Doug Quick On Line

WICD, Channel 15, Champaign, Illinois History

Page 1: The Northwest Publishing/WDAN-TV Years(1953-1960)


An Urbana Courier newspaper account of how WDAN-TV had plans to go on the air on December 10th, 1953. The station didn't make it until Dec 19th.	From the Danville Commercial-News, which owned WDAN-TV urging people who already had TV's to add on a UHF converter to receive the new Danville TV station.

It appears that WDAN-TV was certainly "built on the cheap." Compared to the "state of the art" facilities built in 1938 for WDAN-Radio at the Wolford Hotel and later in the late 1940's at the location at 1501 North Washington, the facilities at WDAN-TV were built at a minimum cost. The TV station had no storefront, no reception area, no sales offices and no rest rooms. It evidently shared much of the facilities with WDAN-Radio. The TV station consisted only of a master control room, a main studio, a film room and one office. It was obvious that the TV station would probably play a minor roll compared to WDAN-Radio. The media monopoly of Northwest Publishing(later Gannett) was kept with the ownership of the Commerical-News, WDAN-Radio and now WDAN-TV.

On December 19th, 1953, WDAN-TV, channel 24 signed on the air from the studio and transmitter sight located at 1501 North Washington Street in Danville, Illinois. The Danville Commercial-News, the cities daily Newspaper, along with WDAN-AM and WDAN-TV were all owned by Northwestern Publishing, which later became part of Gannett Publishing. The TV facility consisted of studios, transmitter and tower, along with the transmitter and tower for WDAN-AM.

The original radio tower was a 385 foot self supporting tower which was built in 1938, when WDAN-AM signed on. The original radio studio was located at the Wolford Hotel, and was considered one of the most modern built up to that time. When the Danville Commercial News built the original radio studio, no expense was spared in building a state of the art studio of it's time, quite a contrast to the building of the new TV station in 1953.

During the late 40's, the radio studio was moved to the transmitter site and the original transmitter building was surrounded by a new facility which included studios and office space.


One of WDAN-TV's target "on air" dates was December 20th, 1953. (Click on each for an enlarged view of the actual article) At right is a reconstruction of a full page newspaper advertisement announcing the new WDAN-TV station.

Here is the text of the Commercial-News article above:
WDAN-TV Target Date on December 20

"WDAN-TV plans to go on the air with American Broadcasting Co. network programs, both sponsored and unsponsored on Sunday, Dec. 20, Robert J. Burow general manager said Monday. Danville residents who turned their sets to channel 24 Sunday afternoon saw the first test pattern telecast intermittently for about an hour beginning at 3:22pm. All outside work on the TV station ahs been completed, Burow said."

"LOCAL PROGRAMS No local programs will be telecast until at least Dec. 27 and prossibly not until after the first of the year, the manager added. The tentative schedule is to telecast network programs from 5 to 11pm, Monday through Friday, and 2 to 11pm Saturday and Sunday, Burow said. When no network programs are being telecast, the station will revert to it's test pattern until local programs are put on the air."

"GETS PROGRAMS Burow returned to Danville during the weekend after conferring in New York with ABC officials on plans for carrying all the network's programs. Previously, only about half the programs were to be used by the local station. Included in the arrangements with ABC officials are plans to carry werestling and boxing from New York every Saturday night, Burow disclosed."

"BASKETBALL GAMES The network also has completed plans to carry a number of eastern college basketball games, including one in which Notre Dame will be one of the teams, Burow added. Another attraction will be wrestling from Chicago from 9 to 11pm on Wednesdays. The Sugar Bowl football game also will be telecast, Burow said. A complete progam listing probably won't be ready for publication in the Commercial-News before Sunday."

"ANTENNA RAISED Wind hampered efforts to raise the 1 1/2 ton TV antenna during the weekend of December 4 and work on it was completed early last Tuesday. During the remained of last week, workmen installed the copper coaxial transmission line running from the tower into the building. Only remaining outside work is installation of a ground wire connecting the radio station to the new tower."

