Volume 17 , Issue 35

Walking With Sadie

Woof! Woof! We hear the autumn colors are peaking this time of year in southwest Colorado. More beautiful than ever, is what some have been reporting along the San Juan mountain drive. But this pug is stuck down in Houston, Texas. It ain't bad down here, though. the air is in a dry, cooling period which makes it comfortable to be outside.

NW Okie has been more research on Oklahoma & Indian Territory; late to mid-1950's and early 1960's when there were strong Democratic party leaders in Oklahoma. Seems like all the good ones have grown old, died and/or moved out of state.

With Halloween just around the corner we found the following news article in an October, 1938 newspaper with the headlines reporting: "Radio Fantasy Proves Too Real, Starts Near Panic In the East."

Found on Newspapers.com

We are talking about Orson Welles broadcast, 31 October 1938 as an adaption of H. G. Wells' imaginative "War Of the Worlds." 23 year old Orson Welles dramatized and enacted the drama as a news story breaking in news special of martians landing, and attacking on the East coast.

They reported fantastic panic ensuing, and some apartment houses in New York were emptied hurriedly by frantic listeners to the program. At a high point in the program the electric power failed at Concrete, Washington, a town of 1,000, and the lights went out in most of the homes. Many thought the invasion had reached the west coast. Women fainted admen prepared to take their families to the mountains.

Switchboards in newspaper offices and police stations everywhere were swamped with calls from terrified people, many of them weeping.

The Federal communications commission started investigation and wired the Columbia Broadcasting system for a copy of the radio script and a transcription of the broadcast: "The War of the Worlds."

The chairman said the program, which aroused the entire country with its portrayal of the imaginary attack on Princeton, M.J., by mysterious monsters of Mars, would be considered at an early meeting of the commission.

This NW Okie Pug has only heard stories of the "War of the Worlds" that brought listeners to a full panic mode in October 31, 1938. Did your grandparents from back then talk about it with you?

Good Night! Good Luck! Woof! Woof!
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