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I might be missing this by a year or two but it was right around 1958 we got our first television. The console was about as big as a washing machine and I think it had a 12” to 15” screen. Only dad was allowed to turn it on and off. I remember sitting in back of the set when dad would turn it on. I’d watch as those long bulbs would slowly turn orange and red. The television would begin to hum.
Mom found a big doily for the top of the TV. Dad insisted nothing wet or heavy be set on the doily. Mom took great care in picking just the right figurine to compliment the look of our new piece of furniture. She decided on a swan statue. I can still see the smile on dad’s face as he watched her position the swan facing one direction then turning it to face the other direction.
I remember sneaking out of bed and lying on my stomach under the coffee table next to my room’s door watching TV when I was suppose to be in bed. It didn’t matter what was showing at the time because we’d never seen anything before. To see moving pictures was fascinating. To hear voices and music was so unrealistic I could barely take time to blink.
Lots of the first shows were short comedies. There was also lots of news reels. One night I saw a special on the Atom Bomb. I showed men hiding behind a barricade watching as the bomb exploded. It showed the devastation a bomb would cause to buildings and to people. It really scared me. I had many nights of troublesome sleep after seeing that clip on the television.
Oh yes...those memories. I think our old console was a Zienth. Big box, small screen.
ReplyDeleteMy dad loved the "Flintstones" and wouldn't miss an episode.
I think I may have seen that swan figure sometime later in your mom's home. Don's mother had one very similar.