In 1953, the TV station was built as an addition to the rear of the radio facility and included a studio, master control room and offices. The radio studio was moved to the Commercial-News offices downtown sometime during the late 50's, possibly when the TV station was sold to the Plains Television Partners.

One document found from the era of the TV station construction contained estimated operating costs of the station and included the expense of 5 engineers at $85/week, 1 "traffic girl" at $45/week, a "film man" at $100/week and a "production man" at $125/week. Other expensed included film costs at $3,000/month, power costs at $100/month, BMI/ASCAP at $1,000/month, sales costs at $2000/month and insurance at $300/month. The cost for network services included $1200/month, AT&T Chicago at $4000/month. The proposed ad rates were $150/hour, $90/per one-half hour show, $50/for a quarter hour show, $25/spot and $15 station breaks. The initial hours of operation were from 6PM to 10PM and the income goal was $11,200 per month. The operating hours of WDAN-TV varied, but generally was around 3PM to Midnight, although the transmitter was turned on at 9AM with Test Pattern and Tone being broadcast until programming began at 3PM. If there was any special programming from ABC, it is assumed that WDAN-TV would broadcast it, such as the Army-McCarthy Hearings(broadcast by ABC exclusively) of the mid 50's, but it's unknown for sure. Even though ABC was doing some daytime programming, WDAN-TV delayed it's daily sign-on, I assume because of the lack of programming to fill in the blank time periods that ABC didn't program which were several hours each day.

This is picture, above, of an actual piece of film strip with the WDAN-TV test pattern on it.

(Courtesy of Neuhoff Broadcasting, current owners of WDAN(AM), WDNL(FM) and WRHK(FM), and the former home of WDAN-TV)

		Pictures below from Commercial-News are from editions published during December of 1953. Click on each picture for a much larger view. "Three of the men responsible for keeping the personality wheels well oiled are, left to right, Max Shaffer, former sports and special events director recently promoted to WDAN-TV station manager. Robert Burow, general manager, and John Eckert, formerly announcer-salesman who will now devote his time to being sales director." from Commercial News
"The only thing funny about this master control panel after five weeks of wiring and assembling was that it actually worked, according to WDAN-TV technician Norlyn Dossey, the gentleman in the middle. Right, William Shoup, aided by Dossy and others, put the control panel in working conditions. Al Stelk, left, handles TV projector." from Commercial-News

Construction of the new WDAN-TV tower(right) made demolition of the old WDAN radio tower necessary in 1953. The old tower is shown being toppled. The top section and antenna was white when it was initially built. Later, the painting was changed so that the top section was red.	The original layout of the WDAN AM/TV/FM tower and antenna located at 1501 N. Vermilion in Danville. The picture shows the original guy wires and insulators and the TV antenna mast on top of the tower. The TV antenna was removed in the mid 1980's. "I took this picture just a day before it was removed. Unfortunately I missed the actual removal." -Doug (Right) "Rising 397 feet in the air, the WDAN-TV tower at Woodlawn and Washington Aves. has been completed. Workmen installed the antenna, which extends another 45 feet upward, early Tuesday morning. Picture shows the tower being assembled (earlier)." from Commercial-News		"A Synch (pronounced like the one in your kitchen) generator provides the appropriate background for a couple of top technicians, like Ted Magin, left, and Orville Neely. Magin is WDAN-TV chief engineer. The main function of this generator is to synchronize the scanning of receivers with that of the picture being transmitted. Neely will be one of the mainstays of the TV station's technical department" from Commercial-News Note: This piece of the equipment is one which failed when WDAN-TV went on the air and caused the video on viewers TVs to "roll" for several days. It's failure ultimately contributed to the many failures of WDAN-TV to acheive local success.

