1937 Flood and Crosley

Anyone who's been around Cincinnati for more than a couple of years has heard about "the Flood of '37." That was the year the Ohio River reached an all-time high and flooded out most all of downtown, and left much of the city without water. There were also a number of fires. Some of the most dangerous fires were caused by giant gasoline and fuel oil storage tanks. These tanks were torn away by the river and began floating around the neighborhood, so to speak.

Fires sprang up, and putting them out was a harrowing job. Matters were complicated by a fire at the main Crosley factory building, apparently touched off by an electrical short-circuit.

Crosley's "Building K" a shipping/warehouse only recently completed, was completely burned out and flooded. The photo here shows a view of the damage looking over where Building K was at the Crosley factory on Arlington Street. (If you know the area, Spring Grove Avenue would be directly behind you.) You can just make out the WLW sign to the left and below the WLW antenna tower. Thanks to former Crosley engineer Robert S. Butts for this photo.

--Mike

http://www.michaelabanks.com/

P.O. Box 175, Oxford, OH 45056

Crosley in YouTube Videos

Thanks to the Crosley Automobile Club mailing list, I learned of a neat video on YouTube that focuses on micro cars at the Madison, Georgia Microcar Club meet earlier this year. Along with a Morris Minor, Isetta, and others, there's a dark blue Crosley station wagon. Click here to see the video on YouTube.

Also on YouTube:

• 1947 Crosley convertible cruising the streets of Staten Island (after two hefty guys pick up the car's rear end and bounce it up and down. Lots of detail.)
• Another Crosley convertible (needs a muffler)
• 1955 Crosley Shelvador (it reached 38 mph!)

Vrooom!

--Mike

Lowell Thomas at Crosley Car Introduction

When Powel Crosley, Jr. introduced the Crosley automobile in April, 1939 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he had a number of celebrities on hand, including several Indy drivers. Someone who wasn't mentioned was Lowell Thomas, world traveler and news commentator. Thomas was there on behalf of the NBC radio network, and you can see him to the right of Powel Crosley in the accompanying photo, just behind the NBC microphone.

--Mike

1930s WSAI Women's Softball Team

Here's a fun photo from the 1930s someone shared with me at a signing. This is WSAI's women's softball team. The coach on the far right is undoubtedly a Crosley employee. The batboy in front is probably someone's little brother.

--Mike

WLW's World Globe Microphone

In the early--and latter--days of broadcasting, broadcast engineers would often make their own microphones, either as a challenge or because what the engineers wanted wasn't available. I don't know whether the world globe microphone shown here was bought or made by WLW's engineering staff, but there probably weren't too many like it. (The "ear of corn" mic made for WLW's "Everybody's Farm" program, may well have been unique. It was cast of aluminum, with a mold made from a real ear of corn.)

This photo is from the late 1930s, and that's world traveler Lowel Thomas at the mic.
--Mike
http://www.michaelabanks.com/
Copyright © 2007, Michael A. Banks

Crosley Shirts, Part 1

For those of you who haven't been to a Crosley book signing, here's one of the two "author" shirts you might see. This one is a Cincinnati Reds' jersey. It's collarless and buttondown, and has the Reds' emblem on the left front, full size. "Crosley NYT" translates to "Crosley New York Times," in commemoration of the book making the New York Times bestseller list. "35" is the number at which the book made the list.

--Mike

Proximity Fuze Cutaway View

Readers of Crosley know that the Crosley plant in Cincinnati manufactured the top-secret proximity fuze during World War II. Crosley Corporation was one of five companies turning out millions of the device, which used radio to detonate shells when they were within a certain distance of their target. That way, Navy gunners operating 3- and 5-inch guns could knock out attacking aircraft without having to make a direct hit. The gunners' average went 'way up after the proximity fuze was introduced.

You may have wondered what the fuzes looked like inside. The photo above (click for larger image) shows a breakdown of a 3-inch projectile.

--Mike

http://www.michaelabanks.com/

P.O. Box 175, Oxford, OH 45056

Copyright © 2007, Michael A. Banks