Interview with Elaine Wade
Kaylene: This is Kaylene Wade, and I am a BYU student doing an oral history project for my media history class. I am here with Elaine Wade, who is my wonderful Grandma, and I am going to interview her about her past experiences with the media while growing up. To start off, can you tell me your full name and birthday?
Elaine: My name is Elaine Wade, and my birthday is December 28, 1934.
Kaylene: Where have you lived for most of your life?
Elaine: Well, I’ve lived most of my life in Sandy, Utah, after I was married. But I grew up in southern Utah.
Kaylene: Okay. When did you first live in a house that owned a radio?
Elaine: In Escalante, Utah.
Kaylene: Was that when you were a child?
Elaine: That’s when I was a child, yes.
Kaylene: What about television?
Elaine: The first television I ever saw was in my husband’s childhood home, after I was graduated from high school. It was a tiny little TV screen that was just as blurry as could be, and I thought, who could spend their time watching that?!
Kaylene: What do you remember about using these forms of media back then, as you grew up? For example, how often did you watch, who did you tend to listen with, etc?
Elaine: Well, I remember listening to the radio as a child. The radio we listened to was as a family. I can remember Guildersleeve. It was about a funny man. And, the Lone Ranger. Let’s see, Archie… what else? Those are the ones I remember the most I guess.
Kaylene: Which ones were your favorites?
Elaine: Probably Guildersleeve.
Kaylene: Why did you like it so much?
Elaine: Because he was a man with a lot of humor.
Kaylene: What about television programs, did you have favorites of those?
Elaine: Let’s see, well, we didn’t really watch a lot of television, but I guess I liked Lawrence Welk. He was on way back then and of course it was still black and white! Some of it was kind of corny, but, it’s been so long... We used to watch Bonanza.
Kaylene: I love that show, they still show reruns!
Elaine: Yes, and the Fugitive, I think that was later because it was always scary, you know, you always think he is going to get caught. We watched the Ed Sullivan show, and we watched the Brady Bunch. I can’t remember much of the others... I more or less didn’t have time to watch television. I was just trying to monitor the children from watching the wrong things!
Kaylene: So did you have a television the whole time you were married?
Elaine: Well, we had one, I’d say, after the first five years of marriage.
Kaylene: What about color TV?
Elaine: I was trying to think when we got our first color TV. It had to be in Sandy, Utah. So, that was probably like 45 years ago.
Kaylene: Yeah, I remember growing up we didn’t even get one until... like, I remember when we got our first color TV! So, as these forms of media became a regular part of people’s lives, do you remember what specific impacts that had on your daily life? Like, did it become a regular nightly thing to listen to the radio, or did your habits still not change much?
Elaine: The television was probably on every night for maybe a couple hours, no longer than that.
Kaylene: So, it was never a distraction?
Elaine: No, I mean, children had homework, and that came first.
Kaylene: Wish it was still like that, huh! How about as a mother, how did you feel about your children’s use of the media?
Elaine: Well, I remember when they were little, watching Sesame Street with them. I thought that helped them an awful lot to learn, to get ready for kindergarten.
Kaylene: Did you have to regulate it a lot, either the types of things they watched, or how much they watched?
Elaine: Yes, I would pick and choose the programs that they could watch. And when they were over, it went off!
Kaylene: What specific developments or advancements do you remember? For example, we already talked about color TV but what about radio in people’s cars, when did that come about?
Elaine: Well I remember buying my first car when I was 19, and I don’t know if it had a radio in it or not, I doubt it, but eventually there was a radio. I remember traveling in the car when we were going places and my husband always had the radio on. Lots of times I would have liked to have turned it off, so we could talk.
Kaylene: Just out of curiosity, this isn’t really media related, but how much did that first car cost when you were 19?
Elaine: I’m trying to think. Probably a thousand. I know I went to work right out of high school and I had to save, to buy the car, and make the down payment of $200.
Kaylene: I wish I had a car now when I am 19! Are there certain events that you remember well because they were brought to you through the media?
