforty dollars . . . pretty expensivebracelets.

Too Much InformationOne evening while Ole was busy on

his Ole -Vox, a young pair of lads, at-tracted by the music, no doubt, ven-tured into Ole's basement. They lis-tened to the music for a while andthen, recognizing Ole, one of themwhispered to the other. InterruptingOle's rendition of "White Christmas"(with chimes), the larger of the twoboys asked Ole if he would play anumber on the air for their mother'sthirty-fourth birthday the followingweek.

Ole told them he would be glad toplay the number, but he didn't thinktheir mother would appreciate his tell-ing how old she was when he madethe dedication.

"That's all right," said the youngerboy." Our mother doesn't care ifpeople know how old she is."

Ole took the lady's name andpromptly forgot about the incidentuntil a short time later when a timidknock announced the return of the twolittle fellows.

"Mother says don't you DARE tellhow old she is on the air!"

Lum and AbnerOn WIBW

Those lovable old characters fromdown Pine Ridge way, Lum and Abnerare now daily features of WIBW'searly evening schedule. The makersof Alka Seltzer present Lum and Ab-ner each evening at 5:30.

4 WIBW ROUND -UP

C OB. cite THE BIGGEST SHOW IN TOWN '(r-

9{a gynThe Holiday Season is here again,

and CBS stars join with me in hopingyou will have a Merry Christmas andenjoy all the special Christmas pro-grams and music they have preparedfor you.

Bob Hannon and Evelyn MacGregorOur roving cameraman caught Bob

Hannon and Evelyn MacGregor choos-ing their favorite carols for the "Ameri-can Melody Hour" program ChristmasEve at 7:00 p.m.

Soon after Christmas the forces ofradio are turned to help raise funds tofight infantile paralysis. In connectionwith the annual drive, Bill Johnstone,actor on "Lux Radio Theater," has justcompleted a short film feature withMargaret O'Brien, a veteran "LuxRadio Theater" performer, to be dis-tributed nationally.

We just wonder how fellows likeDwight Weist ever get their Christmasshopping done. Dwight plays the partof Stan Burton five days a week on"The Second Mrs. Burton" besides be-ing the regular announcer on "InnerSanctum," "Big Town," and "ThinMan."

The creaking door on "Inner Sanc-tum" has a uniformed doorman thesenights. Host Paul McGrath, appearingas as Air Forces officer in the Broad-way hit, "Command Decision," doesthe broadcast in uniform, since hehasn't time to change clothes betweenthe air show and his first stage en-trance.

The "Old Gold Show," featuringcomical Frank Morgan and the hilar-ious marital spats of "The Bickersons"(who are Don Ameche and FrancesLangford) will soon be seen as well asheard by the U. S. military personnelabroad. Arrangements are being madeto film a 30 -minute movie feature ofthe program. Special announcementsfor the military audiences will be writ-ten into the script for announcer MarvinMiller. This is the first of a seriesof movie shorts of radio shows beingprepared by the Army to increase itsentertainment services for our militarypersonnel overseas.

Dorothy Shay

In this pose, Dorothy Shay doesn'tlook like a hillbilly, does she? Nowonder she's called "The Park AvenueHillbilly!" Dorothy is featured on theSpike Jones show "Spotlight Revue"Friday nights. She gets her famouscomedy ballads from the back hillsbelow the Mason-Dixon Line and herclothes from Paris. Just before shejoined Spike and his City Slickers onthe West Coast, Dorothy returned froma six -weeks' shopping tour of Paris'swanky fall fashion showings. Must begold in them thar hillbilly songs!

Fran Carlon, who plays the role ofLorelei Kilbourne, newspaper reporter,on "Big Town" thanks a slack periodon Broadway for her success on the air.Fran had had wide experience in thetheater but had never tried radio until

a slack season hit Broadway and shewas out of a job. Since then, she hasbeen steadily employed in radio. Inaddition to her role on "Big Town"every Tuesday night, she gives frequentperformances on the Armstrong "The-ater of Today" on Saturdays as well asother network shows.

The Mrs. half of the comedy -detec-tive team, "Mr. and Mrs. North," AliceFrost, thought someone had played atrick on her the other night. Thewoodwork in her bedroom had beenpainted in the afternoon but was stillsticky when Alice shut the door andwent to bed. The next morning shetried and tried to get her bedroomdoor open and couldn't figure out whatwas wrong until it dawned on her thesticky paint had glued her door shut.Alice's loud shouts brought help andAlice made it to rehearsal on time.

Cliff Arquette

It seems there is enough confusion inthe world today, but here is a pictureof "Mrs. Wilson" of "The Dick HaymesShow." "Mrs. Wilson" is really CliffArquette, who originated the charac-ter some time ago. Cliff's father was anexcellent character actor and taughtCliff the tricks of the trade.

Before we close the book on 1947,we want to say we hope you haveenjoyed our shows during the past -year and that you will keep tuned to580 on your dial throughout the newyear!

DECEMBER, 1947

The Man Behind The Man . . .

