In 1921, when my mother was thirteen, there was only one licensed radio station in the U.S., and it was in Pittsburgh. And yet, on the first Saturday of summer vacation, she got together with friends in Queens, and they listened to a radio. All over the Northeast, people were doing the same. Many years later, she would look back on that afternoon, and tell me how exciting it felt.
As you can guess, this month's Ancient Hixtory is not really about Hicksville. It is about one episode in the history of commercial radio - specifically, an extraordinary event that helped to establish the world of radio stations in which we grew up. If you can recall the feeling you got as you listened to a car radio on the way to Jones Beach, or tried to hide an earphone wire while you sat in a classroom, or did your homework while you listened to Murray the K, then you may want to read the following, about a day that helped make those things possible.
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