Timeline

April 28  Buddy Black, General Manager of Cummings Communications’ station WNMP, Evanston, introduces Chuck Schaden to listeners. Black, a long­time Chicago radio personality, interviews Schaden, who tells his plans for his upcoming program series.

May 2  Chuck Schaden’s Those Were The Days premieres, WNMP Evanston, Illinois, Saturday, 1-4 p.m. (with Mutual Broadcast System news and sportscasts scheduled at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. throughout the program). North West Federal Savings is TWTD’s primary long-term sponsor.

May 23  A Jack Benny program (5-18-47) is played on TWTD for the first time. Jack and the gang welcome guest Al Jolson.

May 30  Chuck hosts and produces A Memorial Day Album, a special program from 9 a.m. to noon on WNMP.

June 16, 1970: Chuck and Captain Midnight (Paul Barnes)

June 16  Chuck conducts his first broadcast interviews for TWTD at a special event honoring Chicago radio pioneers held at Sages’ Restaurant on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Among those interviewed are Shirley Bell Cole (radio’s Orphan Annie), Paul Barnes (Captain Midnight), Harry Elders (Curtain Time), John Gannon and Sarajane Wells (Jack Armstrong). 

June 29  Radio appearance: Celebrity Time WRSV-FM Skokie Valley. Host Del Clark with guests Chuck Schaden, newspaper editor and old-time radio fan, and Dorothy Jordan, actress, who talk about the vintage radio days in this remote broadcast from Jimmy Wong’s North restaurant at Lincoln and Peterson avenues. The program, billed as “Chicagoland’s longest-running live remote talk show” is one of the first radio broadcasts on which Chuck appeared as a guest after begin­ning his Those Were The Days program.

July 4  Chuck hosts and produces Three for the Fourth, a special Independence Day program from 9 a.m. to noon on WNMP.

July 17  TV appearance: Cromie Circle WGN-TV Channel 11, Chicago. Host is columnist and book editor Robert Cromie, who discusses the Golden Age of Radio with guests, actors Paul Barnes, John Gannon, Sarajane Wells and Norman Gottschalk plus Chuck Schaden, “host of the new radio series Those Were The Days.”

July 18  TWTD Program Guide debuts, listing broadcast schedule.

July 31  TV appearance: Kennedy and Company WLS-TV Channel 7, Chicago. Host Bob Kennedy’s early morning talk and variety program. “Old-Time Radio” with guest Chuck Schaden and radio actors Shirley Bell Cole, Paul Barnes, and Harry Elders.

September 16  Chuck interviews Jack Benny in a one-on-one conversation in the Green Room of the Mill Run Theatre in suburban Niles, Illinois.

September 20  TWTD moves to Sunday during the 11-week Northwestern University football season, broadcast on WNMP.

October 1  Central-Milwaukee Liquors becomes a long-running sponsor of TWTD.

November 2  WNMP call letters are changed to WLTD.

November 8  First TWTD show on WLTD after change of call letters.

November 13  An Old Time Movie Night for TWTD listeners is held at North West Federal’s Community Room. Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin silent come­dies are shown, along with some early short “talkies” starring Burns and Allen.

November 22  First annual TWTD Thanksgiving program.

November 30  TWTD returns to Saturday afternoon as football broadcasts end.

December 5 Cinnamon Bear revival in Chicago begins on TWTD with broadcast of six episodes from the series. North West Federal Savings sponsors Cinnamon Bear Coloring Contest.

January 19  Chuck interviews actor Hans Conried at the Pheasant Run Playhouse in suburban St. Charles, Illinois.

March 19  Another Old Time Movie Night for TWTD listeners is presented at North West Federal. Shown are comedies by Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, Eddie Cantor, Jack Benny and Bob Hope.

April 2  The Old Time Movie Night is repeated for TWTD listeners who couldn’t squeeze into the capacity-filled North West Federal Community Room the preceding month.

April 3  WLTD eliminates Mutual news and sportscasts during TWTD so vintage programs may be heard without long interruptions.

April 26  Chuck records a conversation with actor Mel Blanc at WLS-TV studios in Chicago and Danny Thomas at the Mill Run Theatre in Niles.

May 1-31  North West Federal salutes National Radio Month with an exhibit of old radios, microphones, posters and radio premiums. Chuck appears on Thursday and Friday evenings in the NWF lobby, where he meets, for the first time, two listeners who soon become part of the TWTD volunteer support staff: Dennis Bubacz and Mort Paradise.

May 18  TV appearance. Ray Rayner and Friends WGN-TV, Channel 9, Chica­go. Chuck is Ray’s guest showing viewers various radio premiums and souvenirs.

MAY 29, 1971 Ma Perkins re-enactment, live on Those Were The Days — Starring, from left, Chicago-based actors Phil Bowman, Johnny Coons and Viola Berwick.

May 29  TWTD presents a live re-enactment of an original Ma Perkins script (from 1-2-41) featuring radio veterans Rita Ascot Boyd, Viola Berwick, Johnny Coons and Phil Bowman and WLS-TV morning show host Bob Kennedy.

July 17  Chuck interviews actress Agnes Moorehead at the Marriott in Chicago.

July 24  In a “Sentimental Swap Shop” segment of TWTD, Chuck offers his 1936 Radio Orphan Annie secret decoder with hopes of “trading up.” He ends up getting a 1929 Atwater Kent radio receiver with matching speaker.

August 21 & 28  TWTD runs overtime as vintage shows continue to 4:19 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. respectively.

September 8  Chuck records a conversation with actor Vincent Price at WLS -TV studios in Chicago.

September 9  Chuck records a telephone conversation with Rudy Vallee, who is in his home in Beverly Hills, California.

September 12  TWTD moves to Sunday during the 11-week Northwestern football season, broadcast on WLTD.       

September 19  At the request of the Federal Correctional Institution at Sandstone, Minnesota, the 11-week Sunday series of TWTD is broadcast weekly on the United States Department of Justice closed-circuit station WFCI, “the Voice of Sandstone.”

September 25 & October 2  Taking advantage of the switch to Sundays during the football season, there’s a special Saturday event in the Community Room at North West Federal Savings. Chuck hosts an “Old Time Saturday Movie Matinee” with a Roy Rogers feature, an episode of “The Whispering Shadow,” a Robert Benchley featurette, “Crime Control,” plus a cartoon and a newsreel.

October 7  Chuck records a telephone conversation with Ralph Edwards, who is in his office in Hollywood, California.

October 24  Nelson-Hirschberg Ford of Chicago begins its long-term sponsor­ship of Those Were The Days.

November 20  “Laurel and Hardy Movie Night,” a special event for TWTD listeners is held in the Community Room at North West Federal.

November 25   A special four-hour Thanksgiving Day edition of TWTD is presented on WLTD.

December 7  Chuck interviews actor Don Ameche at the Pheasant Run Playhouse in suburban Chicago.

December 25  Schaden hosts Happy Holiday, a special two-hour program of seasonal music and memories from 10 a.m-Noon on Christmas morning from WLTD, Evanston. The TWTD Christmas Day broadcast follows at 1 p.m.

January 1  Hansen from Copenhagen, a custom tailor, begins a long-term sponsorship of TWTD.

February 12  TWTD runs overtime and the broadcast ends at 4:25 p.m.

February 19  TWTD runs overtime again and the program concludes at 4:45 p.m.

March 25  Program Number 100 for Those Were The Days. Chuck announces that he will host The Hall Closet, a second weekly program of old time radio shows on WLTD, beginning on April 9.

April 1  Paterno Foremost Liquors begins long-term sponsorship of TWTD. April 9 Hall Closet I premieres on WLTD, Sunday, 1-4 p.m.

April 15  A “Cassette of the Month” is offered to listeners for the first time. First tape: Amos ‘n’ Andy & Lum and Abner.

April 16  TV appearance: The Collectors WMAQ-TV Channel 5, Chicago. Host Bonnie Remsberg presents a special program featuring Chuck Schaden and other collectors who talk about their unique collections.

April 29  TWTD begins third year on the air.

May 1  American Airlines premieres The Week That Was, an in-flight audio presentation of old-time radio clips, produced and narrated by Chuck Schaden. (Date is approximate.)

May 10  Chuck records an interview with orchestra leader John Scott Trotter at a private residence in downtown Chicago.

May 13, 1972 – Memory Club Movies begin.

May 13  “Memory Club” movies begin as TWTD screens vintage films every Saturday evening in the Community Room at North West Federal Savings, Chicago. Opening night picture is “Dancing Lady” (1933) starring Joan Crawford.

June 3  Jack Benny is the subject of an entire TWTD program for the first time.

July 1  Cummings Communications replaces Buddy Black as General Manager of WLTD. Floyd “Bud” Beaston, from the corporate office, takes over the position.

July 7  Hall Closet I final broadcast after 13 Sunday afternoon programs.

July 8  Those Were The Days “officially” extends to four full hours, broadcasting from 1 to 5 p.m. on a permanent basis.

July 8 Memory Club movie is “Hollywood Revue of 1929” starring Jack Benny. This is the first of many Memory Club movies to feature programs and the stars of the Golden Age of Radio.

August 1 TWTD Program Guide becomes a regular listing in Directions, a monthly North West Federal Savings publication.

September 16  Hall Closet II premieres on WLTD, Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

September 17  TWTD moves to Sunday during the 11-week Northwestern football season on WLTD.

September 24  First “remote” broadcast for TWTD, from the Wilmette (Illinois) Centennial Fair.

November 1  Chicago Daily News columnist Robert J. Herguth writes:

Can Howard Miller and Wally Phillips compete with Jack Benny and One Man’s Family? Tune in Nov. 27 when Chicago’s nostalgia King, Chuck Schaden, starts running old radio tapes on WLTD in the 7-10 a.m. weekday rush hours.

November 25  Hall Closet II final broadcast after 11 weekly Saturday programs.

November 27  Hall Closet III premieres on WLTD weekday mornings, Monday thru Friday, 7-10. In addition to old time radio shows, Chuck presents popular records, comedy recordings, news and weather reports and time checks.

November 27  Paul Meyer Shoe Store becomes a long-term sponsor.

December 2  Chicago Daily News columnist Norman Mark writes:

In his own way, Chuck Schaden made local broadcasting history this Monday when he began serving as host of the 7-10 a.m. timeslot at WLTD. In so doing, Schaden then took a big step toward completely taking over a local radio station. Never before, in fact, have one man and his ideas so dominated a single radio outlet in Chicago.

December 2  Radio for Kids premieres on WLTD, Saturday 10-11 a.m. “Uncle” Chuck offers OTR kids’ shows, messages with a “secret decoder” and interviews a weekly school-age guest who assists on the air. Among his young guests are Brad Saul of Chicago and Bob Epstein of Morton Grove.

December 4  Chicago today columnist Joanna Steinmetz writes:

It is an odd sensation to wake up yesterday. The first thing you hear might be Jack Benny spinning out a gag, or the gloomy promise “The Shadow knows”‘ Or the voice of Fibber McGee or a commercial for Turns at 10 cents a pack. You have your radio set for WLTD, which last week began a morning drive-time show devoted to old-time radio.

The Hall Closet is a fresh change from the circumscribed formats of the big stations. Three years ago a young man named Chuck Schaden began using his growing collection of old radio tapes to put together a weekend after­noon on WLTD called Those Were The Days. Recently the station scheduled a separate Saturday morning program for children and now it has allowed the format full rein in the morning market.

Experience has brought a marked improvement in the host’s broadcast style. Schaden, who last year sounded like the loosest tongue and emptiest brain east of Sioux City, now lets the antique tapes do most of the performing while he confines himself to weather, time and traffic reports plus an occasional aside.

December 28  Chuck and Ellen Schaden lead an eight-day TWTD listener trip to Oahu, Hawaii for much sight-seeing, a luau on the beach, a firecracker-laden celebration of New Year’s Eve on the streets of Honolulu and a New Year’s morn­ing brunch on a lanai overlooking the Pacific Ocean. WLTD announcer Robert Elenz subs for Chuck while he’s away.

WLTD General Manager and Program Director

January 8  Cummings Communications, owner of WLTD, names Chuck Schaden as General Manager and Program Director of the radio station, replacing Floyd Beaston, who has been assigned to another Cummings station.

March 3  Edens Plaza Shopping Center becomes a long-time sponsor of TWTD.

July 3  Chuck interviews Jim Jordan, radio’s Fibber McGee, in his Beverly Hills, California, home.

July 30  Advertising agency for Chrysler Air Temp Air Conditioning asks Chuck if he might have any ideas for a special radio event to mark their client’s 40th anniversary. The result is a 7-part radio series called Fibber McGee and the Good Old Days of Radio. Chuck suggests Jim Jordan, coming out of retirement to resume his role as Fibber McGee, who has a “special” radio that enables him to tune in to programs from the past. Chuck also has a part in the program, typecast as a super-fan of old time radio who visits Mr. McGee in his home at 79 Wistful Vista each week for seven weeks, tuning in to a different day of the week with each visit.

The agency accepts the idea, so Chuck and Todd Kaiser form Radioland Produc­tions to produce the series. They find former McGee writer Phil Leslie to write the scripts. Harold Peary and Gale Gordon agree to appear as Gildersleeve and Mayor LaTrivia. Larry Thor takes on the Harlow Wilcox announcing role. The series will be written during the summer and recorded in Los Angeles during the fall and winter months. The program will be heard in the spring on more than 50 stations, including WGN Chicago, WOR New York and KABC Los Angeles.

August 10  First TWTD guest appearance of big band historian Karl Pearson.

September 15  TWTD takes an 11-week hiatus for Northwestern football on WLTD.

October 3  When Radio Was Radio premieres on Chicago Public radio station WBEZ, 8-9 p.m. Thursday with Saturday repeat broadcast.

December 1  TWTD resumes the regular Saturday afternoon schedule and Paul Meyer Shoe Store becomes a long-time sponsor of TWTD.

December 12-13  Chuck interviews actors Les Tremayne, Bret Morrison and writer Phil Leslie in Hollywood, California.

FEBRUARY 15, 1974 The production team for Fibber McGee and the Good Old Days of Radio — from left, announcer Larry Thor, producer Todd Kaiser, “actor” Chuck Schaden, director Jim Dolan, actor and star Jim Jordan, writer Phil Leslie, agency rep Bill Watson.

February 15  After recording the final program in the series Fibber McGee and the Good Old Days of Radio, Chuck, in Hollywood, California, interviews Jim Jordan, Gale Gordon, Phil Leslie and Hal Peary about the original Fibber McGee and Molly program.

February 23  Townhouse TV and Appliances becomes a long-time sponsor of TWTD.

April 18  Chicago Tribune Radio-TV columnist Gary Deeb writes:

Chuck Schaden was scared. Here he was, the King of Oldtime Radio. The Guru of Nostalgia. The man who parlayed his longing for the past into some measure of fame and good fortune. And yet he was having a problem holding off shakes while taping a radio program. “I never have any trouble being myself on WLTD,” said Chuck. “But being myself in Fibber McGee’s living room is another story. I was dumbfounded and awestruck by him. But I just dug my fingernails into the table and somehow pulled thru.”

Sharing a microphone with 77-year-old Jim Jordan, the man millions knew as Fibber McGee for a quarter-century, was pretty frightening, all right. The project, dubbed Fibber McGee and the Good Old Days of Radio, consists of seven one-hour programs being nationally syndicated to 50 cities. In Chicago, the seven-week series is broadcast over WGN at 8:05 Sunday nights starting April 28. Schaden produced the programs, and Phil Leslie, an ex-writer for Fibber McGee, did the script.

Luckily, the corny words stuffed into the mouths of Jordan and Schaden are more than compensated for by the richness of the old radio shows. The premiere segment features some rollicking comedy with Jack Benny & Co. and a lengthy, chilling excerpt from the 1938 “War of the Worlds” shocker.

