Station History Archives

[Bill Jones interviewer film clip] Do you have TV at home? [Bob Hope film clip] We're going along on the theory that television is here to stay. [Announcer] Are you a native of Denver? [unknown film clip1] I live down around Marina, Colorado. [unknown film clip 2] In our great city. [unknown film clip 3] We can be cited for contempt of court. [Jack Benny film clip] I'm going to ask to get paid. [cartoon film clip] I like money. Money's my hobby. [KLZ announcer film clip 4] Scandal in the city. [unknown film clip 5] The sky is the limit. [Marilyn Van Derbur, Miss America film clip] God bless you all. [unknown film clip 6] And fix the penalty at death. [unknown film clip 7] No time to run. [unknown film clip 8] A contribution to creative television. [unknown film clip 9] Iced tea, salad, and fried chicken. [Jodie Noell unknown film clip 10] Is that delicious? [unknown film clip 11] These then were the Broncos for 1960. [unknown film clip 12] (Interviewer) Now you take a look at the camera over there. (Interviewee) Is that right? (interviewer)That's right, you're on TV. [KRMA Announcer] The first 30 years of Denver television are now history. What you're about to see is not necessarily the best or the worst. But what's left of the first 10 years of Denver television. [Roger L. Dudley, program host] In April of 1952, The Federal Communications Commission lifted its four year freeze and began accepting applications for new TV stations.

Denver was the largest metropolitan area in the country. Without this radio with pictures. And Colorado Senator Ed Johnson saw to it that Denver was first on the FCC's list. Finally on July 11th, Eugene O'Fallon was granted a construction permit for Channel 2, KFEL. K F E L managed the impossible. Working around the clock, in just seven days they put a television station on the air. The first post-freeze TV station in the country. At 8:15 that Friday night July 18, 1952, there were about a thousand television sets in the Denver area able to receive the first test pattern. Regular programs began the following Monday. [Tivoli bartender on film] Hi, come on in. You just missed Arch Thell, he left just a minute ago. Arch is Tivoli's brewmaster, you know. Real nice guy, drops in every once in a while just to... [Dudley] The only local productions which we have found from 1952 are a handful of commercials

filmed by Don and Inez Nungester of Commerce City. [Tivoli bartender on film] ...so well thought of that after World War 2 he was selected by the United States government to go over to Germany and open up those bombed out breweries over there. [unknown commercial clip 1] Be sure to write your name and address plainly on the back of each label. Clancy will do the rest. Send you a shiny new quarter and, say, they're so tempting, so good, every one of them. You really would enjoy Ellis delicious foods. [unknown commercial clip 2] You can have more food, better food, and the freezer for the same as your present grocery bill through the Penguin Polar food plan. [child's voice commercial clip 3] Yes, folks, I want you to try Bluhill peanut butter. Really, it's so good. Won't you Put it on your shopping list? [unknown commercial clip 4] In nine short months, Chapman has become one of Denver's largest used car dealers. You say because low overhead and large volume sales mean Chapman can offer better used cars for less.

[unknown commercial clip 5] It took CBS to do it. Only the Columbia Broadcasting System could provide the electronics research, the engineering and broadcasting experience needed to perfect the and make television receivers worthy of a stamp: Engineered by CBS. [Dudley] In the first months local productions were the exception. Stations were a conduit for the network offerings. The first network program available in Denver homes previewed the months to come. It was the big payoff. In the few days after TV was introduced here, about 4,000 TV sets sold in the Denver area. By the end of the year an estimated eighteen million dollars had been spent to put more than 50,000 TV sets in homes and businesses. It was on the day of the second game of the 1952 World Series that Denverites could finally use their channel selector. KBTV, Channel 9, signed on with a test pattern October 2nd. Ten days later, their regular programming began. The first human birth ever broadcast

originated live from the Colorado University Medical Center on December 2nd 1952. Thanks to KFEL, Gordon Campbell Kerr was born with viewers from 49 NBC stations looking in, along with his father who watched the Cesarean birth on TV. 1953 brings our first glimpse of an actual Denver TV program. This 10 minute KFEL show was intended to interest the public in the Mile High City. [KFEL program clip with Bill Jones] ...Our great city. We hope to dig up a lot of interesting facts that perhaps we don't all know about. Perhaps facts we should know about. And with that thought in mind, let's get started with our first program. [Dudley] This first show aired two days after the initial Academy Awards ceremony telecast in March of 1953. From the Denver Zoo to the state capital, Bill Jones featured Denver and its people like Price Briscoe. [Price Briscoe on film] And mined from Colorado. Gave some gold until we finally had the number of ounces it took to do it,

some 24 ounces. [Bill Jones] 24 ounces of gold on that big dome up there? [Price Briscoe] On that big dome. [Bill Jones] How long do you think it's going to last this time? [Price Briscoe] It'll last for a long, long time. Probably clear into the next century. [Dudley] Stapleton airfield was a fairly exotic location in 1953. [Stapleton spokesman on film] Today we're over 2,000 acres in size. Have 64 scheduled flights in and out of Denver. And we haul in and out of Denver over a thousand people a day. [Dudley] When this was shot from the top of the Daniel and Fishers tower, it was the tallest building in town. [Bill Jones] Today, I am not kneeling. Believe it or not, no, I'm standing up right alongside of Carl Zandell. And I believe you folks here in Denver should know, Carl. If you don't, take a good look. How tall are you Carl? [Carl Zandell] Seven foot, and three inches. [Bill Jones] Do you know offhand how much of the range you can see from up here? Looks to me like many miles. [Carl Zandell] Well, you can look 264 miles of Rocky Mountain range. [Bill Jones] 264. [Carl Zandell] You can look from the border in New Mexico and 38 miles into Wyoming. [Bill Jones] Oh, boy,

that's a long way. Now, folks, just imagine that, right here in Denver you can see that distance. [Dudley] Here in Denver only lasted for a couple of months. But this team lasted for half of Denver's first 30 television years, Fred and Fae Taylor. (singing in the background) This is from their second show on Denver television. [Fred Taylor singing on film] I'm in love with Miss Arlen and I hope nobody finds out. [Fae Taylor] Oh, hello, Andre. [Fred] Hello, Miss Arlen. [Fay] Are you waiting for someone? [Fred Taylor] Oh, no, mademoiselle. [Fae] Everybody's gone home. I'm the last one. [Fred] I know ma'am. [Fae] Did you want to see me? [Fred] Oh, no, ma'am. [Fae] Andre, is there anything wrong? [Fred] No, ma'am. [Fay] Are you sure? [Fred] Yes, ma'am. [Fay] All right, then. Coming, Andre? [Fred] No, ma'am. [Fay] Andre, are you sure? [man] Hello, Mary. [Fay] Hello, Darling. [man] Sorry I'm late. [Fae] Please, Darling, not in front of the little boy. [man] Why not? [Fae] Goodnight, Andre. See you tomorrow. He's a funny little fella. [Dudley] You're watching the earliest record in existence of live Denver television.