"Right in the middle, and that's where the program director often times is, Honore Ronan examines one of the many highly technical pieces of equipment of WDAN-TV, a Dage projector(actually a camera), while Bob Erickson, left and Gene Robinson look on. The boys are on the announceing staff. Erickson has been given the responsibility of opening the station in the morning and Robinson has returned to the station after two years in the Army." from Commercial-News Note: Gene Robinson was GM at WMBD in Peoria for a number of years during the 70's and early 80's.	"The WDAN-TV studio was so constructed that automobiles can be driven right into the studio itself to be put on the TV screen. The cars, horses too, can enter from the north side, travel through the building, and out again via the south door. Here, Bill Hunt is doing the directing with Bill Shoup playing the motorist." from Commercial-News Note: This feature was used mostly and most famously by local dealer McAleer Buick-Pontiac during the 1950's.	"The 'leaning tower of Pisa' effect is the result of taking a picture 18 feet underneath the subject. That's a portion of the WDAN-TV tower at the right. At work installing tubing, which is the copper coaxial transmission line are John Kerkes of Westville, and John Grunden of Danville. The tubing which runs from the tower into the building connecting the filterplexer, is both expensive and easily damaged and will be covered with weather stripping. Ted Magin, WDAN-TV chief engineer, said Friday 'We will be telecasting the test pattern within a week. We have almost completed the tuning of the transmitters.'" from Commercial-News	"WDAN-TV engineer Williams Shoup explains principle of filterplexer, integral part of transmission process, to Joe Wright and Ralph J. Berry(background) and Ralph L. Berry and Kenneith Pribble(foreground) members of TV detalers and repairmen association." from Commercial-News

"WDAN-TV staffers Max Shaffer and Ted Magin(at left) chat with J. Will Kelly of (a) Peoria TV distrbuting firm and Floyd Timberlake, RCA representative, at meeting of dealers and repairmen at station. Shaffer is station manager, and Magin, chief engineer." from Commercial-News	"Looking over two network monitor receivers at WDAN-TV are left, J.R. Johnson, M.R. Walker Jr. and John Norman all members of Danville TV dealers and repairmen group which held meeting at station recently." from Commercial-News	"Explanation of one of the two double camera units at WDAN-TV is given by engineer John Vance(center foreground) to, from left, Harry Bell of Danville and E.W. Brown and Bryon Brown of Bismarck during recent meeting of Danville area TV dealers and repairmen at station." from Commercial-News	"At her typewriter is Mildred Engel, continuity writer for WDAN-TV, and gracing her desk is Kay Shake, who works on film editing. Kay is holding one of the film boxes." from Commercial-News

"Earfully occupied, Miss Mary Kay Dean, WDAN-TV receptionist and continuity writer, prepares to take a message. Seated beside her is Mrs. Mary Sumila, who has been named office manager." from Commercial-News	Made espcially for television, the film projector is one of two of the type at WDAN-TV. Elwood Begley, a technician, is at the controls while Larry Burroughs of the announceing staff, gets a close look at tricks of the tape(film)." from the Commercial-News	"Wind Monday hampered efforts of the Alpha Erection Company of Spear, IL, to place the antenna atop the new television tower of WDAN-TV. Norlyn Dossey of the station's technical department, left, watches as Howard Burton of Peoria, employee of the erecting firm attached cables preliminary to hoisting the 3,000 pound, 45 foot antenna atop the 397 foot tower. R.J. Burow, general manager of WDAN-TV, said the antenna would bo up as soon as the wind dies sufficiently, probably late Monday or early Tuesday. Two beacons will be installed on the antenna." from the Commercial-News	"Walter Keen of Riversidee, IL(left), television consultant, checks and mesasures the Channel 24 antenna for WDAN-TV, aided by technician Orville Neely. The antenna must be thoroughly checked on the ground before being placed atop the recently completed tower and the check much conform to the one made at RCA testing laboratories prior to shipment of the antenna. A third check will be made when the installation is completed. WDAN-TV officials to have the antenna raised this weekend." from Commercial-News

Gene Hackman
WDAN-TV cameraman, artist

WDAN-TV was truly a "local" station with a power output which was quite low, a short 397-foot tower which limited it's reach. The coverage area indicated above was quite optimistic. The station televised pee-wee football games from outside the studio on the grounds to the north of the building outside an overhead door in the main studio. Coverage consisted of a studio camera taken outside showing the game in progress. No recordings of any local broadcasts exist, other than the snapshot of a sponsored test pattern(see below). Local attempts of programming game shows, spelling bees and other local events were generally hosted by WDAN(AM) hosts such as Max Shaffer and John Eckert. Even though he left WDAN before the TV station was built, Dick Van Dyke was a former WDAN(AM) personality.

