Remember Radio Shack?

Are you old enough to remember when Radio Shack first came to our area?

It was back in 1971 when ‘Allied Radio Shack’ first appeared in the Lorain City Directory. The store in Elyria was already open in the latter part of 1969, and Lorain’s store on Oberlin Avenue followed.

Why was it named Radio Shack?

According to its Wikipedia entry, the company was founded in 1921 with the goal of providing equipment for ham radio operators. The ‘shack’ in the name was a reference to "the small, wooden structure that housed a ship’s radio equipment.”

The company grew slowly and eventually entered the hi-fi music market. But it struggled in the 1960s and was on its way to going bankrupt. After the Tandy Corporation purchased the company, Radio Shack stores became known for its small, rented locations and private-label brands, including its own Realistic line of products.

Here’s an early ad that ran in the Lorain Journal on July 29, 1971. It’s an odd ad, with its groovy cartoon lion and offer of free batteries.

The free batteries are what I remember the most about Radio Shack from its early days. The store issued those ‘Free Battery Club' cards, which entitled the bearer to stop in and pick up a free battery once a month for a year. It was a regular monthly ritual for my buddies and me to ride our bikes over there to get our free batteries. I can still see that huge barrel of loose batteries, along with some of the other strange things in the store, like plush animals with radios inside.

During my latter high school days, I had a Realistic turntable and speakers, which eventually went off to college with me.

The Lorain store on Oberlin Avenue closed around 1986 or 87. 

Amazingly, after many years of bankruptcy filings and other legal problems, the company is still around. Here’s the link to its website.

Alas, they don’t appear to be issuing new Battery Club cards.