April 28  Fibber McGee and the Good Old Days of Radio with Jim Jordan and Chuck Schaden premiers nationally and is heard locally on WGN, Chicago.

June 5  Chicago Daily News “Insight” article by George Harmon is headlined “Dial your radio for nostalgia” and acknowledges:

Four years ago, the man who has been the best possible friend of Jack Armstrong and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon… walked into Evanston’s WLTD with an idea. He’d play his collection of thousands of old radio shows for today’s listeners.

That man was Chuck Schaden, a 39-year old with contemporary beard and eyeglasses, the memory of a history professor and a drive to take the past into the future. Bent toward the microphone in a room full of records by the likes of Axel Stordahl and Pat Boone, a tiny gold microphone in his lapel, Schaden presides over 20 hours of old-time radio each week.

And the wide use of tape recorders has given rise to a genus of “tapeworms” who studiously copy the broadcasts. Schaden operates a “cassette-of-the-month” club that offers tapes for a price.

Schaden — his catch phrase is “Ah-ah-ah, don’t touch that dial” — has become a radio personality so popular that he can get away with talking for 20 minutes about the prom he attended at Steinmetz High School in 1952.

June 8  Special Radio Event on WLTD. Chuck’s Those Were The Days (1-5 p.m.) and Karl Pearson’s Jukebox Saturday Night (5-6:30 p.m.) combine to present a rebroadcast of a four-hour June 5, 1945 tribute to bandleader Glenn Miller from the Paramount Theatre in New York on behalf of the U. S. Government’s Seventh War Loan Drive.

June 15  Chuck resigns as WLTD General Manager, but remains as Program Director and continues his weekday morning and Saturday afternoon programs on the station. Cummings Communications hires Robert Larson, as General Manager.

June 18  Chicago Daily News Marketing Columnist Joe Cappo writes:

Bob Larson, former head of an executive search firm, is joining WLTD in Evanston as general manager. He replaces Chuck Schaden, who asked out of the job to devote more time to his old-time radio broadcasts and his own company.

June 29  Chuck celebrates the first anniversary of his 39th birthday by offering old time radio shows dated June 29 from other years.

July 4  Special 6-hour Independence Day broadcast of Chuck’s Hall Closet program on WLTD from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

August 30  Chuck interviews actor Marvin Miller during a Hall Closet broadcast on WLTD.

August 31  Actor Marvin Miller makes a surprise appearance at the Memory Club, where he talks about his long career in radio and television, signs autographs, and enjoys a series of clips from his many movie roles.

September 14  TWTD begins an 11-week hiatus for Northwestern football broadcasts on WLTD.

October 4  Chuck begins a three-semester stint teaching a weekly class on the history of radio and television programming at Columbia College, Chicago.

October 17  Chicago Tribune columnist Gary Deeb writes:

Chuck Schaden salutes the Mutual Broadcasting System on the network’s 40th anniversary with a four-hour parade of famous Mutual programs beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday on WLTD. Chuck’s old-time special includes The Lone Ranger and The Shadow. Schaden, of course, is Chicago’s Guru of Radio Nostalgia.

October 20  40th Anniversary Salute to Mutual Broadcasting System, produced and hosted by Chuck on WLTD, a Mutual affiliate.

November 3  Earliest announcements to listeners of the forthcoming monthly Nostalgia Newsletter.

December 1  Nostalgia Newsletter and Radio Guide debuts as a six-page, gatefold, monthly subscriber-based publication sent by first class mail. Chuck is editor and publisher.

December 2  Hall Closet Special premieres on WTAQ, LaGrange, Mondays, 8-10:30 p.m.

December 24  Christmas Eve in the Hall Closet is a ten-hour, all-day special program celebrating the holiday on WLTD.

January 31  Chuck interviews actress Eve Arden in a conversation recorded backstage at the Drury Lane Theatre in suburban Chicago.

January 31  TV appearance: Midnight WLS-TV Channel 7, Chicago. Host of this late-night talk show is weatherman John Coleman. The subject is “Radio” and guests are Bob Sirott (WLS); Chuck Schaden (WLTD); Sherman Kaplan (WBBM); and Clark Weber (WMAQ), each talking about their stations and their programs.

February 17-20  In an ambitious interview trip to Southern California, Chuck records conversations with actors Edgar Bergen, Jack Haley, Frank Nelson, Alan Reed, Barbara Luddy, Olan Soule, Janet Waldo, Sam Edwards, announcers Harry Von Zell and Ken Carpenter, writer Carroll Carroll, and producer John Guedel.

March 3  When Radio Was Radio, a series of five-minute old time radio clips premieres on WAIT, Chicago, Monday thru Friday, 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

March 8  Chuck’s special on-the-air guest is John V. Leigh, his elementary school principal from James Giles School in Norridge.

March 9  TWTD and North West Federal sponsor the first of several Monopoly Tournaments.

March 24  In “quiet anticipation” of the sale of WLTD, Cummings Communica­tions names Ernie Anastos as General Manager, replacing Bob Larson. Anastos makes sweeping changes to the station format and releases most broadcast personalities. Listeners react negatively, Anastos relents, and some of the on-air personalities (including Chuck) remain.

April 12  TWTD hosts an on-the-air Monopoly Tournament.

April 21  Cummings Communications sells WLTD to Frank Kovas, Jr. and names Ernie Anastos General Manager, who continues his “housecleaning” through a “summer of discontent” at the station, but all his changes are made.

April 26  Those Were The Days Fifth Anniversary broadcast, WLTD. Chuck celebrates with a program of sound clips from the show’s first five years on the air. Included are interview segments, a Ma Perkins re-creation, an early episode of The Hector Q. Peabody Show and the final episode of Fibber McGee and the Good Old Days of Radio. This turns out to be the last TWTD anniversary program on WLTD.

May 1  The 1975 World Book Year Book, the Annual Supplement to The World Book Encyclopedia, on the subject “Radio Rides Again” writes:

…But recently, some stations began playing tape recordings of such old shows as The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet. They were astonished by the enthusiastic audience response. Now, station WLTD in Evanston, Ill., for one, broadcasts more than 20 hours of old-time radio each week. The recordings come from the collection of station manager Chuck Schaden, who has accumulated more than12,000 old radio tapes. Schaden figures he can continue broadcasting until the middle of 1977 without repeating a show.

May 3  TWTD remote broadcast from the lobby of North West Federal Savings. On-air guests are broadcaster Art Hellyer, radio premium collector Joe Sarno and vintage radio collector Burt Katz.

May 31  TV appearance: Dave Baum Show WFLD-TV, Channel 32, Chicago. Host Dave Baum discusses the Golden Days of Radio with guest Chuck Schaden, who tells how he got started collecting the vintage programs and presents audio clips from old-time broadcasts.

June 1  Old–Time Radio and All That Jazz premieres, WWMM, Arlington Heights, Sundays, 7-9 p.m.

June 2  Hall Closet IV premieres, WXFM, Chicago, Monday-Friday, 3-5 p.m.

June 7  Magikist Rug Cleaners becomes long-time sponsor of TWTD.

June 21  Memory Club movie is “Big Broadcast of 1936” featuring Bing Crosby, Burns and Allen, Amos ‘n’ Andy.

July 5  Remote TWTD broadcast from the lobby of North West Federal, marking the savings and loan’s Fiftieth Anniversary.

July 26  Radio For Kids final broadcast, WLTD, after 120 programs.

July 26  Those Were The Days final broadcast on WLTD, after 251 programs.

July 31  Hall Closet III final morning broadcast on WLTD after 689 programs.

August 2  Those Were The Days takes a five-week hiatus before moving to station WNIB, Chicago.

GRAFFITI (August 8, 1975) Weatherman John Coleman’s TV talk show takes a look back at radio’s golden age with guest Chuck Schaden.

August 8  TV appearance: Graffiti WLS-TV Channel 7, Chicago. Weatherman John Coleman’s TV talk show takes a look back at radio’s golden age with guests Chuck Schaden, actors Vivian Smolen, Phil Bowman, Viola Berwick; premium collector Mike Campo; and radio director Yuri Rasovsky. Includes a re-creation of a Backstage Wife episode from 1937.

August 9  Memory Club movie is “This Way Please” (1937) starring Fibber McGee and Molly.

August 18-28  In another visit to Southern California, Chuck interviews writer/ director Carlton E. Morse (One Man’s Family and I Love a Mystery), and actors Howard Duff (Sam Spade), Jay Jostyn (Mr. District Attorney), Ezra Stone (Aldrich Family), Elliott Lewis, Lurene Tuttle, Karl Swenson and Joan Tompkins

August 23  Memory Club movie is “Artists and Models” (1937) starring Jack Benny, Judy Canova, Martha Raye.

August 28  Hall Closet IV final broadcast on WXFM after 65 programs in late afternoon spot.

September 1  Hall Closet V premiere broadcast on WXFM in new Monday thru Friday morning spot from 8-10 a.m.

September 1  Schaden opens his Nostalgia Broadcast Center at 5901 N. Cicero Avenue, Chicago. All Hall Closet and Those Were The Days programs now originate at this location.

September 6  Those Were The Days premieres on WNIB, Chicago, Saturdays, 1-5 p.m. Thus begins a 25-year run on the classical music station owned by Bill and Sonia Florian’s Northern Illinois Broadcasting.

November 12  Chuck interviews singer Kate Smith at the North Shore Hilton Hotel in suburban Chicago.

November 15  Memory Club movie is “Duffy’s Tavern” (1945) starring Ed Gardner and an all-star cast of Paramount Pictures stars including Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Alan Ladd, Betty Hutton and Veronica Lake.

November 22  Memory Club movie is “Buck Benny Rides Again” (1940) starring Jack Benny, Phil Harris, Dennis Day, Andy Devine.

January 29  When Radio Was Radio final broadcast, WBEZ, after 122 programs.

February 5  When Radio Was Radio begins series of re-run broadcasts on WBEZ, Thursdays, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

MARCH 1, 1976 Metro Golden Memories — Proud owners Chuck Schaden and Dave Denwood, waiting for customers on Irving Park Road.

March 1 Metro Golden Memories, a show biz nostalgia shop owned by Chuck Schaden and David Denwood, opens at 5120 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago.

March 6 Memory Club movie is “Those Were The Days” (1940) starring William Holden, Bonita Granville, Ezra Stone, Alan Ladd.

March 17 Chicago Sun-Times columnist Bill Granger writes:

Some people in broadcasting are little treasures in our lives. Treasures to share. They bring too much of themselves to a very small area of broad­casting (and our lives) and, suddenly they illuminate their subjects as brightly as monks illuminating their manuscripts. They are deep when we are willing to be satisfied with a shallow, surface amusement.

One [is] Chuck Schaden. Improbable young man. Dark beard, eyeglasses, the smiling, self-assured manner of an undertaker. Except, he talks too much. I always told him that. He is too wrapped up in his interest. Some­times you want to say, “Chuck, be quiet and put the program on.” And he always does.

He is an improbable hustler, but that is what he does: He hustles his radio programs of old tapes on a variety of FM stations all across the Chicago radio spectrum. His two biggies are radio reprises… Monday through Friday on high-powered WXFM …and his Saturday show …on WNIB.

For a while, Schaden hustled his incredible hobby on low-powered WLTD in Evanston. When that station went to a beautiful-music format, Schaden and others …were hustled off the air. It was the best thing that ever happened to Chuck Schaden and the rest of us.

Schaden is a treasure because he cares so much about his collection and sharing it with us. He is a librarian who reads his books. And they are very rare and very much taken for granted.

April 26  Hall Closet Special, final broadcast on WTAQ after 65 programs.

May I  Memory Club movie is “Look Who’s Laughing” (1941) starring Fibber McGee and Molly, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy and Lucille Ball.

May 29  Memory Club movie is “Who Done It?” starring Abbott and Costello. May 30 Old Time Radio and All That Jazz, last of 53 programs on WWMM.

July 31  Chicago Tribune Perspective page article: “A Lament for Radio’s Golden Age” by Chuck Schaden. Excerpt:

The trend to news-music-talk on radio was born in the late 1940s, grew in the 1950s, and matured in the 1960s. Before then, every radio station in the country had a personality of its own and sounded different from every other radio station in the country. The four major radio networks — NBC, CBS, ABC, Mutual — each offered a variety of programs and services. And that is exactly what is absent from radio today: variety. We didn’t have to choose from news, music, or talk. They were there for us, but we could also select comedy, mystery, adventure, and drama. And no single station would offer a single programming format 24 hours a day. But why can’t we have some new, original radio variety [today]: comedy, mystery, adventure, music? Too much money, they say. Costs too much to produce those kinds of radio shows. But if both the networks and the sponsors were to spend a little less on TV and a little more on radio, radio might make a comeback. And listeners might come back to radio. And our imagination might come back to us all.

August 2-12  In Southern California, Chuck interviews writers Norman Corwin (Thirteen by Corwin) and Arch Oboler (Lights Out); announcers Bill Baldwin, Charles Lyon, and Art Linkletter (People are Funny); actors Dennis Day, Jim Boles and Russell Thorson (I Love a Mystery), Hugh Studebaker (Fibber McGee and Molly), Bob Arbogast; actresses Lillian Randolph (Great Gildersleeve), Alice Frost, Florence Halop, Alice Reinheart, Anne Seymour, Betty Lou Gerson; and producer Greg Garrison.

August 21  Final round of Monopoly Tournament is held in TWTD studio with move-by-move coverage during broadcast.

September 1  Hall Closet V, the Monday thru Friday morning show on WXFM, moves from 8-10 a.m. to 7-9 a.m.

September 11  Memory Club movie is “The Big Broadcast” (1932) starring Bing Crosby, Kate Smith, Burns and Allen.

September 26  Chicago Sun-Times Book Review. Chuck Schaden reviews “Vic and Sade: The Best Radio Plays by Paul Rhymer” edited by Mary Frances Rhymer. Excerpt:

Vic and Sade and Rush and Uncle Fletcher – and Jake Gumpox the garbage man; Rishigan Fishigan from Sishigan, Michigan; identical twins Robert and Slobert Hink; Mr. Keefer, the Brick-Mush Man and Bess and Walter Hemstreet of Carberry — have not been on the air for over 30 years, but radio fans who remember (and they are legion) can rejoice in this written rebroadcast of 30 of the late Paul Rhymer’s classic scripts. Rhymer was raised in Bloomington, II. [He] set his show in the Blooming­ton-like fictional Illinois town of Crooper. Proctor and Gamble did not gamble on the new show, but NBC did, placing it on the Blue Network unsponsored. That was in 1932. In two years, with ever-growing Hooper Ratings, his Vic and Sade were so popular that Proctor and Gamble finally bought the program and sponsored it until Vic and Sade left the air in 1945. By 1938 the show had over seven million daily listeners and the cast received thousands of fan letters every week. Rhymer died in 1964, after writing more than 3,500 of these radio plays. The 30 scripts in this book show that Paul Rhymer’s Vic and Sade and family and friends are just as much fun now as they were then. Get ready to smile again.

October 6  Chuck is emcee for an evening of the Chicago Comedy Festival at the University of Chicago and moderates a panel on Vic and Sade. He interviews actress Bernardine Flynn (“Sade”) by phone in her home in Clay City, Illinois.

October 29  Chuck interviews actress Mercedes McCambridge backstage at the Drury Lane Theatre in Evergreen Park, Illinois.

November 4  Chuck appears on stage at the Chicago Theatre with a presentation about vintage radio during the Theatre’s 55th Anniversary celebration, sponsored by the Chicago Area Theatre Organ Enthusiasts.

February 1  Chuck joins North West Federal Savings as Vice President and Director of Public Relations

February 2  Hall Closet V becomes a pre-recorded weekday morning series on WXFM.

February 12  Memory Club movie is “Heavenly Days” (1944) starring Fibber McGee and Molly.