Have you ever stopped to think thatthe voices we do not hear over themicrophone also make your radio thesource of constant enjoyment that it is?

Indeed, those silent voices which haveso much to do with the pleasurablequality of the stream of entertainmentand information which flows hour byhour from your home receiver out-number the voices you actually hear bytwo or more to one!

We refer proudly and frequently tothe WIBW family. But how many folkswho casually read those references callup before their minds' eye a picturecomposed exclusively of the announ-cers, musicians, actors or news report-ers and commentators whose voices orinstrumental performances they listento from their favorite easy chair?

Yet, behind every such performer onwhose name the bright glare of thepublic spotlight may play with varyingbrilliance there are at least two tech-nical, administrative, production orexecutive experts of whose very exist-ence most of us never hear-and with-out whose constant and painstakingefforts W1BW would not be able to goon pleasing and serving you thirty min-utes.

They too, although hidden deep inthe shadows of personal anonymity, area part-and a vitally important part-of the WIBW family.

Every second that you are relaxingin careless ease listening to voices ormusic coming into your home with apurity of tone that is practically equiva-lent to having the musicians or speakersin the same room with you, betweenthe microphone at which that programis originating and your receiving setthe tireless precision of a highly trainedstaff of radio engineers nurses everynote or syllable.

Their eyes play expertly across wholepanels of dials and indicators. If oneneedle on one dial among the manyflops erratically out of line-signallingto the scientific specialist that the vol-ume of sound on that circuit is momen-tarily too great or too little to reachyour home radio without distortion, orthe tone too high or too low for theparticular microphone to carry properlyto your ears-nimble fingers dart outto adjust a knob or flick a key.

And all the listener has any occasionto know about it is that it is simplymiraculous how radio can transmit

sounds through the air so faithfullythat any of us can even recognize thevoice of our personal friends hundredsof miles away!

It may strike anyone who has notactually sweated through the processwith great surprise to know that forevery minute any radio program is onthe air anywhere from fifteen minutesto an hour is spent in laborious pre-paration. Continuity writers preparescripts, weighing every word as theygo-and then tear the whole thing topieces for revision more often than not.Production assistants and the programdirector supervise every detail of eachshow and of the whole day's scheduleto get just the balance of fun andseriousness, of music and talk that you,the listener, want. But who, outsideof the business, ever hears of them?

The executives keep the whole oper-ation running smoothly, the functionof every department dovetailing neatlywith that of every other and preservinggood humored cooperation betweenscores of people marked by everykind of temperament from the coldyscientific to the somewhat excitableartistic. A harder job it would bedifficult to hand any man. But eventheir names are rarely known to thegeneral public.

Salesmen find the sponsors who makeit possible for American raido listenersto get the best entertainment on earthabsolutely free. When the tens of thou-sands of you write in every year ask-ing for information or passing outpraise or even complaints-it is dueto the clerks and stenographers thatyour letters reach their proper destina-tions and that your replies get to youso promptly.

Yes, they all belong to the WIBWfamily, and each contributes his essen-tial to the satisfaction that you get outof listening to WIBW, though you maynever have heard even one of thosevoices.

Radioaires QuartetteOn New Time

Lee Smith and the Radioaires, pic-tured on page seven in this issue ofthe Round -Up, are now heard daily at5:45, Monday through Friday. Youfolks have been asking for more of thefine gospel quartette numbers, so don'tfail to hear the Radioaires.

5

4401:1,

Unk Russell say . . . "When a manboasts dat his wife is dee best lookin'gal in town, hit's a hundred to one betdat he has a cook . . . a maid and ahousekeeper! An' sides dat . . . youdon't catch a woman with a new babywastin' much time in a beauty parlor!

Guess you all got youre Christmasshopping done, done? Christmas is sonear dat dee kids can already hear deejingle of Santa's sleigh bells. Or maybedat's dee head man of dee householdcountin' his money as he looks overdee long X-mas list.

You can't go to dee Drug store tobuy a tube of toothpaste without itain't all wrapped up in reindeers. SantaClaus comes and dumps all dee presentsout on dee floor and leaves PA holdin'dee bag!

Here's a tip fo' this Christmas; there'sone company making a watch an' apencil combination. They is undecidedif to call it a "watch-cil" or pen-atch."

Don't git dee idee dat people thinkyou is so all -fired generous by deeamount of free advice you gives away!But they is one thing you can giveaway dat comes back to you all year!Dat's dee spirit of "good will towardmen dat makes dee Xmas season ahappy one. Iffen all dee people couldjust git dee idee in Jere heads datwhat is good fur one man is good fo''nuther.

At Christmas time dee worl' seemsright,

Dere's joy an' laughter, hearts islight,

Folks spread a lot of cheer;Dee Christmas Spirit seems devine,But listen, wounldn't it be fineTo keep it all dee year?Merry Xmas & Happy New Year.

Bright Scholar-Teacher: "Do youknow why the earth turns round thesun on its axis?"

Scholar: "Yes sir. Because it don'twant to be roasted too much on oneside."

"Roses is redViolets is blue

Xmas is here -Where wuzz you?"

