The Radio Tower

Long Island historian Chris Verga's latest book looks at Nassau and Suffolk counties during some of the most pivotal years of the 20th century: World War II. On today's episode, we talk to Chris about life during that time and the role Long Island played in the war effort. You'll hear about Grumman, Republic, and the vital work of the region's aviation industry. We also discuss the activities of the German American Bund on the island and the experiences of German prisoners of war in the community.

LIRTVHS has made its own study of this era with the Long Island Home Front oral history project, collecting the stories and experiences of everyday life during wartime.

Links

• World War II Long Island: The Home Front in Nassau and Suffolk by Chris Verga (va Amazon)
• @chrisv1081 Chris Verga on Twitter
• The Long Island Home Front oral histories
  • Recommend someone for an interview
• Bayles Local History Room (Longwood Public Library)

Join us for part III of our conversation with board member John Vuolo. We continue our look at the advancement of radio technology up through the 1970s with some detours along the way.

We're running a miniseries of interviews with LIRTVHS board member John Vuolo about the history and development of radios.

John is a radio collector and restoration expert, in charge of helping build and maintain the Society's collections.

Today we march through the 1930s, 40s and some of the 50s, talking about car radios, console radios, and a fellow collector named Auggie.

We're running a miniseries of interviews with LIRTVHS board member John Vuolo about the history and development of radios.

John is a radio collector and restoration expert, in charge of helping build and maintain the Society's collections.

Today we tackle the 1920s and the earliest commercially-available sets. How did they operate, how many survive, and how do you go about making them work again?

Today we speak with Bob Hobday about the operations of the Antique Wireless Museum in Bloomfield, New York. 

You can visit them at: https://antiquewireless.org/

Radio was still king during the 1930s and 40s. It was a golden age for tuning in to shows like The Shadow, The Lone Ranger, and others.

On today's episode, we offer a quick look at radio memories from the narrators taking part in the Long Island Home Front.

Narrators: Fred Seitz, Jack Beebe, Rhoda McManus, Jo Eichner, Walter Winicki, Fred Scopinich, Jack Kratoville

Links:

• Long Island Home Front
• National Home Front Project
• Music
  • Sweet Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon
  • Used under an Attribution 4.0 License
  • AM Tuning from NobodyYouKnow of via FreeSound.org

On this episode of the Radio Tower, we feature more excerpts from the Long Island Home Front oral history project.  The subject is aviation and a time of frantic activity on Long Island. With companies like Grumman and Republic Aviation and airfields like Mitchel and Roosevelt Field, there was plenty for a young boy to see in the skies overhead.

Narrators:

• Jack Beebe
• Jack Kratoville
• Fred Seitz
• Walter Winicki
• Jim Connell

Cindy Clifford never had a plan but she still found her way to a meaningful career in Long Island radio, from WRCN in Riverhead to WWHB in Hampton Bays to a long stint on the WALK morning show with Mark Daniels. 

Today she tells us more about what drew her to working behind the mic, her thoughts on the state of radio today, and her current podcasting efforts.

Links

• It's Me, Cindy (podcast)
• Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukoff (find in a library via WorldCat)
• Breakfast with Mark Daniels (podcast)
• Radio Turns to 'Jack' for Format Fix (NPR)

Station Bibliography

• WRCN Riverhead 103.9 FM
• WWHB Hampton Bays 107.1 FM
• WALK East Patchogue 97.5 FM
• WLNG Sag Harbor 92.1 FM
• WBAB Babylon 102.3 FM

Life has taken Larry Davidson from a bodega in Spanish Harlem to a vineyard in Aquebogue and many places in between. Through it all, his keen mind and relentless curiosity have helped him forge a career in broadcasting as an interviewer of authors, singer songwriters, politicians, and more. He's worked on WGBB and Cablevision as well as on a number of well-received series conducted at libraries and other cultural centers around the region.  His latest is a foray into podcasting with The Artful Periscope.

Join us on a trip through Larry's life. We'll meet Long Island broadcasters past and present, prominent authors such as Nelson Demille and Pete Hamill, and musicians like Woody, Arlo, and Sarah Lee Guthrie. Along the way we talk about everything from podcasting to early soap operas to the mind of the long distance runner.

Links

• Larry Davidson Productions
• The Artful Periscope
• Sachem Public Library (The Booth)

We're featuring more segments from the Long Island Home Front, our oral history project focusing on the impact of World War 2 on Long Island. Today we hear from Marie Mack, Brooklyn Native and longtime Mount Sinai summer resident.

We spoke with Marie in the same spot where her family started visiting Mount Sinai in 1924. Married by the start of the war, she had to move back into her parents' home with her young daughter, her husband shipped overseas in the Army Air Force. She gives us a valuable look at what it was like to be a working woman during the war years.

Unfortunately, Marie Mack passed away earlier last year at the age of 100. We are honored to have spoken with her and been able to preserve some of these memories.

Do you or someone you know have their own expereinces of Long Island during World War II? We'd love to hear from you as these stories are slipping away and we are committed to preserving them for future generations. You can get in touch with us online and we'll follow up on how the interviewing works. We are working in partnership with the National Home Front Project at Washington College's Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.