Grunow Model 585
1938

Note: Although Riders shows that the Grunow 585 model comes with  chassis 5W, my set is equipped with chassis 5U.

About the radio: This is a 5 tube broadcast and shortwave (2 band) superheterodyne "Arm Chair" (chairside) radio. 
The buttons around the perimeter of the dial are the Teledial presets. To tune to a station using a Teledial preset, you press the selected preset button, which silences the audio, then rotate the dial until the preset contacts the stop at the bottom of the dial. When you release the preset button the radio begins playing the selected station.

William C. Grunow (1893-1951), along with Bertram Grigsby and William Hinds, formed the Grigsby-Grunow company in 1921 making auto accessories. In 1924 they began making horn speakers (marketed under the "GGH" trade name). In 1925 they marketed battery eliminator's under the name "Majestic". Radio production began in 1928 and they added tube production in 1929. William Grunow left the company in 1931 and formed the General Household Utilities corporation marketing radios under the "Grunow" name. The company ceased radio production in 1937 after which Grunow moved to Wisconsin and started a poultry farm named "Val-Lo-Will Farms" after his three children: Valerie, Lois, and William.
Apparently the 1938 model year was started before the factory closed its doors.

The World Of 1938

· President: Franklin D. Roosevelt
· Population: 129,824,939
· Unemployment: 19.0%
· Cost of a first class stamp: $0.03

Headlines

· Hitler marches into Austria; union of Germany and Austria proclaimed. Britain, France, and Italy agree to let Germany partition Czechoslovakia.
· Nazis destroy Jewish shops, homes & synagogues. Thousands sent to concentration camps.
· Orson Welles broadcasts his adaptation of H.G. Wells's "War of the Worlds", creating a nationwide panic. Another picture.
· Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage.

Oscars:

· Outstanding Production: "You Can't Take It With You"
· Best Actor: Spencer Tracy, "Boys Town"
· Best Actress: Bette Davis, "Jezebel"

· World Series: NY Yankees d. Chicago Cubs (4 - 0)

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Historical Data From InfoPlease.com

Premiers:
· Radio quiz show "Information Please!"
· Orson Welles' "Mercury Theatre on the Air"

Top 10 Radio Shows: 1938 - 1939 Season
(Hooper Ratings*)

(*The Hooper Ratings Service rated radio program popularity from 1936 through 1949)

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    Top ten show information from DG-125 Computer Works 

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