Our First Television

I remember when we got our first television set.  It was 1952 and we were one of the first families in our neighborhood to have one.  It was a large console Motorola that incorporated a record player and a radio along with the black and white video set.  Initially we used a “Rabbit Ears” antenna but we soon opted for a roof mounted unit that provided much better reception.  I remember helping my dad install a 20 foot antenna on top of our roof with guy wires to keep it in place.

As a young boy, my favorite television programs were all about cartoons.   The early days (1952) of the Beany & Cecil puppet show was one of my favorites, as was Crusader Rabbit and his sidekick “Rags,” the tiger.  Crusader Rabbit and Rags were always being tricked by their arch nemesis, Dudley Nightshade.  I used to wonder why they couldn’t tell he was a bad guy, with his long slender mustache, black clothes, and sneaky demeanor, but they always got fooled by him.

After a couple of years passed we got three channels in Sacramento, ABC, CBS, and NBC, and the programming was decidedly improved.  A new program came on the air in the mid 50’s and it was one that I almost never missed.  It was the Popeye show with “Skipper Stu” and his Popeye cartoons.  I loved Popeye cartoons, and still do.  You could always count on Popeye to give Bluto his comeuppance, and the nice guy always won.  The show originated in Sacramento, and was hosted by none other than a very young Stu Nahan, the same guy that was a sports anchor on almost every television station in L.A. for over 30 years.

Television has sure changed since then.  In the 50’s, programming was only available for a few hours each day, and at night the stations would go off the air with their familiar test patterns.  They would fire up the next day with the same pattern and a little hoopla.  All commercials were one minute long, and any given show was sponsored by one product, mainly automobile companies or Beer.  Hmmm’, no wonder there is so much drinking and driving!

Some of the shows we watched back then were Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best, Sargeant Bilko, The Life of Riley, My Little Margie, The Honeymooners, The Lone Ranger, and The Cisco Kid.  Then there was a show that caused a national craze, Walt Disney’s Davy Crockett.  Davy was “Born on a mountain top in Tennessee,” and I think almost every kid in the United States had a coonskin cap; I know I did.  I cannot finish this without mentioning one of the funniest comedies ever produced, Amos & Andy.  You can still find a few episodes of Amos & Andy on You Tube.