Of Mikes and Men

by Jane Woodfin (pseudonym), Evelyn Sibley Lampman

OF MIKES AND MEN is the story of radio in its diaper days, when announcers doubled as soundmen and every disc jockey was his own engineer. Microphones went dead at least once a program, and any wandering troubador with a glib tongue could get himself a half hour on the local network. Into these primitive conditions in the early 1930s walked twenty-two-year-old Jane Woodfin who had never before been inside a studio and didn't even know what a microphone looked like.

Genres: Memoir

246 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Jane Woodfin is a pseudonym of Evelyn Sibley Lampman. Woodfin was the surname of Evelyn's great-great-great grandmother on her mother's side.

Reviews

[Moonkiszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finding this book, that I didn't even know existed a month ago, was one of those happy accidents that happen when you are aimed at a totally different bullseye! I was looking for a book I read in my childhood, The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek by Evelyn Sibley Lampman so I could read it in my grandma reads sessions to the chapter book set. . . .and it was next to impossible to find. Finally had to resort to eBay, where it was found (for a price!). And in the booklists for all books written by E S Lampman, two other authors popped up, one of which was Jane Woodfin. The other was Lynn Bronson. Both of these are writing aliases of Lampman. Who knew?!

Of course I had to gather and collect, and one of them was the subject of this review and recommendation - Of Mikes and Men (get it? lololol) which is the actual memoir of her early career working the new business of radio. Radio is new technology, it's in the Pacific NW - she moves between Seattle and Portland, working in a variety of jobs, but it all starts with a submitted job application for "continuity writer" (radio script writer). From there it is a romp and race to the direction her life takes until she leaves her positions at KGW and KEX to become an author. I didn't grow up in "radio days" but I was raised by lots of folk who were, and it stuck with my Dad enough to turn him into a life long HAM who had more certs of renown up on the walls than he did wall space to display them (he had 2 monikers, but I only remember offhand AA7FK). Anyway. E S Lampman had me at "radio."

Set in the earliest days of radio, this book discusses the new business that has no precedent from which to draw tips and tricks, as well as completely new and constantly evolving hardware and equipment - requiring a tech department. Also new, is the marketing department and that new troublesome customer, the vendor seeking marketing access on air. Also showing in this hilarious book is the familiar workplace culture that cements women in certain positions (support staff) rather than anything with discretionary responsibilities.

All in all, a great read. It is dated, and written from the perspective of a working white woman of that time. (As I looked around the workplace in my head, there is a big lack of diversity - although I think there is an effort to show the diversity that WAS there. . . .but it was more about different classes, regional white types.)

As a Pacific NWester myself, the author's life is of interest to me - she settled in Southern Oregon, and her 30+ books for young readers tackled controversial topics. Additionally her settings were everything from prairies, to space, to the world of ants. She wrote of actual happenings, Oregon Trail travel, the Whitman Massacre, the orphaned Bounce children. . . .and fictional characters, such as my beloved Shy Stegosaurus.

4 stars, reunited with a lost author found.

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75ish/5 but let's just say 4

I saved this book from my sibling's donation pile. They, in turn, saved it from a library sale. It had no dustcover but looked old and when I skimmed the forward, I thought it sounded like a memoir of a DJ in the 30s. I was close, but not quite. Of Mikes and Men is a fictionalized memoir of a radio copy writer in the early 30s.

And it's fun! It's not really a character-driven story. Instead, it recounts the highs and lows of KUKU, a small Portland radio station. From insane deadlines to creating their own programs (writing radio dramas or doing remote programs at Depression-era walkathons or hiring in-studio musicians) to Prohibition drinking habits (one DJ plays a certain song to alert a bootlegger to deliver him alcohol!) to dealing with announcers' egos to the emergence of the Better Business Bureau. It's all fast-paced and zany and it made ME want to work in an old-fashioned radio station. The sense of fun and community at KUKU really shines through. To be honest, I'd love a TV show of this. It'd be really charming.

But just like a sitcom (or old-time radio show, for that matter), characters are reduced to a few traits and there's a punchline to every story. That did make it seem less credible to me. Still, I'm sure there's a grain of truth to everything. And it's fiction, at any rate. I shouldn't have been holding it to a truthful standard. And, as with any older writing, there's some dated depictions of other races. Most of it is ignorant and not malicious. If you've seen much 30s to 50s media, you already have an idea of what you're in for.

I saw Of Mike and Men only has 18 ratings and one printing, which makes me sad. It's an entertaining and humorous read about a bygone time. In some ways, it reminded me of reading James Herriot (episodic, career-centric, fictional memoir in the 1930s). I learned a lot and had a cozy little time with this one. I think others would too.

[Mike Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining memoir of the author's experiences in the early days of broadcast radio when they were improvising and making up programming as they went along. Ironically, Woodfin wrote her book in 1951 when the radio programming that was developed in the 30's and 40's was about to be replaced by television.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early radio in Portland, Oregon so a delightful range of technology, 1950s business culture and spontaneous adaptation. A nice follow up or prequel to The Network

[Meagan Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharp and hilarious prose from one of my favorite writers. Great historical insight too, just from immersion rather than analysis.

[Victoria & David Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great title. Good book. (Fun read.)

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Under a pseudonym future children's author Evelyn Sibley Lampman whimsically and cheekily recalls Prohibition-era days in the new field of radio when no one had long experience in it, even the listeners. Interestingly, they often thought of it as a call-in encyclopedia and general information source. Many of the stories (often illustrated by Paul Galdone) are quite hilarious; flushing string down the toilet to run remote communication lines for remotes and, one of my favorites, a sports caster doing an impromptu ability demonstration announcing a game of two boys playing marbles. The weight of these brief stories eventually wore thin to me. Maybe if I could remember some of the announcers, on-air orchestras, musicians, personalities like would-be psychic The Mystic Inner Eye etc. more of the material would resonate with me. I really liked the incidental details of in-home boozing in the Prohibition era by homemade gin, distilled "spirit of nitre", etc. and Depression Era realities like having to accept advertiser samples in lieu of a significant portion of one's pay.

[Walter Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in 8th grade, in the late 1960's. Fun personal memoir of the early days of radio.