Loretta Landry: Listening Habits

I, Amanda Davis, interviewed my grandmother, Loretta Landry, on September 22nd and 24th. Loretta is 77 and was asked a series of questions over the phone, in her home in Colorado.

When she was younger, she confessed to listening to mostly classical and big bands on 45LPs. At home, her family had a Hi-Fi that sat in the living room. Music was often played around the house, and she loved hearing her favorite artist, Bing Cosby. The tone of his voice made him her first preference. While she was in Catholic boarding school, the Nuns restricted students from listening to anything that was not classical. Rock ‘n’ Roll was a restriction because of the careless, teenage angst like lyrics. Ultimately listening to it would lead to sin. When asked

The radio allowed her family to spend quality time with each other. The Hi-Fi that was in the living room, allowed her to play not only records, but the radio as well. She often listened to “The Shadow”, “Inner Sanctum”, and “Amos & Andy”. The love for these shows was profound because they were so entertaining. She remembered that the early commercials had little jingles. Though she never really paid attention to the commercial itself, her and her siblings would always sing the jingles. It took time to warm up, but the Hi-Fi allowed fun times for her and her brothers and sisters. She remembers cooling down on the tile floor in the living room while listening to the radio and chatting with her family members. The radio had the power to bring everyone together because there was always something on that they all could enjoy. Today, the radio does not bring the joy it did when my grandmother was younger. She declared, “the television provides all the entertainment and news I need. I never listen to the radio. Even when I am in the

Saved coins were usually the expense for a movie. She remembers saving up money to go to the movies on Saturdays with friends and seeing a double feature. They also watched the news in theaters. Today, watching double features and the news is unheard of. Musicals were her favorite thing to watch because they brought glamour. Her parents allowed her to watch any movies she likes but in boarding school, there was a banned list. The themes of some movies did not match with the teachings in school. She talked about how she was made to step down from her position as Class Secretary and she later lost her Julia Childs award because she saw Guys and Dolls, which was restricted. That film influenced her the most because it took so much away from