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Local resident collects, restores pieces of the past

by | Oct 26, 2017 | Latest

By Greg Ford

Staff Writer

[email protected]

 

Today, news, entertainment and sports can be found on television and Internet.

Yet, less than 70 years ago, they were not seen by millions across the nation, but rather heard via radios that could be found in homes across the nation.

It was through these voice boxes, both large and small, that American citizens grew up listening to the fireside chats of President Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s and 40s, heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and listened to the likes of Edward R. Murrow and others describe World War II.

Radios also provided a chance to escape, whether through the various comedies or dramas or even stories of heroic crime figures, such as The Shadow or Lone Ranger.

Sachse resident Mike Grimes, 75, spent his childhood in East Texas during the final years of radio’s hey day, just before television became the new household medium for entertainment and news.

He has fond memories of those days, and has found a way, of sorts, to keep them alive; he collects and restores vintage radios and phonographs.

“My mother bought a collection of World Book Encyclopedias, and I found a telegraph (photo) in there, and I said, ‘That’s really fantastic, and I’d like to build one of those,’” Grimes said. “I talked my dad into buying some batteries, got some wire and I built a telegraph. I became a HAM radio operator.”

For the full story, check out the Oct. 26 issue or subscribe online.

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