by Larry D. Christiansen
Although commercial television came to the Salt Lake area in 1948, with one TV station and a second station the following year, by early 1952 station officials acknowledged their coverage was “largely confined to Salt Lake Valley” and to a limited degree in Ogden and Provo . . . . “where signals now are spotty.” The two Salt Lake television stations—KDYL-TV and KSL-TV—had set their sights on expanding the area of their coverage by placing mountain top transmitters in the Oquirrh (pronounced O’-ker or oak-er) Mountain, the name coming from a Goshute Indian word that meant “shining mountain.” The stations had determined this location offered the best place for their transmitter to expand their area of signal coverage and were busy gaining access to the mountain heights, building transmission towers and other facilities, plus, getting electric power to the sites which would probably come into service in the fall of 1952. The television engineers estimated that the expanded coverage using the mountain top transmitter would bring Class A coverage to seven counties—Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Wasatch, Tooele, Morgan and Utah—providing them with a television pictures as good as the one received in Salt Lake City. The next ring of counties to receive their signals would be Class B and included the counties of Sanpete, Box Elder, Cache, Rich, Duchesne, Summit, Juab and Carbon, and they should be able to get a “good” picture. Beyond these two classes there was a possibility of five other counties in a so-called “fringe” area which might receive the TV signals with the installation of better and higher aerials. The TV stations’ projections optimistically estimated that from 70 to 87 percent of Utah’s population would get the TV signals from the mountain-top transmitters. None-theless, Utah’s mountainous terrain could be perplexing to the best surveys and calculations, and it took over a decade before the higher percentage would come true.
Under these projections, Cache County and valley was thought to be in line for good television reception when the two Salt Lake stations were ready to expand their broadcasting capabilities. Thus, their experience would be considerably different from many of those in the fringe areas. By way of Salt Lake City newspapers, radio news, word-of-mouth and the rare local newspaper articles, most Cache residents should have known about the up-grading plans of stations telecasting, including periodic reports of the construction of the facilities. By mid-summer it was forecast that the change-over would be in November of 1952. In many, if not most, of the counties in Utah there seemed much interest, apprehension and enthusiasm as the event became near, according to coverage in their local newspapers. TV signal waves may have come northward and over the western mountains into the valley on November 15, 1952, but if the local newspaper was a good informative source, it was among the quietest advent of what turned out to be a momentous event and shaping force. In retrospect it seems surprising and disappointing, at least to later researchers, how little local coverage the coming of television to Cache County was recorded in the local newspaper, The Herald Journal. Possibly it viewed the coming of TV to the area as not worthy of notice and less interested in covering the particulars concerning its coming. Apparently this newspaper didn’t see it as significant, interesting, or unusual enough to deserve attention or to be recorded in print. This local newspaper’s extremely little coverage on television coming to the area involved a couple of TV stations’ press releases without anything about the local reaction to this news. There would be nothing on how or what the local residents were thinking or doing, and nothing on the amount of business the stores were doing in selling TV sets. Furthermore, there would be no interviews with new set owners before or after TV arrived, and no eyewitness accounts of the first television viewing by anyone in the area. Yet, it should be duly noted that the newspaper sold a tremendous amount of advertisements for businesses selling TV sets. For November and December of 1952 the TV set advertisements exceeded any other single article, more than automobiles, farm equipment and wearing apparel. By a close reading of these ads one can glean bits and pieces of what was happening with the mountaintop TV transmitters and when the first broadcast trials would happen. So some six decades later, researchers must either read the advertisements of the period or find other sources to discover anything on the events leading to the actual arrival of TV, the reaction of the earliest viewers or assessments as to the quality of the pictures on the TV sets of the new media.
As this threshold of television accessibility was nearing, two noteworthy items were receiving consideration at this time. One was the aspect of how television could and should be used in the education of the youth. Main points in this discussion were a fear that if action was not initiated soon, the chance would be lost to use the few channels reserved for education purposes. Second was the knowledge “that the average elementary school student who has television spends an hour more a week in front of the TV screen than he does in the classroom, we see how important this medium is.” While leading educators and P.T.A. leaders weighed in on this topic, a Radio Corporation of America (RCA) official forecast that with the expected extension of broadcast range by the Salt Lake television stations there would be a “boom” in the sales of TV sets throughout the region. Two weeks later another industry leader stated that the future of TV sales seemed “unlimited.” From hindsight the predictions seem logical but the number of television makers and sheer number of sets made were close to unbelievable.i
The first announcements concerning this approaching time came in the Herald Journal’s advertisements in early fall of 1952. For example on Sunday, November 2, 1952, the ad for C. C. Anderson, a department store in Logan, with a large two page spread declared it was the “Home of RCA and Zenith TV” and more important that “Television Will Be Here SOONER THAN YOU THINK Be Prepared --Come in Today and Choose Your Self.” In large bold letters the ad stated: “Television Is On The Way To Logan!” Of course the ads gave information on the TV sets they had for sale such as the Million Dollar K-52 chassis of the Zenith which delivered a “Clear bright pictures even in fringe areas,” with “Richer blacks—purer whites,” all this along with “Incomparable picture stability” and even “Needs no external antenna in many locations.” Furthermore, “We’re rapidly approaching the day when TV will actually be a reality in Logan. In fact from what we can tell it will be here sooner than we think! . . . . And of course the wise TV shopper is choosing his TV set now . . . while we are stocked, can deliver and install them in short order. Come in tomorrow. . . . SEE the famous Zenith in action in our Television Dept.!” Inter- mingled in the advertisements were a sketch of the declared famous chassis and six pictures of available TV sets with their prices—21-inch console for $295.95, a 21-inch console at $449.95, a 21-inch model Ultra-modern at $319.95, a Grenville ideal for informal rooms for $269.95 and a Zenith Tudor 17-inch table model for $219.95.ii
Further along in this Sunday edition was an ad for Modern Appliance Company at 47 West Center in Logan featuring the Hoffman Easy-Vision TV which was “squint free, strain free TV.” Incorporated with the ad was a schedule or log for KSL-TV and KDYL-TV for Sunday November 2nd. As it would turn out the schedule of TV shows came two weeks before any television was received in Cache Valley. On the following page in the classified ads was one for Hill Electric Company of Smithfield which stated: “TELEVISION IS ABOUT HERE - Why not be ready for it? We can install your antenna and provide you with a RCA or Zenith - The finest names in Tele-vision. Avoid the rush! Call us now!” On a following page came a full page ad from Wangsgaard Heating and Appliance Company stating that they were pleased to tell the newspaper readers: “Television Will Be Here November 15, 1952. Yes, at last it can be announced that television will be here with both towers in operation not later than November 15 (Barring Strikers and Acts of God) . . . We do not like scare selling, but feel that you should know that quality TV sets will be in short supply. Therefore we suggest that you come in today and choose your model and cabinet, to be delivered if we get a good picture. No sale will be binding if the picture is not good.” The ad was restrained and prudent inasmuch that if the expected picture was not good, the sale would not be binding for the Hoffman Easy-Vision television being offered for sale. On Monday, November 3rd, the Modern Appliance ad was repeated with the TV schedule being for the following day since the weekday issues were delivered in the late afternoon with only the Sunday paper delivered in the morning. This ad with the TV schedule would appear in each issue of the newspaper and only change when one of the stations went off the air temporarily. Hill Electric ad was repeated again in the classifieds almost in every issue and listed under “Misc. for Sale” but within a week or two a new numbered category in the classified ads was “Television-Radio.” By November 4th Wangsgaard’s ads included a new brand name TV “The new 1953 CBS COLUMBIA” including six pictures of the TV sets but no prices listed. In addition there was a large full page ad showing a sketched picture of a large TV screen with the large words “THANK YOU,” on the screen along with the name RCA Victor brand followed by “For a successful opening,” and the name of the advertiser “Centre.” Apparently this new company was oriented to the television business in Cache Valley, and it may not have lasted very long.iii
The biggest and most important news items at the time were General Eisenhower winning the election as president, the Republicans winning control of Congress for the first time in many years, the war in Korea with the intervention of the Chinese along with local items of politics, farm issues, a fear of Logan losing the college to Weber County and “Logan City Declares War Against Rats.” Noteworthy items at the time were the number of national businesses who tried to benefit from the apparent boom of television, both selling and even making of television sets. In Logan two of the most successful businesses were J. C. Penney and Sears, the former in the Logan newspaper never advertised they were selling TVs, while the latter never showed TVs in their advertisements until November 6, 1952, when a large Sears’ ad showed a new television brand name of Silvertone featuring a 20-inch console for sale at $289.95 or $10 down and $14 a month on the Sears Easy Payment Plan. There was also a 17-inch Silvertone for $239.95 ($10 down, $12 per month). Along with the company’s assurance—“We guarantee expert installation High quality reception and clear picture or your money back. Cache Valley's most modern equipped T.V. Dealer.” Dunkley Music Company at 132 North Main began advertising that Logan had many good TV sets but “few with good service.” They sold the Magnavox TV which included the 20-inch Envoy for $239.50 and the 21-inch Cosmopolitan priced at $398.50. The Logan Music Company at 27 West Center Street in Logan advertised the Philco TV. C. C. Anderson spiced up their previous ads bragging the 1953 Zenith—“ Here's million dollar power for brilliant pictures even in fringe areas. . . . K-53 Here's why--even in LOGAN you'll get brilliant pictures.” Wangsgaard Heating and Appliance became the biggest advertiser and probably offered more brand names and models with a wider range of prices—21-inch models from $279.95 to $825.00 for a combination. The Sunday edition was filled with numerous TVs for sale.iv
As the declared time for receiving the TV signal neared on Monday, November 11th, there was an ad from Edwards Furniture Inc. offering the 17-inch Hallicrafters television along with a Hallicrafters Telecart to hold the set to roll to the place wanted. In addition, the ad stated: “TV is here! After a few days of testing and adjusting at the transmitting towers, regular programs will be beamed to this area. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, KSL Channel 5 will start regular program broadcast Saturday morning at 10 a.m.” On a following page the TV inform-ation continued in an ad from Modern Appliance, which besides offering its Hoffman TVs and furnishing the latest schedule of television shows on the two Salt Lake City channels, added to the television story by stating: “We
received a perfect TV picture with use of antenna and plain enough to recognize without any antenna—Come in at once and pick out your set, because TV is now a reality in Cache Valley.” Fainter echoes came from Dunkley Music which besides its Motorola TVs for sale, announced: “IT’S HERE! Come and See Live TV at Dunkley Music,” and “SEE THE FIRST LIVE T.V. SHOW AT 10 A.M. SATURDAY AT WANGSGAARD’S.” Less instructive of the overall situation of the coming of TV to Cache Valley but still beating the television drums were the many advertisements selling the various brands of TVs—Hoffman, Sylvania, Raytheon, Stromberg Carlson, Motorola, Admirals, RCA, Zenith, Hallicrafter, Columbia, Silvertone, Philco, etc.v
What it meant to any newspaper was the news, not in the sense of a scoop, but unfiltered information to the reading public and potential TV viewers that over the summer and fall the two TV stations in Salt Lake City had committed time, money and resources to establish a greater audience for the television shows by putting in place facilities on the mountain top west of the city to broadcast their signals. After all preliminary surveys and engineering work had established the sites of the mountain top transmitters; it took the full summer season of 1952 and into the fall to get the necessary buildings and transmitters up. KSL-TV had chosen Farnsworth Peak at 9,066 feet for its site along with plans for a 370 foot tower for its transmitter. They knew the steel for such a structure needed to be special and it was made in Seattle, Washington, to be capable to withstand temperatures to 40 degrees below zero without becoming brittle. KDYL-TV chose a peak about three miles away Mt. Vision at 8,700 feet and erected a 200 foot transmitting tower. By November the buildings, transmitters, and needed equipment were in place and electrical power plus emergency power source ready. The two stations needed to adjust their equipment and began testing it. What the local newspaper didn’t provide first hand but could be gleaned from the ads selling TVs was that everything was in place for the testing phase with regular program close behind. The picture seen prior to November 11th was most likely not on a special instrument but a regular TV set viewing the test patterns sent out to help adjust the stations’ equipment. To this point the local newspaper was seemingly blissfully asleep in regard to TVs coming and how it might impact the area while its press busily printed advertisements for the sale of TVs.vi
On November 13th, two days before the target date for the start of Cache television, there appeared at first glance some first-hand news about television in the area without the business orientation or the brand twist when a full page of the local newspaper seemed to have more than television advertisements. True, there was one large ad with two smaller ones included for C. C. Anderson and the Zenith brand of TV which comprised approximately sixty per cent of the page. At the top and running across the eight column page in bold letters headlines—“ZENITH TELEVISION SETS RATED BEST FOR LOGAN AREA,” with a sub-heading “Consumers In Logan and Vicinity Will Benefit From Zenith’s Million Dollar Improvement Program on 1953 Television Sets.” The Logan sales pitch angle was repeated in the first paragraph which said in part: “Although Logan will be getting its Television much later than many areas that have it, there are several distinct advantages to this. Among them was the fact that one firm, Zenith Radio and Television, had just incorporated over a million dollars worth of improve-ments into 1953 sets which are now available locally,” and further down in the text “Zenith television the best set available for consumers in the Logan area.” In a “Stage, Screen Topliners Due” article that filled the entire first column the introductory paragraph stated—“If Logan follows. . .” wherein the “If” and “follows” were inline but the “Logan” was inserted where it was slightly higher than the other words. The second paragraph had the same problem—“Logan will become familiar . . . ,” however in the third paragraph the “Martin and Lewis, now familiar to Logan through movies and radio. . . .” the Logan was in line with the other words. It would appear that there was an advertisement text in which at appropriate places key words such as “Logan” could be inserted for local flavor and effects. The named article ended with—“See all these stars on the famous Zenith televisions sets available at C. C. Anderson’s.” This was nothing more than an infer-commercial in which, besides praise for the Zenith TV and
C. C. Anderson’s, there was very little directly linked to the local area and developments in this full page. The local fragment of information included that C. C. Anderson’s, Ogden’s most complete department store, and its Logan branch offered a convenient buying plan, and the Logan store had not only a TV department but had recently completed a “special TV lounge.”
