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Your support powers every story we tell. We're committed to producing high-quality, fact-based news and information that gives you the facts in this community we call home. If our work has helped you stay informed, take action, or feel more connected to Windham County – please give now to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31st.
I have to plead guilty to being a “Sylvaniaphile.” When some self-righteous polling entity says that the average American watches about three hours of TV a day, I figure I'm about average.
My old man bought our first TV in the early '50s. It was a 12-inch, black-and-white Sylvania floor model and cost $400. I've been watching the glowing eyeball of popular culture for lo these last 50 years.
There is no more informative method of getting a feel for the attitudes of America than following the development of the quiz show. The first one I remember was “You Bet Your Life,” starring Groucho Marx. Groucho would have guests on two at a time, and for 10 or 15 minutes he harmlessly poked fun at them while puffing his signature cigars and pogo-sticking his eyebrows in a lascivious manner. Once they finally got down to the questions for cash the show kind of petered out.
The first reality TV show I can recall is “Queen for a Day,” hosted by Jack Bailey. On the show, three blowsy, world-weary housewives were trotted out to tell their stories to a studio audience.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a national War on Poverty. To set the parameters for the battle, the administration adopted a federal poverty threshold, developed by Mollie Orshansky, an economist for the Social Security Administration. Working with census data from 1955, she found that families of three...