WIBW ROUND -UP

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Folks, we have a treat in store. Ourown "OLE LIVGREN" has made abrand new Ole -Vox. This boy is reallya genius. He conceives an idea nearlyevery week for another type of instru-ment combining all sorts of beautifultones. He calls this one the "SUPER-OLE-VOX". Ten more tubes havehave been added which make a totalof thirty-two . . . twenty new toneswhich produce sixty different effects. . . chimes . . . three speakers . . .

brilliantly colored lights . . . and abrand new cabinet-all are a combin-ation of this wonder SUPER -DUPER -invention Be sure and drop OLE acard and let him know if you like it.He spent three long months workingto produce it -

LITTLE ESTHER who lives nextdoor to OLE said she thought severaltimes burglars were trying to break infrom the sound of funny squeaks andscrapings she heard during the night

but soon the tune of Doodle-De-Doo

.

with chimes added told herthat it was only OLE still at work onhis new masterpiece . . .

Speaking of chimes . . . we have adoor -bell chime. If you push it lightlyit doesn't chime. It has to have a littleforce added to the pushing of the but-ton. One night not long ago theSHIPLEYS drove by and seeing us inthe living room decided to drop in fora call. GENE pushed the chime but-ton lightly. We kept right on with ourreading, not hearing the bell. Finally,they left. He treated me rather coolythe next day . . . until I learned thereason. Then we had a good laughabout the chime that didn't chime.Next time he promises to pound his fist.

DOC EMBREE sent RALPH RAD-ISH downtown to get him some films.He gave him a dollar bill, saying hethought that would cover the charge.When RALPH came back, DOC said,"How much were the films?" RALPHanswered, "Eighty cents-here's yourchange". After RALPH gave DOC thetwenty cents change, DOC said, "Now,where's my dollar." "Oh, please excuseme" said RALPH, handing him thedollar, "I really didn't mean to keepit" . . . PLEASE!!!

MAUREEN and VIRGINIA LEEhave birthdays coming up this month.They are asking the same favor thisyear as they did last-"Our birthdaysare so close to Christmas, please haveour party early so that it doesn't runtoo near holiday shopping time-afterall, we want our share". Tsk, Tsk.

CHUCK WAYNE was looking fornew furniture last month as the ladywho had rented him her furnishedhouse decided to take her things to an-other place. This month the landlordsold the property-so now CHUCK islooking for a house to put the furniturein-that he was looking for last month.

ART HOLBROOK has a beautifulnew Studebaker covertible . HENRYPE.thliS has a new Buick convertible. . . HILTON HODGES sported a newBuick convertible in 1940 . . ART aPackard convertible in 1941, therebystarting an epidemic for we'uns of1947.

DON HOPKINS has a new pair ofglasses . . . He used to be a professorin a high school . . . the glasess makehim look very "professorish" as wellas dignified and handsome . . .

Speaking of school teachers-duringthe teacher's convention here, two love-ly schoolmarms visited GENE andRENE FOSTER of the RADIOAIRES.

AMBROSE HALEY and the MIC-COLIS SISTERS have just finishedmaking some new recordings, whichmay be ordered through them . . .

KATHRYN YOUNG, of our Pub-lic Relations Department at WIBWleft us last month . . . she has decidedto follow the housewife profession. Wehated to lose her . . . the girls in ouroffices were guests at a special dinnergiven in KATHRYN'S honor by ED -NA HANN, secretary to MR. LUDY ...

ELMER CURTIS and family at-tended the big barbecue given a fewweeks ago by the Round Up Club ofTopeka . . . COL. COMBS is mailingout twice as many Planters Guides.He tells me the folks are sending themout as Christmas gifts . . . this is agood idea and, as a matter of sugges-tion, why not send a subscription tothe ROUND UP MAGAZINE and oneof HINT MONTHLY along, too. Also,you might like to give one of our staff

recordings as a gift. SHEP . . . ED-MUND . . . DUDE . . . THE RADIO -AIRES . . . HOLDENS . . . MAUDIEAND OLE . . . have records avail-able now.

EZRA HAWKINS and the BARNOTHIN' boys can be heard in a newprogram sponsored by Michigan Bulbseach morning Monday through Fridayat 10:30 AM. EZRA . . . BOBBIE DICK. . . GLENN OSBORN . . . HEINIEHAYNES and RALPH RADISH areon the show . . . ORVILLE STRIMPLEone of our enginers, was in the Con-trol Room during the SATURDAYNIGHT ROUND UP on which TIPSHARP of THE HOLDEN BOYS, sangthe "Mule Skinner Blues". ORVILLEenjoyed the number and told me later,"Boy, that TIP was really SHARPtonight, wasn't he?" . . .

