Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts

Sunday, June 14, 2015

WHEN LOCAL TV STATIONS PREEMPTED NETWORK SHOWS FOR SYNDICATED SHOWS

CLICK TO ENLARGE

CLICK TO ENLARGE
The great thing about the retro blogs are that another blogger's post can be a springboard for another post. Pam at Go Retro! mentioned that the early interactive, (and cheesy) 50s TV show, The Continental, was in first run syndication after its failed run on CBS. Also Gilligan, over at Retrospace, has posted some scanned TV Guides from the 70s. These post got me to thinking about a problem that seems to be nonexistent in today's TV world.

Younger people believe that in the good old days, everyone watched the same TV shows, because there were not as many choices. They have heard that there were only four major networks (CBS, NBC, ABC & PBS) and only a smattering of cable channels. Their parents and grandparents all had to see the same TV shows. Right? Nope!

First off, not every area had access to television.  Until the 80s, there were some areas that were served by dual affiliates or multi affilates. If there was one TV station in small market that was not served by another community with a TV station, that TV station might run The Today Show (NBC), followed by Sesame Street (PBS), followed by The Price Is Right (CBS), followed by General Hospital (ABC), etc. etc. Here in Springfield, Missouri, until the late 60s, there were only two TV stations. One was NBC and the other was CBS. They shared ABC's programming, until an ABC affiliate came along in the late 60s.

The other problem was local TV stations, especially in the early days of TV, would preempt the network shows for a first run syndicated program. Up until the mid 70s, a network show might still get plastered over by another program. Why? There were two reasons. According to a August 29, 1959 issue of TV Guide (posted above), it was the old standby excuse in broadcasting of money. Networks didn't offer very network avails for local ads, but at that time syndicated shows were all local avail slots just waiting for local sponsors to fill. I've seen large ads in old editions of the Springfield Daily News and Springfield Leader & Press advertising the syndicated series, State Trooper, on a local TV station with a local sponsor mentioned.

The second, can be explained in a modern analogy. These were the "hip cable shows" of their day. There was no network censors to dictate what could be shown. They also gathered buzz among the media and viewers alike to become more popular than the network fare they were replacing. This was in the early days of TV when the networks were scrambling for anything to fill the schedule (ABC was showing military training films weekly during the early 50s). You could say that Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, COronado 9, Shotgun Slade, Science Fiction Theater, Case of the Curious Robin and The Liberace Show, were the Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead and Keeping Up With the Kardashians of their day.

There were some companies that specialized in syndication such a ZIV, the company behind Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, and several others. ITC was a British company that sold British shows to American TV. Many of the early ITC programs were based on popular literary characters, such as Robin Hood, William Tell, Sir Lancelot, and The Invisible Man. One ITC program, The Saint starring Roger Moore, was so successful in syndication that NBC picked it up later in its run. One of ITC's biggest hits would be The Muppet Show in the 70s. The Adventures of Superman (produced by a company called Motion Pictures for Television) was picked up for Saturday mornings by ABC. In the 80s, NBC picked up SCTV for late night (locally it was preempted for Saturday Night Live reruns).

Desilu also syndicated some shows such as Sheriff of Cochise and The Whirlybirds. Universal TV was behind Shotgun Slade, the only Western to feature a jazz score.

The networks themselves got involved and almost cut their own throats in doing so. In 1954, NBC began syndicating reruns of Dragnet under the name Badge 714, while Dragnet was still on the air. In Springfield, it aired on BOTH TV stations. Later, CBS did the same with Gunsmoke and The Andy Griffith Show. They were changed into Marshal Dillon and Andy of Mayberry. The FCC put a stop to the networks syndicating their own shows in the early 70s.

By the 70s, only ITC was producing first run shows exclusively for syndication. What ultimately lead to the end of TV stations preempting network programs was the rise of independent TV stations and cable stations, which could show these syndicated programs. Also  TV stations broadcast 24 hours, so they had room to stick programs anywhere they wanted.

These days if you want to see a TV program, you can get it. You are not at the mercy of your local TV station.


Saturday, December 6, 2014

The Night Before Christmas (1905)



This is the first known film version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas." Directed by Edwin Porter and produced by Thomas Edison.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

RANDOM TRIVIA & THOUGHTS ABOUT 75 YEARS OF BATMAN

Batman's first comic book appearance
July 23, 2014 has been designated Batman Day to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Batman's debut.

