Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of five scripts for radio plays on the history of Illinois that aired on WILL radio station in 1940. The shows were written by George Jennings and sponsored by the Illinois State Historical Society.
George Jennings (d. 1961) was a radio writer, director, and station manager who worked on several educational initiatives. Jennings worked at WBEZ in Chicago, Illinois, and served on the Chicago Radio Council. He worked closely with Chicago Public Schools to bring radios into schools and encourage students interested in radio careers.
WILL radio, which began under the call letters WRM, first signed on air in 1922. Their early broadcasts included news, music, and programming from the University of Illinois Extension. From the 1930s-1960s, WILL hosted the “Illinois Farm Hour,” which hosted agricultural experts. The company expanded into television in the 1950s under WILL-TV. In 2009, WILL adopted the name Illinois Public Media to reflect the many types of programming they produced. The individual channels, WILL-TV, WILL-AM, and WILL-FM kept their names.
This collection consists of five radio scripts for a series titled “Historic Illinois.” The series was a total of 18 episodes that aired for WILL radio from February to June 1940. The five radio plays included in this collection are 1. Joliet and Marquette; 7. Old Fort Dearborn; 8. Kaskaskia; 12. The Steel Plow; 13. The Prairie Bandits. Each episode has program information, a list of characters, and a complete script. The episodes were written by George Jennings.
The Library acquired these materials prior to 2012.
Subjects (links to similar collections)
Submit request (Aeon)
