Radio

Growing up, my grandfather may not of had indoor plumbing, his family did have a radio. The families radio would sit in the dining room. On Saturdays, the Hatchel household would gather around the radio to hear the Opera, which came from Chicago. My grandfather stated this was his mother’s favorite thing to listen to. On Sunday evenings, the family could be seen listening to classical music, which I think influenced both my Grandfather and his sister. I once, after visiting my extended family on my grandfather’s side, commented on how there was not a house without a piano. 

My grandfather and grandmother both talked about their favorite radio programs, these included Shadow Nose, Lone Ranger, Soap Operas (a genre my grandmother  still watches today), and station WTAD for the weather and news. Both stated that listening to the radio was a family thing; with only one radio in the house they would all sit around and listen to the different programs.  I can only imagine the arguments that may of arose from what program would be listened to. As my grandfather reached high school, he had an old radio that he fixed up and put in the barn. He would listen to it while he milked the cows. He talks about having to go into town to see Mr. Howard the local radio repair man, in order to replace the tubes. 

My mother tells me, that when she was growing up my

grandfather would do yard work in the summer with a small transistor radio listening to the Cardinals play baseball.  She even told me that one time he left it in the yard and they spent months looking for the radio. He ended up buying a new one, and once spring came around the next year they found it in the yard. Unfortunately, it no longer worked. Today, my grandparents have Sirius XM in their car and frequently listen to it, although in my grandfather’s opinion there are way too many stations. My grandfather will also listen to the MU games when they are not shown on television. My grandfather says that if they are not in the car, then they are not listening to radio, mostly because they do not even have a radio in there house! But, like my grandfather says, "who needs radio and sound when you have the music of nature surrounding you."