One notable celebrity who began his "show business" career as a camera operator at WDAN-TV was movie actor Gene Hackman(left-courtesy of Danville High School-Wall of Fame). Legend has it he was told that he should stay with WDAN and not move on, because he could really work his way up the television ladder.

The initial Station Manager was Robert J. Burow.


WDAN-TV asking the question of the Danville area, "Are you ready to spend more money to receive your only UHF station you will ever receive?"	Channel 24, WDAN-TV from a Commercial News Advertisement for the new Danville station.	Another logo 24 from advertisements for WDAN-TV from the Commercial News. It seems that there was no consistent logo used for Channel 24 as it appears in many different forms in what newspaper ads were run.	The WDAN-Radio and Television Studios. This is an artist hand drawing of the building which has changed very little from 1953 to today. It's now home to WDAN(AM), WDNL(FM) and WRHK(FM). The building still has many artifacts from it's TV station days, including the ceiling support bars which housed the lighting in the studio, as well as many video coax cable ends which are terminated coming out of the walls of the master control room.
			At right is a photo of the WDAN Radio and TV studios, probably taken sometime in 1953-54. The address is 1501 North Washington, Danville, Illinois. It was built to fit into the residential neighborhood which was sprouting all around the original transmitter site of WDAN Radio, which was built in 1938. ( Photo courtesy of Neuhoff Broadcasting, where it hangs in the lobby area.)
			Here is the way the original WDAN Radio and TV studios look in 2007. It's now the home of WDAN(AM), WDNL(FM) and WRHK(FM). In 2007, the Vermilion County Bureau of WICD(originally WDAN-TV) was relocated back into the facility. The Bureau is located in the original TV station business office. WDAN, WDNL and WRHK are owned by Neuhoff Broadcasting-Danville while WICD is owned by Sinclair Broadcasting. Doug, has connections to all of these stations as he used to work at WDAN/WDNL from 1977 to 1992 and 1994-2002. He worked for WWDZ(now WRHK) in 1993, and has worked at WICD from 1994-present.
			Left is a photo taken of the camera set up for a broadcast of, what was more than likely, a Pee Wee Football game which took place in the lot of the station. The walk in door which has the awning over it is pretty much as it is today, while the garage door at right has been sealed shut. It opened to the main studio. There was another door on the opposite side of the studio where cars were driven through for live TV commercials. McAleer Buick used this commercial format during the early years of WDAN-TV. What is pictured is not one of the original cameras used at Channel 24, so the date for this photo was probably sometime in the late 1950's. This may be the camera which is on display at the Vermilion County Museum. (Photo courtesy of Neuhoff Broadcasting)

The 1953 WDAN AM/TV studio picture and the Football broadcast exterior picture which are owned by Neuhoff Broadcasting.

One of the major problems of the new UHF stations was the fact that TV set owners had to "convert" their expensive sets with different antennas , cabling and tuners to receive the stations. This particular ad from the Danville Commercial News urged new viewers of WDAN-TV to get with the local TV shops and purchase what is needed to receive the stations. It wasn't until 1964 that TV set manufacturers were required to include a built in UHF tuner in all sets. Then it wasn't until the early 70's which required them to have "click" tuners which would help put the UHF stations on "equal" par to the VHF stations.

