Close-up details of a vintage radio. iStock/halbergman
In the early 1920s, Victor-Radio (later renamed RCA Victor-Radio) introduced the snappy phrase, “The gift that keeps on giving,” in an ad campaign, promoting its latest radio. A few years later, Hotpoint Appliances borrowed that same phrase to encourage buyers to, “Give Mother what she really wants this season, a new electric range! It’s a gift that keeps on giving!” Today, how many moms “really want” a stove as a holiday gift? Our guess: not many!
RCA Victor-Radio did keep on giving—it gifted us a connection to the greater world and knowledge. Studying history does that too. History reintroduces us to other societies, cultures and traditions, while showing us how past events and decisions have shaped the present. When we study the past, we are gifted the opportunity to appreciate the lives we now enjoy.
We’d love to share the history of Maple Grove with you. Check out the Maple Grove Historical Preservation Society’s vintage radio collection, or Ask Dave, our IT guru, to show you what your neighborhood looked like years and years ago. Explore the gift of history by visiting us in person or online.
Kate Wodtke is a research and inventory specialist with the Maple Grove Historical Preservation Society and a Minnesota Author Project judge. Discover more at maplegrovemnhistory.org.