I first became familiar with Batman through the Superfriends TV show. As I have mentioned before, the TV show was never in reruns in this area until Me-TV came to town earlier this year. However, we did have The New Adventures of Batman cartoon of the late 70s. One local TV station did air the movie on late night TV occasionally and I did have the View Master reel of the episodes "The Purr-fect Crime /Better Luck Next Time."

I liked just about all of the superheroes but for some reason I liked Batman, probably because he doesn't have super powers. You might say Batman has a scary outfit and PLENTY OF BLING (or as the Joker said in the 1989 movie "those wonderful toys"). He didn't fly, but he had a cool car, boat, plane and helicopter


When I was nine, my parents bought me the book Batman: From the 30s to the 70s, an anthology of great Batman comic book stories. We got it at a discounted price because the dust cover was missing. Above is the dust cover art by Carmine Infantino.

ROBERT LOWERY - WORST BATMAN EVER
Of course, I have went on record saying that I disliked The Dark Knight movie. I only saw half of Batman Begins, but I liked it much better than The Dark Knight. However, my vote for worst Batman is an actor from Missouri. Robert Lowery was the second Batman First off, the costume is awful. My father made me a Batman cowl and cape out of an old dark blue and white polka doted table cloth my mom was throwing away. I looked more like Batman than Robert Lowery did. The main thing about Lowery is his lack of enthusiasm or excitement. He sounds like he is reading straight from a cue card.


Most hardcore Batman fans hate me because not only do I love the TV show, my favorite movie is the 1966 movie. ONE HINT...THE WORST IS YET TO COME!  My second favorite Batman movie is Batman and Robin starring George Clooney and my third favorite is Batman Forever with Val Kilmer. Fourth is the 1989 movie and fifth is Batman Returns. I hate the dead serious "Dark Knight" stuff. Some of you will just have to get over it!


Speaking of Batman humor!


World's Finest comics featured Batman and Superman teaming up. It also featured many of the notorious DC "Imaginary Stories." In this one Batman blames Superman for his parents death and goes after him with a vengeance. You may not be familiar with the story, but one panel of this story has become pop outside of the comic book story. Robin tells Batman he is out of control and Batman slaps him. That panel has become a popular meme on Facebook. People change the words in the balloon for various reasons. This is the original version.

THE ORIGINAL BATMAN SLAPS ROBIN PANEL
TRIVIA: What other character did Adam West and Val Kilmer both play before they played Batman? Doc Holiday. Warner Brothers tried to sell a Doc Holiday TV series with West in the staring role during the 50s Western boom. He played Doc Holiday in episodes of Lawman, Sugarfoot and Colt 45. None of the three networks showed interest. West has joked that the networks didn't think TV viewers were ready for a coughing and wheezing hero. Kilmer, of course, played Holiday in Tombstone. Another added Batman connection: In the 1939 movie, Frontier Marshal, Doc Holiday is played by future Joker Cesar Romero.


The man pictured above is Olan Soule. He was the voice of Batman in cartoons from 1968 til 1984. First in the Filmation Adventures of Batman and then on The Superfriends. After 1984, he switched to voicing Professor Stein, the mentor of Firestorm. The voice of Batman was taken over by Adam West. Soule also appeared on the TV shows Captain Midnight, Dragnet and The Andy Griffith Show. The voice of Robin was Casey Kasem.


While on the subject of Batman cartoons, let's straighten something out. Many articles, websites and reference books have claimed that the character of Bat Mite, who was played a prominent role in the 70s New Adventures of Batman cartoon series from Filmation, was created for that series. Nope! He was one of several attempts by DC to copy successful elements of the Superman comics. Bat Mite was supposed to be a good version of Superman's villain, Mr.Myxlplyx. Batman got Ace the Bat-Hound much like Superman had Krypto the Super Dog.


And yes, Batman even had to marry his nosy girl reporter, Vicky Vale, in a cover story. Bob Kane claimed he modeled Vicky after a girl he met at a Hollywood party during the filming of the first Batman serial (which featured Bruce Wayne's first girlfriend, Julie Madison) named Marilyn Monroe.


Incidentally, Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft (pictured above), who stared in the first Batman serial, are the youngest actors to play Batman and Robin. Wilson was 23 and Croft was 16. Croft and Burt Ward are the only actors to play Robin, who were in their teens (Ward was 19 when the TV show started).


