When we moved to Cincinnati in 1950, we got our first tv. As it’s that long ago, I’ve forgotten all the things we watched but I do remember some.

We watched Howdy Doody every day after school. My favourite was Princess Summerfall Winterspring. Watching the shows on YouTube, I can’t believe I liked it, but I did and so did my younger sisters.

Judy, my sister who was a year and a half younger, was particularly fond of Captain Video and the Video Rangers. She loved the Video Ranger who was the only one I can remember – he was her first serious crush at the age of six!

I also remember The Kate Smith Hour starring Kate Smith. She played the piano and sang songs from the 30s, 40s and early 50s, I think. (You can see her in YouTube) She wasn’t slim and made up, wearing interesting costumes and jiggling about. No. She dressed like a matronly 50 year old; her hair was styled like a matronly 50 year old; I imagine she wore the shoes of a matronly 50 year old. I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing those things and have my hair like that and I’m 81! But that was back in the early 1950s and things have changed, thank goodness! Her theme song was one I’ve not heard since. 🎶🎶When the Moon comes over the mountain🎶🎶

Other shows I remember but not whether they were early 50s or later 50s are Dragnet, The Jackie Gleason Show, I Love Lucy, also What’s My Line. I didn’t watch the show that had teens dancing (like the one you see in the Grease, the film).

One programme I did see was The Ed Sullivan Show that had Elvis Presley on the first time. Before that, Judy told me that Elvis was going to be on and I said, no, his name is Alvis – or it could have been the other way round – I really don’t remember!

Ooh, I’ve just remembered another programme I loved was Ozzie and Harriet. I loved Ricky, Judy preferred David. It’s strange how these things come back to you….

Since those days I’ve watched so many shows on British tv, many of them American. I loved Rawhide, which had Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates. Little did I know that later in his life, he would be the Mayor of Carmel where my father lived!

I remember watching the tv on November 22, 1963 and finding that President Kennedy had been shot. It was so incredible that such a thing could happen! I was 20 years old and had a date with someone called Paul (I think). We went somewhere on a bus and everyone in the bus was talking about the terrible news – here in London, a million miles from Dallas, but so unbelievable! Now, people are shot in America and nothing much happens on British tv – it’s just what Americans do to each other. What a sad state of affairs!

When we left America, people had guns but rarely even thought of using them for anything but going hunting or shooting at targets, often old beer cans. Things have changed – and not for the better, regarding guns!

One thing I haven’t mentioned is that all the tv shows were in black and white and there were three channels. When we came to England, programmes were black and white and there were two channels. In America the tv day started around six am, in England, the tv came on around 1pm for an hour or so then went off until about six pm, closing down about 10:30. Strange to think of that now!