Figure 1.--Here we see an Indiana family in Veedersburg, Indiana listening to radio just as coimmercial radio was beginning. Notice the both the speaker and the ear phones. This is a rural family as can be seen by the overalls. I am not sure, however, this is a farm family. Few farms had electricity in the 1920s. Perhaps some of these radio ran on batteries, I am not sure about this. A reader writes that this is an electrical appliance and batteries were not used.

Here we see an Indiana family in Veedersburg, Indiana listening to radio just as commercial radio was beginning. Notice the both the speaker and the ear phones. This is a rural family as can be seen by the overalls. I am not sure, however, this is a farm family. Few farms had electricity in the 1920s. Perhaps some of these radio ran on batteries, I am not sure about this. A reader writes that this is an electrical appliance and batteries were not used.

Location

Here we see an Indiana family in Veedersburg, Indiana. This is a rural area of the state.

Chronology

The fa,ily here is listening to radio just as commercial radio was beginning. The photograph was taken in 1924.

The Radio

Notice the both the speaker and the ear phones. This is a rural family as can be seen by the overalls. The large horn for receiving the sound. This may actually be part of the family phonograph equipment. I am not sure, however, this is a farm family. Few farms had electricity in the 1920s. Perhaps some of these radio ran on batteries, I am not sure about this. A reader writes, "The radio here is an electric appliance. We can see a set of plugs at rear. While farms were no connected to electrical lines, some farms had limited electricity generated by windmills which were once very common on farms in America and Canada. Before the rsadio here there was crystal radio. And batteries came only in the beginning of 50s."

Clothing

A reader writes, "This appears to be a farm family in a fairly rural part of the state. The older boy (about 13) seems to be listening on an ear phone held to his left ear. He wears bib overalls over a white shirt like his father. The younger boy, sitting on his mother's lap, seems to be about 4 or 5 years old. I'm not positive what kind of outfit he is weasring. His shirt does not seem to have a collar of any jind. Perhaps it is a one-piece outfit of some kind. The shirt seem to match the short pants. He wears long black stockings with supporters, and low-cut black shoes.

Created: 11:58 PM 10/24/2004
Last updated: 11:59 PM 10/24/2004