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Kate Aitken

For busy housewives in postwar Canada, Kate Aitken's singsong voice was a welcome diversion from their everyday duties. Three days a week, Mrs. A and a rotating cast of male sidekicks shared advice on cooking, child care and fashion and offered a perspective on the broader world of women and politics. Only eight Kate Aitken programs from 1948 to 1950 survive, but they allow a glimpse into an era when "women's programming" was its own category at CBC and the ads were just part of the conversation.

Kate Aitken: The audience asks

Broadcast Date: Oct. 22, 1948

October, 1948: Kate Aitken has been on the air at CBC for just over a month, and already listeners are flooding the show with queries on everyday life. After a hymn from American singer Marian Anderson, Mrs. A and her affable sidekick Mac McCurdy respond to the mail: How do I emigrate after marrying an American? Can I make money by selling homemade candy? Is it OK to sign a cheque in pencil? Do I need a lawyer to write a will? How big is a pullet egg? How do I shampoo an invalid's hair?

Kate Aitken: The audience asks

• A lucky accident got Aitken into radio. In 1934 she was conducting a cooking school in the Maritimes when a local commentator broke her leg. The station manager asked Aitken to step in, and a career was born.
• Kate Aitken's CBC program was sponsored by Ogilvie Flour Mills. Rather than breaking up the show with ads, Aitken wrote them herself so that Ogilvie's products were incorporated into the discussion. This was known in radio as an integrated commercial.

Kate Aitken: The audience asks

Medium: Radio

Program: Kate Aitken

Broadcast Date: Oct. 22, 1948


Host: Kate Aitken, Mac McCurdy

Duration: 14:46

Last updated:
April 3, 2008


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MediaTitle and dateDescription
Radio
14:23 		March 31, 1950
Kate Aitken: Mrs. A in Paris 		The focus is on French fashions as Kate Aitken broadcasts from the City of Light.
Radio
14:37 		Dec. 14, 1949
Kate Aitken: Meet the Mowats 		Mrs. A interviews a young writer, Farley Mowat, and asks his wife Fran how she managed meals and housekeeping in a bush tent way up north.
Radio
14:38 		April 13, 1949
Kate Aitken: Eye on Princess Margaret 		In this Easter program, Mrs. A shares a recipe for glazed ham and tells listeners how Princess Margaret spends her time.
Radio
13:15 		Jan. 17, 1949
Kate Aitken: The jetsetter 		Mrs. A broadcasts her show from Vancouver as she embarks on a whirlwind world tour.
Radio
14:37 		Dec. 31, 1948
Kate Aitken: Notable women of 1948 		On the last day of 1948, Kate Aitken salutes an international roster of women of the year.
Radio
14:31 		Nov. 19, 1948
Kate Aitken: Sunday dinner 		Kate shares a chicken recipe and polls the music charts across Canada.
Radio
14:46 		Oct. 22, 1948
Kate Aitken: The audience asks 		Mrs. A addresses listeners' questions on topics ranging from emigrating to the United States to the size of eggs.
Radio
14:27 		Sept. 27, 1948
Kate Aitken: No blue Mondays 		"Your women's editor," Kate Aitken, brings news and views to Canadian homemakers.
Radio
4:21 		Sept. 27, 1948
How a nursery school is born 		CBC Radio's domestic maven Kate Aitken profiles a successful nursery school in this 1948 clip.
Radio
1:46 		Sept. 27, 1948
Mrs. A's cold remedy 		One of Kate Aitken's cures for the common cold involves briskly rubbing your hands together.
10 results available