Episodes

Monday Jan 17, 2011
An update on Ma Perkins
Monday Jan 17, 2011
Monday Jan 17, 2011
After a discussion on the OTR mailing list about my post of "Ma Perkins", episode 423 from an original uncoated aluminum disc and speculation that it might be the first episode, researcher Mike Biel dug up some original articles. The series was syndicated to some stations in April 1935. So, he speculates that this and the other show from the disc are dubs of the syndicated show, rehearsals or a "demo" to sell the program. The 1935 syndication discs were produced at RCA and probably pressed on Victrolac, so the disc in my collection was made for some reference purpose.

Thursday Sep 03, 2009
Ma Perkins - Pgm 424
Thursday Sep 03, 2009
Thursday Sep 03, 2009
A few months ago, I posted episode 423 of "Ma Perkins", a rare early entry in this long-running radio soap opera. The program was transferred from an uncoated aluminum disc.
In this post, the flip side - program 424, where Ma continues to fret about Faye, who wants to go to the big city to seek her fortune. She turns to her friends at the lumber yard for advice - will Ma let her go or encourage her daughter to stay? Goldin dates the previous episode to August 1935, so this one comes from the same time period.
The transfer is from an uncoated aluminum transcription by Mercury Recording Studios in Chicago. You can check the previous "Ma Perkins" post for some conjecture on my part that the disc might have been created for extension spotting the series to Canadian radio stations.
Unfortunately, the original sound levels in the recording are a little low, so it's difficult to understand the dialogue sometimes through the distinctive aluminum disc hiss. However, I'm posting it since it appears to be a previously lost episode of the series. I tried five different styli on the disc - ranging from a 2.0 mil to a 4.0 mil and, oddly, the 2.0 mil produced the least amount of surface noise and best tracking. Usually, uncoated aluminum discs take a larger stylus.

Saturday Mar 21, 2009
Ma Perkins, Pgm 423
Saturday Mar 21, 2009
Saturday Mar 21, 2009
I'm sure all of you have heard of the long-running soap opera of the classic otr era, "Ma Perkins". Running on NBC and later CBS between 1933 and 1960, the show followed the trials and tribulations of Ma as she ran a lumber yard in Rushville Center and tried to keep up with her kids, Evy, Fay, and John. Virginia Payne played Ma Perkins for 27 years, starting in the role at age 23.