Listen To WOBM’s Unexpected Connection To Thomas Edison [50 Memories in 50 Days]

If it weren't for Thomas Edison, I very well may not be sitting behind a control board at a radio station right now.

We can thank Edison's 1877 invention of the phonograph for being able to sit and enjoy Adele, Justin Timberlake, and Madonna's recorded music 141 years later.

So what does this all have to do with WOBM and Ocean County?

It turns out that Maria Campbell, who lived to 104 until she passed in 1973 in Beachwood, wasn't only Ocean County's oldest resident at the time, but also contributed one of the very earliest sound recordings when she recited "Mary Had a Little Lamb" for Edison.

WOBM's Ray Norman made a visit to Mrs. Campbell at her Beachwood home in the summer of 1971, where she spoke about her life and the now famous recording.

Straight from the WOBM archives, here's the whole 1971 segment from "Ray Norman's Getting Sentimental":

Mrs. Campbell died on March 31, 1973. According to an obituary in the Asbury Park Press from April 1st, both Mrs. Campbell's original recording and the WOBM interview are preserved in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

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