We took some of our entertainersout to WINTER VETERANS HOSPI-TAL not long ago to play and singfor the patients. They are such grandfellows it is a pleasure to entertainfor them. They applauded greatly forBOBBIE, GLENN, VIRGINIA LEE,DOC AND ESTHER, MAUREEN,EDMUND, HEINIE, CHUCK A N DCLARK, SHEP, EZRA, THE RADIO -AIRES, and DUDE HANK. We willhave another group going out therearound Christmas time . . . By theway, CHRISTMAS! . . . say, it's justaround the corner, isn't it? I'd betterget to Woolworth's before closing time.MERRY CHRISTMAS, folks - I reallymean it.

- Miss Maudie

Judge-The evidence shows, Mrs.Grizzly, that you threw a rolling pin atyour husband.

Mrs.-It shows more than that; itshows I hit him.

Glenn Muncy-"Sorry to hear yourengagement is broken off, old man."

Joe Brooks-"I'll get over it, I guessbut the worst blow was when she re-turned my ring marked 'Glass'."

The modern girl's hair may look likea mop, but that doesn't worry her-shedoesn't know what a mop looks like.

TONGUE TWISTERSThree gay geese on three green hills.

Gray were the geese and green werethe hills.

Theophilus Thistle thrust threethousand thistles through the thick ofhis thumb.

A crop of poppies in a copper coffeepot.

DECEMBER, 1947 7

THE RADIOAIRESRay Morse, Rene Foster, B C. Kendricks, Lee Smith and Gene Foster

8 WIBW ROUND -UP

oCND STPUbLet -77/1/i012

Ezra said to be sure and tell all ofyou that he wears size 16 shirts witha 33 sleeve in case you are planningto buy a Christmas present for him.He said things were pretty rough atthe ranch these days and a used onewould be all right. (What a way tostart a column).

Saw Lambert Bartak in Omaha lastweek. He's working on the SUPREMESALAD WAFER program on an Omahastation and sent his best to Edmundand the WIBW gang and to all of you.He's married and still plays a finebunch of accordian music. EdwardNorth, son of Ted North of the famousNorth Brothers Shows, was in townlast month. He is now Michael Northof the movies. But he enjoyed cominghome for a KU football game and see-ing all of his old friends in Topeka.He said Uncle Abner is in Hollywood,appearing on many network programsin different character roles.

Here at WIBW last month, there wasa sudden and startling rash of newautomobiles. Maudie and Dude idledby in an Olds convertible, a few dayslater Art Holbrook slammed on thebrakes and sauntered away from aStudebaker convertible and the verynext day Henry Peters drove up,yawned, and stepped lightly from aBuick convertible. A birdie told an-other fellow that Edmund may have anew one soon. Hambones put a newcrank in his Model -T.

Elmer Curtis, maintenance man ofthe saddle department of the TopekaRoundup Club, spent a busy week -endrecently. The Roundup Club barbe-qqued a beef, set up some tents andhad a great party near Hoyt. Elmerand the big gang enjoyed all the foodin the evening and slipped back in themorning for flapjacks, eggs and coffee.EH likes his food and according to him,it was the best feast in years.

One of our WIBW-FM announcers,Ed Doty, is planning to start a radiostation of his own at Washburn Muni-cipal University. It will be a low -powered station covering the campusbut Ed is all set to rock the broad-casting industry. He will present pro-grams from all the departments, playthe music the students enjoy most --and best of all, will have a picnic doingit.

If you visited the American Royal,no doubt you saw Gene Shipley or one

of us in our booth. It was anotherwonderful show and we all enjoyedhaving a small part in it. Gene broad-cast several programs from there, inter-viewing the young men and womenwho had brought stock to the show.

One of the highlights of the Fallseason in Topeka is the State TeachersConvention. This year, dozens of themcame to WIBW and we enjoyed meet-ing them. Jasper had several appleson hand and Art's ears were pointedat times, but seriously, they're a finegroup of folks and are apreciated lessthan any group in the country.

You folks who are dog lovers willlike this one. Chuck Wayne insiststhat Peggy, his Irish setter dog cameto a full point down on Kansas Avenuethe other day. Chuck says he lookedaround for a covey of quail, sincePeggy had never been known to pointunless there was quail around. Theday was saved for Peggy when a manat whom she was pointing introducedhimself as Bob White!

Jerome came around the other daywith what loked to me like a legitimategripe. He told me that he and Henryhad been singing together for nineteenyears last Armistice Day and he leafedthrough his copy of last month'sRound -Up magazine and not one word

was said about their anniversary.They're a little late, fellows, but nonethe less sincere . . . congratulationsfrom us all.

December is Christmas Party month,a 15 -year -old custom at WIBW. Wehave a big party, exchange gifts andSanta Combs passes out the presents.Best of all, we get a free dinner andget to gossip about Mrs. So-and-So'snew dress and "Wonder -where -he -got -that tie". With 75 folks working here,our party numbers more than 150,leaving the youngsters at home at that.We always have a fine time. (Thatshirt size is mine, too.)

Merry Christmas to you and yours,too!!

Radio's Quickest ResultsRadio is well known as the fastest

medium of advertising, but we believethat WIBW set some kind of a recordthe other day.

