Wheeling Steel Radio Program, Sound Recordings and Records
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 3470
"It's Wheeling Steel!" was a radio program developed by John L. Grimes, advertising executive for the Wheeling Steel Corporation, that ran from 1936 to 1944 and featured only Wheeling Steel employees or members of their immediate families as performers and producers. Records include photographs and film, two pamphlets, and one bound volume and are largely from 1939, though some undated photographs may be from the late 1930s or early 1940s.
Most of the photographs are from the program staff and performers' visit to the 1939 Worlds' Fair in New York. Subjects include John L. Grimes meeting with advertising and Mutual Broadcast Company executives and program performers, including Dorothy Ann Crowe, Lew Davies, Roy Wilson, the Steel Sisters, and British actress Anna Neagle. Also includes photographs of rehearsals and program production at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling and of Wheeling's Elm Grove neighborhood in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Note that all photographs have remained in their original order, according to reel of film, and that negatives for most of the reels are included with the photographs.
Printed materials consist of a 1939 issue of Radio Daily with a blurb about Grimes and a signed "WWVA Radio Souvenir of the 1936 Wheeling Flood" pamphlet. The published volume, Testimonial Letters to Wheeling's Musical Steelmakers, September 12, 1939, is a compilation of letters of appreciation and congratulations sent to J. L. Grimes on "Musical Steelmakers' Day" in 1939.
Addendum of 2012/11/29 contains sheet music written by Leo Bonenberger for the Wheeling Steel Program, with a short letter (2010 and undated, 1 folder).
Addendum of 2019/01/10 contains digitized material documenting the Wheeling Steel Radio Program, including 35 photographs and 2 program schedules (ca. 1936-1944, 37 digital files).
Sample sound files from the radio program (see Instances for links to the digitized versions of these sound files):
"It's Wheeling Steel" program introduction with Red Label advertisement, 1:51 seconds.
"Insist Upon Red Label" and "Look for Red Label" advertisements, 16 and 27 seconds respectively.
Lamont O'Brien's trumpet impression of "Dinah", 2:37 seconds.
"By The Light of the Silvery Moon", 2:39 seconds.
English
No special access restriction applies.
Researchers may access digitized and born digital materials by visiting the link attached to each item or by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
"It's Wheeling Steel!" was a radio program developed by John L. Grimes, advertising executive for the Wheeling Steel Corporation, that ran from 1936 to 1944 and featured only Wheeling Steel employees or members of their immediate families as performers and producers. The Wheeling Steel Corporation was created in 1920 by bringing together three independent companies from the Wheeling, West Virginia, area. Grimes, who wrote, directed, and produced the program, conceived of the idea for a musical variety program that would feature the company in performances and advertising as a way to offset rising advertising costs and take advantage of the increasing popularity of radio advertising.
This grand experiment in commercial advertising and employee relations proved to be very successful. In November 1936, the first thirty-minute program aired in Wheeling. It included an orchestra playing musical numbers and singing with advertisements for Wheeling Steel products mixed in; later shows featured a headlining act. Early performers included Arden White, Dorothy Ann Crowe, Anna Neagle, and the Steel Sisters. In 1938 the program premiered on Mutual Broadcasting System's stations and became a national broadcast, and in 1939 it moved to the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, where there was room for both a larger orchestra and audience. Later that year members of the Musical Steelmakers performed at the Worlds' Fair in New York. When World War II began, the radio program became more patriotic, asking listeners to buy war bonds and to support a company that supported the war effort. Though the show remained highly popular, the health of writer and producer John Grimes began to decline. "It's Wheeling Steel!" began its eighth and final season in September 1943 and the last broadcast aired on 18 June 1944.
12.1 Linear Feet (Summary: 12 ft. 1 in. (3 document cases, 5 in. each); (2 small flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (4 large flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (4 cabinets, 28 in. each))
0.02 Gigabytes (37 files, formats include .pdf and .jpg)
Records of the "It's Wheeling Steel" radio program. Includes photographs (1930s-1940s, 5 in.), program scripts (1937-1944, 5 in.), clippings and magazines (1930s-1940s, 3 in., including Life Magazine of March 21, 1938 with article featuring the radio program), and scrapbooks containing clippings and photographs (1930s-1940s, 3 in.). Also includes original audio transcription discs of the program (1930s-1940s, 7 ft., 6 in.), and reel-to-reel/cassette preservation copies of the transcription discs (1936-1944, 34 ft., ca. 620 reels). Addendum of 2012/11/29 includes sheet music written by Leo Bonenberger (undated, 1/4 in.). See Scope and Content Note for links to samples of the radio program.
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Gift from Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation. Stoll, Richard E., 2004/10/27
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository