Perhaps this was a way to add tax if you had a radio. Also it was a way to check who could send and receive messages. http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=220229 On Sun 13/10/13 3:00 AM , [email protected] sent: > > > > > PLEASE NOTE > > > > When replying to a digest message, please quote only the specific portion > or message to which you are replying, removing the rest of the digest from > your reply. Also, remember to change the subject of your reply so that it > coincides with the message subject to which you are replying. > > > ------------------------------- > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. Radio Set: 1930 Census heading (Maisie Egger) > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2013 20:06:05 -0700 > > From: "Maisie Egger" ca > [email protected]> > Subject: [Lanark] Radio Set: 1930 Census heading > > To: [email protected] > otsweb.com> > Message-ID: [email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > > > The print is very small on the Williston Park Village, Nassau County, N.Y. > 1930 census. It seems as if the heading is Radio Set, and a capital R > indicated for those homeowners who had a radio set. I wonder what the > significance was for this category in 1930 . > > > Only two neighbours out of 14 houses indicated that they did not have a > radio set. They appear to be American-born, so presumably there would be > no problem with the English language. Three residents, also with a radio > set, were born in Scotland, one in Germany and one in Austria (my husband?s > father; though he indicated he was born in Illinois, was actually born in > Austria, so you can?t believe what you read on a census!). > > > I just thought this was the oddest thing that owning a radio set would be > important enough to be a heading on a census. Was there a reason, such as > in Britain where one pays a t.v. tax? Were radios taxed then? My husband > said that many radios were built into substantial looking pieces of > furniture ?back then?. > > > The 1940 census for the same street/district made no mention of a radio > set; however, the demographics had changed a little with two from Norway, > three from Germany and one from Scotland. The woman from Germany would > listen to Hitler on the radio whilst her Norwegian neighbour would go off > her rocker and they would have a verbal set-to, according to my husband who > was just a young boy at the time. > > > The German woman?s husband had fought with the German army in WWI, but had > no use for Hitler, whilst his son joined the U.S.Navy, much to his mother?s > great annoyance. > > > Now this was right before the U.S. entered WWII, and so I don?t know if the > German woman toned down the rhetoric, as they say. > > > You can learn a lot from a census, particularly if they are ?topical? and > there are those still around who remember neighbours and can fill in some > background and history. > > > Maisie > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > To contact the LANARK list administrator, send an email to > > LAN > [email protected] > > > To post a message to the LANARK mailing list, send an email to [email protected] > otsweb.com. > > > __________________________________________________________ > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to L > [email protected] > with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body > of the > email with no additional text. > > > > > > End of LANARK Digest, Vol 8, Issue 174 > > ************************************** > > > > > >