In the same issue there were other advertisements by those selling televisions, and a surprising newcomer to the field was one of Logan’s leading businesses supplying the valley farmers—the Fuhriman Implement Company at 258 South Main.vii Prior to this time the TV dealers could be divided by type of business along general lines with ads in the Logan newspaper up through Dec. 31, 1952, as follows: department stores—C. C. Anderson’s, Sears; appliance stores—Modern Appliance, Wangsgaard Heating and Appliance, Montrose Appliance and Harris Appliance; furniture— Edwards Furniture Inc., Lundstrom Furniture, U & I Furniture; music— Dunkley Music, Logan Music, Cache Valley Music Company; electric—Hill Electric, Thomson Electric; miscellaneous— Centre, Logan Refrigeration Company , Jack's Tire & Oil Company, Firestone Store, Fuhriman Implement; Preston, Idaho businesses-- Ken's Electric Co., Hart Music Co. Of particular interest the Sears and Firestone stores not only sold
TV sets but the parent company began to make or have made for them a TV brand identified with them.viii
Finally, on Friday, November 14, 1952, the day before the planned first telecast into north Utah and Cache Valley came television news not tied to or from TV advertisements from those selling TV sets. In a front page article by Murray M. Moler, a newspaper writer and later an editor of the Ogden Standard Examiner, entitled “TV TELECASTING FROM UTAH TRANSMITTER WILL BEGIN SATURDAY.” It stated:
SALT LAKE CITY (U.P.)--Commercial telecasting from the highest transmitter in the
nation definitely will begin Saturday, KSL-TV announced Friday.
The video station's general manager Lennox Murdock, said that test patterns broadcasts
during the week have been so successful that regular operation from the new station high
in the Oquirrh mountains west of Salt Lake City will start at 10 a.m. Saturday. KSL-TV's
commercial operation will be followed, probably within a few days, by similar regular
telecasting by Utah's other TV station, KDYL-TV
President S.S. Fox of KDYL-TV said that test pattern broadcasting by his station will
start Saturday or Sunday, with regular transmitting from the mountain site to begin as
soon as the field tests are completed—within two weeks, at the latest.
Greater Area.
The TV broadcast from the Oquirrh mountain states will greatly increase the area and
population in northern Utah and southern Wyoming that can receive the voice-pictures
programs.
Reception now, from transmitters in downtown Salt Lake City, is largely confined to
Salt Lake valley.
Murdock said that preliminary tests, based on the experimental pattern, prove that a
clear signal can be received north at least to Downey, Idaho, and Ft. Bridger, Wyo., and
south to Beaver, Utah.
Especially clear pictures were seen in Logan, which does not now view TV, and
Ogden and Provo, where signals now are spotty.
The KSL-TV “radiator”--the device that actually broadcasts the video signals—is
located atop a 370 foot tower on Coon Peak, near the north tip of the Oquirrhs. Total
elevation of the antenna is 9425 feet, more than 12 times that of the Empire State build-
ing, where most of New York City's TV antennas are located.
The KDYL-TV transmitter is on Mt. Vision, slightly to the south with a total eleva-
tion of 8900 feet. Both stations have spent a total of at least $500,000 in developing
their mountain top broadcasting sites, including equipment and winter access routes—a
road for KDYL-TV and a tramway for KSL-TV.
Retail sources estimate there are now about 80,000 television receiving sets in use
in Utah. They forecast this will increase to 100,000 by Jan. 1 and double within a year.ix
It was astonishing that the local newspaper had shown so little interest in the activities leading up to the
advent of television in Cache Valley. After the fact, the same newspaper would declare that with the coming of TV the world would never be the same, nonetheless, no local reporters were assigned or took the initiative to visit the places selling TVs to see the number of sales and the reaction of the potential customers, or ask why a farm imple-ment firm was selling TVs, or why the sellers of televisions were staying open late at night, even as late as 11 p.m. Instead, the Logan paper coasted along with little more than advertisements for selling TVs. They were very willing to place a November 14th ad from KSL-TV channel 5 advising that the Amos ‘n’ Andy show would be telecast at 8:00 p.m. every Thursday along with 160 other KSL-TV shows which would come “sharp and clear each week” from America’s highest TV transmitter beginning Saturday, November 15. The new business established to sell televisions, The Centre, with its recent grand opening, would stay open until 9 p.m. on Saturday with the beginning of television in the area, and they had set up a “luxurious Television Lounge” designed for theater privacy and providing courteous attention to every question concerning “Cache Valley newest entertainment—Live Television shows.” Other advertisers declared that the television broadcasts would begin this weekend as the magic world of television would be in Logan. C. C. Anderson’s ads stated they expected hundreds of TV shoppers would jam the store looking at the various sets, which now included three top lines—Zenith, Packard Bell and RCA Victor—and offered convenient credit terms. In addition they had set up “A brand new lounge” for those interested in seeing TV in Cache Valley and/or those wanting to purchase a TV.x
The first television broadcast in Cache County and also in northern Utah and southern Idaho came on November 15, 1952, and true to form the main Logan newspaper didn’t stir in any way, shape or form to cover the event. Not even to report that only one channel came on the air that day—KSL-TV. KDYL-TV hadn’t finished its testing and would take a few more days before it started broadcasts. The initial telecasts were probably viewed by more people in the establishments selling TVs than in their own homes, or homes of friends and relations. These selling places took full advantage of the situation by inviting all those interested to watch live TV and made it a festive and favorable event. On the day of the first viewing, a Saturday, there was no local newspaper published to record the occasion, and they didn’t follow up and cover it on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc. as well. Perhaps the only thing novel in the Sunday issue was the ad for Logan Refrigeration Company on 545 North Main Street in Logan which was now selling Zenith televisions for as little as $199.95. The newspaper from November 15th through the 21st had a great many advertisements regarding the sale of TV’s but not one word of the news about the advent of TV in the area. The Modern Appliance ad for Hoffman TVs also included the TV schedule for the two Salt Lake City stations but KDYL-TV was not telecasting yet. The Sunday issue and subsequent issues announced the grand opening of Uptown Motors for November 20th with a huge stage show, big western band, vaudeville acts and a Television show, including a door prize of a table model TV. The new motor company would have used cars and new cars—the latter the Kaiser and Frazier vehicles. Within four days of the arrival of TV in the area, Jack’s Tire and Oil Company began advertising that they had G.E. (General Electric) TV’s for sale that “Outvalue any 21 inch.” On November 19th a second TV ad for a specific show came in the following format: “Football Tonight, Big 10 Game of the Week, Michigan vs. Purdue. Channel 4 KDYL-TV 7:00 PM. Sponsored by Phillip 66.” The Phillip 66 dealers paid to televise the game and probably for the newspaper notice of the game.xi
The Herald Journal basked in the quantity and revenue of its advertisements, with the ads selling TVs possibly the highest in number and in space sold, and with Christmas just over a month away this period would equal or surpass the TV ads in the run-up to advent of television in the area. On Friday, November 21st, there was another ad for a football game which would be for the first football game actually televised in Cache Valley as the earlier ad was mixed up in date in some way, and KDYL-TV was not on the air on the night mentioned. However, the station was now ready for operation for the UCLA vs. USC game at 2:45 p.m. on channel 4 Saturday, November 22, 1952. On a later page of this issue of this newspaper in a news dispatch from Salt Lake City the story was told under the title—KDYL-TV BEGINS NEWS ‘CAST SATURDAY
SALT LAKE City--KDYL-TV announced Friday it will begin commercial tele-
casting Saturday at 10 a.m. from its new mountain top transmitter on Mt. Vision,
high in the Oquirrah [sic] mountains west of Salt Lake City.
Utah's other television station, KSL-TV began regular operation from Coon Peak,
also in the Oquirrhs last Saturday. The two Utah transmitters are the highest video
operations in the nation.
President S. S. Fox of KDYL said a feature of the first day of telecasting from
the new site would be complete coverage beginning at 2:45 p.m., of the USC-UCLA
football game in Los Angeles.
Mt. Vision, about 15 miles southwest of the original KDYL-TV transmitter in
downtown Salt Lake City, is 8,700 feet high. The station has erected a 200 foot
tower on the mountain to give added range to the signals.
Engineers said reports on test patterns, which began Thursday, were encouraging
with clear signals reported received in Provo, Logan, Ogden and Heber, Utah, and
Preston, Idaho.
KDYL pioneered telecasting in Utah, including experimental local activity
before the war.xii
In the same issue the Modern Appliance advertisement included the two Salt Lake City stations’ schedule, and for the first time both stations were broadcasting for the very first time.
KSL-TV LOG [KDYL-TV LOG name left off see below]
SATURDAY NOV. 22, 1952 SATURDAY NOV. 22, 1952
* Live show * Live show
10:00 - Film Matinee 9-9:30 - Test Pattern
11:00 - Kids & Co. 9:30 - Film
11:30 - Space Patrol 10:00 - Western Feature
12:00 - Sky King 11:00 - Happy Birthday Club
12:30 - Smilin' Ed McConnell 11:30 - Children's Hour
1:00 -Test Pattern 12:00 - Mr. Wizard
* 5:00 - Stork Club 12:30 - Rustler's Roundup
6:00 - Red Ryder 1:00 - Curtain Time
6:30 - Chance of a Lifetime 1:15 - Boys' R.R. Club [R.R. - Roy Rogers]
* 7:00 - Beulah 2:30 - Wild Bill Hickok
8:00 - Balance Your Budget 2:00 - Pigskin Parade
8:30 - Hollywood Off-Beat 2:45 - Football, UCLA vs USC
* 9:00 - Jackie Gleason Show 5:30 - Football Scoreboard
10:00 - Crime Syndicated 5:45 - Handy Andy
7:30 - Stu Erwin * 6:00 - All-Star Review
10:00 - The Late Show * 7:00 - Your Show of Shows
10:30 - Charles Axtell * 8:30 - Your Hit Parade
12:00 - News and Weather` 9:00 - The Doctor
9:30 - This Is Your Life
{Below the 12:00 - News & Weather listing 10:00 - Adventure Playhouse
was “KDYL-TV LOG” which was 11:00 - Night Owl Theater
misplaced here instead of at the top of * 12:00 - Midnight News.
