Today's kids watch and listen to hundreds of programs on TV and smartphones, but 99 years ago, there was only ONE program for them, and it was on the "radio-phone". Children have written fan letters, and now tweets, to their favorite programs and stars as long as mass media has existed. Thanks to digital collections, it is possible to read kids' letters from the first children's program in all broadcast media, "The Man In The Moon".
"The Man in the Moon" was a fantasy bedtime storytelling program that delighted thousands of American children in the infancy of radio broadcasting. This program was broadcast from WJZ* in Newark, New Jersey beginning in October 1921. At that time WJZ was the radio station of the
Newark Sunday Call newspaper. The new storytime program was originally supposed to feature the program's writer, author Josephine Lawrence who had a children's page in the
Newark Sunday Call.
According to a famous behind the scenes story by WJZ announcer Tommy Cowan, Lawrence fainted while trying to climb the 15-foot ladder that led to the WJZ radio station before showtime...the ladder went through a whole in a factory roof. A Newark Morning Call reporter named William F. B. McNeary (1891-1934) was asked to step in. The audience was expecting a storytelling lady, not a man, so a new name was needed. A quick glance at the moon in the night sky and Cowan named McNeary the "Man In the Moon".
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| From the Newark Sunday Call. February 12, 1922 |
McNeary would greet the children with a line like "Hello Children Are you listening? It is the Man-in-the-Moon talking. What do you suppose I saw today." Children loved the Man In the Moon, as evidenced by reading several of the letters published in the
Sunday Call. The program was popular enough for a full page devoted to these letters, as well as stories and from "The Man In The Moon." Thanks to Google Newspapers it is possible to study these letters. Below in this blog article are 3 samples from two newspaper editions. Keep in mind, that these youngsters, were
the very first generation to have an electronic device in the home that could receive any signal from a broadcaster.
From February 12, 1922.
Dear Mr. Man in the Moon,
Every Tuesday and Friday night I listen to your stories. Where do you keep all the animals I heard tonight? I would like to see them. I think the stories are fine. I would like to hear one every night. I always clap my hand, but I don't think you hear me.
MYRTLE STEWART.
8703 Fort Hamilton Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.
Dear Mr. Man in the Moon,
My daddy has made a wireless set for me, so I want to let you know how much I like your stories and I hope you name a little star for me, as I am only a little girl. My name is Helen Merz, and would like to hear you mention my name over the wireless some night. Good Night, Mr. Man in the Moon, I am going to bed now.
HELEN MERZ,
North Thirteenth Street, Newark [NJ]
Use this link to see more from the Newark Sunday Call,
February 12, 1922.
From March 12, 1922
Dear Mr. Man in the Moon,
We enjoyed listening to the Man in the Moon's story tonight and would greatly appreciate it if you would kindly mention our children who are attentive listeners --- Helen Maybury, aged 5, who is a lover of all children's stories, and her brother, Sherman Maybury, aged 9, who does not like to go to bed nights without hearing a bedtime story, and their cousin, Gordon Slater, 4 years old, who has a large fire engine which he rides and enjoys, and his sister Sally Slater, aged 3, who would be happy at anything you might say to her.
Mrs. John G. Slater,
187 Waverly Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y.
It is not known if McNeary personally answered these letters, and it is hoped that his papers or correspondence still exist in an archive or family collection.
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| Photo of William Francis Baxnum McNeary (1891-1934), from Radio Digest, August 1930. |
While the "Man In The Moon" did not last throughout the 1920s, McNeary continued to work as a radio editor for WJZ and the Newark Call until his death in 1934 from complications of tonsillitis. Radio's "first bedtime story teller" was only 43 years old and left behind his wife Majorie and the very first generation of children gleaned on broadcast media in the home.
Notes:
*WJZ is now WABC-AM in New York
For More Letters to "The Man In The Moon":
The Newark Sunday Call was digitized, and upload by Google Newspapers in mostly fair condition. Unfortunately, the October to December 1921 editions with the very first stories and fan letters are missing.
Books:Gross, Ben, 1891-1979. I looked and I listened; informal recollections of radio and TV
If you have more information about William F. B. McNeary or "The Man In the Moon" series, please leave a comment or write to archivebuilder@gmail.com.
