The Lux Radio Theater was the most important and prestigious dramatic program on radio. During the show's heyday almost a third of the country could tune in on any given week and its producers had at their service the biggest stars in Hollywood, who viewed an appearance on the program as something approaching an honor or privilege.

The Lux Theater first began in New York City making modest radio adaptations of Broadway stage productions of the day. The guiding principle for the program was to buy the rights to a good play, adapt it into a one-hour radio format, and try hiring the biggest stars possible in hopes that audiences would tune in. In New York the competition for big name actors was fierce; by then most film stars had migrated to Hollywood and when they did come east, it was usually just a short stint between movies or a stopover on their way to Europe. Whenever a star arrived in town, they were mobbed by hordes of agents seeking their appearances on various variety shows. To appear on one of the big radio-variety programs was far less demanding than the commitment of learning the part for an entire play; this made the Lux Theater’s work at attracting stars all the more difficult! It was said that on one occasion a Lux Theater scout managed to steal Leslie Howard from a gauntlet of waiting agents by taking the actor’s suitcases and marching them straight to a waiting cab.

In 1935, with big-name talent growing rarer by the day and the Lux Theater’s ratings on the wane, a Danny Danker was hired to revamp the show. Danker recommended moving the program to Hollywood, for ready access to major stars and, once there, making extravagant radio adaptations of popular films. Executives followed Danker’s advice moving the show West in 1936 and went a further step by hiring film-mogul Cecil B. Demille as the program’s host and “contributing producer.” The Lux Radio Theater made an overnight sensation. The Music Box Theater, broadcast sight for the program, was filled to capacity for each show -and on one occasion was the scene of a small riot, when Robert Taylor and Gene Harlow fans invaded the theater by storming a fire door.

The size of the radio theater productions were unprecedented; a minimum of 50 people were involved in each program -the orchestra alone numbered 25 persons, with 20 or more speaking roles and the remainder consisting of various technicians. Each play was a five-day commitment for the actors, including transcribed recordings and dress rehearsals. At the program’s peak, Hollywood movie sets were know to halt production for a week, if one of their top stars was appearing on Lux. Even the biggest of stars, once thrown into the unfamiliar environment of radio, sometimes reacted with severe cases of stage fright when confronted with the live microphone and the invisible specter of 40 million fans across the nation listening in.

The Lux Radio Theater went through several hosts over its 20-year broadcast life. During the show's New York days the role was played by John Anthony, who carried the stage name “Douglass Gerrick” for the broadcasts. The illustrious Cecil B. DeMille carried the program through the bulk of its Hollywood heyday, enjoying the program immensely. He was once quoted to say that, "I wouldn’t take a million for the experience I’ve had in radio.” But in 1945 he was released from the program over a dispute in which he refused to pay a $1 union due to the American Federation of Radio Artists. William Keighly took over as host from 1945 – 1952, with the program’s final few years presided over by Irving Cummings.

Near the end of The Lux Theater’s run it was estimated that the program had gone through 52,000 pages of script, 500 stars, and 1500 supporting actors. The two stars to top the list for number of appearances on the program are Fred MacMurray and Loretta Young, with 26 and 25 roles respectively –other frequent guests include: Claudette Colbert (24), Barbara Stanwyck (23), Cary Grant (22) and Don Ameche (21).

Today there's a library of several hundred archived Lux Radio Theater recordings from which Lux fans can draw, though not all the recordings are of the live broadcasts (and audio quality can vary). The featured recording for Today’s Sounds from the Past is Lux’s radio production of “The Miracle Of The Bells,“ which first aired May 31, 1948 -staring Frank Sinatra and (of course) Fred MacMurray! ---–Chris Plunkett

The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash--along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ.

Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant--dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ--God's righteousness.

I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it. Focused on the Goal

I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me.

Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward--to Jesus.

I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision--you'll see it yet!

Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.

Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal.

The largest snowfall I can remember was Milwaukee in 1947. I think we got nearly 20 inches of new snow on top of four feet old snow already on the ground. The 60 mph winds created snowdrifts that were nearly 20 feet high in spots. This storm shut the city down for three days.

It became the storm by which all future stroms in Southeastern Wisconsin would be measured. The most memorable thing about this "storm of '47" was what my older brother David did that night.

Davis was madly in love with Thelma Traxler, who lived on 36th and Highland – just over the viaduct. We lived at 68th and Wisconsin Avenue (Actually Wells Street where streetcar #10 “turns the corner around” to go down 68th into the Menominee River Valley along State Street and to the end of the line in the Wauwatosa Village.)

David was desperate to see Thelma and his 1926 Pontiac convertible with its wooden spoked wheels and rumble seat was no match for the new snowfall. I had just gotten a new pair of six-foot hickory metal edged skis for Christmas with primitive metal clamps. I mean no one else in the neighborhood had such an outfit and I was so proud. My problem was no one in my family knew how to attach the metal spring clamps to the skis. And no one helped me find a store that would do it…so I just looked at the skis and wondered if I would ever use them.

The night of the blizzard David was so desperate, he did it! Without asking me, he took my skis into the workshop. He didn’t know how to attach the clamps either so he cut some wide sections of an old automobile inner tube. Trimmed it to fit his shoes – probably goulashes – and then proceeded to attach this wide strip of tough inner tube to my precious hickory skis by hammering carpet tacks through the rubber into the side of the beautiful polished wood of my skis. He must have put 25 tacks into each of the four sides of the skis. I guess he was smart enough that anything larder than a 3/8 inch tack would split the wood.

