W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2012 The "Voice Of Virginia": WRVA and Conversations of a Modern South. Caroline C. Morris College of William and Mary Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Morris, Caroline C., "The "Voice Of Virginia": WRVA and Conversations of a Modern South." (2012). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1593092085. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/m2-4p0h-k968 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE "VOICE OF VIRGINIA": WRVA and Conversations of a Modern South Caroline C. Morris Richmond, Virginia Bachelor of Arts, University of Virginia, 2003 Master of Arts, The College William and Mary, 2005 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Lyon G. Tyler Department of History The College of William and Mary May 2012 Copyright© 2012 by Caroline C. Morris All Rights Reserved APPROVAL PAGE This Dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Caroline C. Morris Committee Chair Associate Professor Leisa D. Meyer, Hist and American Studies The College of William and Mary Associate Professor ,S:~-: Professor Scott R. Nelson, History The College of William and Mary A~~u~~The College of William and Mary Professor Peter Wallenstein, History Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University COMPLIANCE PAGE Research approved by Protection of Human Subjects Committee Protocol number(s): PHSC-2010-02-24-6512-ccmorr Date(s) of approval: March 5, 2010 ABSTRACT PAGE The '"Voice of Virginia': WRVA and Conversations of a Modern South," is a study of the transformative and unpredictable role of radio - arguably America's first true "mass" medium - in a time and place where social and political power were heavily circumscribed by an entrenched system of race-, gender-, and class-based hierarchies. From 1925 when it first went on the air until at least the early 1960s, station WRVA of Richmond, Virginia, was one of the most powerful radio stations in the Mid-Atlantic. The 50,000-watt station, owned by William T. Reed's Edgeworth Tobacco Company and operated by a cadre of upwardly climbing white men, was intimately connected to Senator Harry Byrd's conservative political machine from 1925 onwards. Many if not most of the station's managers supported Byrd's efforts of "massive resistance" in the late 1950s and generally opposed any civil rights initiatives. But while the "Voice of Virginia" often conveyed the assumptions and rationalizations that buttressed Jim Crow ideologies through its programming, it also often undermined those same ideologies: such as when it showcased black and white performers on the Corn Cob Pipe Club, when it broadcast both CBS network news and local news, when popular entertainer "Sunshine Sue" glorified the heroism of the white working man on the Old Dominion Barn Dance, or when station officials engaged with the entreaties and complaints of listeners who had a diverse array of expectations for the role that radio would play in their community. The cultural and political landscape of the mid-century South was already in transition when radio entered people's everyday lives. but radio created a new space where both broadcasters and listeners could explore the competing forces of change and stasis in a public forum. WRVA serves as a vehicle for understanding the ways in which discourses of southern identity, debates of "traditionar v. "modern," transformations in the workplace, and shifting perceptions of "whiteness" and "blackness" were all immensely unsettled and unresolved. WRVA's history demonstrates that Virginia's elite social and political leaders could not stabilize the debates, suggesting that the question we need to ask is not necessarily how conservative leaders imposed patriarchal hierarchies onto Virginians, but how they failed to do so despite legislation and bureaucratization. Radio's unfixed position in the political and social debates of the mid-century South indicates that even in a society as hegemonic as mid-century Virginia, people on the margins of power such as white, working-class men, African Americans, and women were mounting a successful protest of the status quo through the cultural realm. Because radio existed outside of traditional pathways to power in Virginia it became a space for performers and. listeners to reinterpret existing systems of privilege and authority, with dramatic consequences.xt Here. Do not exceed 3500 characters including spaces, or one page of text. Table of Contents Page Dedication ii Acknowledgements iii Introduction. "For the City's Sake" 1 Chapter 1. "Down Where the South Begins": Sounds of Confusion 41 Chapter 2. 50,000 Watts of Noise: The Rise of Calvin T. Lucy 107 Chapter 3. "I Wouldn't Take Anything for My Career": 148 Bertha Hewlett as a Founding Father Chapter 4. "A Big Hillbilly Operation" 176 Chapter 5. Sunshine on Capitol Hill: 221 The Old Dominion Bam Dance and Virginia's Political Culture Chapter 6. Civil Rights on the Air 270 Conclusion. WRVA and ''the Unfolding Virginia Scene" 341 Bibliography 355 v~ ~o For my amazing circle of friends and family, and most especially for Judson and Charlie. ii Acknowledgements This work is the product of many hands, and many minds. I could never thank all the individuals who have guided me in this process, but several deserve special mention. Leisa Meyer- an advisor, dissertation director, and mentor­ has tirelessly engaged my analysis and my writing at every turn. This project has benefited immeasurably from her insistence on precision and on thoughtful research. But perhaps even more critically, this scholar has benefited from her unfailing encouragement and good humor. I am likewise deeply indebted to Charles McGovern, who generously shared his expertise on radio and American music with me throughout graduate school. On more than one occasion, he refreshed and rejuvenated this work when it was sorely needed. Scott Nelson and Tuska Benes both brought considerable insight to this work in its later stages, providing valuable feedback about cultural theory as well as possibilities for future research. Peter Wallenstein has read and commented on this work on a number of occasions in a variety of forums. His participation on my dissertation committee ensured a high degree of accuracy and thoroughness in Virginia history. Like all of my committee members, he brought his own brand of intellectual inquiry to this dissertation while encouraging me to pursue my own. As with any graduate student, circumstances have conspired to introduce me to many different mentors who expanded my horizons during my tenure. Serving as a teaching assistant and then as a teaching fellow here at the College of William and Mary has been a wonderful experience that will become a lifelong calling, I suspect. Thank you to the many people who ushered me in this direction, including Phil Daileader, LuAnn Homza, Leisa Meyer, and Carol Sheriff. Likewise, the National Institute of American History and Democracy was a home away from home in the summer. Traversing the state with Carolyn and Jim Whittenburg and a van full of students was a great joy, and a great shot in the arm for my own work on Virginia's history. My year as the Lemon Project Fellow was one of the greatest privileges of my career to date. Not only did the Lemon Project inspire me to pursue the truth about those that history has rendered "invisible," but the project's coordinator, Jody Allen, also inspired me to finish this project. She taught me how to do two things at once, and she taught me to do it with grace. Thank you, Jody. Innumerable thanks are owed to the large circle of friends who have accompanied me on my journey through graduate school. Sarah Mclennan and Sarah Grunder have been wonderful roommates, counselors, and friends at various points over the past nine years. I will never be able to watch a BBC costume drama without thinking of them both. Running on the Matoaka trails with Andrew Sturtevant brought much joy at the peak of the writing process; those miles were put to good use. Many, many others have filled the last decade with laughter and friendship. I hope we will continue to harass, help, tease, and love each other for many decades to come. iii I want to thank my family, John, Crickett, and John Morris, for their unending patience with me and my adventures. I put that patience to the test when I recruited my parents to copy-edit this manuscript, which they did so with diligence and good humor. I also owe a special thanks to my aunt, Betsy Weaver, who read each chapter as it came off the presses and gave me her cheerful assessment. My professional mentors have worked tirelessly to keep my analysis and writing honest. My family has worked tirelessly to keep me honest. A big thanks to you all. But the greatest debt of gratitude must go to Judson Frye, who has always accepted and loved my inner nerd, and who has never wanted me to be anything other than myself. It is to him and to Charlie - the four-legged ball of happiness who sat at my side while I typed out a majority of these pages - that I reserve my most heartfelt thanks. iv "For the City's Sake": An Introduction "Radio world, this is the opening of station WRVA."1 With these words, radio station WRVA began broadcasting from downtown Richmond at 9PM on Monday, November 2, 1925.