Thoughts Along the Path . . .

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A few days ago was “World Radio Day” as named by UNESCO in 2011 in response to a request by the Spanish Radio Academy. Did you miss it? Me, too.

We can’t be blamed for missing it. With so many special days every year, who can keep track of them? Plus I don’t suppose celebrating “radio” is likely to reach the top of most people’s list.

And yet, it’s hard to think of any single technology more important than radio – if we consider it throughout its many years, iterations, roles, impacts, and names.

Starting in the 1890s when Marconi first developed wireless telegraphy, radio has been an essential part of life on the seas, across land masses, and into the sky. From its earliest days, it has brought news as well as entertainment to everyday life. Indeed it has had a role in pretty much anything we can think of, ranging from the rise of pop culture to covert military operations.

Whether you listen in the car, on your phone, through streaming services, as a podcast – radio is known by many names related to how it is broadcast or how we receive it. Centuries ago Shakespeare reminded us there is more to something than just its name: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

My memories of radio pre-date many of the readers of this column. So I’d like to share a few personal stories. Perhaps you have some of your own, too.

The heyday of radio entertainment was before my time, though repeats of the “golden age of radio” were re-broadcast then and can still be heard on some stations. You have probably seen photos of people listening to the radio to learn about war, the weather, and pretty much anything else that comprised news or entertainment back then.

By the time I was a teenager, most households had a television. But radio was special as it brought pop tunes to teens (who loved them) and our parents (who perhaps did not). From Motown to the British Invasion, radio helped to define our generation and even to advance the idea of teenagers as a distinct demographic.

Here’s yet another memory related to radio in my own life. From 1986-1994 I was a volunteer at the world headquarters of the Baha’i Faith in Haifa, Israel. With Israel being a multi-lingual nation, English was all I needed to do my work and to engage with my neighbours and friends. And then in 1991 the Persian Gulf War broke out with preparations beginning mid-1990. Across the nation people were advised to have a transistor radio (remember those?) to keep informed about emergencies. Israeli radio stations rotated through several languages, which was helpful. But John and I usually tuned in to BBC for news as well as alerts. To this day I have a fondness for BBC and include it in my daily news feed.

We moved to Canada in 1994, and this next story takes place soon after that. We were driving home late into the night from a vacation in Orlando, listening to the radio in hopes of music keeping us alert. We happened to find a station offering not only upbeat music but also gems of positive thinking. After awhile we discovered it was being broadcast from a Baha’i-owned station in Hemingway, South Carolina. Following an impulse, we drove there and were invited inside for a tour and chats with the staff and volunteers working there through the night.

Closer to present time, within a year of the publication of my book of non-fiction short stories (many of them taking place in Ayr) I was invited by North Dumfries resident Jeff Staiger to be a guest on his radio program out of Kitchener. I continue to admire Jeff as a broadcaster maintaining a commitment to local stories and community building through radio – much like the Ayr News keeps us in touch through print.

Thank you for joining me for a moment, if not the exact day, to recognize the role of radio in our world. Whatever we may call it and in whatever form we may listen to it, it helps to bring us together.

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Submitted to Ayr News by Jaellayna Palmer, February 2025