Needless to say David, who must have been 19 years old, successfully Cross Country skied some 40 blocks to his love’s house – part of his success was that I also had been given a set of ski poles, which he used. I’m sure they fell into each other’s arms with joy and passion…well enough passion for 1947. David and Thelma got married the next year and have had a wonderful marriage with three girls and many grands.

David and Thelma lived a full life together. After a very tough battle with brain cancer for two years, David lost the physical fight last April 1 -- the morning of my marriage to Mary Osgood after Nancy Ann's loss of the physical fight to ovarian cancer nearly two years earlier. It's interesting that Dave, when trying to give an answer to why he had so many headaches used to tell me he had brain cancer. I wrote a memorial article to my good buddy and older brother last year. It has nothing to do with the Blizzard of 1947 but honors a good guy who is where he always knew he would be and lived like it.

My skis? Well, I found out what David had done a couple of days later when I found them in the garage. I was horrified to see the mutilation of those beautiful hickory skis. The carpet tacks and the pressure of him pulling against the inner tube cause giant cracks in the beautiful wood – and I never touched the skis again and really never talked about it with anybody. And I’m sure no one ever asked why I never skied. I remember several years later I threw the skis in the trash with no regrets other than the fact I was not able to become an Olympic downhill champion.

Do you know what? I made it into adulthood just fine and have this incident as a precious memory of my great family. I remember when we put them in the trash can and now consider it my contribution to that seminal moment when Thelma saw how much her guy loved her. I had an important part in their soon to be family and didn't have to do a thing.... it was just necessary that I "give something precious to me."

It's a wonderful day to be alive. But weather has nothing to do with one's sense of well-being, peace and joy. Those qualities of life can only come from an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. You need to meet him, ask for forgiveness, and give him your life.

To the left Jared has scanned for us actual photos of the '47 blizzard, published in the Milwaukee Journal the following day. -ChrisP

…I have to tell you that I too remember the snowstorm of 1947. I remember it because it was the ONLY occasion during the time I went to Milwaukee Public Schools that the schools were closed due to the weather. Those were REAL snow days!

You know, we lived much closer to Lake Michigan than “youse rich guys” did, and the drifts formed by the wind off the lake were huge. As I remember it, we had about sixty inches of snow (including what was already on the ground). We couldn't see the garages because of the drifts!

We lived in an upper flat 3130 N. Palmer St. (4 doors from Burleigh St.). When we got up the morning of the storm I went to the basement to get my skis to go to Rufus King High. Bruce lived downstairs, and he and I usually walked to school (or took the 3rd St. streetcar, depending on weather). This day we figured we would go on skis.

We left the house and no one was in the streets. We struggled going uphill on Burleigh toward 3rd and Green Bay Ave. When we got to that intersection, a policeman asked if we were having a good time (or something like that) and we responded by telling him we were headed toward school. He laughed and told us that none of the schools were open and we should go back home.

While putting Blake to bed, we started talking about how in this new year of 2005, he might want to try to stop sucking his thumb. We discussed this for a few minutes and then Billie showed he had enough when he responded in a loud voidce.

"Mom, you don't know what it's like to stop."

I replied, "Yes I do! I sucked my thumb when I was small, and I do know it's hard to stop."

He then said, "Mom, you're not a side-kick or you'd know that I REALLY LOVE MY THUMB!!"

I didn't have any idea what he was talking about until he said,

"I'll show you you're not a side-kick Mom. Tell me what I'm thinking."

When I couldn't guess correctly what he was thinking he then said,

"My friends aren't side-kicks either. None of them can never tell me what I'm thinking!"

NOW WHEN IT COMES TO COWS... Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps in the State of Washington? And they tracked her calves to their stalls.

But our government is unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give every illegal alien a cow. And could we use the same method to track weapons of mass distruction?

NOW WHEN IT COMES TO IRAQ'S CONSTITUTION... They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys; it's worked for over 200 years and we're not using it anymore.

NOW WHEN IT COMES TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS... "Here's the real reason we can't display the Ten Commdments in a Courthouse! You cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" and "Thou Shalt Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians!  It creates a hostile work environment.

Snow base for Vail, Aspen, Copper Mountain, Winter Park and other ski slopes near Denver are anywhere from 130 to 190 inches deep.

NPR radio reports, however, that water experts in the Southwest are cautioning residents that two weeks of rain and snow may not be enough to end the region's drought. The warning comes despite the staggering amounts of precipitation that has covered Arizona and much of the West over the last week.

Reports have said that some areas in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Northern California have had 19 feet of snow since Christmas. That's one and a nine together describing the amount of snow on the ground. If you had a two story house and didn't shovel or none of the snow melted, you house would be buried! And if you had a cabin or a ranch style home.... "Where's the shovel?" But the ski slope owners in Northern California are estatic because they will be able to remain open on into the month of April!

Each of these four waves of storms that have hit California move inland with impact on the Rocky Mountain states, then the Plains, Midwest, and Ohio Valley as the systems move to the East Coast.

Len and Joanne (my sister) Wikberg and families have lived in Flagstaff, AZ for many years and have never seen a winter like this one. Since September 1, there has been 88 inches of rain -- much of it snow -- which is 83 inches more that the normal amount for that period of time.

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence, the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children - last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence, the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence, the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence, the saying "dirt poor."

The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence, the saying a "thresh hold." Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning and death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence, the custom of holding a "wake."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."

And that's the truth... Now, whoever said that History was boring!!!