One morning while Elmer Curtiswas driving to the studios, Butch, hisdog, jumped out of the car. Elmer wasjust a little pressed for time, so hedrove on to the station, expecting togo back and get the dog later. Nextmorning "Butch" was still among themissing, so Elmer made an announce-ment to that effect in the closing min-utes of the Shepherd's program.

Hearing a noise at the door, Elmerinvestigated. There stood "Butch," lessthan two minutes after the announce-ment was aired. Elmer swears the dogheard the announcement.

Elmer Curtis, of the Pink Ointment, Waterless Cleaner and Lee Noon NewsCurtisses, spends his afternoons chasing his greyhounds, who spend their after-noons chasing coyotes. Now Jasper will tell you that Elmer borrowed thecoyote for the above picture . . . I wouldn't know. The car in the picture wasElmer's inspiration for his poetic masterpiece, "My Model A."

DECEMBER, 1947 9

TheVoicesjallear Along, the REDGene fAipley.

WIRE vs. TAPE"What is the difference between a

Tape Recording, and a Wire Record-ing?" This question is asked so oftenby the folks we visit when we are mak-ing farm recordings, I know this samequestion must have been raised bymany others, so I will try and explainthe different methods we use at WIBWto make our "on the farm" interviews.

In the first place, there is little dif-ference between any of the methodsas far as the final result is concerned.In wire -recording the voice is im-pressed on a very small moving wire,and then the process is reversed forplaying back. In tape-recording thevoice is impressed magnetically on amoving tape. The tape in this case isa roll of very thin, tough paper about1/4 inch wide, coated on one side withan extremely thin layer of metal. Itis the metal coating that carries thevoice impressions, just as the wire doeson the wire -recorder. Electrical trans-criptions are recordings made on largedisks very similar to the well knownphonograph record you use on thehome record player. However, for radiouse, large 16 inch discs are used andthey are recorded and played back ata much slower speed. The reason forthis is to be able to make a full 15minute program on one disc, and it isalso possible to get better quality ofvoice and music at the slower speed.The continuous rolls of wire and tape,used on these devices will reproducea full 30 minute program if desired.

When we began making on -the -spotfarm recordings early in 1945 a wirerecorder was used altogether. It wasthe only device available at that timesmall enough and light enough to carryaround with us, and we could also takeit with us in the "Flying Rooster "About a year ago we began using amodified model of a commercial taperecorder. This particular machine wenow use has been largely re -designedby the WIBW enginering departmentto make it more adaptable to our work.and better suited for broadcast. Themodel we now carry with us in theWIBW "Flying Rooster" is actuallyonly about 20 inches long, 14 incheswide and 8 inches deep, weighs about30 pounds and is encased in a stainlesssteel cabinet, not much larger than aportable radio. It was specially designed

for our use by the WIBW engineers.The machine we now use gives muchbetter results for broadcast purposesthan the earlier wire -recorder, be-cause of the superior quality on bothvoice and music. Wire -recorders havealso improved since the early modelswere first introduced, but the tapemachine seems best adapted to ourparticular type of program. However,as far as the final result is concerned,any method of recording-wire, tape ortranscription, is just about like thesong that was such a rage a few yearsago, "the music goes round and round.and comes out here." It all depends onhow you want to use it.

"Do we save all the tape recordingswe make on the farms?" That questio.iis often asked, and the answer is yes,and no. We save them, but not as theywere originally made "on the tape."Just as soon as the WIBW FlyingRooster gets in from a trip, the recor-der is brought to the studio, and eachinterview is re-recorded. This is, it istaken off the tape and put on a trans-cription record for delayed broadcast.Each interview is numbered and a cardis made giving a description of thelength, location, time and date and a

short description of the subject matter.This card goes -into a special farmtranscription file. All these transcrip-tions are saved, but the original tapesare then erased, and used over againon the next trip.

Many interesting farm stories havecome back to the WIBW studios in thatlittle steel box, and we hope to bringyou many more farm features in 1948.

"Now, Ozzie!" says Harriet to herhusband, Ozzie Nelson, who simply willnot tell her what he's bought her forChristmas. In real life, Ozzie andHarriet are as cute as they are on theirCBS show, "The Adventures of Ozzieand Hari let;

Plenty of harmony here! The Carlson, that's Dude Hank and Miss Maudie,work out a lot of their musical arrangements in their own home.

10 WIBW ROUND -UP

Questions,,/lilswers

Q: Where is Alice Joyce? Is shemarried and does she have any child-ren?

A: Grand Island, Nebr. She is mar-ried to Leonard McEwen . . no children.

Q: Who are the "Ranch Hands"?A: Dude Hank, trumpet; Chuck

Wayne, guitar; Miss Maudie, piano;Maureen, violin; Heinie, bass fiddle;Ole, accordian; Kenny, clarinet. Othermembers of the talent staff often sub-stitute.

Q: Which one of the Wayne brothersplays the part of Jasper?

A: Chuck.Q: Where are Al Clauser and his

gang?A: Fort Worth, Texas.Q: Where is Don Austin?A: Peoria, Illinois.Q: Where can I buy a larger selec-

tion of recordings of WIBW enter-tainers?

