By the end of the 1920's almost every household had a radio in the United States. Listening to the radio was a popular type of pass time in the 1930's. According to the Prologue: Radio and the Great Depression, "Radios provided a much-needed distraction from the hardships of the Great Depression. They provided a social as well. In some areas, neighbors would gather from miles around to listen to a favorite program playing on the one set in town." Popular programs included: Amos 'n' Andy, Little Orphan Annie, Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Dick Tracy, The Lone Ranger, Edger Bergen nad Charlie McCarthy, and Buck Rodgers. these programs were divided up by genres such as news, music, family series, sports, soap operas, and dramas. According to an article published by PBS, The Radio in the 1930's "It (the radio) marked the advent of the soap opera, a running story that people could return to, with characters the could sympathize with and love. The series "Our Gal Sunday'- about a small town girl finding love with a wealthy Englishman- had the young women of the country glued to their sets." What all these programs had in common was that they provided Americans with not only a 'distraction' but would also be a type of entertainment would bring people together then and later on in the future.
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