# 2337
While I have a deep and abiding interest in public health and pandemic preparedness matters, there is more to life than death and disease, even for an old paramedic like myself.
Or at least . . there should be.
For many years one of my hobbies has been collecting, and enjoying OTR. Old Time Radio shows. These shows were broadcast between the late 1920's and the early 1960's, and until television came around, were the main source of in-home entertainment.
While most of these shows are lost forever, we are blessed with thousands of shows that were preserved. Nearly all of them (before 1962) are in the public domain. A few copyrights have been renewed over the years, but not many.
My personal collection now exceeds 12,000 shows. And it is growing.
The Internet and today's computer technology has proven to be a boon to collectors, providing us with better and cheaper ways to copy and share our collections. Along the way many collectors work to clean up, repair, and document these shows for future generations.
Once only available on expensive reel-to-reel tapes, or released on a few phonograph records, now thousands of shows have been converted into MP3 format, and are available online.
Similarly, hundreds of hours of early television from the 1950's has made its way onto the net, and are available for downloading. My collection of early television and public domain movies is somewhat smaller than my radio show collection . . . but it too is growing.
For those of us who are part of the Baby Boom generation, there is a good deal of nostalgia involved when we can look back on the TV or radio shows we grew up with.
Ramar of the Jungle, Rocky Jones Space Ranger, Jack Benny, Sid Caesar's Show of Shows , and the Colgate Comedy Hour are just a few examples.
Today I've begun a new blog that will guide its readers to places where these shows can be freely (and legally) downloaded. Along the way, I provide a bit of the history of the shows and the performers.
Call it an affectionate look at the golden age of broadcasting.
I hope to update this new blog 2 or 3 times a week, highlighting new treasures each time. Today I present 8 episodes of Your Hit Parade for your viewing pleasure.
Whether you wish to relive fondly remembered shows of your past, or would like an introduction to a world of entertainment that came along perhaps, before you did - I hope you'll join me.
The link now appears on my sidebar. The site is called:
I hope you enjoy it, and that you will share these treasures with other people who would appreciate them.
Now back to our regularly scheduled pandemic.
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