The Wistful Radio Chronicles

THE BACKSTORY

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Click on our Emerson radio to go back to the WISTFUL RADIO CHRONICLES

The author and his brother Bob in the yard of their Athenia home. The Flim-Flammed Sibling Strikes Back

OTR, old time radio, nostalgia, gangbusters,inner sanctum, orson welles, jack benny, fred allen, fibber mcgee and molly, ufo, war of the worlds, the shadow,  jean shepherd, clifton, athenia, golden age of radio wistful radio Jim Yellen

School #13 on Van Houten Avenue in Athenia. On the right is the Machias Street side, the "Girls" side. The author festered here as a youth.

Athenia High School, home of the Fighting White Eagles. In the foreground is Kusciusko Pond, named after the famous Polish hero of the American Revolutionary War.

The author's Halloween UFO hoax was inspired by the broadcast of Orson Welles' lengendary radio show INVASION FROM MARS, a radio dramatization  of H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds. The Halloween Hoaxers Meet Orson Welles.

Another spine-chilling episode of THE INNER SANCTUM is created for the 1940s radio audience. Enter the creaking door for eerie tales of ghosts, ghouls, murder and mayhem. The Flim-Flammed Sibling Strikes Back

News commentator Gariel Heatter was heard each weekday during World War II by millions of Americans. He was famous fo his often-quoted opening line, "Ah, there's good news tonight." The Infamous Electric Radio Mike Caper

Seventy Nine Wistful Vista was the home address of radio's most famous married couple-lovable windbag Fibber McGee and his ever-patient wife, Molly. The Saga of the Marathon Five-Day Monopoly Game

Comic heavyweights, Jack Benny and Fred Allen, carried on a coast-to-coast feud over the radio airwaves that kept their audience in stitches. Allen once told Benny, "You couldn't adlib a belch at a Hungarian dinner," to which Benny retorted, "You wouldn't dare talk to me like that if my writers were here." The Infamous Electric Radio Mike Caper

ATHENIA, NEW JERSEY Nestled at the foothills of the Watchung Mountains, snug in the valley of the Passaic River, lies Athenia, New Jersey, a mere twelve miles west of Times Square.

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The Great Notch Inn is located near the Picatinny Reservoir. Departing patrons frequently reported seeing strange lights over the water. Traffic jams were frequent along the reservoir road with the curious looking to spot UFOs.

From the steeple of Saint Stanislauv's Church is where the author and his cohorts launched their Halloween hoax.

The propellor factory closed many years ago. All that's left is this abandonded building on Van Houten Avenue. the author's father was a Class A Weld Inspector here and worked many double shifts during World War II.

You've read the nostalgic tales of THE WISTFUL RADIO CHRONICLES. Now here's the story behind the stories. What is the real Athenia, New Jersey like? Is there really a School No. 13? What does the creaking door on Inner Sanctum sound like? It's all here, and more in...