A: New releases are being planned,but a lot depends upon the recordingruling passed down by Mr. Petrillo,president of the American Federationof Musicians.

Q: What kind of work does GlennOsborn's wife do?

A: Ann Netta does secretarial workfor the Santa Fe.

Q: I would like a recording of"Somewhere in Old Wyoming" with"Near You" on the back. Could youfolks at WIBW make it for me?

A: We could, but the cost would beso great as to be inhibitive. You see,it is only through mass productionthat it is possible for us to bring yourecordings of any type at a reasonableprice. Regular phonograph records arelike your "Round -Up" magazine. Ifwe just had one magazine printed eachmonth, it would cost in the neighbor-hood of five hundred dollars. Recordsgo through a procedure somethinglike this . . . First the "master" recordis "cut," a process very similar to themaking of home recordings, only much,much more accurately. From the ini-tial acetate cut, metal records aremade, and from these metal records,hundreds of additional records are"pressed." In other words, the record-ings you buy are not the same as thoseyou make in your own home; they arepressed and are made of much more

durable material. There is quite a lotmore to it than meets first glance.Permisison must be obtained from thecopyright holder before a recording canbe made of any musical composition,and this also adds to the cost.

Q: Does Ole still play his Ole -Vox?A: I'll say he does. You know Ole

lives next door and for the past fewmonths he has been rebuilding the Ole -Vox. Sometimes in the middle of thenight chills play hide and seek alongmy spinal chord, closely pursued bya shrill note from the Ole -Vox. Hehas promised, under threat of expul-sion from the neighborhood to movethe Ole -Vox to the radio station, andthen we can all get some sleep andyou folks can again enjoy his music.

Q: Where is Sonny Slater? WayneMidkiff? Fairley Holden? Emory Mar-tin? Lane Shaw?

A: Sonny is in Pattonburg, Mo.,Wayne in Kentucky, Fairley in Knox-ville, Tennessee, Emory in Renfro Val-ley, Kentucky and Lane is in Birming-ham, Ala.

Q: When is Donna Lee Hopkins'birthday?

A: Donna Lee was born May 8, 1938.Q: Are you going to continue the

family group pictures in the "Round -Up"?

A: Yes. Bobbie Dick's family will bea feature of the January issue.

Q: Is Bobbie Dick's new baby a red-head?

A: Yes.Q: Where can I get the calls Colonel

Combs uses on the square dance tunes?A: I wouldn't know. They were

handed down to Colonel through hisfamily. M.M. Cole, Chicago music pub-lisher has a book of square dancetunes and calls that is possibly avail-able through your local music dealer.

Q: Who is Hambones?A: Homer Cunningham.Q: Is Edmund Denney blind?A: Yes.Q: Do you really square dance on

the Pleasant Valley show?A: Sometimes.Q: Where is Pleasant Valley?A: We aren't trying to fool you. The

Pleasant Valley show is produced inour own studios. Our Pleasant Valleyis purely imaginary.

Q: Is Edmund Denney the same Ed-mund we used to hear from ClayCenter, Nebraska about ten years ago?

A: He's the same one, all right. Ed-mund has been with WIBW for overten years.

Q: I collect pictures of radio enter-tainers. Is there any way I could getthe original pictures of those used inthe "Round -Up?" I would be glad topay you what they cost you.

A: Sorry. Those pictures cost on theaverage of five dollars each. I doubtthat you would want to pay that muchfor them and besides, they're all pastedin my scrap book.

Q: I have every issue of the "Round-up" since the very start. I notice someof the entertainers have many morepictures than others. Why is this?

A: Folks seem to be more interestedin some of the fellows and girls than inothers. My aim is to please the great-est number of you folks, so I includepictures of those most requested inyour letters.

Keep your questions coming, folks.We'll answer them unless we just don'tknow the answers, or unless they're toopersonal. Please don't ask about thewages of the boys and girls or theirreligious beliefs. I've worked withthem for several yeass and still don'tfeel that I know them well enoughto ask questions of that natune. You'veall been swell about enclosing stampedenvelopes with questions you wantanswered by mail. We're always gladto hear from you.

We just have room enough for thispicture of Virginia Lee you folks havebeen asking for.

HILTON HODGES(Continued from Page 2)

listened. But it was a job, so I tookit-and liked it. That was in 1935.

In 1936, I came to WIBW, close onthe heels of Edmund, Ole, Carl Hunt,Jud Woods and a few others who hadcome down a few months before. Thenfollowed six -and -a -half years of ex-tremely pleasant work under DonSearle and our present grand boss,Ben Ludy. This work included, writing,special events, Roundup trips, andsports and was the finest experienceany radio man could ever get. Thereare so many "special" occasions inthose years that it would be an endlessstory to tell them all-but one standsout particularly. That was the NationalCornhusking Contest at Marshall, Mis-souri in 1937. It rained all day andElmer and I carried the portable trans-mitters on horses to broadcast the bangof the ears on the backboards and themiscellaneous noises. We didn't mindthe electricity that flowed out throughthe rain into our trousers but myhorse (who of course, I hadn't had achance to meet) didn't care for it at all.But it was a good show-and the nextday Dorothy and I got married in St.Louis. Well, it wasn't quite as fast asthat. I had known her for six months.