the right hand listing; and the 7:30 -
Stu Erwin was also misplaced.}
Noteworthy on the Saturday listing shown above were the half-hour test pattern of KDYL-TV at 9:00 a.m. and the lengthy afternoon test pattern at 1:00 p.m. on KSL-TV. In the Sunday morning issue on November 23, 1952, the TV schedule for the day was printed as follows:
KSL-TV Sunday Nov. 23, 1952 KDYL-TV Sunday Nov. 23, 1952
* Live show. * Live show
11:30 - Armchair Adventure 9-9:30 - Test Pattern
11:45 - Adventure Unlimited 9:30 - Western Feature
12:15 - Toostate Hippodrama 10:30 - Mr. Wizard
* 1:00 - The World You Live In 11:00 - Faith for Today
1:30 - Candy Carnival *11:30 - Frontiers of Faith
2:00 - Quiz Kids 12:00 - Matinee Film Theater
2.30 - Omnibus 1:30 - The Big Picture
4:00 - Super Circus 2:00 - United Nations
* 5:00 - You Asked For It 2:30 - Invitation to Religion
* 5:30 - This Is Show Business 3:00 - Zoo Parade
6:00 - Twenty Questions 3:30 - Children's Hour
6:30 - It's News to Me 4:00 - Youth Wants to Know
* 7:00 - Fred Waring Show 4:30 - Victory at Sea
7:30 - Break the Bank 5:00 - Red Skelton
8:00 - The Web 5:30 - Mr. Peepers
* 8:30 - What's My Line *6:00 - Comedy Hour
9:00 - Family Theater *7:00 - TV Playhouse
* 9:30 - See It Now 8:00 - Front Page Detective
* 10:00 - Walter Winchell 8:30 - Miniatures Playhouse
*10:15 - Billy Daniels Show 9:00 - Dangerous Assignment
10:45 - This Is the Life 9:30 - News of the World
11:15 - News & Weather 9:40 - NBC News Review
10:00 - Masterpiece Theater
11:00 - Night Owl Theater
12:00 - Midnight News
The newspaper advertisements continued emphasizing various qualities of the various sets along with the general invitation to visit these businesses and see the TV sets with the easy credit terms available. A new item came when Wangsgaard Heating and Appliance ad began offering a trade in allowance for any old-style small screen TV sets. Since this came so early in the history of television in Cache Valley—barely a week for the first station and on the eve of second station going on the air—it would seem this was more words than an actuality. However, finally on Sunday, November 23, 1952, a little bit of reality may have come to the Logan newspaper. The newspaper’s editor Ray Nelson in his column “Thot’s and Things” divided his attention between “Thanksgiving; The Skyline Changes; Poems For The Mother.” The short middle third of the editorial was the first time this newspaper gave any attention directly to the television situation in Cache Valley. The editorial went as follows:
HOW THE LOGAN SKYLINE has changed these past couple of months.
Television is making a thorough conquest.
The TV antenna, somewhat haughty, somewhat challenging, rears its head
above ever so many dwellings and business places.
As one drives through the countryside he spots a large, fat home wearing the
feather-of-antenna in its hat. Just a few blocks away is a humble two-by-four
shack, needing paint, needing everything—but groaning under the weight of a huge
TV antenna.
KDYL-TV began its telecasting from its mountain transmitter yesterday. Test
patterns during the week have been very encouraging.
KSL-TV and KDYL-TV reportedly have the highest transmitters in the world.
So apparently television is here to stay—like it or not. There will be good
programs, and there will be poor ones. There will be novelty, there will be educ-
ational features.
It may change family ways of living somewhat. Some changes may be for the
better, some for the worse.
But, as the man once said: "We'll all have to adjust to the new situation as grace-
fully as possible. Because, undoubtedly, TV isn't going to adjust to us.xiii
The day following the above editorial, in the Monday issue there was a small insert of The Herald Journal Magazine (Vol. 2 Number 9) where the second local coverage was addressed to the TV situation in the area. The article was entitled: “Better Learn To Live With It; Looks Like TV Is Here To Stay,” which stated:
They say there's no place like home—with TV. Be that as it may, it is certain
that the home will never be the same again now that TV is here.
There's a good side and a bad side. People are probably going to stay home
more than they have since the automobile put dobbin out of a job and electric
lights came to take the place of the kerosene lantern. The family going to be
together more. There'll be less chasing around nights. There may even be fewer
cars on the highways, which will be a blessing in any man's language.
On the negative side, there'll be meals eaten on the lap in front of the TV set, a
decline in the reading of good books, and the degeneration of the art of conversation
to the grunting stage.
It's Here
Whether good or bad, TV is here to stay and most of us are going to have to learn
to live with it.
Logan has had TV from the new KSL transmitter only a week. The KDYL trans-
mitter went into operation yesterday. Many Cache Valley people already have
bought and installed sets. Many others are now looking over the field examining
the fine sets offered by various local dealers. Hundreds and hundreds of sets will be
installed in the next few months. No doubt many families have a TV set on the
Christmas shopping list.
Let’s assume you're just considering buying a receiver. First, remember that TV
waves are more limited than radio waves. They travel in straight line instead of
following the curve of the earth. This means that ordinarily your reception would be
limited to those stations that lie between you and the horizon
Most people have little difficulty in tuning in local channels. How good your
reception of each of these will be depends in part on your specific location with
respect to the station. But even in the most unfavorable locations spots, you'll
probably be able to get some stations.
To put it plainly, your location effects three things:
1. The number of stations you can get with a standard installation.
2. The quality of reception you can expect from each.
3. The auxiliary equipment you may need for best result. Whether extra equipment
will be needed usually cannot be known until the set is placed in your home. By the
way, auxiliary equipment found necessary by the installer is subject to extra charge.
Can Vary
Remember, too that reception can vary from block to block, from house to house,
from floor to floor, and even from one side of the room to another.
Sometimes TV "interference" can't be corrected. This doesn't mean you have a
"lemon." Television technicians can do wonders, but they can't alter the essential
characteristics of, say of a skyscraper. This is why your next door neighbor may be
able to get some channels better than you can.
Basic Points.
But don't ever forget these basic points.
1.Get it in writing. The greatest promises may not do you any good unless
they're down in black and white.
2. Read before you sign. This means your bill of sale, installation contract, if
any, manufacturing warrants and services contracts. Know what you're getting
and how you are covered before you buy. Retain your bill of sale--it is import-
ant should there be need to establish warranty status in respect to date of re-
ceiver purchase, and
3. When in doubt, find out. If still in doubt, call your dealer.
So, here's your happy days with television. It's here to stay. You might as well face
it. Life will never be the same again.
If you want your kids home at night and not over at the neighbor's watching TV,
you'd better get a set yourself.xiv
Against this background with emphasis on the Herald Journal’s little bit of actuality and real world situation cited above wherein they stated such as “Television is making a thorough conquest” whereby an assortment of changes were coming, resulting in “home will never be the same again now that TV is here.” With tongue in cheek, maybe kudos and awards might be in order for this belated recognizing something important had taken place in Cache Valley. However, where was the local newspaper during this “thorough conquest” and the striking changes in the Logan skyline? They were sadly missing in the development or buildup to this significant conquest, possibly they didn’t initially see it coming although that is hard to believe considering the substantial increase in television advertise-ments by the businesses wanting to sell TV sets and the revenue the paper received. There was absolutely no local coverage by way of interviews with the stores on sales, customers on anything to do with TV, no surveys, no accounts of the peoples’ reaction to TV, no reports from the stores on what took place when people gathered in the stores to witness the arrival of television into the area, or even an assessment or estimate as to what the new TV goods did to overall sales in the stores. From appearance it was as if the local newspaper was on vacation, missing in action for several months, and possibly remained in the too-little-too-late mode until the conquest was well on its way. The newspaper editor’s printed evaluation of November 23, 1952, that “Television is making a thorough conquest,” was in essence an admission that this newspaper had missed at least the opening rounds of an on-going revolution.
Possibly, some of the late insights of the local newspaper in delving into the details of TV reception and advice on consumer protection were a sort of penitence for this newspaper’s earlier shortcomings. Nevertheless, some of the suggestions offered were practical and wise. Family meals and conversations were likely to change as would the number of cars on the highways because people might stay home more. Even those haughty antennas on the roofs were more than a sign that a particular house had a TV set but also signaled something about those dwelling therein. It was well to have a contract in writing and read before signing, and contact the dealer if trouble arose. Even the information on TV trouble such as poor reception and interference were good for the customer and the dealer or TV repairman. It was more than Pablum that the coming changes would include programs that were both good and bad, truly a sign of the times. In the end, possibly the quality of TV shows could and would be one of the most crucial elements of television.
Two days before the actual arrival of television in Cache Valley, the local newspaper had a full page of commercials, apparently paid for by C. C. Andersen store, which had been adapted (or doctored) to appear as specially written for the Logan area and contained a brief glimpse of what the TV viewers could expect to see on their sets. This article entitled “Stage, Screen Topliners Due – Big Comedy, Drama Stars on Waves,” predicted that the local viewers would “be doing a lot of commenting and talking about Arthur Godfrey, Dinah Shore, Martin and Lewis, Spike Jones, Milton Berle, Lucille Ball, Red Skelton and a host of others familiar to most of us just in the movies.” There would be some that were now only names to the new viewers, but they would become familiar with them as well. Cited in this latter group were Sid Caesar, Kukla, Fran and Ollie, and even Disney's Mickey Mouse and Pluto. In addition, movie stars such as Martin and Lewis, known in “Logan” through the movies and radio, but now their sheer mayhem would appear regularly on the TV. Spike Jones and his City Slickers would perform on “A-1 Star Review” scheduled on KDYL-TV to display how riotous this crew can get. The female singer who captivated audiences in her recent television debut, Dinah Shore, now had her own TV show in which she will be shown in more informal settings unlike most singing stars. There was Arthur Godfrey noted for his earnestness and robustness having fun with his audiences and sponsors. Even though he constantly drubbed his sponsors, he was the No. 1 salesman on TV with sponsors lining up to sign him up for them.xv Between this article and a glance at the Saturday and Sunday TV schedule cited earlier, would provide a good guide of what to look for on television. On weekdays there was heavy coverage with Arthur Godfrey and Dinah Shore plus Art Linkletter, Kate Smith, Gary Moore, Jackie Gleason, Walter Winchell, and Fred Warning, along with Howdy Doody, Mr. Peepers, Sky King, Red Ryder and a host of others whose fame would be heightened by TV. There would be shows for children, test patterns, comedies, dramas, adventures, religion, films, westerns, sports, news, suspense, nonsense, Twenty Questions, Victory at Sea, What’s My Line and an almost unbelievable variety of shows brought into the homes via the television set.xvi
During the first weeks there were notices of changes in the shows available on TV by both channels, but otherwise the telecasting was routine until Friday the 5th of December when high winds reached a velocity of up to 100 miles per hour struck the Oquirrh Mountain peaks. One of the supporting guy wires on the 370-foot trans-mitting tower of KSL-TV gave way from the constant heavy winds and shortly the tower fell and was witnessed by station workers located in the nearby building. After only three weeks of telecasting, KSL-TV was off the air for about twelve minutes until the station switched back to its old transmitter in downtown Salt Lake City. The high wind did not disrupt KDYL-TV transmitter only three miles from the toppled tower. The Logan newspaper reported the news as a UP news dispatch from Salt Lake City, which suggested the station’s engineering staff must have experienced red faces and the pulling of hair in trying to figure out why the tower fell and what could be done next. The newspaper article stated: “This means that Cache Valley will lose a part of its new-found TV bliss for an inde-finite period.” The station switched back to its downtown transmitter a few minutes after the mountain-top accident which gave it the same coverage it had before completion of the Oquirrh tower. This meant that KSL-TV coverage had been reduced to serving the Salt Lake valley with spotted service to Ogden and Provo. Within a few days officials from KSL-TV predicted they would be back to transmitting from their mountain top location, provided the weather permitted work to be performed. By January 10, 1953, the company had setup a temporary one-bay facility at the 9425-foot peak (called Coon Peak and later renamed Farnsworth). This was followed by the installation of a new RCA 3-bay antenna on top of a 65-foot mast—some 305 feet below the original tower that blew down. The company called the latest installation “semi-permanent,” and issued statements that the first tests were extremely satisfactory even to the point that some viewers had reported their pictures were “equal or better than those which emanated from the first tower.”xvii
The loss of one-half of its “new-found TV bliss” was apparently not too tragic for it created no sensations of sufficient note to be recorded, or The Herald Journal was continuing with next to nothing coverage concerning television. Perhaps a key factor was that the number of working TVs in the homes was so small and those few were happy to get even one station. Within a week of the tower’s fall the Modern Appliance ad in the Logan newspaper was reduce by one-third with only the KDYL-TV schedule printed during the time when KSL-TV’s signal wasn’t sufficient to reach Cache Valley. On the day after Christmas of 1952, the Logan newspaper in an editorial wrote: “According to the well-laid plans of science, your television pictures will be larger. The images will be better defined and will come in color and three dimensions.” All of these projections would come eventually but at this time was of little worth or solace. In addition the “indefinite period” of KSL-TV outage proved short for by January 23, 1953, the station “restored television signals to most of the area served by the 370-foot tower.” KSL-TV was pleased with reports from viewers indicating the pictures received were equal or better that from the high tower. Any outside verification of this claim becomes complicated by the fact that the 370-foot tower transmissions only operated from November 15 to December 5, 1952, and a scarcity of known quality of pictures received assess-ments by viewers during this period. What little has been found will be covered shortly.xviii
Due to the dearth of information regarding how Cache residents reacted initially to the coming of television other sources have to be sought out. Among the other choices would be diaries and journals kept at the time and later remembrances (oral or written) from that period. Fortunately in the first category there are two known diaries which qualify as acceptable sources. In northern Utah there were two women—Virginia Hanson from 1933 to 1978 and Mary Lucretta Shumway Thompson from 1933 to 1972—who kept daily diaries over many years which provide some insight, not only into their activities but included their exposure and interest in television. These two handwritten records have been preserved and are available as holographs or in digital format on the Internet. Miss Hanson’s records were kept in a series of five-year diaries, which were formatted with a page devoted to each day of the year, the day date was printed and then the page sub-divided into five segments in which the diarist added the last two digits of the year date to a printed 19__ to identify the year. Mrs. Thompson’s diaries had a full page for each day’s record, allowing much more space for her entries. A brief sketch of their lives may add some perspective to what they wrote in regard to television.