February 26  When Radio Was Radio re-runs conclude on WBEZ after 57 programs.

March 14  TV appearance: A.M. Chicago WLS-TV Channel 7, Chicago. Guest Chuck Schaden critiques a “re-enactment” of an old time radio show from a previous A.M. Chicago program that featured host Steve Edwards, co-host Jenny Crimm, disc jockey Bob Sirott, actor Martin Milner, and singer Monica Lewis. Chuck tells how the actual vintage shows were created and shares audio clips.

March 26  Memory Club movie is “To Be or Not To Be” (1942) starring Jack Benny and Carole Lombard.

April 2  Memory Club movie is “Hollywood Canteen” with Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Jack Carson, Joan Leslie.

April 8  TWTD broadcast time moves today only to 4-7 p.m. because of special opera broadcast on WNIB. Some 345 listeners call before 4 p.m. asking what happened to TWTD!

May 1  Metro Golden Memories shop expands and moves to larger quarters at 5941 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago.

May 7  “Riverview Night of Nostalgia” a Special Event at Lane Technical High School Auditorium, hosted and produced by Chuck Schaden and Riverview Amusement Park historian Chuck Wlodarczyk. For several years prior to this event — and for many years after — there were multiple Riverview programs at Memory Club events at North West Federal Savings.

June 11  Memory Club movie is “Love in Bloom” (1935) starring Burns and Allen.

June 25  Memory Club movie is “Check and Double Check” (1930) starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll as Amos ‘n’ Andy.

July 1  Hall Closet V final broadcast on WXFM after 480 programs.

July 21  Chuck and big band historian Karl Pearson interview bandleader Tex Beneke at the Union League Club in Chicago.

AUGUST 10, 1977 Singers Ray Eberly and Helen O’Connell at Ravinia Park’s “Nostalgic Sounds of the Summer of ’42.”

August 10  “Nostalgic Sounds of the Summer of ’42” is presented at Ravinia Park in Highland Park, Illinois starring Tex Beneke, Helen O’Connell and Ray Eberly with Chuck Schaden as master of ceremonies.

September 10  Memory Club movie is “Love Thy Neighbor” (1940) starring Jack Benny and Fred Allen.

October 15  Chicago Daily News front page article: “Bing: Thanks for the Memory” by Chuck Schaden, following the death of Bing Crosby. Excerpt:

It was Bing Crosby’s very relaxed ways that led him into becoming a crusader who revolutionized American radio. Because he wanted to be someplace other than in a studio (most notably on any golf course), he demanded that his programs be recorded. When he finally achieved this, the use of recordings soon spread through the industry.

Before World War II [instead of “live” programs] Bing proposed using recordings (electrical transcriptions, they called ’em) but the networks refused. The old 16-inch records (often made of glass) were difficult to edit and sometimes were a little shy on quality. But during the war the Germans developed the tape recorder… and Crosby joined in a company called Ampex to popularize the tape recording method.

Because the tape was high quality and easy to edit, Bing went to his employer at the time, NBC and suggested anew that the [Kraft] Music Hall be recorded. NBC and Kraft said no. So Bing dodged over to ABC… and his Music Hall became Philco Radio Time.

November 5  Memory Club movie is “Wake Up and Live” (1937) starring Alice Faye, Jack Haley, Walter Winchell, Ben Bernie, Joan Davis.

November 26  When Radio Was Radio, final broadcast on WAIT, after 858 5-minute programs.

December 3  With the opening of the new 299-seat auditorium at North West Federal’s Irving Park office, the first Memory Club movie shown is “Sweethearts” (1938) starring Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald.

December 24  TWTD expands to six hours, from 1 to 7 p.m. on WNIB, for a special Christmas Eve broadcast with no commercials.

February 4  “Memory Club” movies become simply “Memory Movies” with the showing of “Look Who’s Laughing” (1941) starring Fibber McGee and Molly, Bergen and McCarthy and Lucille Ball.

February 18  Memory Movie is a “radio” double feature, “Take It or Leave It” (1944) starring Phil Baker plus “Nick Carter, Master Detective” (1944) starring Walter Pidgeon.

March 9  Chicago Tribune names “101 Good Things About Chicago.” Compiled by writer Clifford Terry, Chuck Schaden is Number 7 on the list of “good things” which includes the Oak Street Beach, the Seven Seas Panorama at the Brookfield Zoo, the Auditorium Theatre, the Chicago Cubs bleachers, and Phil Donohue. About Chuck, Terry writes:

Return with us now to those years when Lucky Strike Green was going to war and Chiquita Banana was nudging everyone never, ever to put tropical fruit in the refrigerator. Drawing upon his incredible collection of 40,000 old radio tapes, Schaden — personable, enthusiastic, but never campy host of Those Were the Days — polishes up the golden moments of Jack Benny and Rochester, the Great Gildersleeve and Peavy, the First Nighter and Lux Radio Theatre, Inner Sanctum and Lights Out, and GRAND CEN-TRAL STA-TION —crossroads of a million private lives! Gigantic stage on which are played a thousand dramas daily!

April 8 & 15  Abbreviated editions of TWTD follow WNIB broadcasts of Metropolitan Opera. Program runs from the end of the opera until 7 p.m.

April 8  Memory Movie is “Broadway Through a Keyhole” (1933) starring Walter Winchell, Russ Columbo and Abe Lyman and the orchestra.

April 24  Suburban Trib columnist R. Bruce Dold writes:

The brown-haired man with short bangs and a full beard sat in a Des Plaines savings and loan office. In the 1930s and 1940s he might have been a Bolshevik. In the 1950s he might have been a beatnik. In the 1960s he might have been a peacenik. In the 1970s he is an executive from Morton Grove. But don’t tell Chuck Schaden that.

Weekdays, Schaden is a public relations executive with Northwest Federal Savings, which has an office in Des Plaines. But on Saturdays, he is the merchant of Fibber McGee and Molly, Eddie Cantor, and Bob Crosby and the Bobcats. It is on Saturdays that Schaden retreats to a sound studio where he broadcasts Those Were the Days on WNIB.

Schaden is a 42-year-old nostalgia merchant. He broadcasts his programs and sells his own radio commercials. He owns Metro-Golden memories, a nostalgia shop in Chicago; publishes the Nostalgia Newsletter; and sells cassette tapes from The Hall Closet of his Morton Grove home.

Schaden’s audio love affair dates back to the 1940s, when he was growing up in Norridge with a radio virtually plugged to his ear. …When television became popular, Schaden like many others, abandoned radio for the new medium. But television didn’t spur his imagination as well as radio. …by the time Schaden returned to radio, the old programs had disappeared. Listeners had deserted radio for television and phonographs. “I flipped,” Schaden said. “I began seeking collectors with shows.” [He] has since found some 40,000 of the old programs, mostly from collectors.

Schaden finally broke into radio on little 1,000 watt WLTD-AM in Evanston in 1970. He left a newspaper job for his first program, which aired old-time radio shows…

Schaden gradually established a makeshift nostalgia network, airing programs on WTAQ in LaGrange, WWMM in Arlington Heights, and WBEZ in Chicago. In 1975 he moved his programs to a five-mornings-a-week slot on WXFM in Chicago and a Saturday afternoon show on WNIB in Chicago.

June 3  Memory Movies at North West Federal screens its first movie in 3-D, “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954) starring Richard Carlson and Julie Adams. 3-D glasses are provided.

September 9  Memory Movie is a double feature, “The Falcon in Hollywood” (1945) starring Tom Conway plus “Dick Tracy’s Dilemma” (1947) starring Ralph Byrd.

Sally Rand, star of the Century of Progress Exposition – 1933 and 1978

November 11-12  “Salute to Chicago’s Century of Progress.” A Special Event at North West Federal’s Clyde B. Reed Auditorium. Guest is dancer Sally Rand, who describes the World’s Fair and tells of reaction to her controversial performances there. Program includes films, slides and memorabilia.

November 18  Inspired by TWTD, Lyons Township High School freshman Steve Darnall launches Radio’s Golden Age on WLTL-FM in LaGrange, Illinois. The program has a school-year run until May 5, 1979.

February 3  “Jack Benny Month” begins on TWTD. First time the program devotes an entire month honoring the beloved comedian.

February 3  Memory Movie is “Chandu the Magician” (1932) starring Edmund Lowe and Bela Lugosi.

FEBRUARY 24, 1979 Chuck, Ellen and Patty greet actor Kirk Alyn, who starred as the Man of Steel in those now-classic Superman movie serials.

February 24-25  “Salute to the Man of Steel,” a Special Event at North West Federal Savings. Actor Kirk Alyn, the screen’s original star of “Superman” serials appears to talk about his career and screens eight color “Superman” cartoons.

March 4  Chicago Tribune columnist Clifford Terry writes:

Remember listening to old-time radio? I mean, physically listening — same time, same room — to the same program, same station? Chuck Schaden does. “My radio years were from about 1941 to ’49. I loved it. I’d rush home from school. We’d lie on the living room floor. Our radio was the floor-model Zenith with the flickering green eye and all the call letters printed on the dial. …One of my most vivid Sunday-afternoon memories came when I was listening to my favorite program, The Shadow, in December of 1941, when it was suddenly interrupted. Well, I didn’t care about a place called Pearl Harbor. I just wanted to hear about what was happening to Lamont Cranston. I was 7 years old.”

Chuck Schaden is now 44 years old, a graduate of Steinmetz High School and Navy Pier, husband of one and father of two, director of public relations for North West Federal Savings, and, most significantly, host of a weekly four-hour Saturday-afternoon radio program, Those Were the Days.

Schaden has been on the air since 1970, the last two years at WNIB, a classical-music station, where his is the most-listened-to program. He estimates that 40 to 50 thousand persons are tuning in Saturday after­noons. “When I started out, people would say, ‘How long is this fad gonna last?’ “Actually, at that point, I didn’t know — although I never thought it was a fad. What it is, is a nice link to the past. I really believe that people wouldn’t be listening to my program if there wasn’t a solid entertainment value. I always hope that there’ll be someone after I’m gone doing some old radio replays. They’re too good to be lost.”

March 15  TV appearance: Noon Break WBBM-TV Channel 2, Chicago. Hosts Lee Phillip and Bob Wallace with guest Chuck Schaden.

April 28  Memory Movie is a double feature, “Charlie McCarthy, Detective” (1939) starring Edgar Bergen plus “The Gracie Allen Murder Case” (1939) starring Gracie Allen.

April 10  Chuck interviews actor Michael Rye in Hollywood, California.

May 5  TWTD begins a seven-week series presenting a complete 19-hour broad­cast day — from sign-on to sign-off— of station WJSV, Washington D. C. on September 21, 1939.

May 15  When Radio Was Radio, the hour-long series, resumes sporadic re-runs on WBEZ, Thursdays, 8-9 p.m.

June 2  Memory Movie double feature is “Blondie’s Lucky Day” (1946) starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake plus “Ellery Queen, Detective” (1940) starring Ralph Bellamy.

July 22  Chicago Sun-Times Book Review: “Radio Comedy” by Arthur Frank Wertheim, reviewed by Chuck Schaden. Excerpt:

A book about radio comedy that sells for $18.95 had better be worth the money. This one is. Whether you’re casually nostalgic about the good old days of radio or a dyed-in-the-wool fanatic (and there are plenty of us), you’ll find it interesting, informative, entertaining and endlessly fascinating. The author, a history professor, has done his homework (there are 28 pages of footnotes) and his easy-to-read style offers an excellent view of comedians on radio from the early 1930s through the late 1950s.

We learn, for example, that Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, creators of radio’s all-time favorites, Amos ‘n’ Andy, started their broadcast careers by singing for their suppers on Chicago’s station WEBH.

We read about Bob Hope’s Pepsodent broadcasts during the war years (“How do you do, ladies and gentlemen, this is Bob-broadcasting-from­Camp-Cooke-Hope, telling all you soldiers to use Pepsodent and the girls will always give you eyes right because you’ll always have your teeth left!”)

There’s a nostalgic stroll down Allen’s Alley with Fred Allen as he and Portland Hoffa visit Senator Claghorn… Mrs. Nussbaum (“You are expecting maybe Ingrown Bergman?”) Ajax Cassidy… and Titus Moody.

September 7  Bob Kolososki, TWTD’s film historian, begins a year-long Film Festival at the North West Federal auditorium. Each week he introduces a complete film which highlights the work of six legendary motion picture directors: Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, Howard Hughes, Busby Berkley, Preston Sturges and Ernst Lubitsch.

October 2-30  Chuck teaches a 5-week seminar on the history of radio and television programming for students at Elmhurst College

December 1  Metro Golden Memories opens a second location at 9004 Waukegan Road in Morton Grove, Illinois.

February 9  Memory Movie is “The Horn Blows at Midnight” (1945) starring Jack Benny and Alexis Smith.

March 26  Chuck’s Nostalgia Broadcast Center moves to 9004 Waukegan Road, Morton Grove. Those Were The Days programs are now broadcast from this location and are open to the public.

MARCH 29, 1980 Actor Buster Crabbe autographs a “cartoon¬bio” of his career, drawn by artist Joel Bogart, a long-time member of our very first TWTD support staff. Behind Buster, from left, are original Support Staff volunteers Dennis Bubacz, Mort Paradise, Gary Schroder and Joel Bogart.

March 29-30  Actor Buster Crabbe, star of “Flash Gordon,” “Buck Rogers” and “Tarzan” films, appears in person on TWTD and at North West Federal’s auditorium to meet fans and talk about his career.

April 1-29  Chuck leads a 5-week seminar, “Radio and Television: Those Were the Days” for the Elmwood Park Arts and Humanities Commission.

April 12 & 19  Abbreviated editions of TWTD follow WNIB broadcasts of Metropolitan Opera. Program runs from the end of the opera until 7 p.m.

April 26  Those Were The Days Tenth Anniversary broadcast; plus a special celebration at the Memory Movie as Chuck takes a multi-media look at Radio’s Golden Age.

May 3  As TWTD begins its eleventh year of programming, it has been on the air longer than a number of classic shows from radio’s Golden Age: Life of Riley, Life with Luigi, Lights Out (5 years each); Abbott and Costello (6 years); Jimmy Durante, Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show (8 years each); Ozzie and Harriet (10 years).

May 3  Memory Movie is “Here We Go Again” (1942) starring Fibber McGee and Molly, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy and Harold Peary.

APRIL 26, 1980 A “cartoon-bio” of the first ten years of TWTD, drawn by artist Bogart, was presented to Chuck on the occasion of his tenth anniversary on the air. Note the likenesses of Chuck, Mort, Dennis, Gary and even Joel himself, along with humorous recollections of milestones in the first decade of the program.

May 10  Memory Movies’ Tenth Anniversary, celebrated with “The Shadow Returns” (1946) plus “The Great Gildersleeve” (1942) starring Harold Peary.

June 9 Chuck interviews announcer Don Wilson at the TWTD studio in Morton Grove, Illinois.

August 23 Special stage and screen show at the Memory Movie featuring the film “Banjo on My Knee” (1936) with Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea, plus a lively stage show starring the Banjo Buddies Dixieland Band, in person.

October 18 Writer-historian Curtis L. Katz makes his first of many guest appearances on TWTD. His first topic is movie animation.

October 25 Memory Movie is “The Great American Broadcast” (1941) starring Alice Faye, John Payne, Jack Oakie, Ink Spots.

January 24  My Best Friends, featuring Walt Disney character merchandise, becomes a regular participating sponsor of TWTD.

February 14  Memory Movie is “George Washington Slept Here” (1942) starring Jack Benny and Ann Sheridan.

May 23  Memory Movie is “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” (1939) starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.

June 1 Metro Golden Memories closes Morton Grove location, consolidates with MGM Shop in Chicago. TWTD continues broadcasting from the studio at this location.

