Reaching for the freshly brewed coffee, the cup catches on the small grate that supports it. The cup turns sideways, and all the beautiful, brain-soothing liquid pours onto the floor.
“Great” is the only expletive that comes to mind. Now, the process must begin again. Sopping up the coffee as the machine goes about business, my brain turns to the clock. The cup is finished, and the spilled coffee is cleaned up. One sip and the clock is set. April 19th, 1924. The time is 9:00 o’clock in the evening, and the duration is two hours. The plunger is pulled, and my destination is the studios of WLS AM radio in Chicago, Illinois.
We arrive in time to witness the first broadcast of the National Barn Dance, a show thought up by Edgar L. Bill, the station’s director. As we listen, the tunes are definitely country-oriented. I pull Bill aside and ask, “Why country here in the city.” Bill explains that the station is able to broadcast over the entire Midwest and, at night, pretty much over the whole country. “We had so much highbrow music the first week that we thought it would be a good idea to get on some of the old-time music. After we had been going for about an hour, we received about 25 telegrams of enthusiastic approval. It was this response that pushed the Barn Dance!”
The alarm goes off, and as usual, a soft landing is on my couch. My text tone tells me I have a text from Linda Hill. It reads: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: ends with “grate/great.” Use one or bonus points if you use them both. Enjoy!
To see what other bloggers do with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2024/04/19/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-20-2024/
Grate/Great by John W.Howell © 2024
“That was fun.”
“I never knew the National Barn Dance had been going since 1924.”
“Yup. It kept broadcasting until 1968.”
“Wow, that’s great. A lot of stars appear?”
“Everyone appeared on the show. It was very popular.”
“I’ll bet a few copycats, huh?”
“The biggest was the Grand Ole Opry.”
“No kidding.”
“Started off as the WSM Barn Dance in Nashville and later changed the name.”
“In its heyday, the National Barn Dance was broadcast across the US.”
“I can’t figure out how to fit the word grate into the conversation.”
“Yeah, it has been a hard day. Let’s hit the pub.”
“I ordered an Uber. It’s over there.”
“Oh, super. A 1924 truck.”
“I had to order that special.”
“It should be fun. I see one of us needs to ride in the back.”
“Yeah, but it’s not so bad; there is a grate to sit on.”
“A grate?”
“It’s a bench but has holes in it. More like a grate.”
“What about my bottom?”
“Might get sore.”
“You take the grate.”
Fiction Favorites 
My father made sure I appreciated country music, John and I am glad he did. I didn’t know about this show – thanks!
“25 telegrams of enthusiastic approval!” When you consider the effort/cost to send a telegram, that’s a remarkable response.
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I thought so too. As the story developed, the station was owned by Sears Roebuck. The Sears execs were furious that lowbrow music was being played on their station. The telegrams came in very handy to convince them it was a good move.
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Good thing for Sears my father didn’t know that. He’d have stopped shopping there if they insulted Patsy Cline 😉
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They got over it pretty quick.
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More learning, thanks to the Boss of all Bosses. Yee? Meet Haw!
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Get that foot stompin’ I’ll do the washboard.
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On it!
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😊
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Isn’t history fun! Love these ‘time travel’ stories, John. What a grate, er, great station, WLS. Listened to it regularly when we lived in Rockford. Didn’t they broadcast the Cubs?
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I think so. Good old Rockford. The birthplace of my daughter.
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Our son, as well, at Rockford Memorial.
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I’m sorry. I made a mistake. It was Belvidere.
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We’re you there when the tornado hit Belvidere? 67 or 68? I was playing golf Steve Sandy Hollow that afternoon, having arranged all morning classes at Rockford College so I could golf in the afternoon. Not a good student but I loved the college life.
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We were there in 72 so we missed it.
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I was teaching at Lincoln Elem School near the town jail until end of ‘72 when I left for Army training. I came back the next school year for 1 more year (at Washington Elem School) before starting my sales career in the screw business. Seems like yesterday. Did you stay long in Belvidere?
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We were in Maringo. The Belvidere hospital was the closest.
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I can’t picture a hospital in Belvidere. But I do remember a Pontiac dealer in Marengo where we bought our first car, a 1970 Pontiac LeMans. Great looking car.
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That was a great looking car. Marengo was a funny town. When we were looking for a loan for the house we went to the local bank. The overfed banker told us straight out that they were not fond of newcomers. I think we borrowed from Chase.
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I could see that happening. I remember taking our new car back for service and the mechanic took me for a ride just to check for anything unusual. He cranked it up to 90 on those back roads. Scared the dickens out of me. Then again, it was a LeMans with s 350…
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Yeah, I would want to do 90 in that thing too.
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Hey! I’ll take the grate, that would be a fun ride, sore butt and all!