Miss Hanson, who never married, was born in Logan in 1907 and her family moved to Cornish in 1914 and established a farm called “Dreary Acres.” This became her home for the rest of her life. She attended elementary school at Cornish and then the Brigham Young College at Logan, and later graduated from Utah State University. She taught school at Cornish, Lewiston, and then a school in Carbon County and another in Wasatch County. She changed occupation where she became better known as a librarian. She became an assistant librarian at the Cache County public library in 1941. She rose to be head librarian in 1944, a position she held for thirty years. In addition, she was a member of the Utah Library Association, a charter member of the Lewiston Literary League, a sponsor of the Foreign Students Association at Utah State University, and served on the board of directors of the Sunshine Terrace Foundation. She was active in the Mormon faith and wrote and directed plays for her ward, assisted with special youth dances and activities. She was an insatiable reader, frequently attended plays, lectures, concerts, meetings and traveled extensively. She regularly went to the movies and duly recorded this activity in her records. Her wide interests ranged from boating to being the scorekeeper for the local baseball team. At the time of the TV entries she was in her mid-forties, living at home with her mother and at least one sister. Mary Lucetta Shumway Thompson was born in 1883 at Clarkston where she was reared and educated. In 1902 she married James (Jim) Thompson and they lived in Garland in Box Elder County, a short distance west of Cache Valley and in the same TV viewing zone as Cache Valley. The Thompsons raised eight children with their girls living close by. They were active in the Mormon faith with Mrs. Thompson involved with the Relief Society in visiting teaching and singing. During the period when TV came, Mr. Thompson’s health was not good and he was under a doctor’s care and received frequent shots by one of his daughters, a nurse. The diarist’s records show the close interaction of the family along with her cooking, keeping house and knitting (netting) and sewing. Her handwritten diaries incorporate some forty volumes plus she frequently mentioned writing letters and walking to the post office. At the time of her TV entries she was about 70.xix
The commencement of television reception in Cache Valley came on November 15, 1952, by KSL-TV followed a week later by KDYL-TV, the only channels available until September of 1954. Virginia Hanson’s first mention of television came nine days after it was available in Cache Valley, and it came on November 24, 1952; when after supper she went to the place of a friend or relative to “see television.” She repeated this experience on Nov. 30, Dec. 10, 11 and 31st, never mentioning the shows she watched or the quality of the screen’s picture, and only referred to the last show as “to see New Year on television,” and never any mention of enjoying or disliking the programs. On New Year’s Day of 1953, she again went to someone’s place for a “Turkey dinner and games,” the latter most likely the televised football bowl games. A week later on January 8th she recorded in her dairy, “I watched Groucho Marx at Ollie.” This first program mentioned by a name was a game show called “You Bet Your Life” on NBC via channel 4 KDYL-TV in Cache. Two days later on January 10th she went home from work or other activity and found a television set—“We are trying a 21” RCA set”—after seeing TV seven times and only eight weeks after television had reached Cache Valley. She had probably seen TV previous in her many trips to Salt Lake City, but now the family home at Dreary Acres had TV and was possessed by Virginia, her mother and her sister Mae. Thereafter, they played hostesses to others in watching various programs on their television. On January 11th another family came to see the Hanson’s TV, and the following day there was an entry not fully understood “Jay Van Orden took a 17" television set out home.” Perhaps this meant they were trying out another set as she didn’t supply any details. For Jan. 20th her diary stated her sister Mae took her school class home to watch TV, probably to view the inauguration of President Eisenhower, while Virginia saw some of the inauguration at the beauty shop while getting a permanent. On Jan. 25th her brother Byron’s family visited and stayed until nine in the evening watching television while another relative or friend had brought her son to see TV as well. In February she mentioned watching TV five times; on the 1st she stayed home from work and “Watched television.” on the 4th she and another lady saw part of a dance revue on television; on the 6th she went to a place where she had viewed TV prior to getting their own set, where she saw wrestling; on the 13th she saw Rex Layne boxing an opponent; on the 14th she and her sister went home and watched TV.xx
Miss Hanson, in her abbreviated diary entries, usually noted items which interested her but didn’t have the space to add many details. For example, she noted the boxing match of Rex Layne, a native of Lewiston and a contender for the heavyweight title, and on the TV occasion he boxed Roland LaStarz at Madison Square Garden in New York City and lost in ten rounds by a split decision. She probably knew Rex or at least his family in the area and, like many in the area, followed the career of Rex Layne. Virginia developed an interest in perhaps her favorite television show which she saw first on January 8, 1953, before they had their own TV, and this was Groucho Marx playing the host of a game show. She noted that on March 5, 1953, that she “Saw Groucho Marx instead of the USAC opera.” A week later on March 12 she saw the program and on April 9th she added “I got back in time to see Groucho.” Perhaps she had seen him in the movies and heard his radio shows. By 1953 Groucho had moved his “You Bet Your Life” show to television from radio, and he held sway each Thursday evening on NBC where he held his court or show from 1950 to 1961. Although styled a game show, the real act had the cigar-smoking host grilling the contestants in banter that made the game itself of little consequence. His show gained a faithful audience, and apparent the lady librarian was a fan of the show. She continued to mention seeing TV sometimes when she stayed in Logan visiting a relative or friend such as on March 30th, then on May 12, 1953, she and her brother were at their mother’s bedside when she died. Thereafter, Miss Hanson’s viewing of television either changed or her recording of such items. Possibly the earlier watching was closely associated with her mother as they lived in the same house, or maybe it was no longer new, important or interesting, or her other activities and interests were more significant in the restricted space of her diary entries. She did note two acquaintances came by on July 5th to “watch television” and she saw the Salt Lake City Pioneer Day parade on TV on July 24, 1953; and following a Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 26, 1953, the ladies visited while the men watched the BYU-University of Utah football game. Then on January 1, 1954, she watched the Rose Bowl parade and then the game. Thereafter she mentioned TV very limited, and when a third channel became available she didn’t mention it.xxi
Mrs. Thompson’s dairy provided a full page for each day; therefore, she had more space for details and covered more of the family’s activities each day. In the fall of 1952 as she began making her entries concerning television, she was a couple of months into her 69th year. She was living in Garland in Box Elder County just west of the Cache County line, but both areas received television service at the same time. Mrs. Thompson first saw television (she almost always listed it as T.V.) on Sunday, November 23, 1952, when a family member took her down to Beth’s (apparently a granddaughter) “to watch T.V.,” her husband didn’t want to go so he stayed home alone. Two or three days later she recorded for Tuesday, Nov. 25, “Russel came took us down to see T.V. We saw ‘strike it Rich,’ Charles and Bevin fight, Mr. and Mrs. North, and enjoyed it quite well.” Evidently for whatever reason she was off track in her diary, for the television schedule printed in the Herald Journal for Wednesday Nov. 26, 1952, showed the following: at 7 p.m. “Strike It Rich,” 8 p.m. “Blue Ribbon Bouts,” and at 9 p.m. “Mr. and Mrs. North, all on KSL-TV. Furthermore, the Ezra Charles vs. Jimmy Bivins fight took place on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 1952, from Chicago Stadium where Charles won by a unanimous decision in ten rounds. It hasn’t been ascertained if her diary remained off one day or was corrected to show the right day. On December 4th she and whoever took her went down to Beth’s to see TV again where they saw “Margaret Masters make potato salad.” To this point all of the identifiable shows were on CBS via KSL-TV, and this was noteworthy because sometime during the following day the KSL-TV transmitter tower on the mountain top blew over, causing no KSL television signals from reaching Garland and Cache Valley. On December 11th Mary was taken down to Beth’s where “we watched T.V. until almost 10.” The following day she wrote that she and her daughter hurried with the dishes to go to Beth’s to watch TV where they saw the “Kate Smith program for an hour.” This was a NBC show carried by KDYL-TV the only station still telecasting from the mountain top and capable of reaching northern Utah. On December 21 and again on Christmas day several of the family assembled at Beth’s and watched TV. Mrs. Thompson wrote in a new diary this personal reflection for the New Year on Jan. 1, 1953: “I am starting on my 21st diary. Maud gave me the first one. I am glad she did or I guess I never would started one. There has been lots of changes since then.” Whether she realized it or not, she was writing about one of the biggest changes, the coming of television.xxii
Her next TV reference came on January 20, 1953, when she told of getting up a little earlier so they could go
to Beth’s to watch TV for an extended period. They arrived sometime after 9:30 a.m. to view the inaugural of President Dwight D. Eisenhower along with the parade which lasted about three hours. The diarist recorded that they enjoyed it all and that the new president would be a good one. Beth served a good dinner and also a supper. Then those assembled watched one program after another until 10 p.m. with Mrs. Thompson writing that she couldn’t believe her husband would watch all the TV for so long. The following day, Jan. 21st, a member of the family called and invited the diarist and her husband to go to a movie, but they “decided to go to Beth’s and watch T.V.” Again they stayed until 10 p.m. and enjoyed themselves along with several more of their family. In the long term the choice between going to a movie theater or watch TV at home, reveals one of the biggest advantages that TV had over most other forms of entertainment—it was much easier (informal and relaxed) and cheaper. The next day, January 22, Beth called her grandparents and told them there were some good programs on in the afternoon and that her husband would come and pick them up at noon. While there was some indecision as to going, they went and “saw Arthur Godfrey and so many for the first time . . . we stayed until after 10 [p.m.].” Her mentioning of the CBS show with Arthur Godfrey confirms that KSL-TV was back in operation with its replacement transmitter on the mountain top. She cited the name Arthur Godfrey more often than any other program. At the top of the Jan. 24, 1953, diary page Mrs. Thompson wrote, “We got our T.V. set,” They had gotten their own television set after seeing television on other peoples’ sets ten times and just eleven weeks after television was available in northern Utah. However, the elderly Thompsons had not chosen to get television by themselves, but some of their extended family determined that their parents or grandparents should have a TV. The diarist wrote: “We do appreciate our children. We wouldn’t have a set but for them.” A man delivered the TV set and a member of the family installed the antenna.xxiii
For the first viewing debut in the Thompson home another daughter and her children came to watch the TV shows which proved inauspicious. When all was ready the diary revealed what happened: “The thing worked good for a while but went hay wire and we had to turn it right off.” The following day, a Sunday, the man who delivered the TV came and checked out the set and after quite a while said “the thing burned out.” The man went to his store and brought another TV set and connected it. By this time four additional members of the family arrived and “They think the T.V. is fine.” The next day several of the family came to watch TV. On January 27th the fellows from the television shop came and adjusted the TV set, with the results “it goes wonderful now, just as clear as a moving picture.” In 1953 terms this was about as high in praise that a TV picture could receive. Starting on this day the Thompson’s new TV had a constant stream of family and friends who came to watch TV, and the Thompsons were enjoying their new set themselves, watching it on occasions “all afternoon & evening. . . . Arthur Godfrey’s program was extra good.” The diary entries for the next month or so mentioned the TV almost every day. The Thompsons kept some old habits as they continued listening to radio programs, reading by themselves and taking turns reading aloud to each other and other things. On January 31 one of her family took Mrs. Thompson to Brigham City to the bank, wherein she wrote in her diary—to “get money from our savings to pay for the T.V. When the children pay on it we will put it back in the bank,”—leaving the entry open to interpretation on the payment for the TV. Their daughter who worked at the hospital came by every other day to give her father a shot and always stayed a while to watch some TV and other family members came by, incorporating visiting and watching TV together. Sometimes others would drop by seeking a certain show they thought might be on; and there formed a regular core of people who came on Wednesday and Friday nights to watch the boxing and wrestling. The diarist always mentioned the name of others who came to watch the TV and she recorded the times when they experienced TV troubles. On February 8, 1953, their TV acted up with the picture kept “rolling” until it was turned off. The same day the television man came and checks the set out and said he would be back tomorrow. On the 9th the man came and put in a new tube but “it didn’t help only for a few minutes.” On February 13, 1953, at least thirteen guests crowded in to watch Rex Layne box Roland LaStarz at Madison Square Garden. The group at Garland were disappointed in Layne’s losing but stayed around to see the wrestling match that followed. On February 17th “The T.V. acted up we had to turn it off.” The following day four family members came by, according to the diarist, “to watch the fights. I wrote this while they were fighting that’s how I like to watch them.”xxiv