Karl Pearson

July 11 “A Sound Picture — 1936-45” is a special 10-week summer series on TWTD with guest host and producer Karl Pearson, TWTD’s resident big band historian.

September 2 & 4  Chuck interviews Jack Benny’s writers George Balzer in Van Nuys, California; Milt Josefsberg in Hollywood, and actor Ed Prentiss (“Captain Midnight”) in Pacific Palisades, California.

January 5 TV appearance: P. M Magazine WFLD Channel 32, Chicago. “Chicago’s Nostalgia King.” Hosts Mike Leiderman and JoAnn Williams profile Chuck Schaden in a segment that includes footage recorded at his Morton Grove radio studio and the Metro Golden Memories shop in Chicago.

February 13 Memory Movie is “Charlie’s Aunt” (1941) starring Jack Benny.

February 27 Final TWTD program sponsored by North West Federal Savings (after merging with Talman Home Federal), ending a 12-year broadcast relation­ship.

March 6 Talman Home Federal Savings assumes sponsorship of TWTD.

MAY 17, 1982 Radio personalities at Chicago’s Daley Plaza are Dick Buckley (from left), Steve Hodges, Art Hellyer, Claude Kirschner, Jay Andres, Rick Patton, Ken Nordine and Chuck Schaden

May 17 Chuck and nine other Chicago radio personalities gather at Chicago’s Daley Plaza during a Swing Concert to promote the city’s Big Band theme for the 1982 Neighborhood Festivals. Among those participating are Jay Andres (WGN), Claude Kirschner (WXFM), Dick Buckley (WBEZ), Eddie Hubbard (WJJD), and Art Hellyer (WJJD).

June 19 Memory Movie is “Meet Boston Blackie” starring Chester Morris and Rochelle Hudson.

June 26 Following the merger of North West Federal with Talman Home Federal, Schaden resigns as VP/Public Relations to devote his full time to Old-Time Radio and other related interests and activities. Talman Home continues participating sponsorship of TWTD and continues offering Saturday evening Memory Movies in the Irving Park office auditorium.

July 3 Memory Movie is “Meet Nero Wolfe” (1936) starring Edward Arnold and Lionel Stander.

July 31 Memory Movie is “The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt” (1939) starring Warren William and Ida Lupino.

October 30 A stage and screen Special Event at the Talman Home Memory Movie. The film is “The Jazz Singer” (1927) starring Al Jolson in the first talking picture. The West End Jazz Band appears on stage.

December 1 Color is added to the cover framework of Nostalgia Newsletter. Photo of Burns and Allen is on the first “color cover.”

May 18  “Chicagorama” — a Special Event at the Patio Theatre sponsored by Chicago Area Theatre Organ Enthusiasts. Appearing are Chuck Schaden, Riverview historian Chuck Wlodarczyk, and organists Leon Berry, Harry Koenig and Deborah Ayette.

July 26  TV appearance: A.M. Chicago WLS-TV Channel 7, Chicago. Host Robb Weller welcomes antique expert Len Weinzimmer and radio collector Chuck Schaden, who comment on antique and collectible items brought to the show by members of the studio audience.

September 12  Radio Theatre premieres on WCFL, Chicago, Monday thru Friday evenings, 9-11 p.m.

October 1  Nostalgia Newsletter becomes the Nostalgia Digest and Radio Guide. Eddie Cantor is on the cover.

October 4  Museum of Broadcast Communications is formed. Founder Bruce DuMont asks Chuck to be a member of the founding Board of Directors.

October 10  WCFL Radio Theatre adds another hour and expands to 8-11 p.m., Monday thru Friday.

October 18  TV appearance: Channel 2 News WBBM-TV, Chicago. Reporter Bob Sirott’s “Time Machine” reports on “Chuck Schaden’s Nostalgia Empire” as they talk about Chuck’s new weeknight program on WCFL Radio and his Metro Golden Memories shop.

October 29  A Memory Movies Special Event: “Phantom of the Opera” (1925) starring Lon Chaney in the silent film with live organ accompaniment by guest star Hal Pearl, in person.

March 9  TV appearance: “Eyewitness News” WLS-TV Channel 7, Chicago. Gary Deeb interviews “Chicago’s Guru of Old Time Radio” in his Morton Grove broadcast studio.

March 17-22  On an interview visit to Southern California, Chuck records conversations with actresses Virginia Gregg and Fran Allison; actors Parley Baer, Herb Vigran, Jim Backus, Willard Waterman, and Tyler McVey; bandleader Horace Heidt, and actor/producer Sheldon Leonard.

April 28  Talman Home Federal Savings ends sponsorship of TWTD after slightly more than two years following their merger with North West Federal. Saturday night Memory Movies continue to be presented in what is now called the Talman Cinema Auditorium on Irving Park Road, but film schedules are no longer carried in Nostalgia Digest.

May 5  Cragin Federal Savings becomes a major participating sponsor of TWTD.

May 5  TV appearance: You Magazine WMAQ, Channel 5, Chicago. Hosts Sheila Gibbons and Peter Karl visit Chuck Schaden’s Morton Grove studio for a look behind the scenes of old-time radio. Also, a quick stop at Metro Golden Memories on Irving Park Road in Chicago.

May 18  WCFL Radio Theatre final broadcast after 180 programs.

June 28  Chicago Tribune radio columnist Eric Zorn writes:

Monday marks the return to the daily airwaves of Chuck Schaden, whose nostalgic Radio Theater program of old dramas lost its home when WCFL changed hands and switched to a religious format last month. Schaden will appear from 7 to 11 p.m. weeknights, simulcast on WAIT and Aurora’s WMRO. When you add on Schaden’s 1-5 p.m. Saturday show, Those Were The Days, on WNIB, it will make for 24 hours a week of radio drama on the big-time Chicago dial, not even figuring in the frequent special dramas on WBEZ. Schaden, who turns 50 Friday, has been collecting tapes of old comedy, variety and adventure broadcasts since the mid-1960s and had a regular program since 1970, when he premiered on now-defunct WLTD in Evanston. His four-hour nightly gig on WAIT/WMRO will allow him to run many of the programs at the same prime times they used to run in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s.

June 30  Radio appearance: Sixty Years of Radio WGN, Chicago. From WGN’s Pierre Andre Studio and “an abandoned master control room,” Chuck hosts and produces a special program commemorating the 60th anniversary of the legendary Chicago radio station. This informal “documentary” includes comments from WGN veteran Quin Ryan, who was the station’s first staff announcer; Henry Salinger, who became the station’s first musical director and later program director, and early musician Leon Lichtenfeld. The program features clips of local and Mutual programs carried on the station and includes rebroadcasts of Captain Midnight Lone Ranger, The Shadow, Franklyn MacCormack, Jack Armstrong, Chicago Theatre of the Air.

July 2  Radio Theatre premieres on WAIT, Chicago, Monday thru Friday, 7-11 p.m. (Program is simulcast for approximately one year on station WMRO, Aurora.)

July 11  Variety, the show-biz publication, reports: Chuck Schaden, veteran collector and programmer of old-time radio shows, has his own show, WAIT Radio Theatre on the station of the same name Monday-Friday 7-11 p.m.

September 22  “Tuxedo Junction,” a 1940s night club featuring nostalgic musical revues, becomes a sponsor of TWTD.

October 7  TV appearance: Two on Two WBBM-TV Channel 2, Chicago. Reporters Harry Porterfield and Bob Wallace talk about “unusual bookstores” and visit Chuck Schaden’s Metro Golden Memories shop, a U.S. Government bookstore and a Railroad & Transportation bookstore.

October 21  Chuck interviews actress Shirley Mitchell in Beverly Hills, California.

November 24  First appearance on TWTD of the Mighty Metro Art Players, written and created by announcer Ken Alexander for the Metro Golden Memories Shop.

December 10  WAIT Radio Theatre begins a five-night Tribute to Glenn Miller on the fortieth anniversary of the bandleader’s disappearance. Karl Pearson co-hosts.

December 24  Chuck hosts a special Christmas Eve Open House program on WAIT from 3 p.m.—midnight for a nine-hour Christmas Eve Special, with most of the station’s regular personalities as “drop-in” guests: Eddie Hubbard, Rick Patton, Len Johnson, Ken Alexander and others. Program features vintage radio Christmas shows and music.

December 31  Chuck hosts a special Countdown to Midnight program of big band remotes on WAIT from noon-midnight for a twelve-hour New Year’s Eve Special.

FEBRUARY 17, 1985 Celebrities Veola Vonn and Frank Nelson lead a contingent of listeners aboard the train to Waukegan for a lack Benny 39th birthday celebration.

February 17  TWTD listeners climb aboard the 20th Century Railroad Club’s “Jack Benny’s 39th Birthday Special” for a trip to Waukegan, Illinois for an unforgettable day of fun at Jack Benny Junior High School. Jack’s radio cast members Frank Nelson and his wife Veola Vonn join the 400 fans who attend the special event. Frank and Veola reminisced about Jack, there was a Benny sound-alike contest and the 1942 film, “To Be or Not to Be” was shown in the auditorium. Luncheon in the school cafeteria featured, of course, Jell-O.

March 23  TV appearance: Eye on Chicago WLS-TV Channel 7, Chicago. Reporter David Sparks covers the Those Were the Days/20th Century Railroad Club trip to Waukegan. Includes Jack Benny’s home, Jack Benny Junior High School, comments by Chuck Schaden, actor Frank Nelson, actress Veola Vonn.

April 27  Those Were The Days Fifteenth Anniversary broadcast, plus live celebration at Tuxedo Junction retro night club.

August 24  Debut of the “Hall Closet Radio Service” station identification signature of TWTD. Performed by singers from Tuxedo Junction.

November 9  End of the Line Caboose Motel in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, becomes a participating sponsor of TWTD.

November 28  Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder writes:

WBBM is launching its own nightly broadcast of old-time radio shows, including Gunsmoke, Lone Ranger and Dragnet. Nostalgia guru Chuck Schaden is dropping his Radio Theater on WAIT to become host of WBBM Radio Classics, which will air from 8 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday starting Dec. 16.

December 13  WAIT Radio Theatre final broadcast after 380 programs.

December 16  Old-Time Radio Classics premieres on WBBM, Chicago, Monday thru Friday 8-9 p.m.

March 1 Metro Golden Memories moves to a much larger location at 5425 W. Addison, Chicago.

March 8 Celtic Carpet Cleaners becomes a participating sponsor of TWTD.

June 20 Special Event at the Chicago Civic Center as Chuck introduces the Lone Ranger to a huge crowd gathered at Daley Plaza as the TV series’ star, actor Clayton Moore, appears in person.

August 1 Chuck Schaden’s Nostalgia premieres on Cable TV systems in Chicago area. Series consists of a 60-minute telecast each month for a year, with each episode repeated frequently throughout the month. First program features Riverview, the World’s Largest Amusement Park with guest, author and Riverview historian Chuck Wlodarczyk; Joe Sarno’s Comic Kingdom; and a performance by Mike Bezin’s West End Jazz Band.

January 6  Steve Darnall hosts The Big Bandstand, a one-hour weekly show of swing music on KRTU-FM in San Antonio, Texas. his first foray into college radio. His program continued thru the school year. ending in June.

June 12  Chuck donates his collection of over 48,000 vintage radio programs to become the core radio collection of the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

June 12  Museum of Broadcast Communications opens at River City in Chicago.

June 12  Radio Classics Special, WBBM, Chicago. Chuck hosts first remote broadcast from Museum of Broadcast Communications, 7.9 p.m.

June 13  Nostalgia Broadcast Center moves from Morton Grove to the Pierre Andre Memorial Studio where Those Were The Days is broadcast live every Saturday at the Museum of Broadcast Communications at River City, Chicago.

June 13  Ken Alexander, staff announcer for WN1B, also becomes the announcer for Those Were The Days

June 14  Old-Time Radio Classics, WBBM, expands, adds Saturday and Sunday evening broadcasts, 8-10 p.m.

June 28  Chuck interviews actor Ernie Winstanley of the original Lone Ranger cast, at the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

August 18  Chicago Sun-Times columnist Bob Herguth profiles Chuck Schadcn:

Nostalgia king of Chicago. He’s on WBBM seven nights a week with old-time radio shows. His Saturday afternoon Those Were The Days program on WNIB is 17 years old. Also has a monthly cable TV show; owns Metro Goldwyn (sic) Memories, a showbiz nostalgia shop …publishes Nostalgia Digest and Radio Guide; is a founding director of the new Museum of Broadcast Communications.

STATS: Born in Chicago, grew up in Norridge, lives in Morton Grove. Schools were James Giles Elementary in Norridge, Steinmetz High and the U. of L at Navy Pier, where he majored in journalism. Age 53, married, two daughters. Was newspaper editor and marketing exec.

NOSTALGIA START: “I got interested in nostalgia before it was nostalgia. I listened to radio shows when I was a kid, and when TV came in I watched like everybody else. But soon I felt TV didn’t challenge my imagination. I wanted to provide my own pictures. So I turned back to radio and found all the shows were gone. I started researching and collecting, and I soon decided if you collect, you want to share.”

LIFE GOAL: “If I can keep doing this, I will be a really happy person. I love it. I’ve been able to take an avocation and turn it into my vocation. Not many can.”

Ken Alexander

September 26  Ken Alexander becomes “permanent guest host” of Those Were The Days whenever Chuck is absent.

October 15  Publication date for first edition of The Cinnamon Bear Book, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the beloved radio series. Compiled and edited by Chuck Schaden, the book is illustrated by Brian Johnson with contributions by Carol Mueller, Todd Nebel, George Littlefield, and Susan Schaden.

October 24  Bob Atcher, country singer and a favorite Chicago radio-TV personality, performs and is interviewed on TWTD at the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

October 28  Chuck interviews actress Alice Faye at the Whitehall Hotel in Chicago.

November 1  Publication date for Chuck Schaden’s Nostalgia Calendar for 1988. The calendar, with full-page photos of radio stars, is designed by graphic artist Brian Johnson and features a day-by-day glimpse of show business milestones.

February 27 More than 350 old-time radio fans turn up during TWTD broadcast at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in River City. They were there to see a re-creation of a Jack Benny radio show featuring TWTD listeners who auditioned for parts in an original comedy script written by Mary Ellen Little, directed by Yuri Rasovsky.

May 1 Publication date of book, WBBMRadio: Yesterday and Today by Chuck Schaden, commissioned by station WBBM to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the station and mark its 20th year as Newsradio, the all-news format. Publicity Club of Chicago later honors Chuck with the Silver Trumpet Award for his history of WBBM.

May 5 Chuck emcees a celebrity-studded special anniversary dinner event for radio station WBBM, marking its sixty-fifth year on the air and twenty years as an all-news station.

May 6 WBBM Old–Time Radio Classics presents a special two-hour program marking the sixty-fifth anniversary of the station. Remote broadcast from the historic Wrigley Building, where the station had studios for many years.

May 12 TV appearance: Chicago Tonight WTTW Chicago, Channel 11. “WBBM’s 65th Anniversary.” Host Bruce DuMont, subbing for John Calloway, discusses the history of radio station WBBM with broadcasters Chuck Schaden, John Hultman and Jim Conway.

May 20 Marshall Field’s State Street Store Book Department hosts a book signing for Chuck on behalf of WBBMRadio: Yesterday and Today. There’s also a window display highlighting the book at Kroch’s and Brentano’s Wabash Avenue store in Chicago’s Loop.

June 4 TWTD broadcast includes a “live” Trivia Quiz Show with contestants selected from the studio audience. Chuck is host, Yuri Rasovsky is director and the answer-authority guest is Jefferson Graham, author of Come on Down! TV Game Show Book.

