RADIO INTRODUCTION .

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In the 1930s one of the most famous all-American boys in the land was Jack Armstrong. He was a clean-cut, clean-living adventurous lad whose fame started at Hudson High School where he was a superb athlete who won games in the last minute.

Armstrong came into existence on radio, July 31, 1933. Following a voice calling out the name of the program, Jack’s high school song was used as the radio opener:

Jack’s pals were Billy and Betty Fairfield, and his Uncle Jim was always around. Somehow Jack and his friends managed to play hooky from school so they could travel around the world on their adventures.

During the early years of the program, one of the writers was Talbot Mundy. He wrote many scripts, tossing in African and Indian mysticism and intrigue that he used in his popular pulp novels.

This Big Little Book® adapts a 1937 Mundy radio script that was originally a 1919 Mundy novel titled The Ivory Trail.

The story begins as Uncle Jim puts the finishing touches on his dirigible. He takes Jack, Billy, and Betty for a flight to India. Jack brings along an object that looks like a giant key made of iron, and as they near their destination, the key begins to hum and vibrate strangely. At this point, the radio announcer would say:

The radio program was sponsored by a new cereal called Wheaties—the breakfast of champions. Kids consumed stacks of Wheaties to get boxtops which could be redeemed for rings, pedometers, luminous bracelets, and bombsights.