Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana Radio promotions

Not sure if anyone is interested but, it seems like forever since we had a COTM or one of Curt's GREAT stories of what it was like in the early days of automobile travel in central CA. So I thought I would do a small series on some items I collect dealing with radio promos. During the "heyday" of radio from the early 30's through the late 40's into the mid 50's a number of Oil Companies sponsored radio programs. Most of us know about Texaco and their sponsorship of Ed Wynn. But for a while during the early to mid 30s and just before WWII, avaition radio programs were all the rage. I started collecting items from "The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen". The two main sponsors were Skelly and Richfield. One of the local sponsors was HI-SPEED Gas. These shows were 15 minutes long and had children glued to the radio every school night. Children could send in for membership cards and when they talked their parents into getting gas and/or oil at a Skelly or Richfield station they could get "prizes". These "prizes" ranged from photos, patches, whistles, etc. One of the biggest prizes was "wing pins".

So far I have membership cards from Richfield:

Skelly:

As you can see, both girls and boys were "wrapped" up in what would happen to our heroes.
And ofcourse HI-SPEED:

As I said there were whistles and other items given to those
"good boys and girls" who talked their parents into coming to their local stations.

The bracelet was from Richfield and was worn by both girls and boys. There were "membership packets" that included an "Official" letter and the membership card and some other goodies. In fact the letter even came in an envelope marked as an "Official Communication".



Well that's it tonight hopefully you have enjoyed this look in to the past.

Too cool.
Mike

Now there's a slice of life that could've been lost forever. Nice job Bob. Thought that was pretty awesome.

very cool bob!!

Thanks guys, but were not done just yet.

Let's see of yes, new members. The new member could pickup "prizes" as I said. One of the best prizes was the "Official Jimmie Allen's Album". In it one would find a title page where the new member could write all their information. There was also a short story with photos depicting one of "Jimmie's" adventures. There were also pages showing WWI Squadron insignia as well as the insignia of modern(early 1935-'36 Navy and Army Flying Corps units. And ofcourse at the end of the album is a "full size" photo of our hero.

Being a "very big" kid, myself. I wanted a wing pin to display. Something to show that I was a real "Flying Cadet". So I got 1 or 2, well honestly I have 18 of the winged pins. Of those, 15 of them are "different" from each other. I have them from 10 different sponsors ranging from Skelly, Richfield and HI-SPEED Gas to Weatherbird shoes. Jimmie Allen "made the big time". Sponsors were flocking to the show, which meant that more kids wanted the pins, so more bread, jams and shoes were sold.
Some of my "wings"

As I said "Jimmie Allen" went big-time. A book was published about his adventures. Later another book came out along with a "full length" movie in the late '30s. Starting in 1939 the rumblings in Europe were starting to cause trembles in the US. The Jimmie Allen program was dropped from the airwaves. It was brought back for a couple of years just before WWII. The "age of Innocence" was about to be destroyed for ever.
Notice how Jimmie's name changed, LOL.

Publicity Photos from Richfield and Album from Skelly

If anyone has any other items please contribute.

Now Skelly didn't stop with "The Adventures of Jimmie Allen". In 1938 they sponsored "Captain Midnight". The series ran through WWII where it left radio and became a tv series in the 50's. Also atleast one feature film was made.
My only "Capt. Midnight" item:



Now other Oil Companies were involved in "Aviation programs" as well.
Pure Oil had "The Diary of Jimmie Mattern" going "on air". The difference between "Jimmie Mattern" and "Jimmie Allen" was that "The Diary of Jimmie Mattern" was based on the real life experiences of Jimmie Mattern. Mr Mattern set numerous records and was forced down in many unlikely places, such as Siberia. In 1936 Pure published 3 books called "Cloud Country" based on Jimmie Mattern's diary.
I just happen to have all 3 books:


The books have some photos and diagrams in them, but for me the best part are the advertisments for Pure Oil in the back. All 3 books have similar ads in them as these photos show.





The last items I have (so far) was sponsored by Gilmore Oil. That group was known as "JR. Birdmen of America". The "leader" was Col. Roscoe Turner. (Maybe Gilmore will have more items to share on this subject). Gilmore Oil had a lion cub fly and make appearances with Col. Turner. According to the 'net, the cub flew in the cockpit at times when he became scared.
I only have these 2 pins:


Please if anyone has items to add to this thread, please do. I hope you all have enjoyed a short look into the past.

It's a pleasure to see these, Bob!

these are a little before my time,but what keeps coming to mind is ed norton sitting in front of the tv "Captain Videooo..." enjoying it!

Bob, what a great collection. Thanks for sharing.

I have an old booklet put out by SHELL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA Vol.1 dated March 1928 that was called "Shell Echoes"."Shell Happy Times" was a program on radio station KPO heard every morning at 8 o'clock.The booklet front and back are loose but the rest is in good shape with some interesting reading.If this is of interest to you Bob you may have it.Just send an address and i will mail it to you.

A page from the booklet