June 14-18 In Southern California, Chuck records interviews with actors Candy Candid() (Jimmy Durance Show) and Bob Hastings (Archie Andrew•): actor/ musician Phil Harris; actresses Mary Lee Robb (Great Gildersleeve). Elvia Allman, and Paula Winslowe (Like of Ray): announcers Del Sharbutt and Andre Baruch; singer Ilea Wain; writer Ray Singer; and producer Phil Cohan.

August 21 Chicago Tribune Book Review: That’s Not All. Folks by Mel Blanc. Reviewed by Chuck Schaden. Excerpt

Bugs Bunny almost died on the night of January 24, 1961. Mel Blanc, whose voice characterizations for Warner Bros.’ popular cartoon rabbit and scores of other animated film favorites, was the victim that night of a head-on collision on a stretch of Sunset Boulevard known as Dead Man’s Curve. Blanc’s car was demolished and almost every bone in his body was broken.

Mel Blanc made a full recovery from that near-fatal accident but, ever the trooper, not before recording in the hospital the voice track for The Bugs Bunny Show, an animated series on ABC-TV. Later, from an elaborate bed­side sound studio that was set up in his Pacific Palisades home, more than 40 episodes of The Flintstones were recorded — as Blanc, still in a body cast, gave life to Barney Rubble.

Blanc’s voice was also in great demand on radio. Blanc loved radio and he found plenty of work with Abbott and Costello, Eddie Cantor, Fibber McGee and Molly, Baby Snooks, Burns and Allen, Judy Canova and Jack Benny. He practically built a career in itself with Jack Benny.

Now 80-years-old and still active [and] …in spite of that near-fatal accident and [his] advancing years, [he] vows ‘That’s not all folks!’

October 6 In a phone call to New York. Chuck interviews !toward Koch. the writer of the “War of the Worlds” program from the 1938 Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast.

October 29 WBBM Old Time Radio Classics presents a special two-hour broad­cast commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” program. Guest, on the phone, is Howard Koch, who wrote the script for the famous broadcast.

November I  Publication date for Chuck Schaden’s Nostalgia Calendar for 1989.

November 6 Chicago Tribune Book Review: Flywheel. Shyster and Flywheel. A book of scripts written by Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman for the 1932-33 Groucho and Chico Man radio program. Edited by Michael Barson. Reviewed by Chuck Schaden. Excerpt:

In the fall of 1932, Standard Oil and Colonial Beacon Oil joined forces to sponsor a radio comedy show called “Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel.” The stars were two of the Marx Brothers, Groucho and Chico, already famous for their antics in four movie comedies. Groucho appeared as wisecracking attorney Waldorf T. Flywheel and Chico as Emmanuel Ravelli, his incompe­tent assistant. The series was written by Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman, young veterans of several Marx Brothers films.

You might think there’d be little of interest in 25 scripts from a 55-year-old radio program. But after a few pages, it’s hard to stop reading. You will be impressed by the writing and realize that all those crazy Groucho-Chico ad libs in the movies were carefully crafted ribbons of humor. You will congratulate Groucho and Chico for their impeccable timing and acting ability. And you will thank Michael Barson for finding and distributing this time capsule from radio’s glory days.

November 22 Chicago Tribune columnist Rick Kogan writes:

As radio moves energetically into the 1990s, it does so with on increased awareness, if not sure understanding, of a place called the cutting edge, a land of personality cults in which fast just isn’t enough. And as much as we might expect someday soon to be listening to a station that offers “all the news that’s fit to hear in 27 seconds,” or finally have a certifiable lunatic shouting a three-hour stream of obscenities over the air, we also can expect, thank goodness, to find Chuck Schaden.

Schaden represents a sit-yourself-down-and-think-for-a-while stop on the dial. In a way, he is like one of the towns people would stumble into in ‘Twilight Zone” episodes…

Actually, he is more than one stop on the dial. His Those Were The Days can be found …Saturdays on WNIB (and) Radio Classics can be heard (seven days a week) on WBBM. Altogether Schaden is on the radio 13 hours each week, a relatively small slice of time but nevertheless an important one.

Some people will mistake what Schaden does for mere nostalgia. That is no crime and actually has the makings of a fairly interesting debate. But when one listens to such Schaden offerings os Hallmark Playhouse, Jack Benny and the continuing holiday adventures of the Cinnamon Bear, it is unmis­takable that he is offering something more than memory message. “That’s the key” Schaden told me. ‘The secret is that the material holds up.”

April I  Chuck plays an “April Fool” joke on TWTD listeners by “closing the program” at I p.m.

April 29  TWTD Nineteenth Anniversary broadcast features program contributors and Nostalgia Digest writers Bob Kolososki. Karl Pearson and Dan McGuire.

April 30  May 7 Chuck Schaden appears in a pair of “Seminars on Sunday” at the Museum of Broadcast Communications at River City as he celebrates 19 years of Those Were The Days. He gives two special “lectures” about Old Time Radio, recorded before live audiences in the Kraft Theatre at the MBC and later released by AudioFile.

May 31 Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder writes:

What began as a fascination with the old-time radio shows of his youth has be­come a thriving business for Chuck Schaden — and a genuine treasure for his loyal listeners. Schaden, 55, just began his 20th year as host of Those Were the Days on WNIB. Since 1985, he also has hosted Radio Classics, which airs …on WBBM. “I can’t believe it myself,” Schaden said of his longevity on the air. “I’ve always had a fatalistic approach to what I do. I figured it would last as long as stations, sponsors and listeners wanted it to. But now I can’t ever see myself retiring from it.”

Among Schaden’s fans are three generations of families — grandparents who grew up listening to the original radio broadcasts of the 1930s, parents who remember a time before television crowded out radio drama, and children who enjoy hearing classic episodes of The Lone Ranger or The Shadow for the first time. Schaden has donated his full collection of 48,000 radio programs to Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications, from which he broadcasts Those Were the Days every Saturday afternoon.

June 17 As part of the regular program, TWTD carries the complete Memorial Service for actress Fran Allison from the Kraft Theatre in the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

Chuck with Pat Cheffer on “”Lifestyle” cable TV show

July 12 TV appearance: Lifestyle Continental Cablevision. Host Pat Cheffer interviews guest Chuck Schaden who tells how he got started collecting old time radio shows. Includes video clips of Chuck working at WBBM Chicago; the Museum of Broadcast Communications; Amos ‘n’ Andy TV show; and calls from viewers.

August 28-29 Chuck interviews Harriet Nelson in Laguna Beach, California, and David Nelson in Hollywood, California.

October 28 First of TWTD’s “creative” Halloween “specials” with segments scripted and performed by Ken Alexander.

December 1 Nostalgia Digest observes 15th Anniversary with a special issue that includes a reprint of the complete first issue of the Nostalgia Newsletter and Radio Guide, plus reprints of several previous articles that originally ran in the Newsletter and the Nostalgia Digest during the past decade-and-a-half.

December 12 Museum of Broadcast Communications Board of Directors elects Chuck Schaden Vice President and member of the Executive Committee.

January 6  Those Were The Days program number 1,000 features a rebroadcast of the first show from May 2, 1970.

January 13  Those Were The Days program number 750 on WNIB, Chicago since September 6, 1975.

Fibber McGee and Molly Exhibit

April 28  Those Were The Days 20th anniversary program features a Fibber McGee re-enactment, written by Ken Alexander and performed by listeners who auditioned on the air during a TWTD broadcast. Special guest was Jim Jordan, Jr., son of the late radio star. There is a special event at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in honor of the occasion. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley proclaimed “Chuck Schaden Day.” Festivities include the dedication of the Fibber McGee and Molly exhibit, built and supported by TWTD listeners. It was construct­ed to hold the complete collection of McGee radio scripts, donated by Jim Jordan’s widow Gretchen. The exhibit was complete with a “replica” of Fibber’s hall closet and other program memorabilia.

May 5  As TWTD begins its 21st year of programming, it has been on the air longer than a number of long-running classic shows from radio’s Golden Age: Inner Sanctum, Red Skelton (11 years each); Mr. District Attorney (13 years); Fred Allen, Eddie Cantor, Dr. Christian, Rudy Vallee (16 years each); Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, George Burns and Gracie Allen, First Nighter, Great Gidersleeve (18 years each); Bob Hope (19 years); Suspense (20 years).

October 6  TWTD presents “An Afternoon with Les Tremayne” on the air from the Kraft Theatre at the MBC. The actor is present to talk about his career and meet his Chicago radio fans.

November 3  Chuck interviews former Quiz Kids Ruth Duskin Feldman, Patrick Owen Conlon, Shelia Conlon and Lon Lunde in a special event held at the MBC.

November 13  TV appearance. Lifestyle Continental Cablevision. “The Golden Days of Radio and Early TV.” Host Pat Cheffer talks with guests Joan Benny and Chuck Schaden. Joan talks about her father Jack and their book, “Sunday Nights at Seven.” Chuck remembers the career of Jack Benny.

November 26  Old Time Radio Classics on WBBM moves to midnight from 8-9 p.m. weeknights. The Saturday and Sunday shows continue from 8-10 p.m.

December 22  TWTD presents the premiere of Ken Alexander’s “An Old Time Radio Carol” a story of a man who believes in Christmas, but not in old-time radio. Ken wrote the drama and portrays all the characters in it.

May 17  At a meeting of the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, California, Chuck records interviews with actors Pat Buttram, Tommy Cook, Art Hern, Jonathan Hole, and Casey Allen; organist Ivan Ditmars; and producer Jack Brown.

MAY 18, 1991 Pioneer radio announcers are, from left, Dresser Dahlstead, Les Tremayne, John Milton Kennedy and Wendell Niles.

May 18  At the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters headquarters in Hollywood, California, Chuck records conversations with actor Conrad Binyon; announcers Dressar Dahlstead, John Milton Kennedy, Wendell Niles and Les Tremayne.

June 29  Chuck interviews producer-director Himan Brown in a conversation recorded at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago.

July 6  Film to Video Labs in Skokie becomes a long-running sponsor of TWTD.

July 20 & 21  Chuck interviews actresses Vivian Fridell (Backstage Wife) and Bernice Martin (Romance of Helen Trent) in Chicago at the MBC.

August 3  TWTD begins a five-week celebration of the 50th Anniversary of The Great Gildersleeve.

December 7  On the 50th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, TWTD begins an unprecedented four-year observance of “Radio and World War II,” reaching into the pages of radio history to provide a sound picture of the war years on the home front and around the world.

January 18  Those Were The Days Radio Players is formed when more than 100 fans of old time radio from throughout the Chicago area come to the Museum of Broadcast Communications to express their desire to read and perform vintage radio scripts.

February 8  In anticipation of the MBC’s move to the Chicago Cultural Center from its present River City location, Chuck announces that the new expanded quarters for the museum will have room for an exhibit honoring Jack Benny. He proposes a “Benny’s Vault” project to be supported by TWTD listeners. Response, during “Jack Benny Month,” is immediate and generous.

February 29  For the first time since TWTD went on the air in 1970, the program is broadcast on a Leap Year Day. The vintage old time radio shows selected for this date, therefore, were all originally broadcast on a February 29.

April 25  Final TWTD broadcast from River City before the Museum of Broad­cast Communications moves to the Chicago Cultural Center on Michigan Avenue.

May 16  Those Were The Days begins broadcasting from the still-under­construction facility and radio studio at the Chicago Cultural Center, the soon-to-be new home of the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

June 3  TV appearance. Lifestyle Continental Cablevision. “50th Anniversary of the film ‘Casablanca.’ Host Pat Cheffer with guests Frank Miller, author of Casablanca — As Time Goes By; Pat Principe and the musical ensemble “Tuxedo Junction,” and Chuck Schaden, Those Were The Days host.

June 6  TWTD remote broadcast from the Chicago Historical Society on the occasion of the opening weekend for the Society’s exhibition “Chicago Goes to War 1941-1945.” The Fourth U.S. Army Band from Fort Sheridan, giving a mid­day concert at the Society, plays “Those Were The Days” instead of the broadcast’s usual recorded theme at the 1 p.m. sign-on.

June 13  Museum of Broadcast Communications opens to the public in its new location at the Chicago Cultural Center.

August 14  Old Time Radio Collectors and Traders Society presents award to Chuck in recognition “of his dedication to the preservation of old-time radio shows and to maintaining the integrity and reputation” of the Society.

NOVEMBER 14, 1992 CBS Radio Mystery Theatre re-enactment features, from left, original producer-director Himan Brown, and actors Les Tremayne, Ken Nordine, Jim Dolan, Jack Bivans, Russ Reed, Sondra Gair and Dick Thorne.

September 13  TWTD Radio Players begin a series of re-enactments of vintage broadcasts (presented once-a-month on Sunday afternoons) in the Radio Hall of Fame studio at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in the Chicago Cultural Center.

November 14  CBS Radio Mystery Theater re-enactment in the Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center. Chuck produces and hosts the program sponsored by the Radio Hall of Fame with producer-director Himan Brown, actor Les Tremayne and an all-star Chicago cast headed by Ken Nordine. A live version of “The Suicide Club” is presented.

December 26  TWTD presents “An Old Time Radio Christmas Party,” an original comedy script written and directed by Ken Alexander and starring members of the Those Were The Days Radio Players.

December 31  Chicago Sun–Times media columnist Robert Feder, in his year-end column writes:

No one has kept faith with his audience more loyally than old-time radio guru Chuck Schaden. Now heard seven days a week over two radio stations, Schaden has shared his undiminished enthusiasm for radio’s golden age for more than two decades. And who else but Schaden could pull together a four-year radio retrospective series on World War II?

January 2  Chuck announces his “New Year’s Resolution” to eliminate present-day commercial interruptions in the playing of more than 90 per cent of the vintage broadcasts presented on TWTD. Most 15- and 30-minute shows will play with no interruption at all and most hour-long shows will have just one interruption unless there are “natural” breaks within the original broadcast.

February 13  Off the Hoof Gallery of leather goods and kaleidoscopes becomes a long-running sponsor of TWTD.

April 24  Twenty-third anniversary of TWTD pays tribute to station WLTD in Evanston, where it all started in 1970. Many original broadcasters from the “Schaden years” in Evanston join Chuck on the air for a reunion and to reminisce about the “little station that could.” Among the “veterans” recalling their WLTD days are Bruce DuMont, Bill Nigut, Ted Weber, Mike Schwimmer, Karl Pearson, Don Lucki, Bill Sheldon, Robert Elenz, Michael Haggerty, Gene Cummings, Kenan Heise, Cindy Long Zemater, Skip Hahn and Jim Zarembski.

May 8  Chuck interviews WBBM Chicago veteran broadcasters Cliff Johnson, Mal Bellairs, Tommy Bartlett, Jim Conway and Billy Leach in a roundtable conversation for broadcast on Old-Time Radio Classics.

June 23  For the MBC, Schaden emcees a sixtieth anniversary Salute to Don McNeill and the Breakfast Club. Hundreds of fans come to the Allerton Hotel in Chicago to reminisce about the long-running program and to have breakfast with Don McNeill.

Mid-year TV appearance:  Remembering Chicago Radio Continental Cablevi­sion. Comments by Shirley Bell Cole, Chuck Schaden, Sondra Gair, Wesley South, J. Fred MacDonald, Tommy Bartlett, Studs Terkel and Michael Keith.

JULY 8, 1993 Radio Actress’ Roundtable with, from left, Janet Waldo, Alice Backes, Peggy Webber, Jeanette Nolan.

July 8  In Hollywood, California, Chuck interviews actresses Alice Backes, Jeanette Nolan, Janet Waldo and Peggy Webber in a “roundtable” conversation in the Pacific Pioneers Broadcasters’ Club Room.

November 6  Radio stars Willard Waterman, Shirley Mitchell and Mary Lee Robb appear at the MBC in “An Afternoon with The Great Gildersleeve” presented by the Radio Hall of Fame and produced and hosted by Chuck in the Claudia Cassidy Theatre at the Chicago Cultural Center.