Diarist Thompson faithfully kept her record with her perspective, and a few examples give some insight. On March 10th, in the seventh week of having their TV, she wrote: “We hardly ever turn on the T.V. on until noon.” However, that didn’t hold when the LDS Conferences in April and October were telecast, and watched by those in the Thompson home. On May 15, 1953, she wrote “Steven came to watch T.V,” and later added four ladies and one man from her family “all came to see the fights. It was to be 15 rounds but it lasted only 1 min. 25 seconds. We enjoyed the visit; I much better than if the fight had gone on 15 rounds. Jersey Joe and Marciano.” The second fight between Rocky Marciano vs. Jersey Joe Walcott ended in the first round, which didn’t disappoint Mrs. Thompson who an earlier occasion wrote in her diary while the others watched the boxing. On April 1, 1953, the diary stated: “We expect a crowd here to night to watch Rex Layne fight Charles.” April 2, 1953 – “Last night Aunt Laura, Anes, John, Mame, Henry, Lizzie, Agnes, James, Helen, Steven, Sarah, Whiles, Jane and Harold Godfrey were here to watch the fight when Blanche, Gal, Daven and Mary Beth came, were we surprised. Rex Layne got beat up awful.” She mentioned a few of the programs by name such as Arthur Godfrey, cooking shows, boxing, wrestling, Art Linkletter, “I Love Lucy” and the “Wild West” program [not the Wild Wild West show of the mid-1960s]. Her account focused on her extended family and friends, but also showed the interest in the new media and how it functioned as well as its continuing attraction for a considerable time.xxv
The diaries of Miss Hanson and Mrs. Thompson give a brief glimpse into their families’ first experience with TV and how they reacted or adjusted to the encounter. It provided another choice in entertainment and passing time with little extra effort other than turning the set on and selecting one of the two channels available. Other than the choice of watching or not watching TV, the selection was limited by only two channels but otherwise expansive inasmuch as where else in northern Utah were there so many options. There were some good programs, possibly a few that could be called classics or historic, and others ranged from live events (games, parades, etc.) to shows of lesser quality down to a poor rating with few redeeming qualities. In the early days few descended to the trash heap due to the initial code adopted by the television industry. In 1953 the ten most popular television programs in the United States were as listed by ranking; I Love Lucy (CBS), Dragnet (NBC), Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts (CBS), You Bet Your Life (NBC), The Milton Berle Show (NBC), Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (CBS), Ford Theater (NBC), The Jackie Gleason Show (CBS), Fireside Theater (NBC) and The Colgate Comedy Hour (NBC). Other top contenders in no particular order would be: Gangbusters, The Red Buttons Show, Life with Luigi, The Chevy Show (Bob Hope), Life of Riley, Our Miss Brooks, This is Your Life, Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts, Gillette Cavalcade of Sports NBC.xxvi
But what was happening on the ground inside Cache Valley as television became available in the area? No surveys are known to exist, and a search of the issues of the most prominent newspaper, reveals little more than a few sparse news items from Salt Lake City about the TV stations and a flood of advertisements trying to sell TVs. There has been found absolutely no indication on the number of TVs that were purchased by the citizens of the valley or what these owners liked to see on the screens and what they thought about their TVs (one longs for something more, some bit, echo or hint of what was taking place) but alas no such luck. Other than these two diaries and some slight hints from the Cache County Annual Report of Agricultural and Home Extension Services for 1953, we can only guess the response of the Cache Valley residents to the availability of television; therefore, it will be difficult to gain a good perspective of the effect of television coming to Cache Valley. Cache residents were on the wake of something big and life changing, on par at least with the coming of electricity and the automobile, and no other household technology would spread so fast. The phenomenon (marvel, wonder or happening) had been germinated as a tiny experimental seed before World War II and found roots after the war and by 1950 some 9% of American homes possessed television sets, numbering around 3,880,000 and within a decade those numbers leaped to over 87% of U.S. homes having TVs to a number in excess of 45 million sets. When the Cache area was brought into the accessible TV range at the close of 1952 and early 1953, slightly over one-third of the U.S. house-holds (numbering over 15 million) had TVs in their homes. The Radio-Electronics-Television Manufacturer Association report of the shipment of TVs to dealers by states between 1950 and 1953 showed that in Utah a large increase of sets sent to dealers from 1951 when 22,673 were shipped to 1952 when the total was 38,554; the higher rate continued through the first ten months of 1953.xxvii
Focusing on Cache Valley, the 1950 census set the population of Cache County at 33,536 with 16,832 in Logan and approximated 9,000 in the Idaho portion of Cache Valley. Agriculture was the dominating factor in their economy with farming and dairying along with associated interests being essential elements. In 1953 the statistics reveal that the average cost of an automobile was $1,850 and an average home cost $17,500 with bread at 16 cents a loaf, milk at 96 cents a gallon, gasoline at 27 cents per gallon and a postage stamp at three cents. The average salary was $4,700 and the minimum wage set at 75 cents per hour. A new expense for a television set with outside antenna was a significant purchase for many Cache Valley families that could range from $200 to several hundred dollars. The residents were quite conservative in regard to expenditures with many finding it hard to pay for the necessities of life with few luxuries or frills. For the most part they probably were the show-me types not easily swayed by the advertisement hype and inclined to evaluate if the item was necessary, worth the cost or too expensive. In addition there was the feature that a TV set was different from a toaster, drill, milking machine or other appliance or implement, inasmuch as it would be delivering programs to the home in which there could be a wide variance of likes, dislikes, acceptance or aversion. It was important that the set deliver a good picture with little or no interference, but perhaps more essential was what it was capable of showing at other times. An early sentiment was that the buyers of TVs would normally be the well-to-do affluent persons, but personal appeal and easy payment plans made this amenable. Most likely there were a few who wanted to be in the advance with new inventions, whether they could afford them or not, showing that they were progressive and fascinated with both the new devise and what it could do besides being a status symbol. On the other end, perhaps few wanted to be viewed as so old fashioned and narrow-minded as to be styled as being behind the times, out of date or being an impairment to the progression of their family. Thus, perhaps most of the Cache residents, for various reasons, wanted to personally observe the television sets that were prominently available for viewing in the stores. Some to see what television was all about, and others to observe and check out what they might purchase. Because of a lack of reliable sources, we can only speculate in general term that there was in late 1952 and early 1953 somewhat a rush to see the new television, but a noticeably smaller movement in the purchasing of the new home screen TV set.
The developing wave of the future couldn't be held back for long. The number of homes having a television set increased with a friend, neighbor or relative having one, and the sets also began showing up in other establishments such as dentists’ and doctors’ offices, beauty parlors, business offices, dry cleaners, bars, gas stations, hospital wait-ing rooms and even the railroad’s Beanery at Cache Junction. Every day conversations began to incorporate more and more about the TV devise and its programs (both what had been shown and what was coming) in the schools, grocery stores, church or wherever people gathered. By the mid-1950s, according to Leo Bogart a noted American sociologist, media and marketing expert and perhaps the first authority on TV history, “Television had established its place as the most important single form of entertainment and of passing the time.”xxviii Without added comment it might be well to note the dual functions of television—“entertainment” and the “passing of the time.”
Rather than attempt to describe or picture the various scenarios that may have taken place in the Cache area as televisions were checked out, purchased, installed and used in those early days of television, let us consider instead two events that took place during this time and see what can be learned. On January 20, 1953, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was inaugurated as President of the United States. The 1949 inauguration of President Harry S, Truman had been televised to the eastern coast portion of the U.S. By 1953 the TV networks had the connections and capability to televise from coast-to-coast, so the 1953 inauguration was to a wider audience and may have carried additional significance since the Republican victory in the fall brought them into power for the first time in twenty years. As cited earlier, the diarist Miss Hanson recorded for this date that her sister (a school teacher) took her class to the Hanson’s home to view the inauguration while she saw some of it at the beauty shop while getting a permanent. In Mrs. Thompson’s diary, she wrote that the event was a full day event, she and her husband got up early and went to a granddaughter’s to see the inaugural including the three hour parade and had dinner and supper plus watched two television programs to conclude a day of television that covered from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. with the diarist being amazed that her ailing husband could watch TV that long. Another notable important occasion (or series of events) dealt with the upcoming coronation of Queen Elizabeth II as monarch over what remained of the British Empire (United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, and Pakistan). This was more difficult to pinpoint by date shown on television. The one-day coronation ceremony took place on June 2, 1953, some sixteen months after the young Elizabeth was proclaimed queen after the death of her father. English tradition had it that such a ceremony was inappropriate during the bereavement of the death of the preceding sovereign. It was delayed for over a year, in which elaborate plans and preparations took place, including the idea to televise much of festival and the actual coronation. Prime Minister Winston Churchill strongly opposed televising the event but the young Queen insisted and won the day. Plans for everything from Queen Elizabeth’s dress and coronation robes, carriage, outfits and dry runs—including two full rehearsals at Westminster Abbey on May 22 and 29—were carried out and covered by TV. Long before the actual ceremony, the world was awash in the withal, even in Utah some of the newspapers joined in and one even announced in the fall of 1952 that: “TV films of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth will be distributed here by British producers in an attempt to crack the U.S. Market.” The competition to cover the grand coronation events reached such levels that it preceded the event in its coverage.xxix
Neither the diarist Hanson nor Thompson mentioned Queen Elizabeth’s coronations in their daily records,
Here in the early days of Cache Valley television besides the two occurrences mentioned above there were other notable events that took place such as Jan, 7, 1953, Pres. Truman announce the development of a hydrogen bomb; Mar. 1-4, 1953, the USSR’s dictator Joseph Stalin suffered a severe stroke and died four days later; Mar. 26, 1953, Dr. Jonas Salk announce a vaccine to prevent polio; May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest; and there were a host of lesser events. Of all of these the most significant was probably the January 20, 1953, live coast-to-coast inaugural ceremonies for the President-elect that included a parade, swearing in and inaugural address of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Of the listed event it was the one most compatible and conducive from an educational and civic view point to be seen by high school students, and the faculty and staff at North Cache High School at Richmond, Utah, believed it was a special program—extraordinary historic occasion—on the TV that the students should have the opportunity to see. Thus, on January 20th all the students in the three year high school were called to the auditorium where upon the stage was of a console television set, and where the students watched a portion of the inaugural ceremonies. Grant it was a small screen for that sized audience, but it was their first chance to see such a historic occasion on live television. In addition to some in the audience it may have been their first viewing of television set. The author of this article maintains he was in this gathering during his junior year and the image of the TV on the stage is still imprinted in his mind’s eye. I remain unwavering on the TV set on the high school stage and slightly less firm or sure as to the program viewed. Subsequently, I checked with other former classmates with two remembering the TV on the high school stage with one not sure of the program watched and the other adamant that it included the inaugural address by President Eisenhower whereby he has a mental imprint of the President speaking. This will be covered later.