The first broadcast day of WDAN-TV seemed to be rather anticlimactic. It occurred on December 19th of 1953. After weeks of a buildup in the pages of the Danville Commercial News, which owned the TV station the first weeks of broadcasts from the station were plagued with a major technical problem. The picture on Channel 24 viewers TV's "rolled" plus the station was not able to broadcast anything of local origination. They were not able to use the studio cameras, no film chain, no audio nothing other than passing the ABC TV network signal with a test pattern of the station to fill in the "blanks." plus a problem in the transmitter would not hold vertical "sync." After the initial publicity of the station's sign-on, the newspaper became noticeably quiet about their new TV facility.

Several days later a short article would appear in the Commerical-News stating that a piece of equipment had arrived to correct the "synch" problem, then later that local origination was finally possible. From that point on, stories were published but ended up in less than favorable placement in the newspaper. It was almost as if the newspaper was "ashamed" of WDAN-TV's performance. From that point on, I couldn't find much in the way of any display ads for the station, other than the typical programing listings of WDAN along with other local stations in Champaign, Indianapolis and Chicago. I would think that it would be a given, that the pages of the Commerical-News would be available to promote the programming of the TV station it owned!

WDAN-TV was an ABC affiliate, probably not by choice but by process of elimination. Keep in mind the powerhouse in the market WCIA had a primary affiliation contract with CBS, and secondary affiliation contracts with DuMont and NBC by the time Channel 24 was scheduled to be a reality. That left only ABC, which at the time was just recently purchased by Leonard Goldenson and United Paramount Theaters for a mere $25-million in 1951. The network struggled with an abbreviated prime time schedule which consisted of Chicago Wrestling matches, newsreels, Paul Whiteman's Teen Club and "Beulah."

It appeared the process by which WDAN-TV came to be was a much different, than that of neighboring WCIA in Champaign. As you read about WCIA on this site, the construction process took less than 9 months to build a regional television powerhouse. There wasn't a situation that tripped up the TV broadcast pioneers with the building of WCIA, in spite of more than one wrinkle along the way. WCIA searched the area for the best possible location to locate a transmitter and tower to maximize the reach of the station, installed a microwave system to get the signal from the studios to the transmitter, installed a complex microwave system to receive network programming from Danville and the closest coaxial cable from AT and T and built a studio which eventually was expanded to house the station for years to come. They also featured enough programing to fill out a much longer broadcast day.

WDAN, on the other hand, appeared to be built with a minimum investment. Most of the building cost seemed to go with the construction of a tower which could handle the relatively heavy UHF antenna needed for the station to broadcast. The existing WDAN radio antenna, a self supporting four legged tower from 1938 wasn't going to fit the requirements. So a tower was designed and constructed to serve as the broadcast antenna for the radio station as well as support the TV antenna. The tower itself was quite substantial with it's large face enabling it to serve double duty. It probably, with approval of the FAA and local zoning, could have been extended to at least the 600-foot mark at the time. The tower stands today at 385-feet, without the top TV antenna mast which was removed in the early 1980's(see pictures above).

The developers of the station made mistakes by underestimating the future needs of the facility itself. It was constructed on the rear of the WDAN broadcast studios and contained only the bare basic equipment to do the job. The TV station didn't even have a "store front" visible to the general public. The building itself relegated the TV station to taking a back seat to that of the radio station. Then, it's been said that the station didn't place a designated advertising sales staff to build financial support for the station. Remember the station was owned by the radio station, which was owned by the local newspaper. This pretty much set up a media monopoly which was more than likely driven by the large ad count of the newspaper. In fact the original WDAN-TV Manager, Robert Burrow, was a sales manager from the Commercial-News newspaper. On the broadcast side, the success of WDAN radio probably placed WDAN-TV on the back burner as far as the staff is concerned, while the radio station took a secondary position to that of the newspaper. This was a situation which was duplicated years later when WDAN started the communities first FM station. The secondary medium became secondary in importance, a far second or third in ad billing and pretty much sealed the fate of the station as a failure. The newspaper ownership, outside of regretting the investment and the lack of return, probably accepted the losses as a part of doing business and maintaining the stranglehold of media ownership. Obviously, the ownership of the newspaper could have provided enough capital for the establishment of a first rate facility, with enough working cash to allow the TV station to grow and develop into being financially independent. It would not have been easy, but certainly possible. The Commerical-News didn't take the example of it's own actions when it constructed the state-of-the-art radio studios of WDAN in 1938.

