Classic

TV

Growing up my dad was part owner in an appliance store in Winamac. Many times I heard him tell how he and his business partner sold the very first TV in town. Then they had to rig up an antenna so it would work. It was written about in the local newspaper and I still have the clipping. The tower was made of wood and was quite ingenious. I am sort of vague on a lot of it but I do remember we had one of the first TV’s in town. I remember there was not much on during the day and at night there was wrestling. The reception was very snowy. And there were only a couple channels from I think Chicago. We had an outside antenna and dad would go out and turn and twist it and we would holler when it was, well you know, as good as it was gonna get. I remember hurrying home from school to watch Howdy Doody and Buffalo Bob. Very primitive by today’s standards. Howdy was a marionette and he had exactly 48 freckles. One for each state. The show was done live as were most shows, and the audience sat in the Peanut Gallery. Oh how I wanted to be on that show. I have no idea where it was located but I did not have a snowballs chance of being on that or any other show. Some of the shows I remember are Arthur Godfrey. Texaco Star Theater, Ed Sullivan show, Colgate Comedy Hour, The Red Skelton Show, You bet your life, I love Lucy. There were many more good shows and they were nothing like today’s show all, tell all TV shows. Now listen up here folks, to change the channel you had to actually get up out of your chair and walk across the room over to the TV and physically turn a knob. For Real. The shows were all in marvelous Black and White. It had a very tiny little screen and the reception ranged from snowy to very snowy to impossible. Oh I said that before, well today with our HD TVs and cable and vios and satellite reception we now demand perfect reception and pay big money to have it. Today all those great shows are called Classic TV.. Guess that makes me a Classic too!