Most expensive thing I ever won from a radio station

[Howard Glazer]

Richard Chonak wrote:
>Also, Radio Canada International once gave me a C$5 coin from their 
>1973-1976 Olympic series (now worth about $25 if I can find it).
>
>But I was just thrilled to have my name mentioned on the air from a 
>transmitter somewhere across the world.

I was a Radio Canada winner earlier in the decade, before "International" was added to the name -- a double-LP of classical music by Canadian composers, which I won for writing the best letter about "your favorite Radio Canada program" in a "Listeners' Corner" (mailbag show) contest. I was a smart-ass 14-year-old at the time and figured the easiest way to win such a competition would be to write about how much I liked "Listeners' Corner" and its venerable host, Earle Fischer. I slathered it on pretty heavy, I admit, but hey, it worked! I think I clinched it with the salutation: "Dear Mr. Mailbag..."

Other shortwave swag I snared during those years were a kerchief from Radio Bucharest, a board game called "Das UNO Spiel" (The U.N. Game) from Austrian Radio, and a copy of Mao's Red Book from Radio Peking.

I miss the Cold War.

Howard