Radio on the Farm

Radio brought music, news and entertainment to farm families who were previously isolated from the world.

Transcript

The vast Iowa prairie always held its farm families in isolation, but by the mid-20s telephones, automobiles, trucks and improved roads linked the farms. And radio waves—broadcast from as far off as Pittsburgh and Los Angeles—brought news, music and entertainment right into their living rooms. Farmers relied on their radios for up to the minute weather and market reports while they gained a new awareness of the world.

(radio show)

That was back in 1925, I think, when I first heard a radio. Oh, they had all kinds of music programs and so forth and markets and some programs to explain some things about farming.

Iowa Heritage Roots in the Soil

©1979

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