Hot
Springs is traditionally best known for the natural spring water
that gives it its name, flowing out of the ground at a temperature
of 147º Fahrenheit (64º C). This series has been developed to tell
about many of the historical facets surrounding Hot Springs,
Arkansas. Some of the events and happenings of this city are well
known and others are more obscure.
Several of the
letter connections will be quite obvious upon arrival of the cache,
while others you might derive from reading about the history of a
particular location or event. For the most part, the caches are PnG
and should be easy to locate. I hope you enjoy this series as much
as I have putting it together. I have learned quite a bit about the
town that I call home.
Kis
for KTHS
Perhaps the
most key pioneering radio station
in Arkansas was Hot Springs' KTHS-AM, 1040. The call letters stood for
"Kum To Hot Springs." Following the
first broadcast, 186 telegrams and 25 long distance telephone calls
arrived from 22 states, confirming to the far reach of this early
radio station. Continuing throughout first two months of operation,
the station received 25,000 letters requesting all kinds information on vacationing in Hot
Springs. Like most early radio stations, KTHS created its own programming using local
talent. Glee clubs and kids often
performed, as did the several orchestras from around Hot Springs.
The 153rd Infantry Band gave a performance, as did a male quartet
sponsored by the Gus Blass Co. of Little Rock. It helped that the
station broadcast only a few hours daily. KTHS did not keep itself to Hot Springs but remotely
broadcasted from places such as Little Rock and Conway.
KTHS kept on the cutting edge by being the first
station in Arkansas to broadcast state election results, thanks to
the assistance of Associated Press wire reports. On Aug. 30, 1928,
KTHS gained national prominence
when it broadcast Arkansas Sen. Joseph T. Robinson's speech
accepting the vice presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.
If all this pioneering were not enough, KTHS earned a place in entertainment history by
discovering Lum and Abner. On Saturday morning, April 26, 1931, two
college-educated comedians, Chester "Chet" Lauck and Findley Norris
"Tuffy" Goff, appeared on KTHS. On
their way to Hot Springs, they decided to try out a new
knee slapping comedy featuring
Lauck as Lum Eddards and Goff as Abner Peabody, country store
keepers modeling the knowledge, dialect, and customs after the
citizens and kinfolks of the
community who "lived lives as their forefathers lived theirs,
unaffected and unspoiled by modern progress". Lum and Abner
comedy radio show which was popular from the 1930s to1950s, and was
picked up by national networks. The 15 minute episodes featured
various events that continued over the course of several episodes.
Americans kept cackling at the
kind humor found at the Jot 'Em
Down Store at Pine Ridge, Arkansas.
The more
your log online includes words that start with the letter of the
cache, the
more interesting the logs will be. If this cache needs attention
let me know.
First to Find Honors go to mr.
bb!!!!!!!!!!!
