From: Mary Horsley <mphorsley-AT-verizon.net>
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Date: Tue, 06 Apr 2010 07:26:06 -0400
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Speaking of early television


So, Charles, the movie called " A Christmas Story " is your story! Did  
your father have a leg lamp, too? I love your stories. Somehow life  
may have been a bit simpler back then.....

Mary
On Apr 5, 2010, at 11:57 PM, Charles Taylor wrote:

> Speaking of early television
>
> Dear puptcriters,   I have been having a nostalgic running e-mail  
> dialogue with my older brother of childhood memories. The following  
> had to do with our grandparent=92s television. Since we didn=92t have  
> one, we visited them to watch theirs.  In the nineteen-forties  
> people with a television would put a sign in their windows letting  
> neighbors know they were receiving guest for television viewing.   
> Otherwise those of us without televisions would go to the downtown  
> shopping districts and watch T.V. through the windows of the  
> hardware stores.  If you are too young to remember, you just have to  
> take my word for it that it was great entertainment to walk a few  
> blocks to the center of town and stand outside with neighbors  
> watching.  Being young and short, I had to squeeze through the crowd  
> to press my face against the window to watch Milton Berle, Red  
> Skeleton, and  Kookla, Fran and Ollie. It was kind of miracle that  
> they could get those little people into a box and it was ALL  
> =93live=94!  Anything could happen and it sometimes it DID!
>
> Dear Charles,
> =93A good question.=94 is what I usually say when I don=92t know the  
> answer. What I mostly remember is that it (our grandparent=92s  
> television)  had the lozenge-shaped picture (circular, with top and  
> bottom cut off) that they all did back then. Actually, what I mostly  
> remember is that we got to watch kids=92 programs there, instead of  
> wrestling. I stared at the screen more than its enclosure.
>
> I don=92t think it was the Motorola 19CK1; that lattice-work in front  
> of the grille cloth is very distinctive. Can=92t be sure I remember  
> correctly, but I think the cabinet had a blonde or cherrywood finish.
> -gene
>
> Dear Gene,
>
> Well, I DO remember watching wrestling with Grandpa; particularly  
> Gorgeous George with his long curly blond locks!  But the MOST  
> memorable occasion when we were there for a family dinner.  It could  
> have been Christmas, Grandpa and grandma's anniversary on Christmas  
> Eve, or Thanksgiving.  It could have been a Sunday and on this  
> particularly occasion everyone walked into the kitchen except for  
> me. At seven or eight years old,  I was watching Ina Ray Hutton and  
> her all girl band. The adults had discussed on previous shows that  
> Ina Ray Hutton was wrapped in a brand new product called "masking  
> tape" so that she could fit into her very tightly waist fitting  
> gowns that barely covered her ample breast and NEVER her shoulders.   
> She had the habit of  holding the baton and waving her arms in  
> conducting while facing the band and then turning and smiling in the  
> camera. Sometimes she whipped around very fast so her back wouldn't  
> be to the camera.  The illusion was this was a vast ballroom with  
> draperies behind the band.  Suddenly, Ina Ray Hutton turned quickly  
> and her arms went high up with great flourish as the front of her  
> dress fell exposing to enormously plumb breast!   I got an eye  
> full!  I started calling for everyone to come in while the camera  
> started swinging from left to right letting the audience see that it  
> was a very small room with undecorated and unattractive walls on  
> each side of the band. Ina Ray turned her back to the camera as she  
> held the baton and pulled her dress up as she wiggled and finally  
> turned back to the camera with a nervous smile proving that she  
> believed "That THE SHOW MUST GO ON!"  I was the only one in the  
> family that saw it.
>
> Before those T.V. days when we listened to the radio, I have many  
> memories: It seemed like
> no one ever listened or responded to me; For instance: like the time  
> I was four and  the back fence covered with honey suckle caught  
> fire. I ran in to tell everyone what was going on and no one  
> flinched or responded. I put my hands on my hips, stomped my  foot  
> and yelled, "Well I guess you don't care if the neighbor=92s baby  
> burns up!"  At that moment fireman ran past our kitchen window into  
> the back yard and I felt vindicated.  But not for long.  No one ever  
> listened or believed me.  All these years later I realize that I had  
> latent speech development!
>
> I found photos of these 1940s televisions on this site:    http://www.earlytelevision.org/
>
> For many varieties, scroll down on the following site:    http://www.earlytelevision.org/postwar_american.html
>
> Happy Viewing,
> Charles Taylor
> _______________________________________________
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Mary
mphorsley-AT-verizon.net
http://joypuppet.blogspot.com





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