Perhaps, the most intriguing features of television were its impression and influence upon its viewers, especially in the early years. An interesting personal experience was recalled by Andrew Paul Mele, a noted newspaper columnist and author in a special essay written for his paper the Staten Island Advance in an article entitled: “Television's early years: Idiot box or marvel of the ages? Either way, It changed entertainment forever.” While the early experience took place near New York City four years before TV reached Cache Valley, its spirit and message might help set the stage or pattern for the remainder of this article. Mele’s article was first published in his paper on February 2, 2014, and now available on the Internet for those so interested. The essay comprises a combination reminisces and historical piece covering his first memory of television and a brief summary of what came thereafter:
Staten Island--Folks who were born before the television set was a ubiquitous presence
in the home can probably recall the first time a set was wheeled into the living room.
For me, it was 1948 and as the plug of the six-inch screen Dumont set was jammed into
the electrical outlet, the wonders flashed the most popular show of the time on the screen:
“The Texaco Star Theater.”
Milton Berle, or Uncle Miltie as he was known, was a visual comic who brought vaude-
ville to the new audiences, wore women’s clothes on stage, was slapped in the face with a
huge powder puff, and emceed the pioneering program of the new media.
It was Tuesday night at eight on NBC and as the Texaco servicemen were warming up
the living room crowd with the opening ditty, we scurried about for some popcorn and a
cold drink and settled into our favorite viewing spot.
Usually it was the kids on the floor and mom and dad on the sofa.xxx
Mr. Mele continued his story stating that Uncle Miltie reigned supreme for a few years until “displaced in the ratings by a dizzy redhead named Lucy.” The “I Love Lucy” show starring Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, quickly took the lead and ultimately drew 50 million viewers resulting in a contract the following year for $8 million “the biggest ever in TV.” Television was to race on with ever increasing fans and a host of critics. Among the latter were: Darryl F. Zanuck, the movie tycoon, after noting the drop in movie attendance, predicted that the flash-in-the-pan newcomer would be unable to hold the market it had just won “After the first six months.” The chairman of the FCC, Newton Minow, called the world of television a “vast wasteland.” Even the 1950s top TV communicator Edward R. Murrow called TV the “opiate of the people,” possibly because by 1959 it was found that Americans averaged “spending six hours each day in front of the TV set.” Others called television the “boob tube,” “the idiot box,” and the “light that failed.” Whatever, the number of TV sets in used grew fast and “television came to dominate the communication industry beyond anyone's expectations.” It seemed to have something for about everyone for a time comedy was king, but the TV fare had high esteem for westerns, as well as for sports, sit-coms, dramas, education, history, science and news. The latter covered from the live shot killing of the assassin of President Kennedy, war footage and men walking on the moon. Mr. Mele concluded his remarks with—“Idiot box or miracle of the ages? It is after all, in the mind of the beholder, is it not?”xxxi
An Internet search for other personal observations and recollections produced the following details. Evidently
in such personal reflections it was easier to recall the show names or performers rather than the circumstances under considerations. Next the age of the viewer at the time of their observations of their earliest memories will be evident and to illustrate this point a few quotation from the Internet wherein these individuals reflected on their early memories of TV: “First shows recalled. . . . Cartoons, Sesame Street, Batman, Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, The Banana Splits/ Lost in Space.” A second person agreed with the first selections but also “insisted it had to be Lassie in living black and white; and Mister Ed along with ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ and the ‘College Bowl.’” Another said, “Two other big TV memories for me—all of the wonderful Hanna-Barbera TV shows—H. R. Pufnstuff, Lidsville, the Bugaloos (my very favorite), Electrawoman and Dynagirl, and on and on.” “My childhood TV watching will always be remembered by the live action Nickelodeon shows. Alex Mack, Hey Dude, Salute Your Shorts, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Pete and Pete, etc.” “For on older viewer it was the westerns especially when Dennis Weaver was on Gunsmoke and then Leave It To Beaver, Hazel and The Lucy Show.” “We got a b/w blond cabinet Zenith TV, I was about 6, I think. I remember being fascinated by the pictures in that little box. We watched Sky King, Mickey Mouse Club w/Annette Funicello, Rin Tin Tin, F-Troop, Tales of Wells Fargo, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing Happy Trails to you, until we meet again, Hopalong Cassidy, Black Beauty, Its Howdy Doody Time, oh so many of the good old shows.” Another wrote, “Life in black and white and no clicker. . . sweet,” and added to the above list of shows, Gunsmoke, Topper, My Little Margie and Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.” “Best memory would be Saturday morning . . . so we could watch all our favorite cartoons. Our parents would still be sleeping and we’d rush to the kitchen to make some cereal. . . . Rush to the television . . . sitting really close to the TV so it wouldn’t be too loud to wake our parents.” Some of their extra remarks or critiques were interesting enough to be repeated, i.e., “living black and white,” “fascinated by the pictures in that little box” and “Life in black and white and no clicker. . . sweet.”xxxii
To start the Cache Valley recollections, and for whatever it is worth, the author will relate his remembrances of his first viewing of television which occurred in the early months of 1953. I lived with my parents in Newton, Utah, and I was a junior in high school, had a driver’s license and access to a car. My introduction to a TV set came in two parts—viewing a special program at North Cache High School auditorium on January 20, 1953, as earlier noted, and I and a friend saw the TV at the Beanery at Cache Junction while having something to eat—and followed by an opportunity to see television in a much closer situation for longer periods of watching television in a home.
My older brother Max and his wife purchased a TV set and invited my parents and me to watch their television close up. I can place his latter event generally by other events in my life; it had to come after the state basketball tournament at Salt Lake City which ended on March 14, 1953, and before the end of school that year on May 29, 1953. My sister-in-law, Donna, confirms the time period was early in 1953, as she recalled the occasion in 2014, and affirmed that they bought their television shortly after neighbor Sid Hansen obtained his TV. Max and Donna purchased a TV set, installed an outside antenna on the roof of their home, and opened the door to the world of television to their family, for my parents, myself and others. I can recall several times we went over to see TV and in my mind it seems that my brother tried more than one brand of television but settled on a RCA Victor set with a screen width of about 21 inches. In between their first and last TV, they tried a Sylvania “HaloLight” set which had a fluorescent light that surrounded the picture tube. Supposedly this state-of-the-art feature was to aid the viewer and prevent damaging a person’s vision from watching too much TV, but to this teenager it was more a distraction than a help.
We watched whatever was on the two available channels, and because it was all so new to us, it was taken in with little assessment as to quality or even to how we liked it and it wasn’t until the novelty of TV wore off before likes, dislikes choices became more a factor in our viewing selections. The TV set in operation was like a magnet that drew our attention to it with a reluctance to leave it because of what may come next. Seeing TV in actuality was very different than the brief glimpses seen of it in movies or described in magazine articles or newspapers. Besides its newness or freshness, an innovation that was different, surprising and opening new vistas, it was in many ways able to entertain, inform, educate and expose us to other peoples and cultures. It could act as a catalyst and motivate us to learn more, break down barriers and stereotypes and possible tap into our better selves. All this in an interesting and fascinating manner was now available via this small screen picture in black and white with a host of commercials all in a private home, not a crowded theater. The structure of the programming closely paralleled some of the radio shows I had listened to with commercials interspersed within the program. The new media introduced much that was new or unfamiliar to me in the way it was presented both subject wise and performers. My memory doesn’t include much real assessment of the quality of the picture such as troublesome interference of “snow,” flickering or moving that necessitated adjusting the set. At my brother’s home my earliest viewing was limited from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and only lasted a few weeks, so I saw some of the weekly shows during prime time. After my family obtained their own TV set, the available viewing time expanded to include from morning shows to sign-off at night, and then I became acquainted with the “test pattern.” Every three or four weeks there was Jack Benny, my favorite radio skinflint who could play a violin and ride in his old Maxwell car, but now those silent pauses and sighs on radio were graphically shown on TV by the expressions on the comedian’s face and his gestures. The earliest shows I remember best were I Love Lucy, Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, Milton Berle and Jackie Gleason and the Honeymooners. The last three programs (Sid & Imogene, Milton and Gleason) were among my least favorite shows to watch, perhaps because Uncle Miltie or the others had to be in everything and were too mouthy. Two of my favorites at the time were Death Valley Days and the broadcasting of sporting events, particularly football, basketball and baseball games, and to a lesser extent boxing matches. Wrestling on TV, in my mind, was the worst of the worst, way below the Honeymooners, Sid, Imogene and Uncle Miltie. In the early mid-1950s the IGA (Independent Grocers Association) sponsored a weekly program on one of the Utah channels (it seems to me it was on Thursday evening on channel 5) each week. In the commercials during this program some of the independent grocery stores were spotlighted as part of the IGA sponsoring group. I recall watching this program when the commercial showed a picture of the store in Newton with some remarks by the announcer of the show (Tom Wayman). Somehow we knew of this in advance so we could and did see this program, and we liked it due to the local connection.
The exposure at my brother’s TV set created an interest and admirers for the new media, and primarily due to my mother, our family soon joined the ranks of those with the big ugly metal thing that stuck up way above the roof line of our house with a receiving set in the living room. I can recall when a third channel became available sometime in 1954, and, I guess, we thought we were really progressing now with channels 2, 4 and 5. The channel selector knob or dial on our TV had VHF channels from 2 through 13 with no remote control, and to change the channel the person had to go to the TV set. I don’t remember if I wondered if the other eight channels would be used, but if I did, it would have placed that time far into the future and then nothing like the number of channels available in 2014. The one specific show on Channel 2 that I recall was “Two on the Aisle” for their late movie, which I either checked out or viewed. The checking out came via the published booklet of the scheduled shows TV Guide which my mother subscribed to and used. In particular I recollect that boxing was in its prime following the long reign of Joe Louis as heavyweight champ. Boxing seemed a perfect match for television and found its place on TV on Wednesday (CBS) and Friday nights (Gillette Cavalcade of Sports on NBC) for the fights. Then there was the money factor as the promoters of the fights sought for greater monetary grains. In 1952 in an important boxing match for the next shot at the heavyweight championship, there was a contest in New York wherein all radio, television and even short-wave radio were banned under the hope of collecting more dollars by way of gate receipts. Then the next step was to theater television, where for example a person in Cache Valley had to go to the Capitol Theater (now the Ellen Eccles Theatre) in Logan and pay a high ticket price to watch the fight piped in via a television hookup. I can still remember some of us protesting this was not fair but a foul move when some of the top-rated boxing matches were not shown on regular TV but only in a theater. Just one time did I journey to the theater and pay the high price to watch boxing. Another big TV sport event was the World Series as both professional football and basketball had not gained their popularity by this time, and it was the college games that were shown on TV.
My family’s encounter with TV closely mirrored the experiences of the diarists Hanson and Thompson cited earlier, only our family didn’t make the move from watching TV in another home to having a set in our place as quickly as the two cited diarists. Due to the antenna connection, our TV was positioned in the southeast corner of the living room of my parents’ home where it and its replacements would be located for the next two decades and a half. My mother watched a lot of television, while my father could sleep with little interruption in front of the TV, and I caught a small portion due to other activities. I know they watched the local and national news, the Mormon conferences in April and October, and their other favorites— I Love Lucy, You Bet Your Life, Our Miss Brooks, Bonanza, The Ed Sullivan Show, Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Lawrence Welk Show, Liberace Show, coverage of the Motion Pictures Academy Awards show and many others. From 1954 through 1960 my TV viewing was limited and spotty, more in the form of passing time. After my wife and I were married in 1960 and moved into an apartment in Logan, one of the must have items was a TV set, which we purchased and connected to the rooftop antenna that was already installed.
