Vintage radios and antennae.

[Titan1a]

I noticed that very few consoles from the thirties and forties have RF stages in them. How was it that people were able to receive broadcasts quite some distance from a transmitter? I'm located in Plattsmouth, NE which is about 25 miles from Omaha, 50 miles from Lincoln, NE or Shenandoah, IA. I went with a CCrane Twincoil antenna. The reception is still poor on stations broadcasting at 5KW. Can an "oldie but smartie" enlighten me on how people during the '30's through the '40's installed their radios? Also, how about AM DXing (at night)?