A few days after their second appearance on Denver TV, Earl Wintergreen, TV writer for The Rocky Mountain News, said they had a chance to make it as a local show with local talent, but added he thought viewers should know they're pantomimists. No surprise if you've heard Fred speak and you will, a little later. [Fred Taylor] She don't mean a thing to me. I don't love old Miss Arlen, and I wish, I wish I was dead. [music & singing] [Dudley] Appearing with Denver's oldest teenagers was Clyde Rogers. [music & singing about a station break] [Merlin Smith, announcer for KFEL] Stay tuned for part two of the Channel 2 "Soda shop with Fred and Fae" which follows immediately

on KFEL TV, Channel 2 in Denver. [Dudley] The announcer? Merlin Smith. During one week in 1953 there were nearly 50 regularly scheduled, local live programs on Denver television not counting newscasts. And that was before Channel 4 had even signed on. Music was popular and plentiful. With Shorty and Sue Thompson on the T-bar V. Chuck Collins the father of Judy. Rocky Star, the happy cowboy. Captain Ozy Waters and the Colorado Rangers. Wax Facts with Bob Shriver. Rocky Mountain Barn Dance. Les Whelan's. Time on my hands with Frank White. The Jerry Osborne Trio, later called the Riders of the Rockies. But food and homemaker shows developed a lot of familiar faces, like Doug and Willie Taylor. So Easy with Adrian Wigton. Pete Smythe and Salome Hanson and Mr Agee's Cookin'.

Jody Knowles, Figure Fair. Coffee Clatch with Hal Taff. Animated cookbook with Mary Mattery. Harriet Ripley's Through the Kitchen Window. And for the kids, there was Dan Willis and The Peewee Panel, Snicker Flickers with Jack Swenson, Five Pin Theater, Hunky Dorey Time and, on November 1st 1953 when KLZ signed on, there came a man known as Sheriff Scotty. This is the first picture ever taken of the Sheriff. [unknown film clip Mountie] Come on! [horses running] [Sheriff Scotty reading] So, dammit, Hank, I've set out to find Stocky and learn of his part in the scheme. It came not to me, his old enemy, Brad Harrison once again. Now we get on to chapter 2 here in just a second to see what happens next on this Tim McCoy case for today. [Dudley] Ed Scott played the Sheriff. Each day he'd put on the beard and mustache, vest and hat,

and gained an enormous following. In the first weeks he was on the air, more than 28,000 requests for this official membership card flooded KLZ. He also had a morning show called It's Scott's Chat Room. [Ed Scott] And I get it for today. Have you heard the definition of keeping up with the Joneses? That's spending money you don't have for things you don't need to impress people you don't like. [Dudley] Studios were the scene of most productions. Shows like Barn Dance or a wrestling match and several musical variety shows, as well as the live commercials during each one, became commonplace at each station on a daily basis. A face recognizable from hundreds of commercials as well as other shows, is Jodi Noell. [Jodie Noell] That delicious! And you know what makes Meadow Gold Sunkist Lemonade so good? The sun kissed lemons!

[Dudley] Denver became one of only six cities in the country with complete network programs when KOA, partly owned by a Bob Hope, signed on Christmas Eve 1953. These were the skyscrapers of the day in 1954 when KLZ moved from their original radio facility into a TV radio building on Speer Boulevard. They did something else significant, too. They started to save their news film. Because they did, we have footage to document events and people of the past 28 years. Governor Dan Thornton addressing the legislature. [Dan Thornton on film] History will show that Colorado has never made a better investment than that one million dollars which was instrumental in bringing this great Air Force Academy to Colorado. [Dudley] By 1958, more than 133 million dollars is spent building the Academy on 15,000 acres of ranch land north of Colorado Springs. But news film was far from commonplace on those 15

minute newscasts in the 50's. Most of the time men like Bob Booth simply read a story to the viewers. KFEL had the dean of broadcasters, Jack Fitzpatrick. And Dick McDaniel. Channel 9 had Bill Michelson. KOA had Ken White. When KLZ-TV signed on, Carl Akers was their newscaster. He invited the viewer into the newsroom and dressed for the newscast the same way he dressed preparing it. But sponsors disagreed and he was replaced after only three days. He returned of course, even with open shirt, and became the leading newscaster in the city. [Carl Akers] The ammendment being voted on would do away with all public schools in the state of Alabama and use state money for private, segregated schools, a way of getting around the Supreme Court's decision. As of right now the amendment is carrying by a vote of about two to one. Bad news for teenagers... [Dudley] In 1954 water was scarce as it is now,

perhaps even more so. This is Herb Gundel, later the Weekend Gardener. [Herb Gundell] A five to six-day holiday on lawn sprinkling and garden irrigation would be of great benefit to the plants rather than any disadvantage. It could, furthermore save Denver homeowners in the neighborhood of three days supply of water, which at this time is a very critical question. [unknown speaker film clip] And at a special meeting of the water board held this morning, it was decided to adopt the following two restrictions, effective immediately. Number one: Until further notice, no further irrigation of any kind whatsoever. And Number two: No use of water shall be had through hoses except for commercial purposes. [Dudley] KLZ showed the Denver Symphony Orchestra's special concert on February 2nd in '54. Unfortunately it was silent footage. But look at these ticket prices!

[Dick Lewis commercial] Say, right now, I'm talking to you mothers out there. Yes, siree, because I know that although you love those little ones of yours, as you should, sometimes when you're trying to get your housework done, they get your hair, don't they? [Dudley] Dick Lewis arrived in Denver just before Christmas from Albuquerque in 1954; a man to be hailed immodestly in ads as the World's Greatest Showman. His conclusion became a trademark. [Dick Lewis] Tell ol' Captain Bligh out there, in the morning, tell 'em Lewis sent you. [Dudley] The Salk polio vaccine was administered to millions of children in 1955 in a 30 million dollar federally financed program that meant the beginning of the end of the polio threat. [Masthead announcer] Masthead is a Sunday news report. [music] [Masthead announcer] Presented by capital Federal Savings. [Dudley] Masthead debuted on June 12th 1955 with a flair for the dramatic in the lighting and

staging. [Masthead announcer] Now here is your editor, Gene Amole. [Gene Amole] The chill of dawn finally butted in today. It was Sunday, the flat trajectory of the sun's first rays splashed long shadows across the sleeping city. Then the sounds of Sunday morning. Birds that bustled high in the think trunked maples; the echo of a slamming screen door, a distant ambulance siren, and a wordless monologue from a baby's crib. Then the stature of the day. It could be measured by... [Dudley] While TV shows were beginning an old tradition was ending. The electric trolleys which began in Denver in 1886 made their last run. June 10th, 1955. Times were changing and so were the directions of some of the streets. At times, one way seemed like no way at all. Denver was President Eisenhower's summer White House. Mamie's mother lived here and Ike could like to play golf and fish near Fraser. He even named