Now to some other personal experiences by Cache residents, hoping to broaden to some degree the story of the coming of television into Cache Valley. In the process I need to explain that the above remembrances of the author will be lengthier than those that follow, primarily because I had much longer to think and reflect about them than those who responded after just a short time to ponder the query. In addition, the writer realizes some of the hazards of using personal remembrances as a source in historical research due to the dimming of recall after long periods that include memory leaps, distorted reminiscences and even the possibility of some subjective self-representation or miss-representation by the witnesses. To obtain these brief recollections of early TV, I contacted a number of friends or people I knew who grew up during this period and requested a written remembrances of their experiences via a series of items or themes such as—details of their first time seeing TV, when their family got a set, the quality of the early pictures or problems, shows seen, liked or disliked, the TV situation in their neighborhood or commu-
nity. When my initial requests did not bring forth a greater result, I wrote to a friend, Ilda Benson Berge, who had already returned her response, and was very active on local history and offered any assistance. She and I were from the same home town of Newton, and I asked if she would contact some of the residents she had interaction with and inquire in like manner for their personal memories of early TV. As a result she collected two accounts from Cache Junction and five from Newton, which she put into her words and sent them to me. In the meantime, I sent out another batch of inquires targeting some special friends and some old school classmates whose age and location were similar to mine. I was again disappointed that more did not answer to my requests. Yet, I was more than pleased by those who did respond, and elated by the quality of a few of them. As I discussed this lack of replies with my wife, she interjected the thought that her early memories of TV were so trifling —she could only at the spur of the moment recall seeing the test pattern used before regular programming started and the image of Howdy Doody on the TV screen—that it was hardly worth mentioning. Maybe this was more a factor than I imagined in my request for memories from over sixty years earlier. Whatever, here are the results from my inquiries, and realizing that this belated sample was very small with no pretense of ingenuity or a scientific survey but believing the gathered information was informative, interesting, and well worth preserving. The collected information will be cited by community.
LOGAN. Several of those queried declared that the TV reception in their hometown was not as good as in Logan. A partial explanation for this could be that the comparable TVs in Logan were in many cases the stores that sold the sets where it was good business to have the attached antennas higher, along with having the displayed TV set correctly adjusted.
TRENTON. My contact was a cousin Norvel Humphrey, and he replied with an e-mail stating:
“My first experience with a t.v. was seeing them in stores. Whenever our family went to Logan I just loved to go into the stores that sold t.v.’s and just watch. Our first t.v. was bought in about 1957 or 58. We were one of the first to have t.v. in Trenton. We would have several of the kids my age come to the house just to watch t.v. My favorite shows that I can remember was Maverick, Inner Sanctum, Red Skelton, Ed Sullivan, Lone Ranger, The Shadow knows, and there were several others that I can’t remember right now. I hope this give you the right information.”
As a side note--The Inner Sanctum had started earlier as a radio program with the familiar and famed audio
trademark of the eerie creaking door which opened and closed the broadcasts, in 1954 started the television
version. Also from radio came The Shadow with that American idiom “Who knows what evil lurks in the
hearts of men? The Shadow knows!”
COVE. My friend, Jed Allen, responded by repeating the questions I asked followed by his reply:
Do you recall when and where you saw television for the first time, and what in particular did you think
about it? -- Jed: “I was in the 6th grade which would have been April or May of 1949. My Father was buying dairy cows and shipping them to California and he and mother took me and my brother Ace to
California to sell the cattle car full of dairy cows. We were invited into one of the dairy man’s house and he had a TV console. The television screen was about an 8 in[ch] circle. The first time I saw television in
Cove was when our neighbors installed a TV console with more of a rectangular shape with about a 18
inch diagonal length. I was a sophomore. The high school boys in our neighborhood would meet at the neighbor’s house every Friday evening to watch Wrestling Matches.”
When did your family get their first TV and describe how much it was watched in the first week, month
or so? -- Jed: “I believe that our family obtained our first TV after I graduated from N.C.[North Cache]
We enjoyed watching the Television. I recall of using every free period at USU [Utah State University]
to complete my school assignments so that I could be prepared to watching TV.”
Did you experience much trouble adjusting the set or the rooftop antenna to get a better picture on your set?
--Jed: “Our first TV set was very snowy. It seemed that we were told it was because of our location. The antenna was placed on the very tall frame place on the top of the house. The reception was still quite snowy.”
4. What show/ program did you like the best, and those you disliked the most?
-- Jed: “Can’t remember what programs were available. But we (wife and I) [later] like Lassie,
Wrestling Matches, Have Gun Will Travel, Donna Reed Show, Red Skelton, Wagon Train, Sea Hunt,
Lawrence Welk, Ozzie & Harriet.?
How close together in time did your neighbors and friends have TVs in Cove?
--Jed: “This is a guess on my part, but I think the first TV showed up in late 1952 and by late ’53 there
would be no more than 12 TVs. In ’54 about 12 sets were installed. This is probably the same rate for the
next 2 years.”
CLARKSTON:
I - In a telephone interview with my friend, Calvin Buttars, he related he first viewed a television screen during a trip to Ogden where he and his parents saw a working set in the window of the Z.C.M.I. store. Later in Clarkston, a close friend Nile would invite him to come to their home to watch TV. He believed this family was possibly the first in their town to have a TV set, surely at least one of the first. He recalled that the picture on the screen was snowy and “often very snowy,” and in his opinion the reception in Clarkston was not as good as that received in Logan. He did not take advantage of offers to watch TV very often as it didn’t really appeal to him. He recalled an instance while at North Cache High School that a TV set was placed on the auditorium stage and the students assembled to view a TV program. He remembered the television set on the stage but couldn’t pinpoint the program viewed. His parents did not buy a TV and it wasn’t until his older brother returned from the armed service (including service in Korea) and bought a TV that they had one in their home, which he supposed was in 1956 or 1957. He still didn’t watch much TV being away from home or not really interested in the programs. Nonetheless, he does recall a few times when at home one of the family members was up on the roof adjusting the antenna, hoping to improve the picture while another family member would lean out the door telling the one on the roof which adjustment made the picture better or worse. He didn’t watch much TV, until 1961-62, and after he married, he and his wife were living in Salt Lake City and purchased a 17-inch black and white set. Then he watched “some” TV in the mid-1960s.
II - Another friend, Darrell Loosle, lived in Clarkston and attended North Cache High School during the time when TV came to the area. He wrote of his remembrances as follows:
“Television came to Clarkston, as I remember, in about 1952, the date you listed was November 15, 1952. We would have been sophomores or juniors in high school. My folks bought a television set as soon as reception was available in Clarkston. I remember being excited about getting television. The set was big and bulky. I would guess the screen to be about 21 to 23 inches. There were two channels available when we first got TV. It was almost a year before Clarkston was able to get the third channel. The reception we got was not good. It was snowy at first, but after additional work the reception did finally. . . [improve]. I watched television for the first time at home. As I remember, probably half of the people in town purchased televisions during the first year.
“Some of the first TV shows I remember are professional boxing, professional wrestling, Hit Parade (the highest selling songs were sung). Soap operas were on during the day. I didn’t watch those, thank heavens. Dragnet was one of the early shows. TV quickly replaced radio. When I was in Elementary School we would come home and sit around the radio and listen to radio shows for an hour in the early evening. Now, to see a picture was exciting. The other thing I remember is at the end of a show there might be 1 or 2 minutes of nothing while we were waiting for the next show. We didn’t know if the reception was on or not, but after a short time the next show would come.
“My wife didn’t have TV in their home. We were married in 1960 and bought a set the second year we were married. There was no reception east of Shelley, Idaho where we lived. We moved to Arco, Idaho, the second year and TV was available. I have rambled as usual, but those are my memories.”
III - Another friend Lyle Barson wrote of his memories as follows:
“I don’t remember my age, but if your information [TV came to Cache Co. Nov. 15, 1952] is correct, I would have been six. There would have been seven of us that could watch TV when we first got it. I don’t remember the month we got our first TV, but I believe it was in the warmer months. According to Dad he got the first TV in Clarkston, it was a 21” Strongberg-Carlson [Stromberg-Carlson] television in a blond cabinet. We were all quite excited to see the TV in action. Dad said we could not get a good signal because the relay tower was not in a direct line of sight. So when the TV was turned on the picture was extremely poor. I studied the TV picture trying to make out some visual information that would help me with the story. After some serious time with my nose, and the rest of the family, close to the TV, it was determined we were watching a cartoon. I remember it as one with the mice that were more like stick mice than later came with Disney mouse cartoons.
“Dad said we had the first TV in Clarkston, but not really the first operational TV with a good picture. That went to my Uncle Rugar, who got his TV at about the same time, but got a better picture. Dad did get an antennae up that worked very well, it was on a thirty foot wood pole with the steel antennae attached to the pole about 60 feet in the air with the pole attached to a shed behind our house. He then ran a TV cable, actually the old twin wire with little insulators between the wires at one inch intervals, from the antennae to our house about 100 feet.
“After the pole antennae was hooked up we got a good black and white picture. My recollection was very few shows were available at the beginning. This may have been because only cartoons were interesting to me at the time. After we got a decent picture, our family would settle in to watch TV in the evenings with me or my brothers acting as the virtual remote control. Dad would [say] let’s see what is on channel 4 and one of us would make the channel change. Some of the early TV shows I remember was: The Ed Sullivan Show, The Hit Parade, Bonanza, Amos n’ Andy Show, The Lone Ranger, The Lawrence Welk Show, The Mickey Mouse Club and many others. They were not necessarily all my favorites, but we still watched whatever was on at the time and enjoyed it. My Mom’s favorite was The Lawrence Welk Show and Dad’s was Gillette’s Friday Night Fights, nobody dared move in front of the TV when a boxing round was in progress.
“TV changed my entertainment some of which I did not like. I had just started listening to radio drama shows in the evening and TV changed that dynamic in our household. It went out the window.”
LEWISTON:
“so sorry to be so long in answering your request about the TV. My dad was one of the first to purchase one. we were all excited about not listening to the radio anymore. I really don't remember much about the programming back then. I know my parents watched the news any chance they had and they pretty much controlled what we watched and how long. I really don't remember having cartoons at that time. Maybe the fun was telling everyone we had a TV. wish I could remember more, but you know how memories get at our age.” -- Valerie Karren
SMITHFIELD – CORNISH: Lloyd and Janel Godfrey Heaps in a joint reply wrote:
“Lloyd remembers the television much better than I do. These are his comments. ‘Our first time seeing television was in a store. Our reaction was “We wanted one.” We couldn’t just buy it, we had to save our money for it. The need for a t.v. spread rapidly. We remember watching Jack Benny, Ed Sullivan, Sgt. Preston, Three Stooges and Keystone Cops.’”
[Janel Godfrey at Cornish] “I think I was a Junior in High School. We were amazed at all of it and enjoyed watching the television through our neighbors windows. We were married in 1955 and had a television soon after.”
NEWTON.
I.- I contacted a former Newtonite Diane Barker Patton, who wrote back her response at follows:
“I was in high school from 1953 to 1956 and sometime during this period my parents bought a TV set. It was such a big event at the time. Bonanza was our favorite show and I clearly remember Mom making roast beef sandwiches and serving them on the old TV trays in front of the television while we gathered as a family and ate in front of it. This was allowed on one night only, but it was a special activity.
“If there was any trouble with the TV, I guess my father fixed it as I don’t remember any problems. My
Grandmother didn’t think too much of the early TV sets. She often stated (and please forgive the expression, but the word is still in common usage in England), “It is just one horse’s arse after another going over the hill!”
“As I remember, getting a TV was an important event and many people wanted one. It certainly didn’t dominate our time. All I can remember watching was Bonanza and Thanksgiving football games with my Dad. It was more of novelty back then and it was more important to study, practice music, work in the store or outside, etc.
It was in our living room and out of the way of our eating and daily activities. We didn’t turn to it except when there was something special on. It was considered an amazing invention.”
II - By way of a telephone interview with former Newtonite, George Benson, who stated his earliest TV experience came about when he was 14-years-of-age when television came to Cache County. He related that the first time he saw TV was at his neighbor and relative Sidney Hansen’s home, and he expressed an opinion that the Hansens were “probably the first to have a television in Newton,” and then backed up a bit to say at least “one of the first.” He recalled that the picture on the screen kept rolling and it required frequent adjustment to correct this. George and others of his family went over to the Hansens several times in the early 1950s. The only shows he remembers by name or performer were Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. He couldn’t recall when his family acquired their TV other than it was sometime later. When his family got their own TV and installed an antenna on the roof of their two storied home, their picture was not good and they couldn’t improve it by adjusting the set or antenna.
During the installation of the TV set the lead-in wire from the roof antenna to the set was very long and the excess remained coiled next to the set with one end attached to the TV. When the family became upset over the poor quality of their picture they had a TV serviceman from Smithfield come and assess the problem. He quickly decided the problem lay in the extra lead-in wire retained in the coil but still connected to the TV. After the excess lead-in wire was cut off and the wire reconnected to the set, the picture was much better. In addition George recalled the TV set at the Beanery in Cache Junction.
