Coins in the Curtains, Shoot-em-ups on the Tube

The house at 2 1/2 Beach had a formal living room in the front of the house, which in later years became our parents' bedroom. Aside from the glass-paned door to the hall, there was a gray sofa sitting under the front windows. I have no idea what material it was covered in but it wore like iron and its rough surface scratched bare arms and legs.

Mom made the draperies herself, a patterned fabric in shades of dark mustard, green and maroon. Each had a silver dollar in the hem to make them hang properly and, she said, for luck and prosperity. I don't know whether this was an old Irish superstition passed on to her, or just an old wives' tale but, in spite of having nine children, there was always enough money to pay for the necessities, plus a little more.

The focus of the living room was our first television set, a black and white cathode ray tube model in a dark wooden (mahogany?) cabinet on which we watched the - mostly - westerns of the day: Roy Rogers, Wagon Train, The Rifleman, Maverick, Paladin, Have Gun Will Travel, Bat Masterson, Death Valley Days, Rawhide, and of course Bonanza and Gunsmoke. And then there were the sort-of westerns, especially for kids: Sky King, My Friend Flicka, Fury, Rin Tin Tin, The Lone Ranger.

As for "children's" shows, we faithfully watched the Mouseketeers on The Mickey Mouse Club; somewhere there's a black and white photo of Chris, Terry and myself sitting on the floor in the play room watching the show wearing our mouse ears, eyes glued to the set. I have vague if pleasant memories of "Kukla Fran and Ollie" but the "Miss Frances Ding Dong School House" I loathed because even at that tender age I thought it was plain dumb (sorry, Miss Frances, wherever you are) and Bozo the Clown left me cold. On the other hand I loved Captain Kangaroo for its silliness, especially Bunny Rabbit and his carrots, and Mr. Moose with the ping pong balls. To this day I can still hear the Banana Man's high-pitched "wooooooww."

The local children's show was The Magic Toyshop, with Merrily(Marilyn Hubbard-Herr), Eddie Flum Num (Socrates Sampson), Mr. Trolley (Lewis O'Donnell), Twinkle the piano playing clown (Tony Riposo) and the Play Lady(Jean Daugherty.) It was broadcast on channel 5, then the CBS affiliate WHEN-TV. I can remember part of the phrase "the magic key to the magic door to the wonderful Magic Toyshop. All you do is put your thumbs at the corners of your mouth and you turn them UP! into a smile!" See photo above for a picture of the cast.