When I went into the Navy in 1942,Dorothy went to Chicago and livedwith her sister, who was in radio andis now on CBS. We traveled to Dallas,New Orleans, Olathe, St. Louis andNorman, with quick trips here andthere on temporary duty. Being a littleolder than Mr. Forrestal thought suit-able for combat flying, we were heldin the States and I spent my days as aflight instructor.

After release in 1945, we returnedto Topeka, bought a home (ouch!) and

DECEMBER, 1947

were happy to come back with BenLudy and all the fine gang. And inthe two years since, I have enjoyed anew and different job as sales servicemanager, which means traveling andhandling some of the hundred odd jobsaround a radio station that few folksknow about. Now and then, a programfor one of the buddies in the an-nouncer's room; which is fun.

The usual paragraph about activities,includes Lions Club, Junior Chamber ofCommerce, Masons, American Legion,Amvets and Methodists.

My family luckily is still complete.Dad and Mother have a grocery store

COULD I GET YOU ACOKE OR SOMETHINGMR. HODGES' SIR?

11

in Clay Center and the other "malechild", who was medically retired bythe Army Air Forces and had anotheroperation at Winter General Hospitallast summer has met a fine nurse fromQuinter, Kansas, married her and evenfound an apartment. Nothing wrongwith that guy!

Radio in general, and WIBW in parti-cular, gets into your blood. It's thepeople you meet and get to know likeyour own. I like it here.

But in case anyone asks you to writea story like this, the easiest and bestthing to do is to say "I'll tell him whenhe comes in".

AT THE RIPE OLDAGE OF 34 AFTER 13YEARS IN RADIO -HILTON IS NOWTHE SALES SERVICEMANAGER OF WIBW

WIBW PROGRAM SCHEDULE580 on Your Dial

Due to last minute program changes, WIBW cannot guar-antee complete accuracy of this schedule.

Programs in heavy type are Studio Presentations.

MORNING5:00-Daybreak Jamboree Mon. thru Sat.5:40-News Mon. thru Sat.6:00-Bobbie Dick Mon. thru Sat.

Sunday Morning Meeting Sun.6:15-To Be Announced (Peruna) Mon. thru Sat.6:35-Farm Service News

(Marysville Livestock) Mon. thru Sat.6:45-Hymn Time with Doc and Esther.. Tues., Thurs., Sat.

(Pierce Proprietaries) Mon., Wed., Fri.7:00-News (B. F. Goodrich) Mon. Wed., Fri.

(Carey Salt) Tues., Thurs., Sat.7:15-Shepherd of the Hills Tues., Thurs., Sat.

(Nutrena Mills) Mon., Wed., Fri.Radioaires Sun.

7:30-Henry and Jerome (Wait -Cahill) Mon. thru Sat.Bethel Covenant Church Sun.

7:45-Edmund Denney rune(Merchants Biscuit) Mon. thru Sat

8:00-News (Omega Oil) Mon., Wed.. Fri.(Dannen Mills) Tues., Thurs., FinFarmers Forum Sun

8:05-Henry and Jerome Tues., Thurs., Sat.(Vicks) Mon., Wed., Fri.

8:15-Hymn Time with Doc and Esther Mon. thru Fri.Capital Food Review Sat.Farm News Sun.

8:30-Henry's Exchange Mon. thru FriKansas News Sun.

8:45-Bobbie and Glenn Sat.Mr. Veteran Sun.

9:00-Shepherd of the Hills Mon. thru SatChurch of the Air Sun.

9:15-News Mon. thru Sat10:00-Warren Sweeney, News (Curtiss Candy) Sun.10:05-Negro College Chorus Sun.10:30-Bar Nothing Ranch (Michigan Bulbs) ..Mon, thru Fri.

Adventures Club (W. A. Shaeffer Pen Co.) Sat.

August M . Flakes_Lekiays KaLisas. ate 2

Return toWIBW ROUND -UP

MAGAZINE

Box 981, Topeka, Kansas

POSTMASTER:Return Postage Guaranteed

Salt Lake City Tabernacle Sun10:45-Ambrose Haley and the Ozark Ramblers

(Procter and Gamble) Mon. thru Fri.11:00-Judy and Jane (Folger Coffee) Mon. thru Fri

Theater of Today (Armstrong Cork Co.) Sat.First Methodist Church Sun.

1.1:15-Aunt Jenny's Stories (Lever Bros.) Mon. thru Fri.11:30-Weather Bureau Mon. thru Sat11:35-Dinner Hour Mon. thru Sat.

AFTERNOON12:00-News (Lee Foods) Mon. thru Sat

News Sun.12:15-Markets (DeKalb) Mon. thru Sat.

Rainbow Trail Sun.12:45-M. L. Nelson (Garst and Thomas) Sun.1:00-Invitation to Learning Sun.1:30-Ernie Quigley, Sports Sun.2:00-Grain Markets Mon. thru Fri.