his plane Columbine after the state flower. It was here he suffered a heart attack on September 24th, 1955. He was taken to Fitzsimmons Army Hospital where the press of the country would soon take up a watch which would last for nearly seven weeks. With little to shoot except the outside of the hospital and an occasional visitor, photographers waited for days for a glimpse of Ike at the railing of a sundeck. Press Secretary, Jim Haggerty, kept the nation informed of the president's progress. [Jim Haggerty] He remained out of the oxygen tent a large part of the morning. His temperature is normal. His blood pressure and pulse remains stable and satisfactory. [Dudley] But as is often the case with such prolonged watches, there is a scramble to find something new to talk about when there is nothing new. [unknown newscaster] President Eisenhower has received a new kind of medicinal treatment, something that even the wisest doctors in the most modern hospitals could not give him. It's these

pieces of papers coming from his grandchildren. [Dudley] Letters flooded the hospital as did telegrams from well-wishers around the world. Photographers were delighted when Ike's 65th birthday rolled around October 14th. Finally there was something to take pictures of. And while Ike was recuperating at Fitzsimmons, the worst crime ever committed against an airplane took 44 lives over a field near Longmont. KLZ's Jim Bennett was the first TV photographer on the scene. Shooting without portable lights, he filmed the still flaming wreckage of the airliner and returned the following day as bodies were still being recovered from the wreckage. A bomb was planted aboard United Flight 629 and at 7:03 November 1st, an explosion ripped apart the fuselage killing everyone on board. Two weeks later, after the FBI entered the case, John Gilbert Graham was arrested for and confessed to planting 15 sticks of dynamite in his

mother's luggage. Cameras were permitted to film Graham's court appearance, November 28th, but on December 9th were barred, prompting Denver's first TV editorial from KLZ's General Manager, Hugh Terry. [Hugh Terry] We at KLZ radio and television feel that this order is in direct violation of the constitutional guarantees of freedom of press and freedom of speech. The reasons behind this stunning ban are still unclear. The State Supreme Court indicates that it is merely the re-enactment of canon 35, a rule laid down by the American Bar Association some two decades ago. The State Supreme Court gave us no opportunity to present our side of the case for television and radio coverage. We contend that this deprives us of the use of the tools of our news gathering profession. [unknown announcer] Following Mr. Terry's editorial comment on the ban against courtroom photography, the Colorado State Supreme Court announced they will hold a public hearing on canon 35 on January 30th.

[Dudley] Curiously enough, while banning cameras in the courtroom, they allowed actual confessions and discussions of crimes to be filmed and broadcast on a routine basis by Denver TV stations. [unknown man's confession] I guess it just startled me or something, because I fired and he just kept comin' and I kept firing. I didn't just stand there and keep pointing the gun at him and shootin' and shootin' and shootin' just to see 'im drop... I... It just didn't stop him and I kept shooting. [Dudley] The biggest news story of 1955 continued into 1956 with the trial of John Gilbert Graham. [female witness testimony] I thought I was watching the moon come up, and it wasn't. It was a ball of fire. A roar, odd shaped in the sky, and then suddenly it was an explosion. Bradley leaped out of the house. [Dudley] Colorado broadcasters successfully presented their case to the State Supreme Court and were allowed to film the actual trial. [female witness continued] We heard another explosion which mushroomed into a ball of smoke and fire. [male witness testimony] I told him that I did sell timing devices, but

I carried very few in stock. Only some very special devices used on electric welding machines. [attorney] You recognize the defendant in this courtroom? [male witness 2] Yes, sir, I do. [attorney] Point him out would you please. [male witness 2] Sitting third from this end, sir. [attorney] Let the record show that this witness has identified and pointed out John Gilbert Graham. [unknown speaker] On date and selected by this warden to be executed by the administration of lethal gas. May God have mercy on your soul. [Dudley] Graham was executed January 11th, 1957. [Native American drumming & singing] [Dudley] 1956 brought educational television to Denver. One of the programs on KRMA's first night of broadcasting, January 30th, was Redman's America featuring Denver University's Dr. Ruth Underhill. [Ruth Underhill] If they had not come in a great army, just marching across the land bridge and then deploying right and left in the various game preserves, they had probably come in little family groups, slowly oozing along and seeing that after camping perhaps two or three years they would find that the game looks good just over the river there. Then they'd move, and move again. [program host] This series was so popular it was redone in 1960 and distributed

nationally. [Ruth Underhill] Now the old women in ?Klacktu's? Country, they used to tell stories to their children and insist the children stay awake and listen. They were penalized if they didn't. When the old lady had finished her story and was going to tell the children, 'Now, my dears, you may go to sleep,' she'd use the term 'oh so-so.' You can go to sleep. So now, as a goodbye, I will say 'oh so-so.' [Dudley] Debuted on the same day, April 1956, Channel 2, now called KTVR, began The Sportsman and KBTV presented Colorado Outdoors. This is one of the Colorado outdoor series titled "Babes in the Woods" with Keith Hay of the Colorado Game and Fish Department. Here's a sight you won't see anymore. This is Dillon, Colorado. The Dillon before the dam. It's under water now. And as popular in

1956 as it is today, Red Rocks was the setting for NBC's Wide Wide World live season premiere featuring the Denver Symphony Orchestra and the Meister singers. [music & singing] [Dudley] Wide Wide World returned to Denver twice in 1957 with KOA's help. Once to show the construction of the First National Bank building, called Murchison tower

then. And in October, they devoted an entire show to Colorado. 1957 got off to a good start when the Colorado University Buffaloes beat Clemson in the Orange Bowl 27-21 on New Year's Day. Jim Bennett was at Stapleton when the team returned to talk with Coach Dal Ward. [Dal Ward] Well that was a really great come back because time was running out on us and we knew that we probably had to score on that march or we we're going to get beat. And I take my hat off to the boys for the way they stayed in there and played ball, just stayed right on the ground, used simple, basic football plays and just did it on sheer guts. [Jim Bennett] Boyd Dallard, come on over. Boyd, how'd you like calling signals against that club? [Boyd Dallard] Well, we found the holes and we moved the ball pretty well, except on a few occasions there in the third quarter when we didn't have it very often. But, really it was quite an experience. [Dudley] Colorado had perhaps more than its share of winners in 1957. [Bert Parks, Miss America announcer] The first runner-up, Joni Elizabeth Shaddack, Miss Georgia. Miss America, Miss Colorado! [singing 'There she is, Miss America] [Dudley] It was nearly two months before Marilyn Van Derbur returned to Denver. She was greeted at

the airport by a huge throng. She and her family appeared on the Person to Person show with Edward R. Murrow where she shared some of the mementos of her first two months as Miss America, and a story or two, sang an old camp song with her sisters, and concluded by reading a fan letter from a Georgia boy who wanted to start a Miss America fan club. [Marilyn Van Derbur reading] If it's all right with you, I need some pictures and a few things. We already have membership cards and TV, Radio, and Mirror is going to put my name and address in it so we can have some new members. I like you very much. You're on my girlfriend list, number four. I've got to go now. Bye. [Edward Murrow] Do you feel you won't find it difficult to give up the bright lights or stop being a celebrity?. [Marilyn Van Derbur] I certainly don't, Mr. Murrow. Many people have asked me if I have ever aspired to be a Hollywood movie star. But as I have watched my sisters and my mother, I realize that my basic happiness will come in my home. They have devoted their lives to their husbands and their children. And I hope that someday I might have a family of my own

