Playing them might be a little more difficult. While they were made to be played without electricity, a simple tonearm with the proper needle can easily track them. After the dust and droppings are cleared out of the grooves.

We would wind it up and thrill to the hottest licks of WWI. There were songs about “over there” and sweet French girls who would be true to the whole regiment. There were ukulele tunes from exotic, faraway Hawaii. There were gospel records and folk songs– even a protest song about the John T. Scopes trial, “The Old Religion’s Better After All.” We bounced on the bed to “The Wreck of The Old Southern 97,” and “The Runaway Train.” We laughed at comedy disks like “Uncle Josh Puts Up The Stove,” And “Uncle Josh Takes The Census,” in which the protagonist describes the comic types (usually European immigrants) he encounters on his rounds as Punkin Center’s official census taker. Some of the content wasn’t very P.C. But it sure was a good glimpse at popular culture of the time.

Such great memories… I can still see grandma and grampa’s smiling faces as we listened, clapped and sang along.

“Oh the runaway train went down the track and she blew…”