Radios in 1930 in Level Cross, Back Creek, and Coleridge

A census record shows a wide range of information about a family and community. One of my favorite bits of information that can be gleaned from the 1930 census is whether or not a family possessed a radio.

One of the column-sets of information the census taker recorded.
Lists whether a home was owned (O) or rented (R), the value of the home or cost of rent, whether the family owned a radio (R), and if the family lived on a farm or not.

While invented in the late 1890's, the radio did not start to become popular until the 1920's. As more households began to own radios, more radio stations began popping up. So, a snapshot of who owned radios a decade or less from their first initial boom in popularity can really show a lot about what kinds of things interested a family or community.

For this post, I thought I would highlight the people who owned a radio in the Level Cross township. Out of 110 houses, however, only two owned a radio though: Talton Cox, who lived with John Robins' family, and Minnie Causey's family.

House of Joseph Sawyer and John Robins, located on Coltrane Mill Road. John Robins' household has a radio.

Household of Minnie Causey, located on Highway 70.

Both households, were on a farm. Talton Cox was 59 years old and a lodger in a home (a duplex) that was being rented. Minnie owned her home and was an 87-year-old widow. Talton Cox was an engineer. Minnie had no occupation (her grandson, Wade, was a brick layer and the only wage earner in the home).

Once I realized only two families in Level Cross possessed a radio, I decided to check a few other townships. Back Creek was the next area I decided to investigate. Of 208 families, seven families had a radio. The heads of households for those families are as follows:

Heads of Households (alphabetical) with a Radio in Back Creek:

• Archie C. Bulla, age 30, owned home on a farm, occupation: farmer
• Robert N. Davis, age 71, owned home on a farm, occupation: farmer
• Joseph R. Dougan, age 29, owned home on a farm, occupation: textile worker at hosiery mill
• Claud L. Hicks, age 41, owned home on a farm, occupation: foreman at a gold mine
• Grady L. Hughes, age 29, owned home on a farm, occupation: boarder at hosiery mill
• Claude Routh, age 37, owned home on a farm, occupation: farmer
• Charles W. Wall, age 51, owned home on a farm, occupation: farmer

Coleridge had a few more radios, so I've decided to highlight those families now too. There were 65 families in unincorporated Coleridge. Of those families, eight possessed a radio. Of the 265 families in Coleridge township, 15 families had a radio.

Heads of Households (alphabetical) with a Radio in Unincorporated Coleridge:

• Garland W. Allen, age 28, home owned and on a farm, occupation: (illegible, possibly calier at baul.)
• Obed C Brody, age 34, home owned and NOT on a farm, occupation: spinning room foreman at the cotton mill
• Floyd C. Caviness, age 36, home owned and on a farm, occupation: manufacturer at cotton mill
• Robert L. Caviness, age 63, home owned and on a farm, occupation: merchant of general merchandise
• Aaron R. Crausee, age 62, home owned and worth $800, NOT on a farm, occupation: manager of a garage
• Daniel N. Crausee, age 19, home owned and on a farm, occupation: farmer
• Oren W. Ward, age 60, home owned and worth $2000, NOT on a farm, occupation: overseer at cotton mill
• Robert D. Webb, age 29, home rented for $5 a month, NOT on a farm, occupation: reconstructant(?) foreman for the state highway

Clipping from 1930 Coleridge Census

Heads of Households (alphabetical) with a Radio in Coleridge Township:

• Stanley S. Allen, age 46, home owned on a farm, occupation: farmer
• Dean O. Brower, age 44, home owned on a farm, occupation: farmer
• William A Brower, Jr., age 29, home owned on a farm, occupation: farmer
• E. Willard Brown, age 70, home owned on a farm, occupation: farmer
• Ray E. Caviness, age 46, home owned on a farm, occupation: farmer
• Everett Cox, age 48, home owned on a farm, occupation: farmer
• John C. Cox, age 33, home owned and on a farm, occupation: farmer
• Vergil M. Cox, age 72, home owned on a farm, occupation: farmer
• Benjamin F. Craven, age 65, home owned on a farm, occupation: farmer
• E. Clevenland Craven, age 42, home owned on a farm, occupation: farmer
• H. Frank Maness, age 38, home rented on a farm, occupation: farmer
• William B. Maness, age 47, home owned on a farm, occupation: farmer
• M. Jeanette Pell, age 58, home owned on a farm, occupation: merchant of general merchandise
• J. Edd. Spruce, age 64, home owned on a farm, occupation: merchant of general merchandise
• Clifford S. Stout, age 39, home rented for $10 a month, on a farm, occupation: farmer

Clipping from 1930 Coleridge Census

So, less than 2% of the families in Level Cross, 3% of the families in Back Creek, 12% of the families in unincorporated Coleridge, and less than 6% of the families in Coleridge township had a radio in 1930. I hope to keep working my way through the townships in 1930 and seeing how these numbers stack up to the other areas of the county.

Sources:

• 1930 Back Creek, Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1930 Coleridge, Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1930 Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)