Elaine: Yes, there was a strong impression on my mind during World War II. We would go to the movies and there would always be a newsreel to begin with, showing what was happening in the war. They were very graphic, and they were informative and it just let us know what was going on during the war. You just always expected to see it.
Kaylene: How often did you go to the movies?
Elaine: Oh, we probably went once a week.
Kaylene: How much did it cost?
Elaine: Probably 25 cents!
Kaylene: They’ve certainly hiked the prices up since then! Did you have a favorite movie you remember going to see?
Elaine: Well, I liked the Roy Roger movies and the romantic stories.
Kaylene: Do you remember the public’s reaction to the JFK assassination?
Elaine: Yes, that was a very sorrowful time. A lot of people were very sad. I remember I was living in Malad, Idaho, and my oldest children were just little, and I’m trying to remember whether we had a television or if it was just radio. But it seems to me like it was just a radio that we had on when he was assassinated and we heard the news.
Kaylene: So you heard it at home?
Elaine: Yes.
Kaylene: What was it like to see the Vietnam War on television compared to World War II on the radio?
Elaine: Well you know I really don’t remember seeing the Vietnam War on TV. Maybe I just spaced it all out.
Kaylene: Well I just have heard a lot of stuff through research about how people think the reason we lost the Vietnam War was because the media did not encourage public support of the war.
Elaine: Well I know there was a lot of opposition to the Vietnam War and I thought that they were wrong, that our country was there to defend freedom and that’s where we should be. But later on, just in the last few years I’ve decided that it was a wrong war, that we shouldn’t have been there, and that the military had their hands tied behind their back, because they couldn’t really win the war because of politics.
Kaylene: What caused you to change your mind?
Elaine: Just from the information that has come out telling us the truth, because the media controlled what they wanted us to hear before.
Kaylene: Censorship? I’m reading a book right now on censorship for a book report actually. Um, how do you feel about the selection of what’s available today compared to what used to be available?
Elaine: Oh, it’s just changed tremendously. With the shout of free speech, we hear a lot of things we would prefer not to hear. However, it’s just really great to know things as soon as they are made available and you don’t have to wait for days or weeks for the results.
Kaylene: What about presidential elections a long time ago, how fast would you find out?
Elaine: Oh, it seemed like it would be days.
Kaylene: Um, where do you get your news from now, do you watch TV a lot or from newspapers?
Elaine: I usually watch the newscasts everyday, sometimes twice, and then I read the newspaper and I even get the newspaper articles on the computer.
Kaylene: How’s that been, the whole adjusting to the internet coming out thing?
Elaine: Well, with all things, there is good and bad there. It’s great to be able to email your friends and your family. If you could just get rid of all the spam and the bad things that you don’t want to read.
Kaylene: Tell me about it!
Elaine: That takes up your time, and your time is valuable.
Kaylene: How do you feel about the standards of entertainment today as far as kids goes?
Elaine: Well, I think the entertainment business has gone down the hill.
Kaylene: Did it used to be a lot better?
Elaine: Oh, yes, I mean we used to have great entertainment. In fact, you know they push DVD’s now to watch, but nine out of ten of them aren’t any good. You just have to be very very choosy. And I prefer the classics!
Kaylene: Are there any other specific memories you’ve had over the last week that you’d like to share?
Elaine: Well I just think that all these reality shows on TV are ridiculous and I was thoroughly shocked last night on channel 2. The news at 10:00 had a reporter in there interviewing all these women in a secret party. They were talking about sexual ways to enhance your marriage and then they made the comment that this woman is LDS. I thought, no she is not, that is horrible. And I intend to email that station and say, you either get rid of this or I’m changing to another channel and I will not watch it.
Kaylene: That’s all of my questions that I wrote down, I guess I could have written down some more. Is there anything else you want to say?
Elaine: I just think it is great how the world is changing and all the new things, all the new technology that is out there that can help us in our lives, and I just want to see things be positive and not have to fight the evil and the negative that is out there.
Kaylene: How about how it has benefited the church?
Elaine: Oh, you know the internet and satellite dishes that are all over the world, so that people, no matter where they are, can hear church leaders talk and see what they look like, and have that experience in their life. I just think that it’s a tool of our Heavenly Father to teach the gospel.