CBS Symphony Sun.2:05-Kansas Round -Up Mon. thru Fri.2:30-Mary Lee Taylor (Pet Milk) Sat.2:45-Kansas Roundup (Kolorbak) Mon. thru Fri.3:00-To Be Announced Mon., Wed., Fri.

Radioaires Tues., Thurs.Let's Pretend (Cream of Wheat) Sat.

3:25-NEWS (Groves Laboratories) Mon. thru Sat.3:30-Second Mrs. Burton (General Foods) ... Mon. thru Fri.

Give and Take (Toni, Inc.) Sat.Hour of Charm (Electric Companies'

Adv. Program) Sun.3:45-Ma Perkins (Procter and Gamble) Mon. thru Fri.4:00-Big Sister (Procter and Gamble) Mon. thru Fri.

Treasury Dept. Guest Star Sat.Prudential Family Hour (Prudential Insurance).Sun.

4:15-The Guiding Light(Procter and Gamble) Mon. thru Fri.

4:30-County Fair (Borden Co.) Sat.News Sun.

4:45-Senator Arthur Capper Sun.5:00-Public Service Sat.

Old Fashioned Revival Hour(Gospel Broadcasting Ass'n) Sun.

5:15-Grand Central Station (Pillsbury Mills) Sat5:30-Lum N' Abner (Alka Seltzer) Mon, thru Fri.5:45-Radioaires Mon. thru Fri.

News (Phillips 66) Sat.

EVENING6:00-News (Butternut Coffee) Mon., Wed., Fri.

(Phillips 66) Tues., Thurs.Man on the Farm (Quaker Oats) Sat.Gene Autry Show (Wm. Wrigley, Jr.) Sun.

6:15-Songs of Bobbie Dick Mon. thru Fri6:30-Rainbow Trail Mon., Wed., Fri

Piano Ramblings Tues.Twilight Serenade Thurs.Romance Sat.Blondie (Colgate) Sun.

Sec. 562. P. L. & R.

PAIDU. S. PostagePermit No. 2

Topeka, Kansas

6:45-News Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri.Olaf Soward's Viewpoint Thurs.

7:00-Inner Sanctum (Emerson Drug Co.) Mon.Big Town (Ironized Yeast) Tues.American Melody Hour (The Bayer Co.) Wed.F.B.I. In Peace and War (Lava) Thurs.Baby Snooks (General Foods) Fri.Dairyman's Roundtable Sat.Adventures of Sam Spade (Wildroot Co.) Sun.

7:15-News Sat.7:30-Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (Lipton's Tea)..Mon.

Mr. and Mrs. North (Colgate) Tues.Dr. Christian (Chesbrough Mfg. Co.) Wed.Mr. Keen; Tracer of Lost Persons

(Whitehall Pharm. Co.) Thurs.Adventures of The Thin Man (General Foods) ....Fri.Vaughn Monroe (R. J. Reynolds) Sat.Man Called X (General Motors, Frigidaire

Division) Sun.7:55-NEWS (Garst and Thomas) Mon., Wed., Fri.

(Ray Beers Clothing Co.) Tues., Thurs., Sat.8:00-Lux Radio Theatre (Lever Bros.) Mon.

Pleasant Valley Tues.Rhapsody In Rhythm (Old Gold) Wed.Dick Haymes Show (Auto-Lite) Thurs.The Borden Program (Borden Co.) Fri.Kansas Round -Up Sat.Meet Corliss Archer (Campbell Soup) Sun.

8:15-Kansas Roundup (Mantle Lamp) Sat.8:30-Studio One Tues.

Sweeney and March Wed.Crime Photographer (Anchor -Hocking) Thurs.To Be Announced Fri.The New Tony Martin Show (Texas Co.) Sun.

8:45-Kansas Roundup (Flex -o -Glass) Sat.9:00-My Friend Irma (Lever Bros.) Mon.

Public Service Wed.Readers Digest, Radio Editon (Hall Bros.) Thurs.It Pays to Be Ignorant (Philip Morris) Fri.Kansas Round -Up (Western Stationery) Sat.Christopher Wells (Chrysler Corp.) Sun.

9:15-Emahizer Melodies (Emahizer-SpielmanFurniture Co.) Wed.

9:30-Screen Guild Players (R. J. Reynolds) Mon.Open Hearing 'rues.Escape Wed.To Be Announced Thurs.Spotlight Revue (Coca Cola Co.) Fri.Robert Q. Lewis Little Show Sun.

10:00-NEWS (The Fleming Co.) Mon. thru Sun.10:15-Variety Time Mon., Fri.

Shopping At Bomgardners(Bomgardner's Furn. Co.) Wed.

ERNIE QUIGLEY, SPORTS 'rues., Thurs.Emahizer Melodies

(Emahizer-Spielman Furniture Co.) Sun.10:30-Salute To FM Tues., Wed., Thurs., Sat.

Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet(International Silver) Sun.

11:00-News Mon. thru Sun.12:00-News Mon. thru Sun.