No, this isn't the Joker from one of the serials. The villains in the serials were a Japanese mad scientist and a typical movie serial "hooded" mad scientist. This is the inspiration for the Joker. It is actor Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine in the 1928 silent movie, The Man Who Laughs. Batman comic writer gave this same photo to artist Jerry Robinson, who drew the version you see on the right.


Last but not least, this is a 1966 children's record of songs about Batman. It credits "Dan and Dale." In reality it is the rock group the Blues Project and experimental jazz musician Sun Ra doing the music. This was the same year Blue Project released their Projections LP.  The Who, The Kinks and Jan and Dean also recorded versions of the theme song.


Let's leave with these words of wisdom from Batman.


      

Thursday, June 26, 2014

TV CHARACTERS THAT WERE REAL PEOPLE

When I was a kid, adults frequently told me that the characters on TV "are not real people." WHATEVER!?!? As I look back I've come to the conclusion that if I wanted to believe that Steve Austin and the Fonz are real people, I was entitled to that believe. Adults in Lebanon, Missouri were jerks.

The truth is there have been many shows that were about real life characters. The stories may not have been accurate, but these characters were real people. Here are what these people looked like. I've listed the names of the actors and actresses that played them but skipped posting a photo. Photos of the TV version are pretty easy to find thanks to Google or Pinterest.


Major Robert Roberts (1731-1795) was played by Keith Larsen on Northwest Passage.


Daniel Boone (1734-1820) played by Fess Parker.


Davy Crockett (1786-1836) also played by Fess Parker on Disneyland/The Wonderful World of Disney.


Jim Bowie (1796-1836) played by Scott Forbes on The Adventures of Jim Bowie.


Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) played by Hugh O'Brian on The Life & Times of Wyatt Earp.


Annie Oakley (1860-1926) played by Gail Davis (Gail was really kinda cute).


Bat Masterson (1853-1921) played by Gene Barry.


Laura Ingles Wilder (1867-1957) played Melissa Gilbert on Little House on the Prairie.


Eliot Ness (1903-1957) played by Robert Stack on The Untouchables.


Barney Ruditsky (1898-1962) played by James Gregory on The Lawless Years. I made an earlier post about both The Untouchables and The Lawless Years.


Greg "Pappy" Boyington (1912-1988) played by Robert Conrad on Baa Baa Black Sheep/Black Sheep Squadron.


Frank Buck (1884-1950) played by Bruce Boxleitner on Bring 'Em Back Alive. Buck wrote an autobiography called Bring 'Em Back Alive, but the TV show was more of a Raiders of The Lost Ark clone.


Dave Barry was played by Harry Anderson on the TV series Dave's World (1993-1997).


Friday, June 13, 2014

THE FATHERS OF FAMOUS JUNIORS

I've considered doing this post for quite some time. There are some well-known public figures with a "junior" on the end of their name. Granted, some juniors are obvious as to who the senior was and what they did because junior followed in their footsteps (Frank Sinatra, Hank Williams, Douglas Fairbanks, John F. Kennedy, Al Gore, Ed Begley, Alan Hale, Freddie Prinze).

These are some famous juniors, who were either in another line of work or eclipsed their father's notority.


Norman Swartzkopf Sr. - Head of New Jersey State Police and narrator of the radio show Gangbusters.


Efrem Zimbalist Sr. - Violinist, composer and symphony conductor.


Harry Connick Sr.- District Attorney for New Orleans.


Robert Downey Sr. - Director of the movies Putney Swope and Greaser's Palace.


Cuba Gooding Sr. - Lead singer of the 70's R & B group The Main Ingredient (guy in middle)


Sammy Davis Sr. - Vaudeville dancer



Martin Luther King Sr. -Minister


Morton Downey Sr. -Irish crooner and radio show host

Kurt Vonnegut Sr. - Influential architect who designed many of the art deco buildings in Indianapolis. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a photo of him.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

THE AGE OF TELEVISION ON LP

Let's take a break from the female comic strip character films for a quick post about an LP I found at a record collector's show in Springfield over the weekend. I cannot find any substantial background information on the origins of it's content. It is called The Age of Television. It features the voices of Hugh Downs, Milton Berle, Arlene Francis and Sylvester "Pat" Weaver.

