It's Showtime, Folks--Almost

Published by Missy Estes
Reminisce Extra magazine
"When TV Was New" column
January, 2010, page 36

Published in Smith Magazine in it's entirely as
"Snow in June"
Featured Stories Section
July 15, 2010

It's Showtime, Folks--Almost

I threw off the bed sheet at 6 a.m. and headed outside.  I hadn't slept a wink.  It was June 1, 1953, and the first television in our middle-class neighborhood was about to be installed in our living room!

At 10 a.m., our neighbors began moseying in and out our front door.  Several milled around the porch while waiting.

Soon, three workmen arrived in a battered blue truck with several long boxes and a square box in the back.  My friends and I followed the workmen and the square box into the house.

As they lifted the TV out, they told us there wouldn't be anything to see for several hours.  My friends fled outside to find more interesting things to do, but I was so crestfallen that I couldn't move.

Daddy later told me it took about three hours to get the antenna up on the house, anchored, and hooked up to the television.

People started gathering in the living room, and Daddy turned on the set.  The technician worked feverishly until he got a picture--well, a bit of a picture, if you used your imagination.

The new term we learned was "snow", which meant the gray, white and black dots dancing all over the screen.  Despite the fuzzy picture, I was in love with the wonder of sitting at home and watching snow.

The next day, we watched the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on an incredibly snowy screen while straining to hear the words over the terrible static.  We didn't mind.  We were all happy to be together.  I remember feeling sorry for the queen, since she had only a crown and we had a television.

NOTE:The above article was an edited version of

ID: 1473467   (Rated: E) Snow in June  The first SNOW I ever saw. by Rixfarmgirl

When you submit to a magazine that tells you they have complete editing rights, that is what they mean.  I didn't even know it was to be published until the magazine arrived at my home.  While it is nice to be published, I prefer the original.  However having a journalistic background, I am very aware of space requirements.