Community Corner

Montgomery to Put Old Time Radio in the Spotlight During Presentation

Larry Bergnach will host a program on popular radio shows of the '30s, '40s and '50s Tuesday at Village Hall.

Larry Bergnach, 73, remembers life before television. Instead of sitting before a flickering screen, families would instead congregate near the radio and listen to their favorite programs.

“You had to use your imagination,” he said.

In his younger years, he began collecting tapes from old radio programs, and then became a radio actor.

These days, Bergnach, who had a 30-year career in pharmaceutical sales and spent 15-years as an instructor for Dale Carnegie, travels the country recreating old radio shows for various groups and organizations.

The Montgomery community can relive the days of old time radio by attending Bergnach’s free presentation at 10 a.m. Tuesday, at the .

He will display old time radio memorabilia, demonstrate sound effects and play theme songs and radio excerpts from popular radio shows of the '30s, '40s and '50s, including Little Orphan Annie, The Shadow and even Ovaltine commercials. The program also includes audience participation.

“My audiences are usually over 60 so they remember when radio was king,” Bergnach said.

For many, those radio programs helped pass the time.

“In fact, women used to iron the clothes and do the washing listening to the radio,” Bergnach said. “That’s how soap operas got their name. Most were sponsored by soap companies.”

And for those who missed their favorite 15-minute radio program for a few days, they had little to worry about as far as catching up, Bergnach said.

“They didn’t always solve (storyline plots) immediately,” he said. “Sometimes they could take months.”

In the 1930s, Chicago was considered “the radio capitol of the world,” Bergnach said.

“Most of the soap operas originated here. The actors were getting sometimes only $2 a show,” he said. “It doesn’t sound like much but there was no union in those days.”

To make ends meet, often radio actors would work for a few different networks each day. This meant traversing the downtown by foot or cab to get to the different buildings scattered around the city.

“Occasionally the bridges went up and the actors weren’t able to get across,” Bergnach said. “So if Bob or Mary got stuck by the bridges, the networks would just have someone ad-lib.”

Bergnach will share anecdotes like these during Tuesday’s presentation. He puts on about 100 shows a year, mostly in Chicago, but also Arizona and Florida where he spends his winters. Other nostalgia programs focus on The Big Bands and Chicago’s former Riverview Amusement Park.

“People seem to like them,” he said. “Most of my work is referral.”

Fittingly, he is also frequently asked to be a guest on radio shows.

Bergnach’s wife, Clare, often helps him put on different shows.

“She’s a former school teacher and she never wanted to do what I do but I kind of forced her into it,” Bergnach said with a chuckle. “She said, ‘You’re gone so much, I better join you if I want to see you.’”

Bergnach enjoys the challenge of trying to engage his audience. During one show at a nursing home facility, he was warned about a 103-year-old resident who he was told could be “quite feisty.”

“I said, ‘I’m always up for challenges,’” Bergnach said.

During the show, he asked the woman her name.

“None of your business,” she replied.

Undaunted, Bergnach asked why she wouldn’t tell him her name.

“Because I’m 103 and I don’t want anymore boyfriends,” she said.

Bergnach laughs recalling that incident.

“Sometimes you get responses like that,” he said.

He enjoys the flickers of recognition he sees on people’s faces when they remember a certain radio program.

“You see them going home in their minds and their memories and remembering what it was like whey they could dance and sing,” he said. “Those flashbacks and memories are good for people.”

He has been thanked by audience members who appreciate him putting old time radio back in the spotlight.

“They’ll say, ‘Gee, what happens when people like you are gone?” Bergnach said. “And we tell them, ‘As long as we’re here and we can do it, we’ll gladly do it.’”

The monthly Senior Lunch and activity will begin at 11 a.m. after the presentation. There is a $4 suggested donation for the lunch.

For more information about the event, call the Montgomery Village Hall at (630) 896-8080, Ext. 1227. For more on Larry Bergnach, check out his website.


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