Beyond Romper Room

Recent posts by Hollywood and Shocho asked who else remembered TV shows from childhood like Bozo the Clown and Romper Room, which both featured actual kid participation (including Hollywood and Shocho themselves). I don't recall ever seeing Bozo, and have only the haziest memories of Romper Room, but there was a similar local show in our neck of the woods. Trouble is, I can't for the life of me remember what it was called.

Unlike Romper Room, which was basically a franchise with locally produced shows, the show from my childhood was probably a strictly local one. I think the host was supposed to be a ship's captain (no, not Captain Kangaroo, he didn't do a live show with kids on it) -- something like "Captain Bob" or "Captain Mike", maybe -- and I have a vague recollection of my older brother being on the show; I think I was there, backstage, with our mother. Since my brother is 4 years older than me, and these shows typically had 6- to 8-year-olds on, I'm guessing I was 4 at the most. Small wonder I can't remember anything more than that about it.

Now, I did think that Shocho's reference to Romper Room hostess being named "Miss [whatever]" (his "local" hostess was "Miss Joan") rang a bell with me, so I racked my brain trying to remember who the local "Miss" might have been. Turns out I was thinking of "Miss Frances", and it literally "rang a bell" for me -- Miss Frances wasn't a Romper Room hostess, but rather was the teacher of "Ding Dong School"! From 1952-1956, Dr. Frances Horwich created the prototype of the educational show format later used by shows such as Mr. Rogers. Anyone else recall Miss Frances and Ding Dong School?

One more 50s show that had kids on it was, of course, Howdy Doody, hosted by "Buffalo Bob" Smith. [The first Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody, by the way, was Bob Keeshan, who later became Captain Kangaroo.) Here's an obscure piece of Buffalo Bob Smith trivia: At one time he owned three radio stations in Maine, including WQDY AM/FM, located in Calais, Maine (for those not familiar with Maine, that's way Down East on the Canadian border, and it's pronounced "Cal-ous", not "Cal-ay"). He bought the station in 1964; I don't know just when he sold it, but I was told he still owned it when I lived in Calais and environs in 1974-76. My understanding was that he also was living in the Calais area at that time, or at least had a summer place there, but I haven't been able to verify that online.

Amazing what memories I can dredge up from 50 years ago, when I can't remember what I had for dinner yesterday.