c1955 Cliff & Luella Johnson Radio Program Oak Park Chicago Illinois Diary Book For Sale

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c1955 Cliff & Luella Johnson Radio Program Oak Park Chicago Illinois Diary Book
My Goldfish Bowl Diary by Luella Johnson
40 pages, softcover
The Cliff & Luella Johnson Family had a radio program in Chicago which was broadcast each morning from 1947 to 1958 on WBBM and later on WGN.
The radio show was broadcast from the family home in Oak Park as she, her husband, Cliff, and their five growing children sat at the breakfast table. The program, entirely ad-libbed, was interspersed with musical interludes that allowed the family to regroup.My days are busy with five lively children, an energetichusband, a dog and a parakeet, but I wouldnt I trade it for any-thing in the world. Even though you hear me on the CliffJohnson family program every morning. Monday throughFriday, I am just another housewife.With the help of our four daughters. I take care of ourbig. old house on North Kenilworth Avenue in Oak Park. Illi-nois, where the broadcast originates.Our home is bustling from seven in the morning untilthe children are in bed at night, and not until then can I sitdown and relax, read or reminisce.One night when Cliff was rehearsing for a play, whichour local PTA was putting on at the high school auditorium. Iheard him shouting to himself. It was. of course, the play. LifeWith Father and what role would my husband play butFather’. I smiled to myself, thankful that our ‘Father’ can rulethe household without shouting —and Cliff does rule, that’swithout doubt, but he controls any situation with a calm. lowvoice.Cliff was down the basement in his office and I knewbetter than to interrupt him. so I picked up my diary, sat downin Cliff’s big ch air and opened it. There has never been a dullmoment in our lives, but not all days have been as hectic asSeptember 15. 1947.I II never forget that Monday. That was the morningwe gave our first family radio broadcast.My husband, of course, was used to a microphone; hehad been on radio since 1955, his senior year in high schoolin Beresford. S- D.. his hometown. But I had never set footin a broadcasting studio, much less spoken into a microphone.We had just relumed to the midwest from Hollywood,where Cliff had been master of ceremonies for several well-known radio audience participation programs. After living inCalifornia over a year, we decided we better settle down in acommunity, where our children could lead a happy life at anaverage pace without tinsel and inflated glamour.When we left Hollywood. I went to Sioux Falls, S. D.,to stay with my family while Cliff returned to Chicago to lookfor a radio program for himself and a place for all of us to live.The Windy City by Lake Michigan had given Cliff hisfirst chance in big time radio in 1941, so it was only naturalthat he would return.Since both of us came from small towns where we hadspent a happy childhood, we wanted our children to have theadvantages of living in a friendly, smaller community, and itwas in Oak Park, the Village of Churches and Schools, whereCliff found a 6-room house for us. It was not far from school,which was important since Sandy was entering second gradeand Pamela kindergarten.It was August 51, '47, when I joined Cliff with our fourgirls. He met us at the station, all excited. I had hardly steppedoff the train before he told me proudly that everything was set.You’ll like the house and Oak Park, and in just two weekswe go on the air.”We? I asked dubiously.Cliff smiled proudly and nodded. Yes, it will be simple,dear. We ll have a breakfast program from our house and thewiring to and from the radio station is being put in right now.”Oh. no!” I groaned. ‘‘You know I can’t read a line—you know how self-conscious I get. And the children—”“Don’t worry, dear,” Cliff said soothingly. ‘Don’t worryabout anything. Our program is informal—no script or any-thing rehearsed. We ll just talk like we always do at the break-fast table.”And so it was that we all sat at the breakfast table at7:50 A.M. on Monday morning. September 15, 1947. Sandy,our oldest child, was seven, and she thought nothing of it.Pamela, who was five, chatted gaily with her father. Linda,two, and Vicki, nine months, were sitting there quietly looking around.Cliff was relaxed and happy and 1—well. I was nearlypetrified. Wh en Cliff asked a direct question, I. of course,answered him. but I am afraid that my only contributions werelive magic words: Have some more coffee, dear.Al the end of the half-hour broadcast I was pouringcoffee in the sink—we couldn I drink any more.Some people predicted that our program would notlast more than a few weeks. Who ever heard of an unrehearsedfamily breakfast program by' an ordinary family, and with foursmall children, loo?”I didn I know what to think, but I knew one thing. What-ever my husband wanted to do would always gel my full sup-port. 1 was solidly behind him with my faith in his decisionsand wisdom and. loving him and our children with all my heart.I wanted to help him as much as I could.Now—seven years later—the skeptics have been provenwrong.We are still on the air and are heard nation-wide oversome 200 stations for forty-five minutes.[ions to problems. theyMy real worry during theearly days of our program wasthat our children would becomespoiled by allention and recog-nition, but thanks to you, ourmillions of friends who have writ-ten and given us advice and solu-are grow-ing up with a healthy understand-ing of life and a wholesome ap-proach to the pursuit of happi-ness.Both Cliff and I believethat a family that prays togetherand plays together, will stay to-gether. We have always spent agreat deal of time wilh the chil-dren. and after having lived threeyears in Oak Park. Cliff looked around for a larger house. Ourchildren were growing older and had friends they wantedto bring home and we needed extra room for them all.The first lime Cliff drove past the big. rambling houseon Kenilworth Avenue. I refused to go in. Il will cost a for-tune to keep up, I protested. And it will probably be too ex-pensive. anyway. Look at the size of it—think about all thefurniture it will swallow!”Cliff was sweet about it. He drove me back home, butsomehow he found the way back there one beautiful evening.Just think, Mother, he said slowly. We could fix up arecreation room in the basement so the children would havegood enough to switch toretire from radio work.a place to play, and at the sametime give you some peace of mind.And I could fix up one end ofthe basement for an office so Iwouldn’t have to dash downtownafter each broadcast.”That did it. We made anappointment to see the house, andtoday I wouldn't exchange it forany other house in the world.Our living room is big enough totake care of all seven of us and afew friends, too. and we evenhave a spare bedroom for our fam-ily and friends.Cliff has done wonderswith the basement, but then, heis a good carpenter. In fact, he iscarpentry if he should decide toHis office in one end of the basement is neat and attrac-tive. The playroom is not only used by the children but by usgrown-ups. loo. and the television set was placed in one cornerand a snack-bar in the other. Cliff always wanted a billiardtable so when he found one second-hand, he bought it. I alsohave a spacious utility room.Oak Park has been wonderful to us all and althoughil is the largest village in our nation, it has all the warmthand understanding that a small town generates. Our childrenhave become Oak Park's children, ever since that first month.And much more!13874