Fred Friendly delivers what David Gullette of Newton, Massachusetts calls 1941 slam poetry. And poetry it is. The way Friendly turns a phrase - strong and with a punch - out of his mouth, through the air, over the radio.
He draws in his listeners and paints a picture of how Americans contributed to building the Quonset Naval Air Station at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. It was a time when the country was on the verge of entering World War II, and Friendly's spontaneous remarks on a local Providence radio station communicate his pride in a powerful nation.
At the time, the future famous broadcaster was 25-years-old. NPR listener Gullette found the 78 r.p.m. record of Friendly's speech at a flea market, and called it in to our Quest for Sound. (Part of NPR's Lost and Found Sound series.) He also sent a copy to Friendly, before he died in March 1998, who replied with a letter of thanks.
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