November 7  Chuck Schaden is inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame

December 16 TV appearance:  Dateline: Morton Grove Continental Cablevision. Host Shel Marcus and guest Chuck Schaden talk about old-time radio and present photos and clips from “those thrilling days of yesteryear.”

December 20 TV appearance:  Lifestyle Continental Cablevision. Host Pat Cheffer presents a program of “Christmas Memories.” In this segment, guest Chuck Schaden reminisces about his Christmases from not-so-long-ago and how the Cinnamon Bear was a part of his holidays every year.

January 1  Old–Time Radio Classics on WBBM moves the Saturday and Sunday evening broadcasts to midnight-1 a.m. Now the series is on the air during the mid­night hour seven nights a week.

February 5  Chuck’s audio biography “Speaking of Radio: The Jack Benny Program” has its premiere broadcast on TWTD. It is a 12-part, in-depth look at one of radio’s most popular programs featuring comments from most of the members of the cast with a generous supply of clips selected from Benny broadcasts through the years. Recordings of the audio biography are published by the AudioFile.

FEBRUARY 13, 1994 Interviewing Jack Benny’s grandson Bobby Blumofe and Jack’s daughter Joan Benny as TWTD listeners celebrate the 61st anniversary of the comedian’s 39th birthday.

February 13  The Sixty–first Anniversary of Jack Benny’s Thirty–ninth Birthday is celebrated by more than 500 TWTD listeners who pack the Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center for the Benny Centennial celebration. The event features an original radio production of a script by Ken Alexander. John Sebert appears as Jack; Joan Benny, Jack’s daughter, co-stars as Mary Livingstone; and Jack’s grandson Bobby Blumofe has a role written especially for him. They are supported by Chicago weatherman Harry Volkman and members of the Those Were The Days Radio Players.

April 16  Those Were The Days presents a 70th Anniversary salute to the National Barn Dance with many of the program’s stars and a rebroadcast of the show’s last on-the-air performance.

May 28  Chuck interviews actors Jack Kruschen, Peter Leeds, Tyler McVey and Les Tremayne in a “roundtable” conversation at the Pacific Pioneers’ Club Room in Hollywood, California.

June 4  Cragin Federal Bank for Savings, about to be merged into the LaSalle Bank, ends its sponsorship of TWTD. This concludes more than 24 years of continuous TWTD sponsorship by area financial institutions, which began with the first broadcast in 1970 with North West Federal Savings, continued in 1982 with Talman Home Federal Savings, and in 1984 with Cragin Federal.

July 8  TV appearance: Fox Thing in the Morning WFLD-TV Channel 32 Chicago. Hosts Bob Sirott and Marianne Murciano with guest Chuck Schaden, who offers his review of the new movie, “The Shadow.”

August 13  TWTD begins a multi-month 60th Anniversary salute to the Lux Radio Theatre and its programming through the years.

December 1  Nostalgia Digest marks 20th anniversary.

April 1  TWTD presents an April Fool’s Day program with a special foolish opening and special voices throughout the broadcast provided by announcer Ken Alexander.

APRIL 23, 1995 Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Those Were The Days is, from left, my brother Ken and his wife Margaret, our daughter Sue, my wife Ellen, and our daughter Patty. The cake was from the Steinmetz High School Alumni Association and the Jarosch Bakery.

April 23  Special Event at Chicago’s Swissotel celebrating the 25th anniversary of Those Were The Days. It’s a Museum of Broadcast Communications benefit with many special guests including radio’s Orphan Annie, Shirley Bell Cole; Lone Ranger announcer, Fred Foy, and Vic and Sade’s Rush, Bill Idelson. Honors for Chuck and special material by Ken Alexander.

April 27  Chicago Sun–Times columnist Robert Feder writes:

Twenty-five years ago, Chuck Schaden leased a few hours of airtime one Saturday afternoon on a tiny radio station in Evanston to play tapes of old-time radio shows he collected as a hobby. With that modest debut, the former community newspaper editor and marketing executive launched Those Were the Days, a weekly celebration of radio’s golden era. And what began as Schaden’s hobby soon became his life’s work. Schaden marked the 25^th anniversary … at a celebration … at the Swissotel. More than 500 of Schaden’s fans packed the hotel’s grand ballroom for the event. Schaden said he hopes to continue turning Saturday afternoons into a radio time machine for years to come.

April 29  Those Were The Days Twenty-fifth Anniversary broadcast featuring highlights of the event held a week earlier at Chicago’s Swissotel.

May 6  As TWTD begins its 26th year of programming, it has been on the air longer than a number of long-running classic shows from radio’s Golden Age: Lux Radio Theatre (21 years); Fibber McGee and Molly (22 years); Gangbusters, Jack Benny (23 years each); Bing Crosby (25 years).

June 8  TV appearance. “Chicago: Passport to the World” WCIU-TV, Chicago. Host Tom Gobby presents “Old Time Radio” with guest Chuck Schaden as they talk about and listen to many scenes from vintage programs.

July 8  TWTD presents a special broadcast honoring the 40th anniversary of radio station WNIB. Guests include many current WNIB staff members and many alumni, including Bill Gershon, Dick Buckley, Marty Robinson, Ron Ray, Carl Grapentine, and Ken Alexander. They reminisce and share stories of their time at the station founded in 1955 by William Florian.

August 23  TV appearance: “Lifestyle” Continental Cablevision. Host Pat Cheffer with guest Chuck Schaden, who talks about the 1994 old time radio party presented in honor of the 61st anniversary of Jack Benny’s 39th birthday, a benefit for the Museum of Broadcast Communications held at the Chicago Cultural Center.

September 2  TWTD concludes its four-year, 50th anniversary coverage of “Radio and World War II.” Final episode includes the historic broadcast of the formal Japanese Surrender Ceremony from the Battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

September 9  TWTD marks its 20th anniversary on station WNIB since September 6, 1975.

October 2  Chicago Sun–Times columnist Robert Feder writes

Chuck Schaden is calling it quits after 10 years as host of Old Time Radio Classics on WBBM-AM. Citing a desire to cut back on his workload and concentrate on other projects, Schaden will sign off on December 1. His one -hour show, which airs at midnight daily on WBBM, is the top-rated program in its time period, according to the latest Arbitron quarterly survey. Chris Berry, news and program director at WBBM, praised Schaden as an “excellent broadcaster” and added: “It’s been a privilege to work with Chuck and have his program on our air.”

November 19  Chuck has the honor and pleasure of inducting the long-running Carlton E. Morse radio series, One Man’s Family, into the Radio Hall of Fame.

December 1  Final program for Old Time Radio Classics. Chuck takes a few early-retirement steps by closing his decade-long series of vintage broadcasts on station WBBM, Chicago.

January 20 TWTD honors George Burns on his Centennial birthday. As the beloved comedian reaches the

George Burns Centennial TWTD Radio Players

100-year-old mark, the program presents a special “Burns and Allen” script written by Ken Alexander and starring members of the Those Were The Days Radio Players.

March 2 Linda’s Silver Needle, needlework supplies, becomes a long-running sponsor of TWTD.

April 20 Don Roth’s Restaurant in Wheeling becomes a long-running sponsor and supporter of TWTD.

April 27 TWTD Twenty-sixth Anniversary program offers a repeat of the first show from May 2, 1970 and begins a 30-part audio course, “Please Stand By,” a history of radio’s development and programming. Instructors are Les Tremayne and Jack Brown and the series is offered in “semesters” through May, 1997.

September 7 After offering mostly consecutive episodes of One Man’s Family through the summer months for several years, TWTD concludes the run with an imagined “Finale.” Carlton E. Morse, the original creator and writer of the series, hadn’t written a conclusion to the long-running series because the program was cancelled without notice. Ken Alexander stepped in and provided a script called “Mother Barbour’s Wish” and members of the Those Were The Days Radio Players are cast as members of the Barbour Family to wrap it all up, in a way that, perhaps, even Mr. Morse would have approved.

October 19 TWTD presents a Salute to the Chicago Theatre on the 75th Anniversary of the famous Windy City showplace on State Street.

December 30 Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder, looking back at the “class acts” of the year 1996, writes,

There’s still no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon at home with your family than listening to Chuck Schaden’s “Those Were the Days” on WNIB-FM. The guru of old-time radio continues to keep the medium’s golden age alive with the same enthusiasm and expertise he has been shar­ing with listeners for more than 25 years.”

January 2  Metro Golden Memories gets new owners as Chuck retires from the retail business and sells the store to employee-manager John Sebert and his wife Marge.

February 1— 22  Jack Benny Month on TWTD features short telephone conversations with “Jack Benny” who calls in before each broadcast begins. John Sebert supplies the voice of Mr. Benny with a little help from Rosemary Cwik as Mable Flapsaddle, the telephone operator.

April 19  Chuck interviews actress/writer Peg Lynch and sound effects man Barney Beck at the Cincinnati, Ohio Old Time Radio convention.

June 14  TWTD observes the 10th anniversary of the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

July 1  TV appearance: Dateline: Morton Grove, Media One Cable. Host Shel Marcus and guest Chuck Schaden talk about old-time radio and “tune in” to Jack Armstrong, Superman, Captain Midnight, Backstage Wife and Ma Perkins.

July 27  Chicago Tribune Magazine columnist Rick Kogan writes:

Chuck Schaden, who is best known as host of a wonderful radio show—Those Were the Days—also publishes one of the area’s most interesting magazines. Called Nostalgia Digest, it contains a complete schedule of Schaden’s radio programs. But it also has any number of fine articles. In the August-September issue there is a solid take on the career of Al Jolson; a remembrance of that radio superhero known as the Shadow; the story of the great Irish tenor John McCormack; and a charming story investigating whether that otherwise ‘silent’ Marx Brother, Harpo, ever spoke on film or radio. Handsomely produced and lavishly illustrated, Nostalgia Digest is a small format publication with a pleasant punch. Though many of the articles in it have been written by non-professionals, these people bring a palpable passion and enthusiasm to the page.

Dateline: Morton Grove
Shel Marcus & Chuck

September 1  TV appearance. Dateline: Morton Grove, Media One Cable. Host Shel Marcus and guest Chuck Schaden discuss radio news programming and World War II shows from the Golden Age of Radio.

September 6  TWTD Program Number 1400 and the first time the program number of each broadcast is mentioned on the air.

October 4  The Player Piano Clinic in Berwyn becomes a long-running sponsor of TWTD.

May 2–30  TWTD presents a month-long, five-week Salute to Bob Hope to celebrate the comedian’s 95th Birthday.

August 28  TV appearance. Stock Market Observer Profile WCIU Channel 26, Chicago. Host Jack Taylor interviews Chuck Schaden while the stock ticker plays on the bottom half of the screen.

September 16–27  TWTD sponsors a listener trip to London, England with Chuck and Ellen Schaden for sight-seeing, a backstage visit to the London Palladium, a visit to the British Broadcasting Corporation, Buckingham Palace, Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms, a backstage tour of Drury Lane Theatre, and more, including a one-day visit, via the Chunnel under the English Channel, to Paris, France.

October 10  TWTD salutes the 75th anniversary of the Walt Disney Studios. Guest is animation historian Curtis L. Katz.

October 22–24  Attending the Friends of Old Time Radio convention in Newark, New Jersey, Chuck records interviews with actors Dick Beals, Mason Adams, Arthur Anderson; actress Toni Gilman; announcer Ken Roberts; singer Larry Stevens, and sound effects man Ray Earlenborn. At the convention, Chuck is presented the Allen Rockford Award for his dedication and contributions to the preservation of vintage radio.

Chuck and Katherine Crosby

November 10  Chuck has the honor and pleasure of inducting Bing Crosby into the Radio Hall of Fame. Actress Kathryn Crosby accepts the award on behalf of her late husband.

January 2  As the Twentieth Century draws to a close, TWTD begins a twelve month, 52-week look at “Old-Time Radio in the Twentieth Century” with mile­stone broadcasts, significant programs and representative shows from the 30-year Golden Age of Radio.

March 27  The Framemakers (“not Rainmakers”) of Hinsdale, later Westmont, becomes a long running sponsor and supporter of TWTD.

June 12  A TWTD on-the-air Engagement. Edward Brodizky pops the question to a surprised Jillene Mittleman and she responds with an on-air “Yes!” The couple had been dating for a while before they discovered that each was a regular listener to TWTD. Ed secretly conspired with Chuck to accomplish this surprise.

August 7  Those Were The Days program number 1,500 since May 2, 1970, presenting “a word and sound portrait of Chicago Radio in the Good Old Days.”

Robert Feder

September 10  Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder reports:

Chicago’s aficionados of old-time radio have voted The Jack Benny Program the best show of the 20th century. It’s a choice that few would dispute. Benny’s top-rated comedy show, which aired on radio from 1932 to 1958 (and became an equally successful television spinoff), was the hands-down winner in a month-long poll of listeners to Chuck Schaden’s Those Were the Days. Among a field of 73 nominated shows, Schaden reported, The Jack Benny Program received 26 per cent of the votes cast.

September 11 TWTD listeners choose the “20 Best Old Time Radio Shows of the 20th Century.” The complete list of winners was published in the October/ November 1999 issue of Nostalgia Digest and are announced on this program. Here are the top five: The Jack Benny Program came in at Number 1. Number 2 is Suspense; 3 is Fibber McGee and Molly; 4 is The Shadow and 5 is The Lone Ranger.

October 4  TV appearance: Not Just for Seniors, Aurora Cable Television. News magazine for senior citizens with host Jay Harriman. Guest Chuck Schaden chats about the glory days of radio.

October 22-26  At the Friends of Old Time Radio convention in Newark, New Jersey, Chuck interviews announcer George Ansbro, actress Beverly Washburn and writer Hal Kanter.

November 7  Chuck has the honor and pleasure of inducting Gale Gordon into the Radio Hall of Fame and accepts the award on behalf of the late actor.

December 1 

Nostalgia Digest observes its 25th anniversary with a special 64-page issue featuring selected reprint articles from the 183 issues that were published over the magazine’s first quarter-century.

April 27 Daily Herald TV/radio columnist Ted Cox writes:

It’s always a pleasure to talk with someone who’s passionate about what he or she does for a living, and the instant I get on the phone with Chuck Schaden I’m sorry it’s been five years since we’ve talked. Yet that, in part, is what anniversaries are for, to reconnect and reassess, and Schaden celebrates the 30^th anniversary of his old-time radio show Those Were the Days at 1 p.m. Saturday on WNIB. This weekend …Schaden sets aside his tapes of old-time programs for a collection of highlights from the 30-year history of Those Were the Days. The highlights format also points up Schaden’s contribution to the scholarship on old-time radio. He hasn’t just preserved and promoted shows. Through interviews with the stars, voice talents, special-effects artists and writers, he’s helped show how radio was and is a craft all its own.

Listeners surprise Chuck.

April 29 Those Were The Days Thirtieth Anniversary. From the Radio Hall of Fame studio in the Museum of Broadcast Communications at the Chicago Cultural Center, there are many moments of TWTD nostalgia from the program over the years. The TWTD Radio Players present a live re-enactment of “The Maltese Falcon” from the Lux Radio Theatre. Ken Alexander portrays Sam Spade, Caspar Gutman and Joel Cairo. “Live” organ music is provided by guest Paul Renard, an organist from the radio days. A surprised Chuck is overwhelmed when his five grandchildren march up to his microphone, bringing with them mailbags filled with cards and letters from listeners who conspired with his daughters and  Ken Alexander (while Chuck was away on vacation earlier in the year) to express their feelings about TWTD on the program’s special occasion. The couple who got engaged on the TWTD broadcast of June 12, 1999 — Edward Brodizky and Jillene Mittleman — stop by to invite Chuck to their wedding on August 13, 2000.

May 6 As TWTD begins its 31st year of programming, it has been on the air longer than two very long-running classic shows from radio’s Golden Age: One Man’s Family (28 years) and Voice of Firestone (30 years).