and be a good wife and mother. [Edward Murrow] Thank you very much for letting us come and visit you. And will you say good night your parents and your sisters, please? [Marilyn Van Derbur] I certainly will, Mr. Murrow. It's been very nice talking with you. [Edward Murrow] Goodnight. [music] [Panorama announcer] Public Service Company of Colorado presents Panorama. A contribution to creative television. This is Jonas Brothers Incorporated of Denver. This is the studio of the world's most respected master taxidermist. [Dudley] Panorama was a daring series. For a half hour each week, director Jim Lennon battled Murphy's Law in a different place with a different subject and unique and different logistical problems to overcome. Here is the host, Gene Amole. [Eugene Amole] Find a thought in a troubled mind. Give it an identification and then an association with something that can be heard, seen, touched, tasted, or smelled. Then

expand, broaden, and use those thoughts to the full 100 percent of potential. There must be more than the machine. There must be love, patience, compassion, and the skilled old hand to guide the uncertain fumblings of the mentally retarded child. [Dudley] This show, from Laridan Hall, was Kinescoped and eventually brought for Channel 7 the highest honor in broadcasting, the George Foster Peabody Award. [Eugene Amole] There is strength in those hands. There is strength in the eyes too. [Dudley] Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Sheriff Scotty moved from Channel 7 to Channel 9. Using the Westernaires for his posse, this new open was filmed by photographer Marshall Faber, who suffered a broken nose when one of the riders rode into him. In 1958 the U.S. finally reached into space with the launch of Explorer One,

3 months of frustration and failure behind the Russians. Things would never be the same. [unknown announcer 1] No time to run! A special report on what every citizen can do toward possible survival in the event of a thermonuclear attack on this area. [unknown announcer 2] Jim Bennett. [Jim Bennett] If hydrogen warfare ever comes to the United States, we the people living in prime target areas will be fortunate to receive two to four

hours warning prior to an attack by manned bombers. When guided missiles become operational that warning time will be cut to 15 minutes. Then evacuation will be impossible. There will be no time to run. A direct hit at Colfax and Broadway in Denver would destroy everything in a circular area bounded by Wadsworth Avenue on the west, Syracuse Street on the east, Yale Avenue on the south, and as far north as 62nd Avenue. This same explosion would knock out nearly all communications, hospitals, fire, and police service, food supplies, and power sources. If a bomb of this type, say a 20 megaton device, was dropped without warning, three-fourths of the Denver population would be killed in an instant. [Dudley] But regardless of the ominous era we had entered, life continued with openings and closings. The historic Windsor Hotel, first building in

Denver with electric lights, was doomed. The beauty and history were auctioned off. In striking contrast to the Windsor was a geometric design of the May D&F store which opened in August of '58. Another opening that year, November 23rd to be exact, was the Valley Highway which would further cement Denverites dependence on the car. 1958 also brought the first 11 hundred cadets to occupy the new quarters at the Air Force Academy. In August, KLZ became the first station in town with a video tape recorder. The $60,000 magic machine, which would eventually change broadcasting from a spontaneous, live, warts and all medium, to a slick, tightly edited art form, had arrived in Denver. But one of the most fascinating panoramas took place not on videotape or live but on film and in the studio with Amole reading the script and talking with photographer

and dairy owner, Sam Robinson, about the films he had taken in and around Denver since the late 1920's. [Amole] Rolling again, and the bands were playing. [program host] He had parades down 16th Street. [Amole] It was a wonderful day! The Olinger Highlanders marched, the Boy Scouts, the El Jabel Shrine was there, and so was Sam Robinson, capturing the mood of a generation. This particular event was held by [Dudley] Rainbow Ballroom dancers and musicians. And the flooding of Cherry Creek in 1932. [Amole] That's quite a picture, there, to watch that house tear itself in two. That's flowing down towards the city of Denver. [Dudley] This 1958 program was a precursor of the year to follow, as well as that night in October when Colorado native, Ralph Edwards, brought his show to town. [Ralph Edwards] Welcome to "This is Your Life." Tonight we're in the Denver Coliseum in Denver, Colorado, before a crowd of more than 10,000 people helping Denver, the mile high city, celebrate its first century as a prelude to the 'rush to the Rockies' Centennial. To a great woman, and the most surprised lady here tonight, we say to Mrs. Olga Little of Hesperus, Colorado, This is Your Life. Now let's relive a

time that has stayed forever bright in your memory, the time of the great snowfall at the Neglected Mine. And here to surprise you is a man who was there. It's been 45 years since you've seen him. From La Mesa, California, here is Mr. Ed Linke. [This is Your Life Announcer] Olga Little drove mule trains through Colorado's La Plata mountains just after the turn of the century. [Ralph Edwards] A desperate struggle from seven in the morning until 11:00 at night against the mountainous snowdifts. Olga was the heroine that day wasn't she, Mr Linke? [Ed Linke] Yes, she was. She was up and down along the with the boys, prodding us on and keeping us moving. And I know, if it hadn't been for her courage, we wouldn't have, we'd have frozen to death that day. [Ralph Edwards] Mrs Olga Little of Hesperus, Colorado, wherever mining men gather,

wherever tales are told of the days of gold and silver in this great state of Colorado, a part of that glory will always fall upon your name. This is your life. Good Night and God bless. [Dudley] 1959 was a pretty big year for KOA. The highlight of the year was moving from their old studios at 16th and California to their new facility on Lincoln Street. Ed "Weatherman" Bowman conducted the tour as part of a special dedication program. [Ed Bowman] To get more centrally located, four blocks from the capitol, within a few minutes of any part of Denver. Our radio business is conducted in an area which runs the whole length of the west wall of the building. [Bob Shriver] In the projection room on the Sherman Street level, the dumbwaiter delivers copy, film and slides to the center, the hub of KOA TV's local operations. And I'm Bob Shriver, your host for the

rest of the tour. [Dudley] Dick True directed the show with blocking and camera movement which is still excellent 23 years later. [Bob Shriver] News stories, pictures that are used to give visual impact to our TV newscast. Pictures to supplement the stream of news copy received by teletype from the news services and used as the basis for all regional and national stories which make up a major portion of KOA radio and TV newscasts. News Director John Henry, with the aid of his news assistant Ruth Welsch, must keep track of a staff of 10 news writers. News writers assigned to many different news beats, the state capital, the city and county, police headquarters. KOA's many radio and TV newscasts throughout the broadcast day require constant updating of the news by rewrite, editing, from football scores to bulletins, to weather reports, and they all come from the KOA newsroom. KOA news is a big operation, certainly the

biggest in the Rocky Mountain west. [TV show host] Well now it comes my real pleasure to introduce a guy we've had a lot of fun with him tonight. Our guest in town, wish we could keep him around here all the time. Here he is, Mr. Bob "Boss Buick" Hope. [Bob Hope] Oh, I'm so thrilled to be here tonight, ladies and gentlemen, to see what they did with my money. This place is modern enough to be the cafeteria at the Air Force Academy. I want to tell ya it cost quite a bit of money, it really did. Don't you love our confidence? We're going along on the theory that television is here to stay. But by an odd coincidence the building you see is the exact dimensions of a bowling alley. [laughter] [Dudley] The Denver Symphony Orchestra was on hand and Saul Caston allowed Bob Hope to conduct. [applause; music] [Bob Hope] Ready? Don't go far. [music]