My guess is this was a television special of the early 70s. The LP was released in 1972 on RCA. You are probably saying, "Why would a TV special be released on a record album?" The answer is that this was before VHS, DVD or You Tube. This was common before home video. There was a Tonight Show anniversary special released on LP (I believe I have that somewhere). There were LPs made containing one episode of Saturday Night  Live, the Smothers Brothers, Donny and Marie and Dean Martin shows. I can't find a date on when this show aired or what network, although I'm guessing NBC because of Pat Weaver and Hugh Downs involvement and it was released on RCA (NBC and RCA were part of the same company back then).

If this was a TV special, I would love to see it. This LP is filled with great audio clips from both TV and radio shows. The LP is produced in true stereo so you can hear different clips on different speakers. I want to listen to this with headphones some time. It does come with a booklet of photos, that are a kind of psychedelic collage.

This must not be a real rare LP. Several websites have unopened copies for about $20 (I gave $5 for mine). I wish I could find information on whether this is audio from a TV special or was produced solely for this record. It is a great relic from the 50s nostalgia craze of the 70s.    

Monday, March 3, 2014

THE BOOK THAT MADE ME WHAT I AM TODAY


I've been working on a post on movie adaptation of female comic strip characters (Blonde, Little Orphan Annie, Brenda Star, Friday Foster, Wonder Woman, etc). I recently discovered a film based on Valentina, an erotic, psychedelic Italian comic strip illustrated by Guido Crepax (which I plan to mention in my post). I remember seeing sample of Valentina in a book my parents bought me when I was nine years old entitled The World Encyclopedia of Comics by Maurice Horn (I notice in this photo that the biography of Guido Crepax is on the front of the dust jacket, to the left of Yellow Kid).

I tried to look for some updated information of Maurice Horn, but found little on the Internet. I have a video with an interview with him on it and he speaks in French, however, the bio of him in the book indicates he is an American. He was very well-known as an expert on comic art. Milton Canniff even drew Maurice Horn into a Steve Canyon strip. 

The more I thought about this book, the more I realized how much of an influence this book had on my life. It really triggered not only my creative instincts but my need for more knowledge and the realization that somewhere in the world there were people taking the things I was interested in seriously. It also pointed that there were movies and TVs about these comic strip characters, so that made me interested in film and media history. There was a timeline in the front which sparked my interest in modern history. The foreign entries sparked my interest in other countries. This book told me that the was life beyond Laclede County and Lebanon, Missouri. For that I am ever thankful.

   

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

DESDINOVA'S FAVORITE BEATLES SONGS


This week marks the 50th anniversary of The Beatles appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show. It is the 50th anniversary of The Beatles launching the British invasion, dominating the record charts and becoming one of the most influential acts in pop music history. Of course, this also means that, while the mainstream media celebrates this great anniversary, the local media (especially the Springfield News Leader) will inform us that "Ozarks-don't-like-them-thar-Beatles." This has happened many times over the past few years. Instead of talking to the ultimate Beatle-fan or a music professor to explain how the Beatles changed music, the News Leader will find a crabby, old white man (around 90 years old), who will say they "just made noise" or some bat-guano-crazy woman in her 60's, who organized an anti-Beatle group in high school in 1964 or later. When "Free As a Bird" was released, the News Leader had an article about how none of the Springfield radio stations were going to play it. I'm sure some of the local talk radio nitwits will bash the Beatles. 

Thankfully, you have me, Desdinova the Super Villain of the Ozarks, to save the day.  I have compiled a list of my 64 favorite songs by the Beatles songs.  I picked 64 because 1964 was the year the Beatles came to America and we are better off because they did.

