[Blindtlk] "Mike-ing History"

[Laurie Porter]

Mike:

I've forwarded this to a couple of archivists friends of mine and I hope 
they can  be found. They sound very interesting.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 7:37 PM
Subject: [Blindtlk] "Mike-ing History"


> Hello, everyone.
>
> I suppose this isn't strictly blindness-related except that when Robert
> Irwin, Director of the American Foundation for the Blind during the
> 1940's, died, he gave a great collection of talking books to the
> Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB). Obviously, most of these
> records were 33 and a third rpm records; WSSB still has them although
> not all are in great shape anymore. I said "almost" because among the
> collection was a set of 78 rpm records containing dramatizations of
> famous events in history designed for school kids. It was called
> "Mike-ing History" and the narrator was the "Man at the Mike". Among
> these were a dramatization of the Johnstown Flood and the San Francisco
> Earthquake, the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the signing of the
> Declaration of Independence. Hamilton's duel with Burr and the entrance
> into Troy by Greek commandos in the wooden horse are also depicted.
> There were others. These all were in a "You Are There" style with
> newsmen narrating the events as if they were on the scene.
>
> So far, that set of records that I remember from the 1950's when WSSB
> acquired the collection hasn't resurfaced. I've been trying to find that
> set of records. So far, all I've turned up on the Net was an article
> (which I had to pay for, alas) from a teachers' journal out of Columbia
> University published in 1947 which referred to the series. I've also
> seen a couple of digital catalogues which showed some of these shows.
> But nowhere have I seen the complete collection in a form I could beg,
> borrow, buy or steal.
>
> Anyone have any ideas?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Mike Freeman
>
>
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