Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1943)

JOHNNY ON THE SPOT News, reviews and tips on spot announcements in this column. LOVE OF 3 ORANGES Rheumatic aches and pains may warn old-timers o£ temperature changes, but citrus growers would be up a tree if such symptoms were the only red-light signs by which to protect orange and lemon groves from freezing temperatures. One of two stations permitted to broadcast vital-to-the-nation's health weather reports during wartime is KPRO, Riverside-San Bernardino, Cal. Frost service stations in Pomona, Redlands and Corona phone temperature forecasts each evening, give approximate time smudging should start. During the danger period from November 15 to February 15, KPRO broadcasts warnings each evening at 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00 P.M. Frost warning service accurately forecasts temperature in towns and communities throughout the area, gives temperature variation in towns two and three miles apart. Typical broadcast: "Lowest temperature tonight: Corona, 31; Arlington, 30; Riverside, 29; Highgrove, 27; Colton, 29; Loma Linda, 28; Redlands, 31. Firing may be necessary for lemons in Highgrove and Loma Linda starting at 3:00 A.M., and for oranges at 5:00 A.M. All other points above 32." HARVESTS SPOTTED As the harvest season brim-fills the granaries, man stocks up for the long winter months ahead, the merchandiser's dollars-and-ccnts harvest follows in natu ral order. In Salina, Ka., when the Marshall Motor Co. planned its big harvest sale of used cars, it set out to make the listening public Marshall Motor Co. conscious. For a single 24-hour stretch, Marshall took on sponsorship of every open KSAL one-minute spot, and every KSAL sustaining program in addition to its regular daily 15-minute program. Sowan's Grocery, Watertown, N. Y., also had a harvest which had to be disposed of in jig-time. On hand were 34 crates of strawberries. It turned to radio, took one spot announcement on Betty Barton's women's program heard over WWNY. Forty-five minutes later Sowan's telephoned WWNY to cancel additional spots. All berries were sold! TIME IS FLEETING "Gather, ye rosebuds while ye may," was the poet's advice a century or more ago. When the apple orchards of New Hampshire were heavy with fruit, time, as it has been since time began, was fleeting. Critical for the apple grower was the need for apple pickers. Over WHEB, Portsmouth, went a plea for pickers. Far reaching was the response to these station break announcements sponsored by the United States Employment Service. Applications came from as far north as Maine, as far south as Cape Cod. Employment Service Manager Andrew C. Graves breathed a sigh of relief: "The response to these spot announcements was most satisfactory, and the apple growers' needs were fully satisfied." TODAY'S FUR FACT Today's Fur Fact: consumers must be educated on the conservation and protection of furs for the duration of the war. No longer can milady toss her mink into the discard, acquire another with the frequency of peacetime buying. For the retailer, fur storage, cleaning, glazing, repairing and remodeling of furs take on new importance. Fitting in with wartime tempo is a new series of KasperGoRDON, Inc. transcribed spots. Featured on Today's Fur Fact is fur authority Walter J. Horvath, Availabilities: series consists of 26 i/^-minute spots. 286 RADIO SHOWMANSH IP