Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1943)

Shop finds phonograph records one of its most important departments. Today, the J. W. MiLLiKAN Sport Shop is the largest store of its kind in the industrial Calumet Region, and has just recently annexed another record shop, which makes it the largest phonograph record dealer in the area as well. It is interesting to note that J. W. Millikan introduced to Hammond the first cylinder records and the original Victor recordings. In 46 years, the store has moved but three times, each time to larger quarters. Millikan advertising policy on WJOB has always been designed so as to concentrate on a particular department for a seasonal period. Therefore, while there are two or three Millikan programs on the air at the same time, the same programs are not continued indefinitely. When we decided to expand our record department in the summer of 1941, a Millikan Record Review read in zany fashion took to the airways with comment on each record written by Paul Damai, radio editor and record reviewer for the local newspaper. Resulting increase in platter fan attendance at Millikan record counters jumped Millikan record traffic to par with a local competitor who had been established as a record dealer for many years. To sell baseball and Softball equipment Millikan's sponsored The yA5 Sports Review with latest baseball scores and local sports dope. To sell home appliances, bottled gas, etc., to home owners, Millikan's sponsored a quarter-hour of Bing Crosby's songs at 6:50 P.M. to catch families at the dinner table. On December 7, 1942, we began sponsorship of Way Back When. Each weekday evening at 7:00 P.M., the strains of Irving Berlin's Remember bring to Calumet Region old-timers, memories of the pioneer days of Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, Indiana Harbor, Gary and surrounding communities. Memory highlights written and announced by Tom Schulfcr include pictures and vaudeville acts appearing at local theaters ten twenty, thirty and fifty years ago. Name are used in profusion and listeners an invited to write in when they hear thei names mentioned in old stories. Recen programs have featured stories of 191 and 1918, comparing the war activitie of that war with the events of Worl( War II. Newspaper files and historica references in the local public librar\ visits to old-time residents, and letteii from listeners provide the source mate rial. From time to time prominent ok timers are brought in for interview: Leading questions on location of ol buildings, etc., are often used to stimi late mail response. Each program includes an old recorc ing by such stars of yesteryear as Nor' Bayes, Al Jolson, the Duncan Sister Fannie Brice, Henry Burbig, etc. Re(( ords are usually scratchy, poor reprodu< tions but listeners value the sentiment^ interest of memories revived, and v with each other for selection of recor to be played. This feature on progra is tied in with the Collector's Corner the Millikan Store, a department (] voted exclusively to old-time records. Commercial copy is strictly instit tional, intended to attract customi through sentimental attachment. TyM/ cal copy: ^J' Each night on this program I stress the numbei ""• . 46 . . . stress it as though it were a magic num ^ ber. . . . Well ... to the management and em ployees of the J. W. Millikan Sport Shop it is i magic number, a magic number that represents the years that the J. W. Millikan Sport Shop haj served the people of Hammond and the Calume' Region . . . the number of years during whicl the people of Hammond and the Calumet Regioc have chosen the J. W. Millikan Sport Shop 216 RADIO SHOWM ANS ;