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I agree, GP. We may get ‘er up to 30 MPH
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Eee-hah ❗
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Yes indeed
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I grew up in Gary, Indiana and sure remember listening to WLS back in the 60s, when it had quit the country music and gone on to top 40 music. The radio in my car was always tuned to it. I had no idea it was founded by Sears (The Worlds Largest Store), back in 1924.
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Yup and the Sears folks were real upset with the Barn Dance gig. That was until the telegrams were produced.
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According to Wikipedia: Sears opened the station in 1924 as a service to farmers and spent its early years as the radio outlet of the Prairie Farmer magazine. Sears subsequently sold it to the Prairie Farmer magazine in 1928. 🤨
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Thanks, Tim.
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Horrifying opener there.
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Spilled coffee never ends well.
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I love traveling through time and learning something new.
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Thanks, Kymber. I appreciate you coming along.
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John, I don’t see the link attached to Linda’s post, so you might want to check on that.
Never heard of the National Barn Dance, but have definitely heard of the Grand Ole Opry. Not a huge fan of country music, but in Nashville, when it’s live, it seems to take on a different form…less of the radio version and more of the raw grittiness that live performances bring.
Anyhoo, sorry about that first cup of coffee. It’s far too precious to be mopped up by a paper towel. And you need a cushion for the back seat of that Uber or feel free to stand at the bar. 😉
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Ha ha ha. Thanks for the info on the link. I know what happened. When I put it in I didn’t click on the arrow and deleted it instead. Forget what I said earlier about a 30 year old brain. 😁
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😁😄😁
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😁
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What fun! I don’t recall this show, but we didn’t get a TV until the mid-fifties, and all I remember is Howdy Doody. Great post, John. Learned a lot and remembered even more. 😊
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Thank you, Gwen. I remember Howdy Doody as well. I hope you have a super weekend.
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Started my morning with spilled coffee and broken glass.. ugh.. I had a few other choice words, John. lol. What a great ride through time in that cool car but now my arse is a little sore or is that from sitting too long.. lol🥹💓💕
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No the grate in the truck will do that. Thanks for coming along Cindy.
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Loved reliving this with you, I also love the uber. I also took a ride in a rumble seat a few times…it was that old , not me. Thank you for the great day starter. Have a beauty of a day. ox
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Thank you, Holly. Your message contributes to the beauty of the day.
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That makes me smile, it’s mutual John.
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Now that makes me smile.
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😊
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😊
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I love these travels back in history. And isn’t it interesting that they only way folks had of letting Mr. Bill know how much they enjoyed the show was via telegram. 🙂 Fantastic Uber ride, grate and all!
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I’m so glad you enjoyed the trip, Jan.
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Love the ride! And the history lesson, I did not know that.
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Thank you, Pam. I didn’t either till I looked up the date.
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National Barn Dance originated at WLS in Chicago until about 1964, after which it moved to WGN before going off the air.
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Yup.
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I’m distracted by the truck. Do you remember this little ditty?
“I’m a little hunk of tin,
Nobody knows what shape I’m in.
Got four wheels and a running board,
I’m a Ford, oh I’m a Ford.
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, rattle crash, beep-beep
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, rattle crash, beep-beep
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, rattle crash, beep-beep
Honk-honk!”
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i do not remember that one. What fun though. 😊
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😀
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😊
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Clever ending, John. Did not know the background of the SM Barn Dance in Nashville that later changed its name to what we know today. I think you just grate(d) that factoid from a great book on trivia. Happy weekend.
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I looked up the date in 1924 and there it was. Thanks, Monika
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I used to listen to the Cubs games on WLS when I was a kid.
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I’m sure . That was the place to be for sure.
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I really enjoyed this, John. Cool car, in spite of a grate seat. 🙂
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Thanks, Jennie.
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You’re welcome, John.
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😊
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It’s a convertible seat. You ride on it, then barbecue on it after you arrive.
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Yes indeed. Good idea, Craig.
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This is foot-stomping grate! I mean great! Love the truck, too.
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Thank you, Dale. Glad you liked it.
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Always.
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What a grating post! LOL…NOT
Really it’s great.
As you greit my comment here on your blog, I assure you I am being sincere!
Lovely VooDooarian transportation.
Dynamite.
TNT … just like Twiggy’n’Tempeste! T’n’T…. sorry, wrong post!
💥𝓍 💥𝓍 💥𝓍 💥𝓍
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I like the concept of TnT. There is no wrong post for a good idea. 💡X 💡X💡X💡X
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Yay!
Well, you’ve got your hands full of TnT!
OX OX OX OX
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Certainly do. 🧨X
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💥
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💥X
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Well, John, you are one smart cookie. You slipped grate in there like a real pro.
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Thank you, Robbie. I was running out of runway so I had to drop it in quick.
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I’d love to take a ride in that classic truck.
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Me too. 😁
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