Special Collection Spotlight: The Dial

Special Collection Spotlight: The Dial

Cover of the January 1950 KWTO DialThe Dial (Collection M 100), published from August 1941 to December 1951, was essentially a program guide for local Springfield radio stations KWTO and KGBX (though KGBX was dropped midway when the station changed ownership). While it included programming schedules, such as the nationally syndicated Korn’s-A-Krackin’ hillbilly variety show, the precursor of the nationally live TV broadcast, the Ozark Jubilee, The Dial also included biographical sketches and photos of local and national radio personalities (like Chet Atkins, the Carter Sisters with Mother Maybelle, and Porter Wagoner), answers to reader questions, games and puzzles, and columns written by authors, such as noted local historian May Kennedy McCord. This digital collection is now available online and is keyword searchable. Many thanks go to local historian Wayne Glenn, for allowing us to digitize the majority of these issues from his personal collection; to Ken Meyer for allowing us to make these available online; to the State Historical Society of Missouri for letting us digitize one of the issues from their collection; and of course to the excellent team in our new Digitization Lab.

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