[Dudley] KBTV announced it would carry nine Denver Bears games in 1959 sponsored by Coors. [commercial announcer] Pure Rocky Mountain Spring Water. A mountain full of real beer refreshment. [Dudley] Channel 2 was doing local sports also. Bill Reid did the play by play on four Denver Chicago trucker basketball telecasts of the old industrial league. And Reed teamed with Bob Martin for a KTVR's 17 game coverage of Denver International Hockey League entry, The Mavericks, in their short lives stint as a Denver sports venture. And the

all important car was a part of the Denver news in 1959. A gas war entered when the price jumped a dime in just seconds. Colorado Boulevard was widened to accommodate more cars. And interchange at Colfax and Federal was created to improve safety and increase the traffic flow. And Philadelphia Mayor Dilworth had some interesting observations in 1959 on Colorado's future transportation needs. [Mayor Dilworth] And you will find here in Denver too that you're going to need a rail transportation to supplement your highway system. [Dudley] 1959 was a history oriented year. A Pioneer Village was constructed between the civic center and state capitol to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 'Rush to the Rockies.' But all the historical hoopla couldn't save the Windsor Hotel from demolition. [music] [piano player Max Morath] Rag Time. Word still has an excitement about it, doesn't it? A charm. Makes you think

not just of a kind of music, but maybe of a time, too, when piano players dressed like this. Were seated at pianos like this and making big money in sporting houses and saloons like this one. The name of this TV series is the Ragtime Era. This is the second program devoted specifically to ragtime. The series itself is about all of America's popular music from 1890 to the Great War. It wasn't all ragtime in those days. [Dudley] Max Morath brought the ragtime era to life on KRMA for Denver TV viewers. [Max Morath] It was a thing, it was like... [Dudley] This was the first series ever produced on video tape for distribution on the National Educational Television network. [Max Morath] ...a national issue. [unknown program announcer] History is a little scant on the Pony Express accomplishments of William F. Buffalo Bill Cody, but Buffalo Bill's memory outlived most of those of his contemporaries. And he liked to lounge around the Windsor Hotel bar telling stories of his pony express days, especially the longest continuous ride he made from Red Buttes to Three Crossings on the

Wyoming plains; a ride calculated to be 384 miles and 21 hours on 20 mounts. [Dudley] When this award winning KDTV series was first done, Tex Ritter sang the theme. But for national distribution they used Captain Ozie Waters who had several shows on KBTV beginning in 1952. [Captain Ozie Waters singing] Colorado. They wanted a country with room to expand. They wanted gold and they wanted land. Expedition, Colorado. [Dudley] A bit of history was created when Pete Smythe's fictional radio town of East Tin Cup became a reality. The ribbon cutting, Memorial Day weekend, 1960. Tragedy again brought national attention to Colorado when Adolph Coors the third disappeared on his way to work, February 9th, 1960. Blood stains on a bridge railing. His

cap and glasses were the only clues in the kidnapping. His remains were not found until a hunter discovered them in September. And six weeks later in Vancouver, Joseph Corbett, Jr. was arrested and returned to stand trial. [Judge] Mr. Corbett, that's a charge of murder. How do you plead to this charge? [Joseph Corbett, Jr] I plead Not Guilty. [Judge] Very well, then. Let a plea of not guilty be received. [Dudley] On March 29, 1961, the jury returned its verdict. [Judge] Ladies and gentlemen, listen to your verdict if you will, please. We the jury duly found and inform in the above entitled cause, find the defendant, Joseph Corbett, Jr., guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in the information hearin and fix the penalty of imprisonment for life at hard labor in the penitentiary. [Dudley] Sports interest was growing in the Mile High City. KOA preempted an NBA game to televise a Denver Chicago trekkers National Industrial basketball league game. It was an Olympic year

too, and KOA's John Rayburn talked with two of the U.S. Olympic ski team coaches just days before the Squaw Valley Olympics got underway. KOA sports director, John Henry. [John Henry] Hello, everyone. This is the first hill. Hello, everyone. This is the first tee at Cherry Hills where on Thursday 150 of the finest golfers in the world will start the 60th National Open. As a sort of a preview to the National Open, we've asked Ralph (Rick) Palmer, the local pro here at Cherry Hills to take us around the course, show uss some of the holes and some of the trouble to expect. [Dudley] Nine KOA cameras were used for NBC's coverage of the U.S. Open. But the big sports story began a week after the golf tournament. The Denver Broncos had their first drills. A four million dollar renovation to increase the seating capacity of Bears stadium in preparation for the arrival of professional football was underway. [Broncos announcer] Al Carmichael,

former University of Southern California star, went the honor of throwing the initial touchdown in the new circuit. It was a 41 yard broadcast play from quarterback, Tripucka, which enabled the Broncos to score in the first play in the second quarter after the Patriots had kicked a field goal midway in the first period. [program host] Fred Leo narrated the KDTV highlight film of the Broncos first season. [music] [Fred Leo] Then in the third quarter, Gene Mingo electrified the crowd of better than 20,000, with a magnificent 76 yard punt return down the sidelines. And a late Boston touchdown resulted in a final score of Denver, 13, and Boston, 10. Now it's ?Taylor who makes a one-handed catch and scores to make a 38-28 with less than eight and a half minutes to play. Third down on the Bulls twelve with but nine seconds to play, when Mingo goes back to the nineteen for the field goal drive which splits

the post with four seconds left on the clock, and it's a 38-38 tie, the only deadlock in American football league history. [Dudley] 1960 was also an election year and both presidential candidates visited the Mile High City. Nixon stopped traffic on 16th Street and Kennedy addressed the crowd at the Hilton Hotel and at the Civic Center. Bill Barker even talked with Joan Kennedy during the 1960 campaign. And the day after the first of the historic debates between Nixon and Kennedy, KOA's Bob Palmer got reactions from some Denverites. [unknown interviewee] ...difference between the two political parties, if they're basically laid down the ground rules on which they're going to campaign. [Dudley] In July, 25,000 Boy Scouts converged on Colorado for their annual jamboree. President Eisenhower visited the site near Colorado Springs the day after Nixon was nominated to run for president.

