Growing up in the 1950s, television was a new invention. I can remember when we didn’t have television, just the radio. The radio was tuned to a morning show that Dad and Mom listened to on WJR Detroit. The Michigan channels penetrated our airwaves in north central rural Ohio better than the stations 50 miles to the south in Columbus. Anyway, we got the weather, music, and a little news.
Living down Elm Street was friend Dicky Vail. The Vail’s had several boys and they had the first television set in the neighborhood. I used to go to their house to watch afternoon children’s shows that were broadcast from Columbus and elsewhere. Aunt Fran on WBNS began as Luci’s Toyshop. Fran Norris was the original host and she ended every program by painting a happy face on the palm of her hand and waving goodbye. If you looked at kids hands in the neighborhood in those days, there were a lot of stained happy faces on their palms.
We watched Howdy Doody, of course. That was the big show, but it happened to come on right at dinner time and I had to hurry home for that. I missed a lot of Howdy Doody until Dad decided to buy a television set.
I remember that we had to go to Marion, Ohio or someplace remote like that to find a television store. Dad wanted an RCA Victor television with a sizeable screen so that a family of four could watch comfortably. We entered the store where there was a wall of various TV sets. Dad picked one with a metal case that appeared to be sturdy. “Sturdy” was his criteria and it had to show a stable picture that was demonstrated by the salesman in the store who adjusted the antennae to make the picture reception just right.
OK, Dad forked over some sizeable amount to purchase the TV set. He had to carry it to the car and it was heavy. He put it into the trunk and drove ever so carefully home as to not damage the delicate cargo.
The next night he tried out the new TV set. It was on a table and plugged in with an antennae attached that they called “rabbit ears.” He was able to select a few channels to get some reception, but there was a lot of static. He messed with the antennae a lot to try to stabilized a bouncing picture. It didn’t work. He probably thought that television technology wasn’t very good as he now had to call the store and have a television repairman come out to see what was going wrong.
A TV repair man showed up in the evening as that was when Dad was available to meet him. He messed with the antennae and then declared that something else was wrong. He thought that maybe one of the tubes was bad probably damaged or shaken in transit.
He brought out his tube tester and proceeded to check them until he discovered the broken tube. He said that the tube would have to be replaced, and with that Dad learned that maintaining a television set was an on-going investment from the get-go. The guy replaced the tube and put the TV on a channel with a nice picture, declared victory and took off.
He would be back periodically to check the tubes.
Anyway, the story is that we discovered a new television show that was Flippo the Clown. Flippo captivated every child in north central Ohio, and their mothers too. He showed old movies and promoted drinking hot chocolate. He also promoted children conducting charitable events such as having circuses in the yard, charging admission, and sending the money to a charity.
Dicky Vail was the first kid that I knew to host a circus in his yard. He planned the event that included blowing up balloons and hanging them everywhere. He asked me if I wanted to participate, and I responded enthusiastically. I said I would come as a clown.
From that point forward, I discovered my calling in life.
No comments:
Post a Comment