1. I Feel Fine
2. I Am the Walrus
3. Can't Buy Me Love
4. I Want to Hold You Hand
5. Rain
6. Strawberry Fields Forever
7. Tomorrow Never Knows
8. Ticket to Ride
9. A Hard Days Night
10. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
11. And Your Bird Can Sing
12. Magical Mystery Tour
13. Hey Bulldog
14. We Can Work It Out
15. I'll Be Back
16. She Loves You
17. Drive My Car
18. I Saw Her Standing There
19. Helter Skelter
20. Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
21. Day Tripper
22. Paperback Writer
23. Revolution
24. Eight Days a Week
25. Got To Get You Into My Life
26. Help!
27. Taxman
28. Don't Bother Me
29. No Reply
30. You Won't See Me
31. All My Loving
32. Things We Said To Day
33. I'm Looking Through You
34. Blue Jay Way
35. Come Together
36. Something
37. I Need You
38. Glass Onion
39. I'm Down
40. Doctor Robert
41. Nowhere Man
42. Tell Me Why
43. All You Need is Love
44. I'll Cry Instead
45. Another Girl
46. While My Guitar Gently Weep
47. Baby You're a Rich Man
48. I Want You (She's So Heavy)
49. You Can't Do That
50. Old Brown Shoe
51. It Won't Be Long
52. It's All Too Much
53. Love Me Do
54. I'm Only Sleeping
55. Get Back
56. Getting Better
57. Eleanor Rigby
58. Hey Jude
59.Your Mother Should Know
60. Hello Goodbye
61. Yellow Submarine
62. Penny Lane
63. A Day In The Life
64. Free as a Bird

BTW: After I wrote this intro, KY 3 news posted some great stories by journalist Ed Filmer from 2000 about the Beatles secret trip to the Ozarks. One features syndicated radio personality Jim Bohannon.
This one is about the ranch they stayed at in Alton, Missouri.  


Monday, February 3, 2014

FEBRUARY 3rd - BAD DAY IN ROCK & ROLL HISTORY

February 3rd is probably the worst day for rock and roll history.Why?


  • Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valence and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959.

  • British record producer Joe Meek commits suicide (after killing his landlady) on Feb. 3, 1967. Meek was obsessed with Buddy Holly to the point that he tried to contact Holly with the help of a medium. Meek also believed in his later days that American record producer Phil Spector (pictured below) was spying on him.

  • And speaking of Spector, on Feb. 3rd, 2003, actress Lana Clarkson dies from a gunshot at Phil Spector's mansion. A jury found Spector guilty of murdering Lana Clarkson on April 13, 2009. Here is a look at what I said about the case on the old blog.

Friday, November 22, 2013

A SAD U.P.I BULLETIN FROM 50 YEARS AGO TODAY - 11-22-1963


I'll admit I swiped this from a discussion board for radio pros. A radio newsman saved this United Press International teletype wire bulletin from November 22, 1963. When I began working in radio at KSMU in Springfield, we still had the teletype machine with the bells that went off for a major national or world news story. The only time it happened when I was on duty was a chimpanzee was runamuck at a supermarket (I can't remember where) and Geraldo Rivera was hit in the face with a chair during a taping of his TV show.

When you report news, you often have to read many sad and disturbing stories. Sometimes they are hard to read because they touch you and your life. I've had to read news stories about the first girl I ever loved going to prison on federal charges. I have had to read stories about the death of colleagues, co-workers, friends and family members. However, I humbly don't think I could read or would ever want to have to read what Walter Cronkite is doing in this famous clip. No matter who the President is, this is not the kind of news I would want to deliver.


Thursday, July 11, 2013

I LIKED NEW COKE AND I'M PROUD OF IT!

I hate knee-jerk reactions because "somebody-didn't-like-it." The worst example of this happened twenty-eight years ago this week (July 10, 1985). After introducing a new and improved Coke in April of 1985, they decided to create Coca-Cola Classic, which was the same flavor it had always been to appease the stick in the mud types that were whining and complaining about the change.

If you believe marketing, business and even some 80s retro blogs legend of this blip in pop culture history, you are inclined to believe that the whole country hated New Coke from the minute it appeared on the market and it quickly disappeared from store shelves in favor of Coca-Cola Classic. To an extent, I thought that was true myself, except for one detail...I preferred New Coke to Coca-Cola Classic. Personally, my heart belongs to Pepsi, because I always thought Coke had a sour taste to it. However, I like soda of any kind, so when push comes to shove I will drink Coke. I love soda so much I can drink whatever is available at that moment. Does that make me ambidextrous?  Needless to say,  I was kind of disappointed when the New Coke, that I loved, was yanked from the market in favor of Coca-Cola Classic, which I didn't care for.

Of course, in typical fashion, every time I said I liked the New Coke, I got ripped a new anus by classmates and adults in Lebanon, Mo. 