APRIL 29, 2000 Edward Brodizky and Jillene Mittleman, who became engaged on the air during a 1999 TWTD broadcast, stop in during the 30th Anniversary program to invite Chuck to their upcoming August wedding.

May 20 First TWTD broadcast in Cyberspace as WNIB, Chicago begins stream­ing on the World Wide Web. Almost immediately, old time radio fans outside of the Chicago area begin responding with gratitude.

June 10-17 TWTD presents “Radio and the Korean War,” a three- part, three-week series commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Korean Conflict.

July 30 Chicago Sun-Times carries the article, “WMAQ Signing Off and Call Letters Retired After 78 Years” by Chuck Schaden. Excerpt:

Chicago’s oldest broadcast institution is being forced into retirement, another victim of merger, consolidation and downsizing. There’s no golden parachute, no gold watch, no retirement party, hardly a testimonial from its peers. With the stroke of a pen and the strike of a clock, radio station WMAQ, a fixture in Chicago since 1922, will be gone Tuesday.

WMAQ was originally called WGU and was owned by the Fair Store. The license was issued March 29, 1922. The first broadcast was April 12, 1922. Later that year, the Chicago Daily News took an interest in radio and on September 29, 1922 became co-owners of WGU with the Fair Store. They applied for and received new call letters for the station. On October 2, 1922, WMAQ went on the air.

In 1927, WMAQ became an affiliate of the National Broadcasting Co. in a relationship that lasted only eight months, when the station joined the Columbia Broadcasting System as a charter member of the network. In 1931, NBC purchased WMAQ …increased power to 50,000 watts and … operated WMAQ as its Midwest flagship station.

In 1985, RCA, the parent company of the National Broadcasting Co. was sold to General Electric, and in 1988 GE sold WMAQ to Westinghouse. Purchases, mergers and ownership management changes have taken place since that time. As a result, after 78 years, the historic WMAQ call letters are being retired, along with the legacy of the thousands of people who gave voice to one of the nation’s great radio stations. Goodbye, WMAQ.

August 5-26 TWTD presents a Mid-Summer Festival of Radio Comedy, a month -long, four-week series of nothing but vintage comedy programs.

September 9 Those Were The Days marks 25 years on station WNIB, Chicago, with 1,306 programs to date.

October 10-24 TWTD sponsors a listener trip to France with Chuck and Ellen Schaden for a visit to Omaha Beach, site of the D-Day invasion and other World War II sites, tours of the French countryside, Paris with the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, wine tastings, the show at the Moulin Rouge, and even, during a ride on the Metro subway, being treated to a Parisian accordion player’s spontaneous rendition of the song, “Those Were the Days.”

November 29 The owners of WNIB announce that their radio station has been sold and all current programming — including Those Were The Days — would be discontinued at the time of the actual ownership change, which would be “sometime in February, 2001.” New ownership means a totally new format for the station, which had been operating under the original ownership for more than 45 years and had been the home of TWTD for the past 25 years.

November 30 Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder writes:

In the biggest radio blockbuster of the year, WNIB-FM is changing its tune after more than four decades as a classical music station. Bill and Sonia Florian, who have owned and operated WNIB as a labor of love since its inception in 1955, said Wednesday that they have agreed to sell the station together with far north suburban simulcast sister station WNIZ-FM. Bonne­ville International Corp., the Salt Lake City-based broadcast division of the Morman Church, will acquire the two outlets for $165 million —a staggering return on Bill Florian’s initial investment of $8,000 to launch the station. Pending government approval, the deal could be finalized by Feb. 1. No word on the fate of WNIB’s staff, music library or Those Were the Days, Chuck Schaden’s Saturday afternoon showcase for old-time radio.

January 6 Chuck tells listeners that he has been seeking a new broadcast outlet for TWTD, but there’s no news yet.

January 10 Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder writes:

There might be encouraging news for fans of Chuck Schaden’s Those Were the Days. Although the sale of WNIB-FM will force the old-time radio show­case off the station after 25 years, Schaden isn’t ready to call it quits. “We’ve had a number of calls from, and contacts with, Chicago area stations, and are in the process of finding a suitable place for the program” he said.

January 27 Chuck announces that TWTD will begin broadcasting on College of DuPage public radio station WDCB, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, effective with the close of programming on WNIB, date to be determined, and will continue uninterrupted.

February 2 Chicago Tribune “Tempo” writer Liam Ford reports:

Late last year. Chuck Schaden thought about stowing his radio show, Those Were the Days, in what he calls his “trunkful of memories” Maybe it was time, he thought, that his program join Fibber McGee and Molly, Gunsmoke, Lights Out and so many other long-gone programs. For most of the last 31 years, Schaden’s program has aired on WNIB-FM. When a Utah -based broadcasting company bought the mostly classical music station in November for $165 million, Schaden considered leaving his adopted profession. Listeners, however, barraged him with questions about where he would take his program next, so Schaden reconsidered. Beginning this Saturday, the show will be simulcast on WNIB and its new home, WDCB­FM, until the WNIB sale goes through. Fellow broadcasters say Schaden has saved a mammoth swath of radio history. [Bruce] DuMont notes that Schaden donated 50,000 hours of classic radio programs to the Museum [of Broadcast Communications] 15 years ago, forming the “foundation of our archives.” The same passion for sharing his love with others that so endears Schaden to his listeners compelled him to find new outlets for classic radio. That passion has helped his show survive longer, almost, than the 30-year Golden Age itself. It has made Those Were the Days what WNIB co-founder Sonia Florian says is one of the highest-rated programs on the station.

February 3, 10 Final Those Were The Days broadcasts on WNIB, Chicago. The last two programs on WNIB are simulcast on station WDCB to acquaint listeners with the new home for TWTD. This is also the beginning of another Jack Benny Month on TWTD and, once again, “Jack Benny” (courtesy of John Sebert) calls, this time to discuss the change of station with Chuck.

Chuck and Ken Alexander on final WNIB broadcast.

February 10 Final TWTD program on WNIB, Chicago after 1,328 programs. Chuck reminisces about WNIB as the station prepares to sign off Sunday at Midnight. Various “celebrity” listeners drop by to wish the program well on the new station: Mr. Peavey, Arthur Godfrey, Peter Lorre, Joe Friday, Brit Ponsett, and Fred Allen (all courtesy of Ken Alexander).

February 17 First “official” Those Were The Days program on station WDCB. The show continues to originate from the Radio Hall of Fame studio at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in the Chicago Cultural Center. The program keeps its original format and 1-5 p.m. Saturday time slot.

February 24 On the final Saturday of Jack Benny Month for 2001, the Those Were The Days Radio Players present “The Horn Blows at Midnight.”

April 21 Ken Alexander’s first “newspaper” report on TWTD. He tells of news and events of June 11, 1952, the date of a Red Skelton Show about to be broadcast. This initial segment grows into a regular feature as Ken brings a newspaper from his basement collection to the studio each week thereafter.

May 26 TWTD presents the first chapter of an 18-part Armed Forces Radio series, “The Glenn Miller Story.”

August 4 TWTD guest is Carl Amari, marking 20 years as an old time radio program host and founder of Radio Spirits.

September 8-15 TWTD sponsors a listener trip to Italy for visits to Rome, Florence and Capri with extensive sight-seeing, including a visit to the Vatican. A few days before the start of the trip, Chuck developed a severe case of the flu and he and Ellen are unable to accompany the group. Chuck’s brother, Ken Schaden, and his daughter Marguerite, stepped in and hosted the tour. The dramatic and tragic events of September 11 shocked and worried the TWTD travelers and their families back home, but everyone was relieved when all returned safely on the scheduled day, despite the air embargo that had been in effect for a time.

September 15 TWTD presents “Rally Around the Flag,” pre-empting scheduled programming to devote a special patriotic broadcast following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania.

October 13 For the 60th anniversary of the start of World War II, TWTD begins another series of U. S. wartime radio programming as “Storm Clouds Gather” in 1938.

October 21 Chuck and Ellen Schaden host TWTD travelers from the September listener trip to Italy for a reunion dinner at Don Roth’s Blackhawk Restaurant, where photos and memories of the unforgettable journey were shared.

December 22 WDCB’s antenna tower collapses during a heavy wind storm while TWTD was on the air. The station is off the air for five days, after which it is back on the air with all of its programming, including TWTD, intact but at reduced power from a temporary antenna.

December 27 Chicago Sun–Times columnist Robert Feder writes:

As the College of DuPage prepares to celebrate the 25th anniversary of WDCB-FM, a gust of wind knocked the public radio station off the air for five days. The station eventually resumed broadcasting its jazz and eclectic programming, but it will be operating at substantially reduced power for at least several weeks. Strong winds and aging equipment caused the station’s 310-foot transmitter tower in west suburban Glen Ellyn to collapse at about 3 p.m. Saturday. Chuck Schaden was in the midst of his Those Were the Days radio show when WDCB went off the air. He continued his Christmas program, however, for the benefit of his audience at the Museum of Broadcast Communications and for his archival tape. A college spokesman estimated the cost of a replacement tower at $100,000.

January 1  WDCB begins streaming audio on the Internet so, even though the station is transmitting a much-reduced signal in its usual broadcast area, Those Were The Days and all other regular programming may now be heard around the world via the World Wide Web.

February 23  On the final Saturday of the 23rd Jack Benny Month, the TWTD Radio Players present their interpretation of “Brewster’s Millions” which originally starred Jack Benny on the Lux Radio Theatre.

JUNE 8, 2002 A TWTD Remote broadcast on WDCB and streaming on the Internet from Waukegan for the dedication of the Jack Benny statue. Len Kunka is the technician on the control board and Chuck is on the air.

June 8  Remote broadcast from Waukegan, Illinois as Those Were The Days covers the dedication of the Jack Benny Statue in the comedian’s home town. On-air guests include Eric Biome, sculptor of the statue; Laura Leff, president of the International Jack Benny Fan Club, and Benny impersonator Eddie Carroll.

June 15  TWTD celebrates the 15th Anniversary of the Museum of Broadcast Communications. This is also the last TWTD broadcast from the Museum after 15 years, first at the River City location, then in the Chicago Cultural Center.

June 22 TWTD moves from studios in the Chicago Cultural Center to the main broadcast studio of WDCB at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

July 11  Chicago Sun–Times columnist Robert Feder writes:

After 15 years at the Radio Hall of Fame studios in Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications, Chuck Schaden has moved the site of his weekly broadcast of Those Were the Days. The old-time radio showcase now originates from the Glen Ellyn studios of WDCB-FM on the College of DuPage campus.

July 17  WDCB resumes broadcasting at full authorized strength after a new tower has been constructed and erected and a new antenna is finally beaming its strong signal after seven months of service to a reduced audience.

July 19  Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder writes:

Seven months after high winds knocked down the transmitter tower of WDCB-FM, the College of DuPage’s public radio station is broadcasting at full power again. The station… has been beaming a loud and clear signal through much of the metropolitan area since then.

July 27  With the WDCB antenna tower up and working, TWTD presents “Christmas in July,” repeating all the programs that were scheduled but weren’t heard on December 22, 2001 when the original tower collapsed. Chuck and Ken Alexander take their microphones out of the studio to the new tower as Ken decides to “christen” it with unexpected results.

October 26  Ken Alexander hosts TWTD while Chuck and a group of Those Were The Days Radio Players travel to Newark, New Jersey for a meeting of the Friends of Old Time Radio convention. The Those Were The Days Players, directed by Randy Larson, provide a re-enactment of a Hall of Fantasy program from 10-1-1952 entitled “The Map of Gold.” Old Time Radio Digest magazine presents the Ezra Stone/Willard Waterman Award to Chuck for “outstanding contributions to the preservation of old-time radio.”

November 11 Illinois Humanities Council presents the Studs Terkel Humanities Service Award to Chuck Schaden, who was nominated for the honor by the Village of Morton Grove, Illinois. His hometown proclaims this date “Chuck Schaden Day” in recognition of his contributions to radio broadcasting… and as a champion of the humanities.”

April 1 Nostalgia Digest becomes a quarterly publication with issues four times a year, following the seasons of the year. The magazine expands to 64 pages per issue and contains the TWTD program schedule for three months at a time, plus all the regular columns, articles and features.

April 12 Cincinnati Old Time Radio convention presents the Parley Baer Award to Chuck “in recognition of his continuing exemplary efforts in supporting the presentation and enjoyment of radio history.”

April 30 Development of a Nostalgia Digest web site begins.

May 24 TWTD presents a Bob Hope Centennial, marking the comedian’s 100th birthday with a program of his radio broadcasts during World War II. Throughout the show, Ken Alexander provides special lyrics for “Thanks for the Memory.”

June 7 TWTD remote broadcast from the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois, commemorating the Museum’s 50th anniversary. “Studio” for the day is the Observation Deck of a 1910 Pullman Company 10-section lounge car.

July 31 Metro Golden Memories Shop closes after 27 years of providing “show business nostalgia” for the Chicago area.

August 2 TWTD presents a tribute to Bob Hope, who died July 27 at age 100. Program includes coverage of Mr. Hope’s 20-year radio career and a final salute by Ken Alexander, who writes some additional, final lyrics for “Thanks for the Memory.”

October 1 Publication date for Chuck Schaden’s book Speaking of Radio, a collection of interviews transcribed from his recorded conversations with 46 radio personalities.

October 1 Debut of Nostalgia Digest Website, a cyber-edition of the magazine with TWTD listings, special features, and streaming audio of weekly Those Were The Days programs.

October 3 Chicago Tribune “Arts & Entertainment Book Section” contains an article by free-lance writer Steve Darnall, who writes:

What [Chuck] Schaden learned about radio history from [his radio interviews] could fill a book and with the publication of his interview anthology “Speaking of Radio,” it has. [They] paint a fascinating picture of the birth and growth of America’s first real mass medium, before satellite communications and the ascension of shrill opinionated hosts. Those days, as former announcer Harry Von Zell told Schaden in 1974, radio was ‘the most intimate and socially personal medium in the world.’

October 25 TWTD Annual Halloween Show hosted by Ken Alexander while Chuck attends the Friends of Old Time Radio convention in Newark, New Jersey, part of his book-signing tour.

November 8 Chuck’s book-signing tour takes him to Southern California for a meeting of SPERDVAC, the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Radio Drama, Variety And Comedy. The organization awards a citation to him “for many years of unselfish dedication to keeping alive the memory of the Golden Age of Radio and of the people who made it so entertaining and wonderful.”

November 25 TV appearance: Chicago Tonight WTTW Channel 11, Chicago. Host Bob Sirott’s guest is Chuck Schaden, talking about his new book Speaking of Radio.

November 28 Radio appearance: Extension 720 WGN, Chicago. Host Milt Rosenberg and guest Chuck Schaden talk about his new book, Speaking of Radio, and the good old days of radio. Chuck presents excerpts from a number of his interviews with past radio stars and the programs on which they appeared.

February 7-28  TWTD observes the 25th anniversary of Jack Benny Month and the 71st anniversary of Jack Benny’s 39th birthday.

April 3-17  TWTD presents three consecutive broadcasts dealing with “Fibber McGee and Molly and the Movies.”

June 5  Chuck interrupts a TWTD rebroadcast of a Fibber McGee and Molly program to inform listeners of the death of Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States.

July 24  TWTD remembers Les Tremayne, who died in December, 2003, by broadcasting a recording of the January 7, 2004 memorial service in California where family and friends gathered to pay their respects to the beloved actor.

August 7-28  TWTD presents a four-week salute to Al Jolson, highlighting the radio career of the man who was known as “the world’s greatest entertainer.”

November 7  Publication date for Ken Alexander’s compact disc audio book The Way It Used to Be. A release party was held in his honor at Don Roth’s Blackhawk Restaurant in Wheeling, Illinois.