Kaylene: Well, I think that’s all. Thank you very much!
Elaine: My name is Elaine Wade, and my birthday is December 28, 1934.
Kaylene: Where have you lived for most of your life?
Elaine: Well, I’ve lived most of my life in Sandy, Utah, after I was married. But I grew up in southern Utah.
Kaylene: Okay. When did you first live in a house that owned a radio?
Elaine: In Escalante, Utah.
Kaylene: Was that when you were a child?
Elaine: That’s when I was a child, yes.
Kaylene: What about television?
Elaine: The first television I ever saw was in my husband’s childhood home, after I was graduated from high school. It was a tiny little TV screen that was just as blurry as could be, and I thought, who could spend their time watching that?!
Kaylene: What do you remember about using these forms of media back then, as you grew up? For example, how often did you watch, who did you tend to listen with, etc?
Elaine: Well, I remember listening to the radio as a child. The radio we listened to was as a family. I can remember Guildersleeve. It was about a funny man. And, the Lone Ranger. Let’s see, Archie… what else? Those are the ones I remember the most I guess.
Kaylene: Which ones were your favorites?
Elaine: Probably Guildersleeve.
Kaylene: Why did you like it so much?
Elaine: Because he was a man with a lot of humor.
Kaylene: What about television programs, did you have favorites of those?
Elaine: Let’s see, well, we didn’t really watch a lot of television, but I guess I liked Lawrence Welk. He was on way back then and of course it was still black and white! Some of it was kind of corny, but, it’s been so long... We used to watch Bonanza.
Kaylene: I love that show, they still show reruns!
Elaine: Yes, and the Fugitive, I think that was later because it was always scary, you know, you always think he is going to get caught. We watched the Ed Sullivan show, and we watched the Brady Bunch. I can’t remember much of the others... I more or less didn’t have time to watch television. I was just trying to monitor the children from watching the wrong things!
Kaylene: So did you have a television the whole time you were married?
Elaine: Well, we had one, I’d say, after the first five years of marriage.
Kaylene: What about color TV?
Elaine: I was trying to think when we got our first color TV. It had to be in Sandy, Utah. So, that was probably like 45 years ago.
Kaylene: Yeah, I remember growing up we didn’t even get one until... like, I remember when we got our first color TV! So, as these forms of media became a regular part of people’s lives, do you remember what specific impacts that had on your daily life? Like, did it become a regular nightly thing to listen to the radio, or did your habits still not change much?
Elaine: The television was probably on every night for maybe a couple hours, no longer than that.
Kaylene: So, it was never a distraction?
Elaine: No, I mean, children had homework, and that came first.
Kaylene: Wish it was still like that, huh! How about as a mother, how did you feel about your children’s use of the media?
Elaine: Well, I remember when they were little, watching Sesame Street with them. I thought that helped them an awful lot to learn, to get ready for kindergarten.
Kaylene: Did you have to regulate it a lot, either the types of things they watched, or how much they watched?
Elaine: Yes, I would pick and choose the programs that they could watch. And when they were over, it went off!
Kaylene: What specific developments or advancements do you remember? For example, we already talked about color TV but what about radio in people’s cars, when did that come about?
Elaine: Well I remember buying my first car when I was 19, and I don’t know if it had a radio in it or not, I doubt it, but eventually there was a radio. I remember traveling in the car when we were going places and my husband always had the radio on. Lots of times I would have liked to have turned it off, so we could talk.
Kaylene: Just out of curiosity, this isn’t really media related, but how much did that first car cost when you were 19?
Elaine: I’m trying to think. Probably a thousand. I know I went to work right out of high school and I had to save, to buy the car, and make the down payment of $200.
Kaylene: I wish I had a car now when I am 19! Are there certain events that you remember well because they were brought to you through the media?
Elaine: Yes, there was a strong impression on my mind during World War II. We would go to the movies and there would always be a newsreel to begin with, showing what was happening in the war. They were very graphic, and they were informative and it just let us know what was going on during the war. You just always expected to see it.
Kaylene: How often did you go to the movies?