This is the only known "recording" of an actual WDAN-TV broadcast. This was a snapshot taken by Don Claypool located in Oakwood, Illinois just west of Danville. The test pattern was used many times throughout the broadcast day to fill left over time between programs which did not contain commercials. Since this test pattern has the name of "Bud Electronic Supply," I assume it was a 'sponsored' test pattern to advertise GE Picture Tubes. Picture tubes from early TV's were known to need replacement after a couple of years of use as they grew dim and lost the ability to contrast between light and dark images. Usually, images would begin to look "silvery," a sure sign of picture tube replacement time. (courtesy of Don Claypool)

By the time WDAN-TV signed on the air, the many, many technical errors, limited broadcast schedule, the probable live TV blunders of local TV and the lack of any kind of enthusiastic marketing sealed the stations fate. The programming schedule wasn't even listed in TV Guide! Success avoided the Danville UHF station over the years, and by the fourth anniversary of the station, it's commercial load, as illustrated by the actual broadcast log of January 1958 was quite sparse. No facility on the air could even pay the power bill with the airing of just 8 commercial messages a day. The Danville CommercialNews had to wait for a couple of more years to be freed from the weight of having to support a losing TV station. That was when Plains Television purchased WDAN-TV, changed it to WICD and made it a satellite of it's WICS, NBC station in Springfield. That eliminated the NBC secondary affiliation of WCIA and eliminated ABC from the east central Illinois television landscape for years. It wasn't until the late 1960's when WAND moved their Champaign translator to the top of Brezee Tower in downtown Danville did ABC programming return to Danville. Keep in mind, though, that Warner Cable imported ABC programming with WAND from Decatur and WTHR(later WRTV) from Indianapolis.

One can only speculate about the future of WDAN-TV IF it had the capitol and the support of the ownership to make it an independent media outlet, apart from it's newspaper and radio media cousins. WDAN-TV could have been a strong ABC affiliate in the area, perhaps joining with WTVP to cover the market in the future, much like WICS and WCHU did by the early 1960's. There could have been a complex lineup of stations covering the market, OR it could have meant a split to the Springfield, Decatur, Champaign-Urbana, Danville market. It may have meant the end to WCIA at Channel 3, since the F.C.C. was looking to creating an all UHF market across the area. Dismissing the "what ifs" WDAN-TV had a background much like many other UHF stations at the time, and it ultimately wasn’t QUITE a failure since the station(as WDAN-TV and WICD) continues to broadcast today, while many other stations of the day went dark(such as WBLN in Bloomington).

When WDAN-TV signed on the air on December 19, 1953, the first few weeks of broadcasting featured only programming from ABC. Equipment was not yet received and installed to allow for any local programming origination. The raw network feed was only broadcast with a test pattern displayed during local station breaks. ....Also the first week or so, the vertical synch module in the transmitter failed, and viewers were greeted with a picture that "rolled."

"The Beulah Show" came from radio as a spinoff from "Fibber McGee and Molly." She was TV's first African-American female in a title role. The first actress to play the role was Ethel Waters, until a complete cast change placed Louise Beavers in the title role beginning in 1952. The show ran on ABC from 1950 until 1953. It may have run on WDAN-TV, but right now it's never been verified.

Treasure Men in Action aired on ABC from 1950 and from 1954 to 1955. This police drama was based on true stories from the U.S. Treasury Department. The show was narrated and hosted by Walter Greaza, and would feature a cast of guest stars. Among those who appeared over the years include Jason Robards, James Dean, Cliff Robertson, Lee Marvin, Grace Kelly, Jack Klugman and Charles Bronson.