March 1  Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder reports:

As Chuck Schaden prepares to celebrate his 35th anniversary as host of Those Were the Days, he has no plans to step down any time soon from his weekly showcase for old-time radio. For that, his legion of fans can be grateful. …But one way that Schaden, 70, is edging toward semi-retirement is by giving up publication of his Nostalgia Digest and Radio Guide. Starting with the summer issue, he will turn over the role of editor and publisher to Steve Darnall, a longtime fan of Schaden’s show and a frequent contributor to the quarterly magazine.

March 5-26  TWTD presents “Mayberry Folks on Radio” featuring radio perfor­mances by supporting players from TV’s Andy Griffith Show. Ken Alexander hosts this month-long, four-week series, which is accompanied by a feature article in the winter, 2005 issue of Nostalgia Digest.

April 1 Chuck’s final issue as editor and publisher of Nostalgia Digest as he enters another “semi-retirement” phase of life.

April 27 TV appearance: Chicago Tonight WTTW Channel 11, Chicago. Host Bob Sirott with guest Chuck Schaden on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of Chuck’s Those Were The Days radio program.

APRIL 30, 2005 A large-scale, “all-star” nostalgic production with memories, music and comedy marked the Thirty-fifth anniversary celebration of Those Were The Days, broadcast live on WDCB from the LaSalle Bank auditorium.

April 30 Thirty-fifth anniversary of Those Were The Days is a four-hour live remote broadcast from the LaSalle Bank (formerly North West Federal) auditorium on Irving Park Road in Chicago. Featured guests are the Steve Cooper Orchestra with a re-enactment of a Your Hit Parade broadcast from 1944 and a Tribute to Big Bands from Coast-to-Coast; the West End Jazz Band with a salute to the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks; a medley of nostalgic songs from the Skylarks Unlimited; a re-enactment of a scene from a Jack Benny program from 1953 featuring the Beverly Hills Beavers, portrayed by members of the Northlight Theatre Academy; and an Abbott and Costello “Who’s On First?” routine starring Larry Youngberg and Randy Larson; plus TWTD regulars, announcer Ken Alexander, big band historian Karl Pearson and movie historian Bob Kolososki.

May 7 As TWTD begins its 36th year, it has been on the air longer than two extremely long-running classic shows from radio’s Golden Age: Amos ‘n’ Andy (31 years); Breakfast Club (35 years).

May 9–16 TWTD sponsors a 35th anniversary listener trip with a Riverboat Adventure from New Orleans, Louisiana. Chuck and Ellen Schaden and the group board the American Queen in New Orleans for several days of luxurious “steam-boating” with meals and activities on the way to Natchez, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Upon returning to New Orleans there is sightseeing in and around the city, the French Quarter, a Jazz Brunch, and a visit to the National D-Day Museum.

July 1 The Summer Issue of Nostalgia Digest becomes Steve Darnall’s first issue of the magazine as editor and publisher. Schaden is honored by being named “Editor Emeritus.”

October 1 TWTD observes the 50th Anniversary of NBC’s long-running Monitor radio series.

December 31 With this TWTD broadcast, the program has been on the air for 35 years and 8 months, thereby outliving Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club, which had a radio run that lasted 35 years and 6 months.

February 2 Chicago Sun–Times columnist Robert Feder reports:

Those Were the Days hits the road: Starting this weekend, Chuck Schaden will originate his weekly showcase for old-time radio from the House of Broadcasting, a radio and television museum in Scottsdale, Ariz. He’ll be there on a working vacation through April.

Broadcasting remote from Scottsdale are Arizona producer Jim Warras, Chuck and Jim Zarembski, TWTD Chief Engineer.

February 4 — April 29 Those Were The Days travels to Scottsdale, Arizona for a 13-week series of remote broadcasts from the city’s House of Broadcasting. Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross welcomes the program to her city in what has been called the Valley of the Sun.

February 4–25 TWTD marks Jack Benny month with a series of special “audio essays” featuring Benny regular Mel Blanc and the Warner Bros. cartoon voices, written and narrated by Curtis Katz with creative technical assistance from Len Kunka.

June 3–24 TWTD presents a month-long, 4-week series about “Movie Stars on Radio” with film historian Bob Kolososki.

September 12 Chicago Sun–Times columnist Robert Feder reports:

Chuck Schaden, who had kept the “Golden Age of Radio” alive on Chicago’s airwaves for more than 35 years, is about to share his pride and passion with the whole country. Schaden, 72, a Chicago classic himself and Radio Hall of Famer, has been signed to host When Radio Was, a syndicated nightly showcase of old-time radio shows airing in more than 200 markets nationwide. Starting next week he’ll replace famed satirist Stan Freberg, who has hosted the show since 1995.”

October 9 Chuck debuts as host of When Radio Was on WBBM in Chicago and individual stations from coast to coast. His series begins with a salute to Stan Freberg, former host of the program.

March 17 & 24  During a WDCB Public Radio Pledge Drive, TWTD presents the first use of special creative lyrics, music and humor to solicit funds from listeners. Providing the unique calls for support are Ken Alexander and TWTD volunteer George Littlefield.

Ken with George Littlefield collaborated on many WDCB Pledge Spots.

April 14  TWTD presents a special salute to big band historian Karl Pearson on his milestone 50th birthday. 

July 14  TWTD acknowledges the first Swimsuit Edition of Nostalgia Digest and “moves the program” to another part of the College of DuPage campus to join with “staff and faculty members” for a “poolside” broadcast. The “remote” program was facilitated by TWTD engineer Jim Zarembski.

August 4-25  TWTD presents “A Month of Sundays” with a month-long, 4-week presentation of vintage programs that were, at one time or another, originally broadcast on Sunday.

December 16  Chicago Tribune Magazine columnist Rick Kogan writes:

Not all the members of the Those Were the Days Radio Players are old enough to have heard the material that they perform at schools, libraries, nursing homes, historical societies, private parties —almost anywhere they are asked to go. Many cast members are relative youngsters, but they all share the belief that the good old radio days were broadcast’s most creative, imaginative and entertaining ones. The TWTD Radio Players were born in December 1991 when Chuck Schaden, acting on an idea proposed by old-time radio fan Tom Tirpak, asked listeners to his Those Were the Days radio program if any of them might like to stage and perform vintage radio shows. The response was stunning. In a week, more than 150 people had signed up. Over the years we have seen various TWTD Radio Players groups do their thing and their thing is so enjoyable it works apart from its historical import. One doesn’t need to know the old programs to enjoy them resurrected. These were good shows, good times and, for some, they evoke great memories.

January 1 Steve Darnall’s Nostalgia Digest magazine becomes a national publication with distribution from some 200 locations coast-to-coast.

February 2–April 26 Ken Alexander hosts TWTD while Chuck takes an extended three-month vacation in Arizona.

May 10-31 TWTD offers four consecutive programs marking the centennial of actor James Stewart, who was born 100 years ago on May 20, 1908.

Yesterday’s Newspaper segment.

November 1 First use of the “Get your papers” newsboy to introduce Ken Alexander’s “Yesterday’s Newspaper” segment on TWTD.

Jan 24 & 31  Jack Benny Month begins two weeks early this year because of two special programs in February.

February 7  TWTD presents an Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial salute observing the 200th anniversary of the birth of the 16th President of the United States. Special guest is historian Curtis L. Katz.

February 14  TWTD presents, for the first time in many years, a Valentine’s Day broadcast of appropriate heart-themed shows on an actual St. Valentine’s Day.

March 7  Broadcast number 2,000 for Those Were The Days. Chuck announces his plan to retire from the program at mid-year.

April 4-5  TWTD acknowledges announcer Ken Alexander’s 50 years in radio with a special broadcast of his appearances on the air over the years. The program is followed the next day by a sold-out dinner in Ken’s honor at Don Roth’s Blackhawk Restaurant in Wheeling, attended by scores of his friends and fans.

April 24  Chicago Sun-Times Media & Marketing columnist Lewis Lazare writes:

After a hugely productive and heavily nostalgic-laden 39 years in broad­casting, Chuck Schaden will sign off for the last time as host of his long-running radio show, Those Were the Days on June 27, though the show itself will live on.

Schaden has tapped Steve Darnall to replace him as host, and Ken Alexander, who has worked alongside Schaden as on-air announcer, will continue working with Darnall.

Schaden was under no pressure to retire, but he felt his 39th anniversary in radio was the right time to do it. Why? Well, as you might suspect, it’s partly an homage to one of his favorite radio icons, Jack Benny, who famously celebrated his 39th birthday some 41 times. Plus, Schaden turns 75 two days after his final broadcast. “That’s 10 years after I would normally have bowed out,” said Schaden.

May 2  Those Were The Days’ 39th anniversary broadcast. Chuck presents vintage radio programs featuring radio stars at the age of 39.

MAY 3, 2009 Actor Eddie Carroll stars as Jack Benny in “Laughter in Bloom,” the event at Chicago’s Portage Theatre, marking the 39th Anniversary of TWTD.

May 3  Special Event at Chicago’s Portage Theatre celebrating the 39th anniversary of Chuck’s Those Were The Days. Jack Benny impressionist Eddie Carroll was the headliner at the sold-out event, presenting his live theatrical production, “Laughter in Bloom.”

May 23  Karl Pearson, TWTD’s resident Big Band Historian, joins Chuck for their final show together to present a Glenn Miller Special. Karl’s first time on the air with Chuck was on WLTD, Evanston on August 10, 1973.

June 6  Bob Kolososki, TWTD’s resident Movie Historian, joins Chuck for their final show together to present a salute to actress Bette Davis. Bob’s first time on the air with Chuck was on WNIB, Chicago on July 14, 1979

June 13  Steve Darnall, editor and publisher of Nostalgia Digest, and who will become the new host and producer of Those Were The Days, is Chuck’s guest. Listeners hear high-school-student Steve’s 1978 interview with Chuck.

June 15  The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists/Screen Actors Guild talent union presents a special award to Chuck Schaden, noting that “for 39 years, listeners have benefitted from your devotion to Radio’s Golden Age as you kept the sounds of yesteryear alive.”

June 21  Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed writes:

I don’t stream. I don’t Twitter. I don’t do Facebook. But at 1 p.m. most Saturdays, I do the radio. I turn my radio dial to WDCB-FM, sit at my kitchen table, pay bills, answer letters, flutter paper, stamp envelopes… and go back in time — back to the womb of my grandmother’s kitchen, where the radio held sway.

Listening. That’s what I do for four hours on Saturday; listening to a guy named Chuck Schaden serve up the golden age of radio, which he has done since 1970….I have since scrubbed floors listening to Sam Spade, Private Eye; wrapped Christmas presents listening to The Cinnamon Bear; howled at the repartee of Phil Harris, and am held in wonder at the comedic timing of Jack Benny.

Sadly, although the radio show will continue, its host since 1970 has decided to call it a day. Schaden is retiring next Saturday. Thankfully, the new host will be Schaden’s old friend Steve Darnall, and sidekick Ken Alexander… but I’ll miss the voice I’ve been listening to for 15 years. My Saturday stint at the kitchen table will never be the same; [Chuck,] your voice will now be part of my past. But, how golden it has all been.”

June 20  Chuck’s final TWTD program from the WDCB studio on the campus of College of DuPage.

June 25  TV appearance: Chicago Tonight WTTW Channel 11, Chicago. Host Phil Ponce interviews Chuck Schaden — who is about to close his 39-year broad­casting career — and Steve Darnall — who will follow Chuck as host and producer of Those Were The Days.

JUNE 27, 2009 Morton Grove Trustee Shel Marcus, center, and President Dan Stackmann announce the honorary naming of a Village street for Chuck.

June 27  “Chuck Schaden’s Retirement Party and Open House” is his final Those Were The Days broadcast. The event is held at the Civic Center in Morton Grove, his hometown, which names a street “Chuck Schaden Lane,” an honorary title, and proclaims June 27 as “Chuck Schaden Day.” The program is an audio recap of 39 years’ worth of TWTD programming and events. Chuck’s daughters Sue and Patty again surprise him with another “fan letter” telling listeners “39 things that they never knew about our father.” The young couple who got engaged on the air during a TWTD broadcast in 1999 — Jillene and Edward Brodizky — are again in the studio audience, this time with their children, Healey and Nora.

July 4  Steve Darnall’s first broadcast as host and producer of Those Were The Days. It’s a National Holiday!

July 31  Antique Radio Club of Illinois presents a Lifetime Achievement Award to Chuck Schaden for “39 Years of Broadcasting.”

December 18  Final “Memory” movie at Bank of America (originally North West Federal Savings) auditorium on Irving Park Road in Chicago. The final film, from 1934, is “Babes in Toyland” starring Laurel and Hardy, presented in honor of the two stars whose films were among the first presented in 1971, the year the series began. Chuck returns as special guest and tells about the origins of the Memory Club.

December 31  Wall Street Journal columnist Shira Ovide writes:

Most Saturday nights for the past 38 years, a movie house tucked inside a nondescript bank in the Windy City’s northwest side screened a mix of Hollywood classics and obscure flicks. There was no marquee and no advertising. The 300-seat theater was accessible to knowing moviegoers only through an alley along the concrete wall behind the bank. …

On the last night moviegoers feasted on donated cupcakes and speeches from the bank’s branch manager and the founder [Chuck Schadenj of the original… movie series. Some swapped memories and hugs, others were glued to the screen through the very last reel, a 1960s training film for train engineers. There is something of a Hollywood ending: The screen and projection gear are being donated to a local arts organization; cinema workers …are decamping for the Portage Theater, which in February will revive the weekly film series on a new night (Wednesdays) and a new name, the Northwest Chicago Film Society.

May 25  Debut of Speaking of Radio website, an oral history of radio’s golden age, featuring Chuck’s conversations with the stars and personalities who made it golden. His long-time friend and TWTD production associate Todd Nebel is webmaster.

June 29 When TWTD host Steve Darnall announces Chuck’s forthcoming milestone 80th birthday, listeners respond by sending hundreds of cards and letters, enough to nearly cover an entire wall in his home.

Engineer Bob Abella at the
front door of Evanston radio station WLTD during early 1970s.

July 24  Radio appearance: Milt Rosenberg Show. Chuck joins Chicago’s legendary radio host to talk about programs from the Golden Age of Radio. Broad­cast live from station WCGO, Evanston, Illinois, it’s the same studio and the same frequency (1590-AM) where Chuck started TWTD in 1970, when the station’s call letters were WNMP and were changed shortly thereafter to WLTD. “You can go home again,” says Chuck.

July 1      Debut of Chuck Schaden’s Memory Lane podcast, a monthly program of records and recollections. Media columnist Robert Feder reports:

Happily back behind a microphone after a seven-year absence is Chuck Schaden, Chicago’s preeminent radio historian and former host and producer of the old-time radio showcase, “Those Were the Days.” Starting this week, the Radio Hall of Famer is hosting a monthly podcast, “Chuck Schaden’s Memory Lane” on his website at SpeakingofRadio.com. The first installment is an audio journey including stops with James Cagney (as George M. Cohan), a visit to the Chicago Theatre to see Peggy Lee with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and a flashback to “Hoop-Dee-Doo,” a Perry Como polka popular during the summer of 1950. Schaden, 82, retired in 2009 after 39 years with “Those Were the Days.” The show is still going strong under his successor, Steve Darnall.

November 29  45th Anniversary of the Chicago Film Society, successor to the Memory Club. Now based at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, the group marks the occasion with the showing of the 1933 musical comedy “It’s Great to Be Alive.” Special guest Chuck Schaden tells about the origins of the film series.

December 18 Milestone. The Speaking of Radio website registers 100,000 visitors since May 25, 2011.

June 29 Chuck’s 85th birthday and official publication date of “Chuck Schaden’s Radio Days, Adding Decades to the Golden Age of Radio.”