Elaine: Oh, we probably went once a week.
Kaylene: How much did it cost?
Elaine: Probably 25 cents!
Kaylene: They’ve certainly hiked the prices up since then! Did you have a favorite movie you remember going to see?
Elaine: Well, I liked the Roy Roger movies and the romantic stories.
Kaylene: Do you remember the public’s reaction to the JFK assassination?
Elaine: Yes, that was a very sorrowful time. A lot of people were very sad. I remember I was living in Malad, Idaho, and my oldest children were just little, and I’m trying to remember whether we had a television or if it was just radio. But it seems to me like it was just a radio that we had on when he was assassinated and we heard the news.
Kaylene: So you heard it at home?
Elaine: Yes.
Kaylene: What was it like to see the Vietnam War on television compared to World War II on the radio?
Elaine: Well you know I really don’t remember seeing the Vietnam War on TV. Maybe I just spaced it all out.
Kaylene: Well I just have heard a lot of stuff through research about how people think the reason we lost the Vietnam War was because the media did not encourage public support of the war.
Elaine: Well I know there was a lot of opposition to the Vietnam War and I thought that they were wrong, that our country was there to defend freedom and that’s where we should be. But later on, just in the last few years I’ve decided that it was a wrong war, that we shouldn’t have been there, and that the military had their hands tied behind their back, because they couldn’t really win the war because of politics.
Kaylene: What caused you to change your mind?
Elaine: Just from the information that has come out telling us the truth, because the media controlled what they wanted us to hear before.
Kaylene: Censorship? I’m reading a book right now on censorship for a book report actually. Um, how do you feel about the selection of what’s available today compared to what used to be available?
Elaine: Oh, it’s just changed tremendously. With the shout of free speech, we hear a lot of things we would prefer not to hear. However, it’s just really great to know things as soon as they are made available and you don’t have to wait for days or weeks for the results.
Kaylene: What about presidential elections a long time ago, how fast would you find out?
Elaine: Oh, it seemed like it would be days.
Kaylene: Um, where do you get your news from now, do you watch TV a lot or from newspapers?
Elaine: I usually watch the newscasts everyday, sometimes twice, and then I read the newspaper and I even get the newspaper articles on the computer.
Kaylene: How’s that been, the whole adjusting to the internet coming out thing?
Elaine: Well, with all things, there is good and bad there. It’s great to be able to email your friends and your family. If you could just get rid of all the spam and the bad things that you don’t want to read.
Kaylene: Tell me about it!
Elaine: That takes up your time, and your time is valuable.
Kaylene: How do you feel about the standards of entertainment today as far as kids goes?
Elaine: Well, I think the entertainment business has gone down the hill.
Kaylene: Did it used to be a lot better?
Elaine: Oh, yes, I mean we used to have great entertainment. In fact, you know they push DVD’s now to watch, but nine out of ten of them aren’t any good. You just have to be very very choosy. And I prefer the classics!
Kaylene: Are there any other specific memories you’ve had over the last week that you’d like to share?
Elaine: Well I just think that all these reality shows on TV are ridiculous and I was thoroughly shocked last night on channel 2. The news at 10:00 had a reporter in there interviewing all these women in a secret party. They were talking about sexual ways to enhance your marriage and then they made the comment that this woman is LDS. I thought, no she is not, that is horrible. And I intend to email that station and say, you either get rid of this or I’m changing to another channel and I will not watch it.
Kaylene: That’s all of my questions that I wrote down, I guess I could have written down some more. Is there anything else you want to say?
Elaine: I just think it is great how the world is changing and all the new things, all the new technology that is out there that can help us in our lives, and I just want to see things be positive and not have to fight the evil and the negative that is out there.
Kaylene: How about how it has benefited the church?
Elaine: Oh, you know the internet and satellite dishes that are all over the world, so that people, no matter where they are, can hear church leaders talk and see what they look like, and have that experience in their life. I just think that it’s a tool of our Heavenly Father to teach the gospel.
Kaylene: Well, I think that’s all. Thank you very much!
posted by Kaylene at 3:41 PM