The Stu Erwin Show was in all probability the first bumbling dad situation comedy of the 1950's. It ran on ABC from 1951 to 1955. On WDAN-TV from 1954 to 1955. Stars were Stu Erwin, playing himself as a high school principal. His real life wife June Collyer played his wife with a pre-Dobie Gillis Sheila James as daughter Jackie. The series had several titles including "Life with the Erwins" and later "The Trouble with Father."

"The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" was one of TV's longest running situation comedies. It aired on ABC from 1952 to 1966. It also came from radio with other actors playing the role of David and Ricky. "Ozzie and Harriet" aired on ABC and WDAN-TV from 1953 until 1961.
Here's the real genius of the empire Ozzie, always playing the klutzy husband with no visible means of making a living, and Harriet the most loving, understanding wife and mother on TV. There's more about Ozzie and Harriet on the WAND pages.

"Dollar A Second" premiered on DuMont in 1953, but wasn't seen on WDAN-TV until it moved to ABC during the 1954-55 season. It was a game/quiz show hosted by Jan Murray and was somewhat similar to "Truth or Consequences" in which people would answer silly questions to win money, while another event was taking place outside the studio. The contestant had to quit before the outside event was completed in order to win the money. If the outside event was over before they quit, they lost their winnings. The outside event the contestants were racing against were things like the arrival of a specific train, plane or the birth of a baby which was unknown by the contestant, while the home and studio audience watched on a remote hookup. "Dollar a Second" bounced around the networks schedule having aired on DuMont, NBC and ABC from 1953 to 1957. The graphic above was to get studio participants. Note the address: ABC, 7 West 66th Street, New York, 23, NY.
It's reported that a TV studio still exists on the site.

"Disneyland" ran on ABC from 1954 to 1961 when it moved to NBC. Interestingly enough, it moved at the same time that WDAN-TV moved from ABC to NBC therefore not missing a single episode. The ABC series consisted of several rotating themes: Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Adventureland, all named for areas of the original theme park. It was the "Davy Crockett" segment of the Frontierland rotator which was the big hit. It starred Fess Parker(later "Daniel Boone") and Buddy Ebsen(later "The Beverly Hillbillies") which made a coon skin hat a must have for youngsters in the mid 50's. The theme was sung by Bill Hayes("Ernie Kovacs Show" and later "Days of Our Lives") and was a big top 40 hit.

Walt Disney Productions entered in an exclusive agreement with ABC to supply programming around the opening of a family theme park in California called Disneyland. The Mickey Mouse Club was programming for the youngsters. It included an assembly of "Mousketeers" who would sing, dance and appear in skits all led by the only adult in the group, Jimmy Dodd and Roy Williams. There were also filmed segments with an ongoing series of stories which starred the young actors in the Disney contract players. Probably the most popular series was "Spin and Marty" which starred Tim Considine("My Three Sons"). Many times the show would feature other Disney cartoons. Each day of the week had a theme, and the entire show would revolve around that theme. Many of the Mousketeers became stars in the own right. This ABC series ran on weekday afternoons. The original Mouseketeers included: Paul Peterson("Donna Reed Show"), Annette Funicello(various teen beach movies), Johnny Crawford("The Rifleman"), Bobby Burgess("The Lawrence Welk Show"), Doreen Tracey, Karen Pendleton, Darlene Gillespie and others. The Disney Studios was the first of the major Hollywood studios to enter into an agreement with a TV network to supply programming. It was that agreement that helped to finance the building of Disneyland at Anaheim, California in the early 1950's. ABC was willing to pay Disney a half a million dollars plus $50,000 per program. The series and Disneyland were both successes, being ABC's first hit show.

"Make Room for Daddy" began on ABC right before WDAN-TV hit the airwaves in 1953. It too was one of TV's longest running family situation comedies. The series experienced a number of changes including a name change to "The Danny Thomas Show" and the role of wife-mother, originally played by Jean Hagen changed to Marjorie Lord in 1956. It was explained that Jean Hagen's character had died and Danny remarried. Danny Thomas starred with the above actresses, along with children played by Sherry Jackson, Penny Parker, Angela Cartwright("Lost in Space") and Rusty Hamer. Other regulars included Hans Conried, Sheldon Leonard, Pat Harrington, Jr.("One Day at a Time") and Sid Melton.

