It Was Ever Thus
We found an old clipping from the Courier’s January 30, 1947 edition that brought back an incidence of hoodwinkery that some of us still remember. One night Ilene Scruggs Bailey got an official-sounding phone call from what she thought was an NBC radio program—telling her she had won a new Buick! She was excited, of course, and waited for a few days for further word. Finally she wrote to the network and wanted to know what was going on.
The Courier printed NBC’s written response. Adding insult to injury, both the newspaper and the network got Ilene’s name wrong.
Mrs. Ilene Baily of Cliffside, on January 13 received the following from the National Broadcasting Co. of New York City:
“Dear Mrs. Bradley:
We are sorry to tell you that you have apparently been the victim of a jokester with an unfortunate sense of humor. The National Broadcasting Company does not carry on its network any program on which telephone calls are made to listeners with a promise of prizes.
We might also point out that at the present time there is no program being broadcast over the NBC facilities sponsored by the Buick Company.
This is, to us, an old and familiar hoax and we wish that there was some way to eliminate these rather cruel practical jokes. However, there is nothing at all that we can do about it. NBC regrets that you must be disappointed in this way and suggests that you warn your friends and acquaintances about the people who indulge in this questionable form of humor.”
Clipping courtesy of Peggy Blanton Hadden.