III - Another telephone interview was with Kay Benson, who would reach the age of 88 in late fall of 2014, and duly announced that “he was the second oldest man now living in Newton.” When asked when and where he saw television for the first time, Kay stated that as far as he knew the first television sets in Newton were had by Allen Jenkins and Carr Jones. The latter at the time was his father-in-law, and Kay and his wife went to the Jones’ home to see the new TV in operation. The picture was of poor quality on the black and white screen displaying fuzzy pictures and there were only two channels. Each time they changed channels or wanted to improve the reception, they had to go to the TV set and adjust the rabbit ears antenna that sat on top of the TV set. Although there were frequent attempt to adjust the rabbit ears antenna, the improvement was slight and the picture on the screen was never good. The first experience at viewing television for the first time was disheartening and not entertaining in any way. Apparently the Joneses had just purchased their TV set, and either hoped to get a good picture without installing a roof-top antenna or they hadn’t had time to install an outside antenna on their roof. Whatever, the residents of Newton found the small inside rabbit ears antenna was unable to bring in good reception in 1952 or 1953. Shortly after the viewing experienced at his wife’s parent home, Kay and his wife bought a TV to place in the home they purchased from the Johnny Miller family, and with a roof-top antenna were able to see more clearly what was on the TV.
IV – An additional telephone interview with Clayne Benson gave his two earliest occasions of viewing television and they both came close together. Early in 1953 he and his neighbor friend saw a television in action at the Beanery at Cache Junction where the operator Gerald Richardson had installed a TV set in the eating place. It attracted Clayne’s attention and he was amaze that the pictures seen were transmitter through the air from Salt Lake City to this Cache County location. His other encountered came as a student at North Cache High School when the students were called to the auditorium to see a television on the stage where they saw a portion of President Eisenhower’s inaugural. He can still remember the President giving his inaugural address over the television.
V - Ilda Benson Berge wrote as follows:
“This sounds like another good addition to the history of the area. . . . In response to your questions I gladly offer the small and sketchy bit that I can.
The first I saw was in the home of Grant and Eunice Cooley. It was very exciting to see, to at last have
television available to our little community.
My own family bought a TV set when I was away at college 1953-54. I believe it was a Zenith and it
was a pretty good picture, but at times would get ‘snowy.’ Since I was not home much I did not watch
regularly, but that is how I remember it.
As I recall, folk were enthused about it and bought sets as quickly as they could afford them.
During those early years of TV my favorite show was the “Hit Parade” and as they came in, the “I Love Lucy” show, “Gunsmoke” and “The 64 Dollar Question” (is that what it was called?) Later was “The Loretta Young Show” and “Maverick,” “Ed Sullivan,” “Sea Hunt” and “Peter Gunn.”
“A lot of the commercials were for cigarettes.
“Of course we were all proud of Josey Barnes and Tom Wayman (her husband) the IGA grocer. They were
real pioneers of TV in Utah. They did a lot of adlibbing, without regular script or teleprompters. They did not have the benefits of a crew of people preparing them. I recall the weather man was Bob Welti who worked with Josey and Tom. They moved on to Los Angeles and Bob stayed with KSL until retirement.
If I think of anything else I will send more.”
VI - The following personal statements were collected or composed by Ilda B. Berge for the author for whom he expresses a deep appreciation for her extra effort. The first five are for Newton and final two are for Cache Junction. They are in the form that the collector wrote them:
a). Glenna Hansen Petersen: The first time to see TV was in their home. “It was as exciting as getting a telephone had been.” She couldn’t recall any of the neighborhood getting a TV set until after they had theirs. Glenna’s favorite program was “Hit Parade” and the news programs.
b). Max Cooley: Max didn’t recall when and where he first saw black and white TV, but his first view of Colored TV was in Sioux City, IA when he was a missionary and he was way impressed to see the “color” demonstration. He liked the news. His family did not get a set for a long time due to the cost of both the TV and installation, and he wasn’t sure about the neighborhood.
c). Jay Rigby: One of the first in town to have a TV set, Jay said they loved it. It was a common social activity for friends to gather at their home to watch it. Since there were only two channels they had little choice but that didn’t matter. Some of the programs he remembers enjoying were: The Hit Parade, The Ed Sullivan Show, Sid Caesar, Imogene Coco.
d).Myron Benson: Myron first saw TV at the home of Allen Jenkins. He thought it was wonderful even though it was snowy a lot of the time, needing antenna adjustment. He said his family did not get a set until later due to the cost and waiting for improvements. He thought that there were not many in the community to rush out and buy them, that the purchasing moved slowly at first. His favorite programs were two westerns but he does not recall the names of them. There was good moral content in those days.
e). Annette Jenkins Benson: Annette was in grade school when her parents got their first TV set. She thinks it may have been the first one in Newton. She was very excited and it was a fun family time to watch it together. Friends and relatives came to their home to watch with them. She thought the picture was quite good. She recalled a time when her parents were away and she and her two brothers sat eating oranges and watching “The Black Cat” movie and it was fun but scary. Her favorite programs were: Bonanza, Gunsmoke, I Love Lucy, Bennett Cerf’s program, and others she can’t recall. She remembers that they were “decent family shows with no bad language” to endure.
Cache Junction --
a). Joy Cluff Larsen: Joy was ten years old when they got their television set. It was soon after television came out. Her first time to view TV was at the home of Mrs. Mary Hardy in Cache Junction. The kids would go over and ask if they could watch her TV and she was so nice to invite them in and after a while of watching, they would be told “It is time for you to go home now.” So Joy was thrilled when her father bought home a new TV set. She remembers it being snowy a lot. She thinks most of the people in Cache Junction got television early on. Her favorite programs were: Yogi Bear, Ed Sullivan, Howdy Doody, Hit Parade, and American Bandstand. She did not like “Inner Sanctum” nor “The Twilight Zone.”
b). Carol Rasmussen Milligan: The first viewing of television for Carol was when she was visiting a friend in Magna, Utah. It was exciting to her. Her family brought a set as soon as installation was available in Cache Junction. She recalls that the programming was not continuous, but often the screen had test patterns and their family just left the set on. When it was running again they watched. She liked Uncle Remus, The Story Lady, and her father loved the fights. She remembers Josey Barnes, the celebrity from Cache Junction, doing interviews, advertising and talking about beauty and such.
Carol’s Grandma Rasmussen lived in Logan, and Carol said she had a screen cover called a “rainbow” which she would place on her TV and it colored the picture a bit.xxxiii
All of the above Cache Valley recollections came from 2014, thus, these memories go back at least sixty years. What did the reader find interesting and informative in these personal memories, besides the names of shows, and/or performers, antennas (from rabbit ears type to special constructed), TV screen covers, test patterns, reception difficulties, along with the probable age of the viewer (by the type of the shows watched) and the attraction of the TV delivering entertainment, excitement and thrills? Were there any surprises or information not perceived before? In addition, it might be well to state there appears a tendency, especially when recalling from memory experiences from many years ago, to exert a claim that this family or that person had the first television set in town, and it becomes more intricate by the great span of time involved. In exactitude there were not two or several first TVs in Clarkston or Newton, and perhaps it would have been better if the account had stated that a certain TV set was one of the first, or qualified “as far as I know it was the first.” It could have been believed that a certain party was the initial one to have a television, but this was not an established fact at the time or possibly a few obtained TVs within such a short period of time that it would be like splitting hairs to determine the first without verifiable details. Whatever, such claims are very minor and insignificant and should not distract from the more important aspects of shared memories and experiences. Those cited above who shared their memories of early television along with a vast multitude were also in the process of being onlookers to a spectacle that was just beginning to grow fast and burst forth. Perhaps only by way of hindsight can we view this phenomenon when television was striving to become a national mass media, which in turn became a cultural force—for better, worse or in-between—with programs which were “alternately earth shaking, sublime and ridiculous.” This oft repeated quote was been difficult to definitely ascribe to the original source, but it carries the message extremely well with few words.xxxiv In reality after television became such a force neither the world nor the individual’s life would ever be the same again. If those onlookers in the early 1950s didn’t grasp what was happening and would take place in the near future, they were not alone, and the change came with in creditable speed as cited throughout this article. The 2010 United States Census reported the average American home had almost three (2.93) TV sets per household and over 82 % of these homes have more than one TV set.
Television came relatively early to Cache Valley with the two channels, KDYL-TV and KSL-TV. It was both a process and an achievement of some magnitude. It connected the Cache area to the nation more than any other medium. In many ways it can be regarded as a bellwether for our culture and values as it has displayed an amazing ability to create and shape both values and attitudes—as it can sell or change ideas, attitudes and standard just as well as commercial products. Looking back we can see the dramatic impact it has exerted but that is a story for another time. For now just a word of honor and praise in remembrance to the great effort of old KDYL-TV (call letters once very familiar in Utah but now all but forgotten) and KSL-TV for their pioneering efforts to bring TV signals and programs to the area. Channels 4, 5 and 2 were the building blocks for what we have available today.
Perhaps the introduction of Television was a classic case of the medium being the message.
Footnotes:
i Salt Lake Telegraph, July 9, 24, Aug. 14, 1952.
ii The Herald Journal (Logan, Ut.), Nov. 2, 1952.
iii Ibid., Nov. 3 and 4, 1952.
iv Ibid., Nov. 5, 6, 8, 1952.
v Ibid., Nov. 11, 1952,
vi The Deseret News, Sept. 17, 2009, The Manti Messenger, Nov. 28, 1952.
vii The Herald Journal, Nov. 13, 1952.
viii Ibid, all issues in November and December of 1952.
ix Ibid Nov. 14, 1952.
x Ibid.
xi Ibid, Nov. 16-19, 1952.
xii Ibid. Nov. 21, 1952.
xiii Ibid. Nov. 21 and 22, 1952.
xiv The Herald Journal Magazine Section (Vol. 2 Number 9), Nov. 23, 1952.
xv The Herald Journal, Nov. 13, 1952.
xvi Ibid.
xvii Ibid., Dec. 7 and 14, 1952.
xviii Ibid., Dec. 14-26, 1952. Davis County Clipper, Jan. 23, 1953.
xix Both Virginia Hansen’s and Mary Lucetta Shumway Thompson’s dairies are kept in the Special Collections at Utah State University; they can be accessed at The Cache Valley Diaries digital collection on the Internet. Biographical information can be found here as well.
xx Virginia Hanson diary ( 1951-1956 book), Nov. 24, 30, Dec. 10, 11, 31, 1952; Jan. 1, 8, 10, 11, 12, 20, 25, Feb. 1, 4, 6, 13, 14, 1953.
xxi Ibid., Mar. 5, 12, 30, Apr. 5, 9, May 12, July 5, 24, Nov. 26, 1953; Jan. 1, 1954.
xxii Mary Lucetta Shumway Thompson diaries, (book for 1952) - Nov. 23, Dec. 4, 11, 12, 21, 25, 1952. (Book for 1953) Jan. 1, 11, 12-24, 1953.
xxiii Ibid., (1953 book) Jan. 20-24, 1953.
xxiv Ibid., Jan. 24-31, Feb. 5, 8-13, 17, 16, 1953.
xxv Ibid., Feb. 19-26, Mar. 10-17, 20-27, April 1, 2-5, May 15, 1953.
xxvi Top Ratings for Classic TV--Old Shows Ratings - 1950s; Screen Source Presents: 20 Most Popular TV Shows Each Year in the 1930s; Television History--The First 75 Years Television History--The First 75 Years—all Internet sources.
xxvii Television History--The First 75 Years -[1960-59] Television Facts and Statistics via the Internet, Television Receiving Set Production, 1947-53; RETMA Estimates of (USA Black and White Sets) Shipments of TVs to Dealers by States, 1950-1953.
xxviii James L. Baughman, "Television Comes to America, 1947-57," Illinois History, March 1993, pp. 41-44.
xxix Times-Independent, Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, 1952; Park Record, Oct. 16, 1952, March 12, 1953.
xxx “Television's early years: Idiot box or marvel of the ages? Either way, It changed entertainment forever,” by Andrew Paul Mele, Staten Island Advance, Feb. 2, 2014. On the Internet under the same title.
xxxi Ibid.
xxxii Huffpost TV:"The Five: Early TV Memories" by Bob Sassone on the Internet.
xxxiii All of the personal memories are in the author’s files as e-mails or notes on telephone interviews.
xxxiv “Television In the 1950’s and Transformation of American Entertainment” with subheading “Television in the 1950’s,” on the Internet and repeatedly quoted in television articles.