Area's History on the Air McKelvey's Department Store in downtown Youngstown was one of the many local businesses to take advantage of the wide reach that radio offered.
Local broadcasters share their memories.
In the days of cell phones with Internet access, e-mail that enables instant communication worldwide and television stations offering live coverage from all corners of the earth, it's hard to imagine how business functioned in the days before wireless communication. Marconi's work with radio in 1901 held promise, but it wasn't until the 1920s that its potential for entertainment and profits was fully recognized, and local merchants were among the early entrepreneurs to take advantage of that promise. The remote broadcasts included high-school sports contests, dances and donkey basketball games between community leaders. Fans turned out in droves to see radio events in person as well as hear them, and companies capitalized on radio's popularity by having station personalities conduct remote broadcasts from their stores. Kline's Department Store in downtown Youngstown took advantage of this, as did McKelvey's, long the site of the Kitchen Kwiz show.