1961 was a painful year for Denver. [KLZ Announcer] Scandal in the City: a special report prepared in the KLZ news room. And once again, here is Warren Chandler. [Warren Chandler] Corruption within the ranks of any law enforcement agency is nothing new. It has happened and is happening all the time in almost every other major city in the United States. It begins of course on a small scale. And, unless it's choked out, it erupts into something big; something that gets out of hand and is difficult to cope with. Late this afternoon in the office of the governor of the State of Colorado, Steve McNichols, it was something big. [Governor Steve McNichols] A high degree of efficiency was obtained by these gangs to the extent that one safe job was reported to have been completely executed in 17 minutes from start to finish. In most instances, policemen together with their burglary tools,

were delivered and picked up with police cars and lookouts were uniformed police officers. Many locations were cased and surveyed in police cars prior to the time the jobs were pulled. In most instances police reports were made out by the same officers who participated in the jobs. And the same officers who pulled the jobs investigated their own robbery, and removed incriminating evidence and fingerprints from the scene of the crime. [Dudley] Twenty-two were charged that day in the growing police department scandal which would eventually strip 47 policemen of their badges. A list was by today's standards at least somewhat clumsily presented, typed and pasted together for a split screen. This 15 minute special report on what became known as Black Saturday included footage of the fingerprinting, booking process, and a statement from Denver Mayor Dick Patterson.

[Dick Patterson] I reiterate my promise of a complete cleanup in the Denver Police Department and assure my fellow citizens that the great majority of our police officers are honest and dedicated public servants and should not be subjected to recrimination because of the action of the men who have been arrested and charged. [Warren Chandler] This Denver police scandal with 35 officers now involved is the worst in American municipal history. Denver and adjacent counties have been rocked with facts, arrests and rumors as well. Law enforcement in the state has dropped to near nothing. Citizens are shocked and up in arms and perhaps wonder when and where will it all end. Is it over now? The investigation has posed many questions of its own. Where does the investigation go from here? There are already more rumors that many other officers are involved. That if there is enough evidence to prosecute the men will face departmental hearings and be asked to resign. There is a question of why didn't the command officers in the department know this kind of activity? As the mayor said, they

will be asked to explain. Many ask is there a possibility of a new police chief or a new manager of safety? And finally, this scandal in the city has another side. The untold number of law enforcement officials and state officials and city officials who have brought out the bad side, the good honest men who try to keep the city clean. And among them three Denver police officers, Detective Chief, Walter Nelson, Detectives Art Dill and Fred Bartle who work day and night to weed out the good and bad in their own organization. This is Warren Chandler. [Dudley] Coincidentally, debuting that Saturday on KOA was a sort of news magazine called Scope. Bob Palmer was host of the show which traveled the state and sometimes outside the state to cover interesting or important stories. And reporters were anxious to do stories for Scope because they could cover things that would be overlooked elsewhere. Like Punkin Center, a crossroad about 70 miles east of

Colorado Springs, which became the setting for a Halloween feature. Maxine Mulvey did a scope feature on hairstyles. [Maxine Mulvey] Well, now, do you actually put this on someone's head? [unidentified hairdresser] Yes, we do. [Mulvey] Could we see you do it? [unidentified hairdresser] Now, this here is made out of angora hair. [Mulvey] Oh, yeah? [hairdresser] And it's all woven. as you can see, and just this little mesh plate. [Dudley] For eight years Scope ran on KOA; first on Saturday night, later moving to Sunday night with topics from Colfax Avenue and cattle drives, to medicine and missiles. The times and the technology were changing in 1962. Echo 1 was launched in 1960, but it was not until April of '62 that it was used to bounce a poor but recognizable television signal across the country. The launch of Telstar in 1962 opened the era of global TV and satellite communications. A month later, without

using that satellite, KOA beamed State Fair parade pictures live from Pueblo. It was a first and used microwave relays set up on Pikes Peak. Boulder's Scott Carpenter returned from three orbits of the earth on May 24th, to ride in Denver's Memorial Day parade, perhaps the largest parade in Denver history. Denverites were seeing new faces on their television screens. Among them a new coach for the Broncos. Jack Faulkner took over and Star Yellen did a special program called Man With A Mission. The mission was apparent since in their second season fewer people attended all of the Bronco home games than went to any single home game in 1981. And there were some familiar faces too, like Fred and Fae Taylor. Fred and Fae moved from Channel 2 to Channel 9, and later to Channel 7 with the puppets of artist, Dirty.

This is from their first Little Miss Colorado pageant, live from Writer's Manor. [Fae Taylor] And now we get to meet these lovely young ladies in person for all you people here viewing the show. [Fred Taylor] Well I think we should mention everything up until now has been on tape. [Fae] Except us. [Fred] We're live. [Fred] I think. [laughter] [Dudley] One familiar face bid farewell in December of 1962. After nearly 10 years on Denver television, Ed Scott, alias Sheriff Scotty, rode off into the sunset for the last time. [music] [Max Morath playing ragtime piano music while credits roll] [Dudley] And that's 30. [music & Judy Collins singing]

[Dudley] In Part Two, the history of Denver television continues with Judy Collins, John Kennedy, Bob Palmer's acid test, Denver's Emmy winner, Ike making TV history, and some recurring topics from the perspective two decades ago. [unknown speaker] That the time was going to come. And it appears that it may come around 1980, because even if we're able to build the freeways, we'll be pretty loaded up by that time. That Denver will have to be ready to go all on some sort of a of a transportation system. [Dudley] These and much more on Part Two of That's 30. [music from Magic Lantern Christmas] [honking] [music]

[sounds from film] [Max Morath on film] I'm home, Honey. Going to get everything shut up to look at the illustrations for the new Christmas songs. Listen, when the kids are ready for bed,

bring 'em in and we'll look at the new slides. Some wonderful Christmas scenes there, hope the songs they go with are as good as the slides. Oh, I wonder when one of these Tin Pan Alley fellows is going to write a good lasting Christmas song. Well anyway, the slides are getting better all the time. The time? About 1910, give or take a couple of years. And with unabashed nostalgia, National Educational Television lights up a magic lantern to project a Christmas image into your home. A glimpse of the Christmas Past by the magic lantern to its prodigal son. No, its grandson: the wonderful magic lantern of the day, your television set. Magic lantern is a much more felicitous name for these devices than stereopticon, the big word that helped refine them from a

crude implement of the 19th century to an important tool of the 20th. A tool for instruction, enlightenment, and entertainment. And a special kind of entertainment. About 20 years across the turn of the century, the illustrated song. Most of the good popular songs were illustrated with lantern slides. Flashed on screens in the biggest of the vaudeville houses to the smallest, most makeshift of the Nickelodeon's. And a lot of entertainers made a good living singing with slides. Called them song illustrators, and that will do for my role in this Christmas TV package; a song illustrator vintage about 1907 to 1913. Here's how it was done. One picture for each line in the song. [Morath singing] School days, school days, dear old golden rule days. Reading and writing and 'rithmetic taught to the tune of my hickory stick. You were my queen

in calico. I was your bashful, barefoot beau. And you wrote on my slate, I love you, Joe. When we were a couple of kids. [Morath] An honorable form of entertainment rarely seen, by the way, in the homes of those days as you're seeing it here in this casual setting. You know the only illustrated songs were seen in a variety vaudeville houses, minstrel shows, beer gardens, and they reached their peak in the Nickelodeons, America's early movie houses. We call them silent movies today, but the Nickelodeon's were never really silent. A tinkly piano can always be heard accompanying the flickering film. [piano playing] [Morath] Most Nickelodeon's were located in old stores and weren't theaters at all. Old timers often call them store shows, and you can bet a lot of bad piano players and singers held forth in the sleaziest of the Nickelodeons. Every town had 'em. Movies were the rage and

the illustrated song with its lantern slides, rode the coat tails of the movies for a few years to a brief pinnacle of glory around 1910. A shaky and uncertain glory, to be sure. The hastily financed store show Nickelodeon was equipped with just one movie projector and audiences might get restless during real change or film repair unless a filler was presented. The Magic Lantern had other values to the management too. All sorts of warnings could be flashed. [music] [Morath] A commercial or two between reels helped pay the rent and the piano player. At Christmas time, the management could convey artistic greetings.

