Everything But The Weed

Approved by:
Linda Maze, a Wedding photography Gainesville FL in Gainesville Florida

From 1939 to 1949, children everywhere didn’t have to look far to find a hero! From the Golden Age of Radio, Captain Midnight was the perfect action show about a military man who would stop at nothing to put away the enemy.

Starting on October 17, 1939 the Captain Midnight old time radio shows aired in markets where its sponsor, the Skelly Oil Company, had major customers. Children in the midwest and southwest regions of the United States tuned in every weekday to find out what their hero was up to.

Shirley Bell and Bill Bouchey were the lead voice artists for the show Captain Midnight. Eventually, Captain Midnight’s lead voice actors would  be Ed Prentiss and Paul Barnes.

Captain Midnight was the main character and so was the primary focus of the show. The story goes that he was an ace pilot from the First World War, and his identity was kept hidden from everyone, including his superiors. His nickname came from a daring mission where he returned at midnight unscathed.

Children across the US found Captain Midnight to be a very appealing show, with the saving of others, bringing justice and taking apart evil being very enjoyable for kids, so he was one of the earliest action heroes for kids in the early days of broadcasting. Kids found his sidekicks Chuck Ramsey and Patsy Donovan very interesting to listen to as well.

Soon enough, the old radio shows gained so much momentum that Ovaltine took over as sponsor and helped the show spread its outreach area. The events of the time, notably America joining the Second World War, meant that Captain Midnight was kept up-to-date with the news of the day. The Nazis and Japanese soon featured in the show.

A special club membership, known as the Captain Midnight Flight Patrol, soon took off and was a big hit with the kids of America, as children would receive upon joining a junior pilot card and medal to add a level of excitement to the whole process of joining. Actually, the two items served as a decoding device that allowed the kids to interact with the show, as it could be used to decipher the hidden messages in the show.

This action packed classic show meant that children would be kept entertained all the way through the show and so was an enjoyable experience for them. Captain Midnight brought the excitement of battle combat to kids, who then would really appreciate the sound effects from the show.

As children listened they were transported into machine gun battles and heroic dives through the air. And because of the excitement, children couldn’t wait to become a part of the action.

Millions of children joined the Flight Patrol. The major themes of the day meant that Captain Midnight enjoyed success in the heart of America’s World War era.