ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME® MERCHANDISE & SERVICES




PAGE 6


CONKLIN MANN
Although responsible as General Manager for all the many interests of Prairie Farmer and its allied institutions, Mr. Mann spends most of his time on the publication, now serving 340,000 rural homes.




ARTHUR C. PAGE
Known to listeners as conductor of Dinnerbell Time for six years, Mr. Page's time is chiefly devoted to editorial work as Associate Editor of Prairie Farmer and advisor on WLS station policies.




DAVE THOMPSON
Dave knows the middlewest like a book. Writes many important Prairie Farmer stories. Ardent photographer. Former director of WLS farm programs. Associate Editor of Prairie Farmer.




RAY INMAN
Director of Prairie Farmer's Art Department, responsible for layout of this Album, and creator of many comic cartoons in Prairie Farmer.




JOE BUMGARNER
Assistant Editor of Prairie Farmer Community Service. His department is responsible for hundreds of home talent entertainments, seen by half a million people the past year.




ARTHUR MacMURRAY
Director of Prairie Farmer Community Service, His department is responsible for hundreds of home talent entertainments, seem by half a million people the past year.



 

 

PRAIRIE FARMER STAFF MEMBERS
Lois Schenck, above, has often been heard on the air, and has attended hundreds of rural women's meetings. As home editor of Prairie Farmer she writes many feature stories, is an accomplished photographer. Below, Kathleen Thompson, assistant editor, is stationed in the Indianapolis office. She is in close touch with affairs in Indiana. Orpha Han, tour manager, native of Indiana, formerly secretary in a county farm bureau office, manages hundreds of tourists over thousands of miles and always keeps happy. Below, Gladys Blair, Junior Editor, former school teacher, thorough student of child problems, receives thousands of letters from Prairie Farmer boys and girls.




THE KENTUCKY GIRLS
Jo and Alma joined the WLS staff in the fall of 1937. They sing many old mountain folk songs. They are sisters and came from Kentucky.




"POSSUM TUTTLE"
"I cum fum de bes," says Vance McCune, Jr., in his best Possum Tuttle style. Naturally became a minstrel man since his father, mother and sisters are all in radio work.




EDDIE ALLAN
Most of the time found at the information desk in the Little Theater of Prairie Farmer Building, Eddie always has a harmonica in his pocket.

When the Cowbells Ring Out on Saturday Night
"Somehow it just wouldn't seem like Saturday night to a multitude of folks in the United States and Canada if they couldn't hear the "good ol' Prairie Farmer WLS National Barn Dance." From that very first radio barnd dance back in April 1924 (of which Edgar Bill, first WLS Director, was frankly skeptical), until a recent November, 1935, Saturday night when the 400,000th guest was honored at the Eighth Street Theatre‹ the old hayloft show has been "goin' right along." If you could read just a few of the many letters that come to WLS each week, you would realize that it is truly a national institution.

The show first went on the air and listeners were 'astonished' and 'delighted' - to hear the old tunes and square dance calls which had almost been forgotten, except back in the hills.

The program gained popularity and continued on each Saturday night and was carried on the National Broadcasting Company's (NBC) radio network from coast to coast.

People wanted to see this show, the WLS studios couldn't hold them, so, they put the Barn Dance in the Eighth Street Theatre and 'charged sufficient admission price to pay the cost.' In the WLS Family Album of 1935, they said at the time of printing, there had been 142 Saturday nights and 304,271 people had paid admission - about 2,142 per show.
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