These greetings at Christmas time might also take the form of a brand new song of the season, rendered by the house Illustrator. As the lines of the new song unfolded, the projectionist fed into the stereopticon the slides that illustrated the story and the song. Many of the songs told of Christmas courtships. A sleigh ride often played a prominent part in the story. Using composite photographs, the slide makers could put the courting couple into the proper Yuletide setting. Some composites stretched the imagination just a bit.

Snow scenes were great favorites; often very striking. And in a happy ending, many a young couple found a wedding ring under the Christmas tree. By about 1909 the photographic and staging techniques of the slide makers were pretty impressive, but it had taken a while. The technique of projecting an image by throwing light behind a transparent picture and focusing the image through a lens dates back to the early 19th century. Oil, gas, and calcium, or lime light, preceded electricity as the source of illumination and the early projectors were called magic lanterns. Then somebody got the idea of mounting two projectors together. They call the resulting image almost stereoscopic meaning of course, almost

three dimensional. And they call the projector a stereopticon. Well, it wouldn't do that at all. Actually what it did was fade or dissolve from one image to the other. Pretty exciting thing in itself in those days. Well the word stereopticon came to be used for all slide projectors until we finally got wise and started calling them slide projectors. But it's caused no end of discussion in terms of optical instruments of the time, because the word stereopticon is constantly been trying to take over as the name of this gadget, a stereo scope. Great parlor fad at the turn of the century. And this one does give you a three dimensional image. Well what's in a name? Take the word Nickelodeon. Originally it made the best of sense. Odeon is a variant of the Greek word odium meaning theatre and nickel, being just what it is today in size and shape if not in purchasing power. Nickelodeon: 5 cent theater. But then the word got applied to coin operated player pianos and the like, and in the

1930's, was the moniker first attached to those contrivances that we've since learned were juke boxes. And to compound the confusion a few years back somebody wrote a popular song called 'Put another nickel in, in the Nickleodeon.' Well back to the early slide makers. The first slides were circular to accommodate the small lenses. And later with larger compound lenses, the rectangular format was adopted. Illumination was very poor without electricity, but the artwork--the artwork in many of the early slides was first rate. By the 1870's and 80's, slide makers were issuing stock scenes to be used as illustrations with the poems and ballads of the day. Outdoor scenes, interiors of homes. Many were fine pieces of art by any standards. And the great Tony Pastor, considered the father of variety or vaudeville entertainment, used stock slides as early as 1865 for liberal adaptations of the popular

songs of the day. Songs like this one. [Morath singing & playing] In pleasures and palaces, wherever we may roam, be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, which seeks through the world, is there met with elsewhere. Home, home, sweet, sweet home. There's no place like home. No, there's no place like home. [Morath] Slides were also used in those days with readings and recitations, lectures, and with the coming of photographic slides, travelogues. You know what a thrill it must have been when the magic lantern shows came to town. By the time shows like this were traveling America

the stereopticon had reached a healthy maturity and a huge well illuminated picture filled the screen. We're so bombarded with pictures here at mid 20th century; magazines, newspapers, movies, home cameras and projectors, TV. It's hard to realize today what these wondrous shows meant to folks less than a century ago. This old handbill put it best. 'All cannot travel and see these places. But whoever attends this entertainment will see them reflected on canvas with the glow of beauty never to be forgotten.' Well fortunately a lot of those art slides have survived, including a partial set once used to illustrate a Christmas time poem. It's still pretty well known today. I'll have to skip around a little bit here to make the slides fit the lines. Twas the Night Before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. When what to my wondering eyes should appear but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. As I drew in my head

and was turning around, down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound. A bundle of toys he had flung on his back. He looked like a peddler just opening his pack. He spoke not a word but went right to his work and filled all the stockings then turned with a jerk. But I heard him exclaim 'ere he drove out of sight, 'Happy Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.' But there's lot more, of course, but that's all the slides managed to survive. Here's another Christmas reading. Great favorite at the turn of the century. This was illustrated by an early English photographic set. Andy and Willie's prayer. We have enough for about nine couplets, enough to tell most of the story of Andy and Willie down to the ending; happy as all Christmas story endings must be. Twas the eve before Christmas. Goodnight had been said. And Andy and Willy had crept into bed. But somehow it makes them so sorry because their papa had said, 'there is no

Santa Claus,' and four little knees on the soft carpet pressed. And two tiny hands were then clasped to each breast. They were soon lost in slumber, both peaceful and deep. And with fairies in dreamland, were roaming in sleep. 'I was harsh with my darlings,' the father then said, 'and should not have sent them so early to bed.' So saying he softly ascended the stairs and arrived at the door to hear both say their prayers. He donned hat, coat, and boots and was out in the street, a millionaire facing the cold driving sleet. Then homeward he turned with his holiday load, which with Aunt Mary's help in the nursery was stowed. Then out of their beds, they sprang with a bound. And the very gifts prayed for, were all of them found. And now, added Andy, in a voice soft and low, 'You believe there's a Santa Claus, Papa. I know.' Andy and Willie's Christmas prayer. Another interesting set of slides, a circular

set probably dating to the early 90's, illustrated a sacred song popular in those times: Star of Bethlehem. Let's do this one with the help of Tom Edison's wonderful talking machine, the phonograph. It may not be hi fi, but who cares? Like many of the marvels at the turn of the century, it was new, revolutionary. That, to me, is the exciting thing about those years. Your newspaper didn't just tell you that man had set a new altitude or air speed record, but that man could fly. And not that the new cars had more horsepower maybe power steering, but that somebody had invented the carriage that could actually run without a horse. And in the case of sound, what could be more exciting than this? Sound! Elusive, precious. Sound could now be stored, saved, bottled up. Who cared if it was raspy and stringy? It worked! [music and singing from cylinder on gramaphone]

