You know your old when...

Ladobe · November 23, 2007, 07:47:32 PM

You know your old when you watch a program on cable listing the 50 most popular television icons, and you don't know who some of them are, never watched others you've at least heard of and the ones from the list you have the fondest memories of are Lassie or Uncle Miltie.

Todd Rahm · November 23, 2007, 08:40:56 PM

Who's Uncle Miltie?

Hawks Feather · November 23, 2007, 09:09:14 PM

Or you can remember watching a test pattern waiting for Saturday morning shows to start.

I can vision some of the people reading this and saying, "test pattern?" Yep, stations were NOT on 24/7 and they would post a test pattern when they weren't broadcasting to let you know that your T.V. was working and so was the station.

Jerry

vvarmitr · November 24, 2007, 06:39:28 AM

Yeah, & that terrible sound the TV made.

Worse than the ringing I have in my ears now.

frshwtr · November 24, 2007, 10:03:07 AM

i also remember watching the late show and being made awake by the noise from the test pattern. loved saturday mornings when there wasnt any hunting gone on; i should say in my early years and there was nothing DAD wanted to hunt.

Ladobe · November 24, 2007, 12:29:48 PM

And stations signed off for the day playing the National Anthem with a waving Stars and Stripes. Not acceptable in today's PC America though I guess.

Programming was so scarce in the mid-late 40's that it was common for a station to only be on at certain times of the day/evening when they ran what programming they had, and off the rest of the time in between shows. About 3 channels was all there was, and you might not be able to pick all of them up all of the time. Our first TV was a RCA console with a small oblong CRT (screen) that broadcast shows more green and white than black and white. Add the constant hum of the tubes, static/snow, the signal bleeding in/out... and watching/hearing the shows was a chore at best. Oh, and fiddling with the antenna constantly trying to get the best signal. For some reason Uncle Kenner made the best antenna on our ranch, so he often watched while hanging onto the antenna wires. LOL Never had a color TV until the early-mid 60's, because there just were not many shows being broadcast in color until starting then.

Our old Philco Deluxe stayed the mainstay until the early-mid 50's when the golden age of radio was finally replaced by enough television programs to get the golden age of television going. The Shadow, Amos & Andy, Fibber McGee and Molly, Our Miss Brooks, Tales of the Texas Rangers, The Adventures of Phillip Morris, Al Jolson, Benny Goodman and many more of the old radio programs were favorites.

Todd - if you seriously don't know... Milton Berle was Uncle Miltie. Just took his vaudeville act to television, and brought along his women's clothes as well for it. I had refrained from picking even earlier television and radio icons with you youngsters in mind.

Braz · November 24, 2007, 01:36:10 PM

Yep, remember everything you mentioned. We only had one channel. Got our first TV in 1955. In about 1957 we finally got a second TV station. Wow, we were thrilled, we actually got a choice of what to watch. I remember the radio shows too. The Green Hornet, The Shadow Knows, Lone Ranger, and more. It was a wonderful way to spend the night. All the family would pull up chairs, we kids would usually lie on the floor, and not a sound was made while the show was on. Great stuff, and great for the family togetherness. Looked forward to the shows every bit as much as any of the TV shows that they have on today.

KySongDog · November 24, 2007, 03:35:28 PM

Howdy Doody and Buffalo Bob....one of my TV favorites along with the Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan) movies. Also never missed a Flash Gordon espisode.

Semp

vvarmitr · November 25, 2007, 10:57:52 AM

Uh, uh, uh, uh Tazan! I loved the Tazan movies.

In '85 a local TV station recorded my Tazan call.

But just like Johnny I lost my ablitly to do it any more.

My moment fame.

Todd Rahm · November 25, 2007, 11:13:11 AM

QuoteTodd - if you seriously don't know... Milton Berle was Uncle Miltie.

Ah, I know who Milton Berle was just never heard of him referred to as "Uncle Miltie".

I remember as a youngster that the TV channel would sign off at night, and that if I got up to early I would have to wait for it to come on to watch cartoons, and yes we only had three channels then, but were lucky to get two.

But ya know, I'd much rather sit in front of my TV watching the old classic TV shows, or older classic movies, then I would to watch modern TV and its reality shows.

Hawks Feather · November 25, 2007, 11:56:26 AM

Todd,

I have to agree. I don't know who really lives the "reality" that is on today, but I sure don't. Nor do I want to live it.

Jerry