Folks in their 70s may recall Froggy the Gremlin. Froggy was a naughty little fellow who constantly played tricks on guests of the radio show, Smilin' Ed's Gang, in the 1940s. The show was one of several 'cereal serials' aimed at kids, although this particular show was sponsored by Buster Brown shoes instead of cereal. "I'm Buster Brown, I live in a shoe. That's my dog, Tige, he lives there too!"
Ralstson-Purina sponsored the Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters radio show. Tom Mix, a famous cowboy actor, starred in hundreds of silent movies, always wearing a big white hat. The bad guys, of course, all wore black hats. Mix himself was never heard on the radio show because his voice wasn't good enough, the result of a bullet wound in the throat and a broken nose.
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon was another popular kids radio show. Preston was a mounty, who with the aid of his lead sled dog, Yukon King, pursued evildoers in the frozen north. It was sponsored by Quaker Oats.
Yet another show, Bobby Benson and the B Bar B riders, was set in Texas. Bobby was an orphan who inherited a large ranch, and rode along with his cowboys in pursuit of rustlers, thieves and other miscreants. It was sponsored by H-O Oats.
On Saturday mornings in the late 40s and early 50s, I listened to all these shows, plus a few more. And I, like millions of other kids, pestered my parents to buy the advertised cereals so I could save box tops and send them in for assorted worthless junk. The cereal companies raked in the profits.
The Radio Premiums were not Worthless Junk! I have quite a few of them and most of them work!
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