Time Out with Evelyn Cox
- JanaLee Cox Longhurst
- Dec 5, 2018
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 14, 2021
My Grandma Evy was a master of redefinition. When I look back on her life, I find that the
woman actually had eras. I need to write a book about her. I will write a book about her. I have been told that she was the first woman in Idaho Falls to have her own radio show. It was a weekly 15-minute spot on KID called “Time Out with Evelyn Cox.” I so wish I could listen to those radio spots. I will always wonder what her topics were. Was she opinionated? Full of advice? How did she whittle a week's worth of thought down to 15 minutes? If she were alive to do so now, would her forum be Twitter? TikTok? A podcast? And what would she think of this blog, my Jotter? I hope she would approve.
Have you ever looked up ancestor names in a newspaper archive? It is eye opening. I found Grandma’s name in advertisements for her radio show, but there were also dozens of references to club meetings and teas and festivals. They published everything in the newspaper! The trick was not only searching her given name, but also Mrs. Eli Cox, because most of the time, that's how she was listed. I love my husband with all my heart, but I don't exist as Mrs. Him. I’m glad the standard has been redefined.
In my research, I found a letter to the editor from my grandmother. It seems her car was hit at a train crossing, and she was NOT happy with the accident report that had appeared in the newspaper, so she wrote a strongly-worded letter to the editor, setting the record straight, calling on the city to fix a dangerous intersection. I had never heard about either the accident or the letter, so they felt like buried treasure when I came upon them. Apparently, the gentle, quiet-spoken woman I knew had once been a fiery spokesperson for the people in her younger years. I'd suspected it all along, but after I found the letter to the editor, I knew she was my kindred spirit.
It makes me wonder what my grandchildren or great-grandchildren will come upon if they ever take the time to type my name in the search bar. What will the the little snippets of my web footprint tell them about me?
MEMORY PROMPT: Do you have an ancestor who feels like a kindred spirit?
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