Radio Daze

In the early 70's I lived in Lynchburg, Virginia. While traveling between home and school, Dad and I noticed an old radio on the tree lawn of a house near Sandusky Elementary. It was a wood, console-model unit that appeared to be quite old, even then.

After a bit of pleading, Dad inquired about the radio to confirm that it was being discarded with the trash. Soon afterward, we were stuffing it into out two door, 1970 Ford Maverick.

The vintage radio was mine! If my memory is correct, the device pictured here closely resembles my own curbside discovery... a 1937 model 37-60F.

As it happened, the console receiver was a PHILCO, with AM and shortwave bands. Inside its luxurious cabinet, everything was fully intact, except for the speaker. It functioned perfectly. From that day forward, it became my favorite way to explore the broadcasting universe.

I tuned in lots of distant stations, like WOWO (Fort Wayne, IN); WSB (Atlanta, GA); and WWWE (Cleveland, OH). Many foreign stations were also readily available, thanks to the shortwave bands. I enjoyed England's BBC and Germany's Radio Deutsche Welle.

Eventually, my PHILCO landed in the attic as a childhood relic. After I left home, it was given away. But even now, I can hear the crackle of that old friend, and see the glow of its vacuum tubes...

Especially when tuning around the dial in search of listening adventure!