In researching New Coke, I learned something I that we are never told in the popular version of this story. New Coke was a success in major markets and on both coast. There was an overwhelming positive response in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

The backlash came from (You guest it) the South and Midwest. Before Coca-Cola Classic was rolled out, there were stories of hording of "old" Coke, in the same way people in these same parts of the country have been hording Twinkies, guns and ammunition in recent years. I'm sure somewhere there is news video of a redneck saying, "Coke is an in-steetoooshun in Murica. Thee Foundin Fathers say'd in the Con-steetooshun that ya ain't suppoz'd to change Coke. The Bible saize ya suppoz'd to change Coke. It is un-Murican to change Coke."

Another thing I found out, New Coke was not officially discontinued until 1998. At one point in the early 90s, it was sold in the areas where it was popular under the name Coke 2. I'm sure some Republican idiot in the Missouri legislature made a law against the sale of it here in Missouri (Remember that in the late 80s, some in the Missouri legislature want to make it illegal for teenagers to buy tapes and CDs).

The way I see it, President Ronald Reagan should have declared Marshall Law in Georgia (Headquarters of Coca-Cola), Texas (You know my feelings about Texans) and the other states where there was a huge amount of public outcry against the New Coke. He should have said, "Look, you stupid hillbillies are going to drink the New Coke, if I have to order federal troops to hold your nose and pour it down your throat." Sadly, he didn't.

I guess there are several things about this moment of pop culture that bothers me. The people who complain about political correctness ruining America are the very ones who were responsible for Coca-Cola backing down and celebrate it as a great thing. You have to wonder about people, who feel no shame in their racism, antisemitism, homophobia and even hatred of children and teens. They also get angry if a talk radio show host or public figure is forced to apologize for saying something that is racist, antisemitic or homophobic, yet those same people will demand an apology over something like changing the taste of a soda or a TV news station reporting on gay or African-American people or a new movie version of The Lone Ranger (Which I liked and highly recommend).

I also think that if something is successful in major markets on the East and West Coast, then middle America and Dixie should be FORCED TO LIKE IT TOO. I hate the "We ain't gonna allow none of that here in the Ozarks" attitude. It is just as bad in other states in the Mid-West and the South. Besides the mid-West and the South has the WORST TASTE IN POP CULTURE!

I believe Coca-Cola made a big mistake caving in to pressure and set an unhealthy precedent. Of course, my opinions are the reason why I'm considered the Super Villain of the Ozarks!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! 

     

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

SPRINGFIELD MISSOURI LIKED DISCO IN 1979

You may have noticed that at the top of the blog, among the clutter in the masthead, is a Springfield magazine about disco. The issue is from July 1979. The article says there are three discos in Springfield: Wicker Works at the Sheraton Inn, Merlins's at the Hilton Inn and Lucy's at the Holiday Inn. You may not believe it, but I remember the names of these places from my childhood. Of course, they are no longer in existence.

Brenda May - Desdinova's favorite teacher

One thing I noticed in this article was that you could take free lessons on "how to disco dance" on Tuesday nights at Wicker Works from Brenda May. This caught my attention because Brenda May was not only my drama and speech teacher in 10th and 11th grade at Lebanon High School, but she was one of my all time favorite teachers. She gave me confidence when nobody else would by telling me to go to college and follow my dream of a media career. A few years back, I tracked her down via the Internet and sent her an e-mail, thanking her for her encouragement and kindness. She was also the sexiest teacher I ever had.

Another name mentioned in this article is Ruthann Schwenn, who was public relations and marketing for Wicker Works. I have several Springfield magazines from this era and they contain several photos of Ms. Schwenn. She was very attractive. I would be interested in knowing what became of her.

The article was written by Katie Dark, who is now know as Katie Hilton of the Lebanon Daily Record. This article is very informative and well written. Luckily it is not filled with the disgusting Republican propaganda that fills her column in the Sunday edition of  The Lebanon Daily Record (I could eat a can of alphabet soup and barf up a better column than she writes now).

The thing that this article says to me indirectly, some 34 years later, is that at one time Springfield was interested in new things and new trends. In the past few years, local media has given us the impression that Springfield isn't interested in anything modern and contemporary. They present the views of a few fun-hating, anti-entertainment idiots as the majority view point of everyone in the Ozarks. It was nice to know that at least one media outlet in the Ozarks (Sadly, no longer published) didn't view national entertainment trends as a threat to "our quality of life" in the Ozarks.

BTW: You realize that I'm now going to have to post an disco Ipod playlist.  



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