Old Time Radio Shows
from HomeschoolRadioShows.com
Review by Martha Robinson
Purchase details: Family, Faith, & Home ($15) and Great Old-time Holiday Stories for the Family ($15) old-time radio show CDs in MP3 format. Available from Homeschool Radio Shows.
Homeway Press has collected a huge number of radio programs from the 1940's and 1950's and is marketing them on CD to homeschooling families.
The shows are in MP3 format and can be played on any MP3 device including your computer (with free downloadable software) or your DVD player. On a Windows machine, a graphic of an old-fashioned radio comes up with the autorun option and gives a choice of programs to hear. On a Macintosh or the DVD player, only the file name, which in some cases can be cryptic, appears.
Two of the collections were reviewed:
Family, Faith, & Home offers twenty radio programs from the days when God and family were the most important things in our society. Many of the stories support the theme that the "family that prays together, stays together."
These programs both amuse and teach. Stories such as "The Tin Whistle" tug at your heart strings when a man recalls destroying a teacher with gossip in his youth. A "Country Lawyer" teaches the lesson of the importance of honesty and reputation, and "God and the Red Scooter" has a child help a father to grow in faith. The "Great Gildersleeve" and "Ozzie & Harriet," among others, are sure to generate laughs.
Great Old-time Holiday Stories for the Family has twenty-eight shows with Christmas themes including the Christmas editions of many of the well-known programs of the time, such as Fibber McGee and Molly, the Great Gildersleeve, the Lone Ranger, and Father Knows Best. Radio versions of what have become classic movies, "Miracle on 34th Street" and "Its a Wonderful Life," include some of the movie cast. More inspiring selections tell the story of Christmas and the writing of the hymn, "Silent Night." "Cinnamon Bear," the wonderful adventure of children trying to find the star for the Christmas tree offers several hours of entertainment. This collection also combines nice messages with humor to hold the attention of people of all ages.
Recommendation: Our family really enjoyed these wonderful programs with classic values. The sound quality is very good, but of course, they have the old time analog sound from their era. The only drawback is that you must have an MP3 player which rules out playing these in many older cars.
HomeschoolChristian.com resources related to this review:
HomeschoolChristian.com's Audio Books page with links to free on-line books and stories!
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Review of Song of America's Freedoms
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