Everett Mitchell
Recorded July 17th, 1984 - 59 min
He had an important role in the development of radio station WENR, Chicago and he also was known from coast-to-coast as the personable host of the long-running NBC network series, The National Farm and Home Hour (1932-1960). He was born March 15, 1898 and was 85 when he came to our Morton Grove, Illinois studio for a conversation with him and his biographer, Richard Crabb, author of “Radio’s Beautiful Day” During the Depression days of the 1930s, Mitchell opened each program with the encouraging words, “It’s a beautiful day in Chicago. It is a great day to be alive, and I hope it is even more beautiful wherever you are.” He died November 12, 1990 at age 92.
National Farm and Home Hour - 6/14/52 - Atoms for Agriculture
Did you enjoy the interview? Listen to Everett Mitchell on the "National Farm and Home Hour" from June 14th, 1952.
August 28, 2014 at 7:05 pm
Although my parents were not farmers, my dad, Arthur, a sign painter, often tuned to The National Farm and Home Hour at the time of its broadcast on WDAY in Fargo, North Dakota. Was it reports of those beautiful Chicago days that influenced me to attend Trinity College in Chicago in 1961? It was a joy to hear Mr. Mitchell’s voice again on your recording. Thank you for supplying it.
January 29, 2018 at 3:56 am
I happen to have a possible rare record of this, “Favorites of the National Farm and Home Hour” my dad gave me when I was a kid. I didn’t know what a treasure I had until recently. Thanks for these recordings. It’s LPM 3144 by RCA Victor.
January 1, 2024 at 12:40 am
I bought the biography of Everett Mitchell, Radio’s Beautiful Day, 1982, by his friend Richard Crabbe after I listened to the interview of him posted on your website. I did not expect much as the book was done by a friend and was printed in very few copies at small presses. To my pleasant surprise it was well done. It included good commentary about the historical and social milieu Mr. Mitchell lived in. I like reading about the early days of radio and people like Mr. Mitchell who grew up in absolute poverty before the radio or any other invention made possible by electricity that gave one voices to listen to and made work easier. Mr. Mitchell eventually had a good career as the the guiding hand behind NBC’s National Farm and Home Hour so needed by farmers who worked in such terrible isolation. He died in 1990 at age 92 and is long forgotten as are so many who once were well-known in their time.