The Romantic Realm Of Radio Repair

Anyone who went to school in the 70s-80s might be familiar with McGraw Hill Inc. with all the stock educational short films they churned out, but one of their other branches has been running ads in comics for decades. The National Radio Institute started out in 1914 and was in business for 88 years teaching spry youngsters how to be a radiotician which advertised their thriving business in comic books, especially from the 40s-60s with ever-changing pitches for each generation. The founder James Ernest Smith appeared in nearly every ad where he would either be commanding you to join their institute like Uncle Sam for the US Army, others were a little more subtle where he says that "I will train you at home," like he was literally going to show up at your front door and give you a private lesson then hang around to sign autographs. One of the earlier NRI ads which ran in pulp magazines had James claiming that working in radio is "almost romance", although how romantic the life of a radio expert is very up in the air as epic dramas like From Here To Eternity or Gone With The Wind don't involve the mediocre career of a radiotrician. The ad also claims that "radio needs trained men" which totally leaves out any enterprising young ladies who actually want to get out of the kitchen and earn a legitimate income. NRI did have a special mail in coupon highlighting war veterans, even though it incorporated anyone looking for work. Whether the instruction manual they sent you was Rich Rewards In Radio or even Be A Success In Radio, the actual book changed titles several times over the years. Despite that, there doesn't appear to be any clear definition about how being a full-time radiohead will lead you to meeting the love of your life.

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