Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 9, Number 45, DeMotte, Jasper County, 28 September 1939 — Music Fan Radioizes Entire Vermont Farm [ARTICLE]

Music Fan Radioizes Entire Vermont Farm

Music while he works. That’s the pet hobby of 11. O. Van Vliet, a farmer of East Charlotte, Vt.. on whose large farm one may hear philharmonic orchestras and concert ensembles from early, morning until late at night. The magazine Radio News tells the story as follows: “Van Vliet has installed radio speakers in practically every building on the farm, all of which are controlled from a master speaker set in his house. “It all started because Van Vliet, a busy and industrious farmer, is ardently fond of classical music. But because he had cows to milk, fields to plow, wood to chop and other barn labors to perform, he missed many of his favorite programs. “So he set about remedying that situation. He bought several old speakers for a couple of dollars each. Using extension cord, he set up a speaker in the woodshed, another in the cow barn, one in the chicken house and still another in the large horse barn. To these he added three in his house; one in the bedroom, a large cabinet speaker in the living-room and another in his kitchen. The entire layout didn’t cost over sl2. “He still has one problem unsolved; he can’t find a station broad casting classical music at five a. m., the hour when he hitches his suspenders and starts out for the barn to milk the cows. The radio minded farmer complains that he has tc ‘spend an- hour or two in the barn the first thing in the morning and all I can get on that radio is jazz music from Boston.’ “Asked if music helps the chickens to lay more eggs and his cows to give more milk. Van Vliet replied, I know definitely that animals like music. When I turn on some soft, pleasing music out in the farm buildings, the hens and cows respond to it immediately.