Caroline Ellis: Homemaker of the Airwaves (hardback)

ISBN 9781629335834

Born decades before the emergence of network radio, Caroline Ellis entered the burgeoning industry at the age of 55. The reader gets an overview of women’s earliest participation in radio, the rise of homemaker broadcasting, and the pioneer radio women of Kansas City’s KMBC. Focusing on the groundbreaking career of broadcaster Caroline Ellis, Homemaker of the Airwaves uses family records to detail her family’s move to northeastern Kansas and how they were split by the Civil War. It follows her early years as a country school teacher, life as a new bride, and tragic widowing at the beginning of the Roaring 20s.

Utilizing private correspondence, historical station records, and never-before-seen photographs and scripts, this book chronicles Caroline Ellis’ 20-year career in radio, writing and performing on the homemaker-oriented programs Joanne Taylor’s Fashion Flashes,The Travels of Mary Ward, Caroline’s Golden Store, Happy Home, and Caroline Ellis. Homemaker of the Airwaves also includes an episode guide of all the extant scripts of Ellis’ career with broadcast dates, guests, and topic summaries.