The Harness Maker's Dream: Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas

Eight: The Ol' Trader

Et EIGHT The 01' Trader W HILE PAULINE AND TIBE were seeking their independence in Chicago, Morris traveled to New York, where he bought a souvenir newspaper announcing "Morris Kallison Buys Brooklyn Bridge"-a joking reference to his dream of owning a real estate empire. But Perry-so committed to the store and the ranch, as well as to education, civic involvement, and socialjustice activism-rarely left San Antonio for a vacation. In the summer of 1936 however, Perry and Frances, now in their early thirties, took a rare month-long road trip across New Mexico, taking in eleven climate zones and vast expanses of open land. The only signs of commerce , Perry noticed, were occasional trading posts scattered across the stark landscape. Like Kallison's store, the trading posts' offerings were eclectic. Food and supplies shared shelf space with native arts and crafts-baskets, rugs, pottery, jewelry-that locals had made to sell or to trade for the staples they needed. Those rustic outposts and their simple barter system sparked Perry's imagination. They inspired him to create a unique advertising platform for the Kallisons' enterprises that would mimic this idea of trading goods at the same time that it made use of modern media-radio broadcasting. "Through the economic turmoil of the Depression, radio was one of the most important forces keeping the nation together," wrote historian Tom Lewis. "By the thirties, radio had pervaded the consciousness of every American, subtly changing the way they thought and lived. There were 19,250,000 radio sets in America, and it was not '37 THE HARNESS MAKER'S DREAM unusual for a person to regard the radio as the most prized of possessions .'" In the 1930s, radio sets had become more affordable, and merchants offered appealing credit terms to sell them. At the same time, radio manufacturers began selling specially designed "battery-powered farm radios," which meant that rural families did not have to wait for the construction of local power lines before buying their first set.' Author E. B. White described the huge impact that this new medium was making on people living in sparsely populated areas like the Texas Hill Country. "When they say 'The Radio,' they don't mean a cabinet, an electrical phenomenon, or a man in a studio, [butl a pervading and somewhat godlike presence which has come into their lives and homes." Perry Kallison sensed that presence. He conceived a radio broadcast that would promote the family business while offering a great public service-an on-air bulletin board where listeners could "post" items they wanted to sell, buy, or trade. He called it, of course, the Trading Post. In San Antonio and across the nation, he realized that radio had become a powerful tool for promoting products to a rising market of buyers, even during the Depression. Despite massive unemployment and poverty, radio was instrumental among popular media in creating a national consumer culture. Advertisers dictated content. Soap operas, aimed at stay-at-home housewives who bought cleaning products, ruled the daytime airwaves. To enhance sales of Kallison's diverse merchandise, Perry convinced the family to sponsor a radio program as an outreach to rural customers. In the beginning, a professional radio announcer anchored the Trading Post broadcast. But the fellow was "inclined to the bottle," Frances recalled. One morning, he was too drunk to put on the program , and Perry stepped up to the microphone.' Affecting the Texas twang and lilting cadence of a longtime cowpoke or rancher, Perry quickly launched into a fast-moving monologue that relayed market reports, cattle prices, and improvements in grass seed. He announced THE OL' TRADER upcoming social events such as the Helotes Volunteer Firemen's Barbecue. And as fast as an auctioneer's spiel, Perry ticked off the names and hometowns of customers who had dropped by Kallison's store the previous day. He also told jokes, which delighted his country listeners. A new radio personality was born- Perry Kallison, the "Old Trader" or as he would say in his down-home, folksy, Texas twang-"OI'Trader." People soon began coming into the store to meet him personally and were astonished-on the radio, Perry's voice was that of an 01' boy from South Texas, sounding much older than his actual age. When he bent his head toward the microphone and opened his mouth, the town of Laredo sounded out as Loh...