[unknown singer] It was the eve of Christmas, the snow lay deep and white. I passed beside my window and looked into the night. I heard the church bells ringing I saw the bright stars shine. And childhood came again to me, with all it's Christmas divine. Then as I listened to the bells and watched the skies afar. Out of the East majestical There rose one radiant start. And every other star grew pagel before that heav'nly glow It seemed to bid me follow

and I could could not choose but go. It seemed to bid me follow and I could not choose but go. [Morath] Magic Lantern was shining brighter and brighter as the years passed. Growing up with the rapidly improving photographic skills, and by 1907, 1908 slide makers were churning out thousands of made to order pictures as the song publishers realized the entertainment and promotion values of illustrating songs with stereopticon slides. Now some of the old slides were pretty awful. But the better ones were quite artistic, especially those prepared by the partners Edward Van Altena and John Scott. Master craftsmen, these two, sometimes called the Courier and Ives of the

illustrated song, transparent picture. And a well-deserved comparison it is. Easily the most charming set of Christmas slides of the whole era, is this original set done by Scott and Van Altena for a ballad of 1909. [Morath singing] Of all recollections that we cherish are again. There are none so sweet as those of Christmastime. It's a time of great rejoicing and forgetting worldly pain, on the day of days at home or foreign clime. Tis a time of human kindness and we should do our best to make each other happy on the way. For life at best is fleeting, and we pass this way but once And we glory in the dawn of Christmas day. I can see the dear old homestead almost snowbound in the glen, I can hear the choir boys caroling, the Star of Bethlehem. See the children hang their stockings, then their evening prayers they say. And dream of old St Nicholas 'til the dawn of

Christmas day. See the children hang their stockings and their evening prayers they say, and dream of old St Nicholas 'til the dawn of Christmas day. [Morath] I think those old slides capture the lasting values of Christmas pretty well. Home, church, family, the tree, toys, a big Christmas dinner. The past I suppose will always evoke more of a plum pudding Christmas than the present, but that's just a good healthy nostalgia. And I suspect that each new Christmas is really old, a reliving of the past one and the first one. And in spite of the hand-wringers who tell us every year that Christmas has lost its meaning in the world of today, for most of us it means the same timeless, simple things that the magic lantern captured so well in its day. You know I've often wondered why the Tin Pan Alley composers at the turn of the century didn't turn out more,

better, lasting, Christmas songs. Certainly it was the golden age of popular song. The same period that gave us 90 percent of our other beloved singing songs. Why not more Christmas music? But certainly one reason was that Christmas music at that time was more church centered. But popular songwriters did write Christmas music. Such first rate composers as Irving Berlin, Albert Von Tizler, W.R. Williams, many others. I don't know, maybe it was just dumb luck that no Christmas song clicked, survived to join Sweet Adeline, Down by the Old Mill Stream, Put on Your Old Gray Bonnet, all the others. But I'm just happy that some Christmas songs were written at all, however mediocre. So that the slide makers could illustrate these songs and pass along to us some photographic treasure of America's Christmases at the turn of the century. Old slides from old songs show us the toys little girls expected Santa to bring. And the toys that put that Christmas shine in the eyes of little boys. Boys who are granddads

today. And in the original illustrations for this 1909 song, scenes of rich and poor at Christmas time. Now some of these scenes are true to life, 1909, but you may find the songwriters guilty of setting up an improbable situation. But remember, Santa Claus himself is a highly improbable guy and everybody knows he's real. [Morath singing] 'Tell me mamma,' said a little girl on Christmas eve, 'why do you and Daddy smile at me?' 'Christmas, darling, is the day when little girls receive a present from a hand they never see. Santa Claus comes down the chimney, as I've often said. Fills your stocking with his own dear hands.' 'I know, Mama, that he fills it up when I'm in bed, but there's one thing I don't understand. Why doesn't Santa Claus go next door? Why does he just visit me? Won't he like girls who are very poor and have the Christmas tree. I've got more toys than

I really need, and Santa is bringing me more. I'd be satisfied if he'd only divide with the little girl next door. I was over there this evening just to see my friend. Mama, dear, I think they are in need. Every toy I get for Christmas to her I will send. I love my little chum, I do indeed. She is thinking too of Christmas, I am sure, because she was full of smiles and seemed so glad. When she hung her stocking up she talked of Santa Claus. I wonder why her mama very poor and have no Christmas Tree.

I got more toys than I really need and Santa is bringing me more. I'd be satisfied if he'd only divide with the little girl next door. [Morath] Well, after that song, you may decide that one reason a lot of the old songs, not just the Christmas songs, haven't survived is due to a change in attitudes. Songs that were believable around 1910 seem overdone and maudlin today. Now I am not ready to jump to the conclusion that we are therefore, necessarily better off in our realism and sophistication today, but I hasten to add that it was a lot of pretty awful stuff written in the name of sentimentality at the turn of the century. The pendulum swings, it seems, always to extremes, and perhaps in our haste to be rid of sentimentality in modern day America, we've

forgotten how to identify and cherish sentiment. Many times a song would be bad, but the illustrations quite good. In this 1909 tune, Jingle Bells, not to be confused with [plays Jingle Bells tune on piano] [Morath] Now, that Jingle Bell was written in 1857, over a hundred years ago, and it kind of makes this one suffer by comparison. But by using the illustrations for this Jingle Bells and several other badly written Christmas songs, we can illustrate the old Jingle Bells from 1857 to bring it neatly up to date. Up to around 1910, I mean. [Morath singing] Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh, O'er the fields we go, laughing all the way. Bells on bobtail ring, making spirits bright, what fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight. Jingle bells, Jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh. Hey! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh. [Morath] I thought that might bring in a bit of vocal assistance.

There's another song that my children love to sing at Christmas. [Singing-Morath and family] Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. 'Round yon virgin mother and child, holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace. [Morath] Good, good. That better than last year. Good any year, magic lantern days or the present.

And from NET to you and your family, the best of those timeless good Christmas wishes. And we hope these magic lantern glimpses of the Christmas past have added an ornament at least to your Christmas present. Well, now, should we look at those magic lantern slides for Christmas? [child] Is that an old... [mother] Just sit down, and we'll watch the slides. Oh, boy. There. Shall we watch the slides? [musical bells sound] [musical bells sounds while credits roll]

[Announcer] A most happy holiday season from National Educational Television. [KRMA interviewer on street] So, pardon me, sir, but did you know that you can

help sponsor the programs on Channel 6, your community ETV station? [ interviewee] Oh, is that so? [Interviewer] Yes, sir. A $10 membership brings you Channel 6 programs for less than a penny a piece. [Interviewee] Well, fine. I'll take five. [Announcer] Send your tax deductible contribution to the Council for E-TV, Channel 6, Denver. [music playing during promo] [music playing during promo] [music playing during promo]

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Send your subscription to Council for Educational Television, 13th Street and Glenarm, Denver, Colorado. [indecipherable noise] [music plays during promo photo montage] [music plays during promo photo montage] [music plays during promo photo montage] [music plays during promo photo montage]

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[Fran Allison] Hello. I'm Fran Allison and I'm here to remind you... [Puppet, Worm] Hi there, Miss Allison. Where are Kukla and Ollie? [Allison] Well, hello there. Who are you? [Worm] I'm Worm. [Fran] Hi, Worm. [Worm] Well, where are Kukla and Ollie? [Fran] Well, they're not with me today. [Worm] How come? [Fran] Well, I dropped by to remind the folks that Channel 6's auction is on its way and Kukla and Ollie had some other things to do. [Worm] Well, what about the auction? [Fran] You mean you didn't know that Channel 6's auction is.....