"The Lone Ranger" was one of the original TV western series it actually began on the Mutual radio network in the 1930's, making it's way to TV as a series of 30 minute films. The first episode told the story of how the Lone Ranger got his name and became a crime fighter. The Lone Ranger was played by Clayton Moore and John Hart. Pictured is Clayton Moore(the most remembered) and Jay Silverheels as Tonto.

(Left): Was the newest ABC logo contained in a circle that looked more like a hub cap. This remained the ABC logo until it went to the little "a" center circle ABC in 1957.

"Sky King" one of the contemporary westerns of the 1950's, starred a twin engine Cessna called "the Songbird" along with the living cast of Kirby Grant as Sky King and his niece and nephew, played by Gloria Winters and Ron Hagerthy. Sky King ended up as weekend fair on NBC, CBS and ABC after it's original run in prime time during the 1953-54 season. This is a series which also ran on network radio from 1946 to 1954. Sponsor: Nabisco.

"The Donna Reed" Show, was one of ABC's longest running family sitcoms having aired from 1958 to 1966. Another of the shows which had a strong youth appeal, along with Donna Reed and Carl Betz, it starred Paul Peterson and Shelly Fabres. Both Peterson and Fabres had hits in the top 40 making them both teen idols. Again, though, after the ownership/network change in July of 1960 it was no longer seen on Channel 24.

During 1957 the logo for ABC changed to the "ABC Circle A" style. This logo was used until 1962.

"Topper" began on CBS during the 1953-55 seasons, moved to ABC from 1955 to 1956, then on to NBC during 1956. It starred Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling as ghosts Marian and George Kirby who came back to "haunt" and guide Cosmo Topper played by Leo G. Carroll. It ran on ABC on Monday nights at 6:30 to 7PM CT.

This ABC western series was based somewhat on a real life character, where the lead character carried a knife and not a gun. Scott Forbes was Jim Bowie. This one ran on ABC from 1956 to 1958 on Friday nights.

Another ABC western series based on a real life character. This series starred Hugh O'Bryan as the famous Marshall. This ABC series was one of the network's most popular shows of the time. It ran on ABC from 1955 to 1961.

"American Bandstand" was ABC's longest running afternoon show for teens. American Bandstand during the 1950's and until 1963 as a weekday afternoon series at 3PM CT. Incidentally, it was the first show after daily sign-on of WDAN-TV in 1957-58. After 1963 it moved to a weekend series. It also ran during prime time during the fall of 1957 on Monday nights.
Each show featured a regular bunch of kids from Philadelphia who danced to the hits. The dancers also participated in the "Rate a Record" segment in which they would rate two up and coming songs as to their hit potential.
(Graphics from 50th Anniversary of A-B on ABC)

Each "American Bandstand" show would feature a couple of current pop artists lip singing to their hits. Occasionally, though, a celebrity would show up, like this one with Johnny Carson. Carson was a drummer. Clark would often time make his way to the audience to get a reaction or comment from a few of the dancers. They would also be introduced by their name and age. "American Bandstand" like no other series during the 1950's help set the stage to establish ABC as the youth network, which would continue to through the 1970's.
"American Bandstand" is featured on the program log of WDAN-TV listed below as airing from 3 to 3:30pm, and continuing from 4 to 5pm on weekday afternoons, as it did on that January 2nd, 1958.

An early network vehicle for up and coming comic, Johnny Carson. "Who Do You Trust" was the beginning of the TV partnership of Carson and Ed McMahon for ABC. "Who Do You Trust" ran weekday afternoons on ABC and WDAN. You'll notice the listing for this show on the WDAN-TV log is "Do You Trust Your Wife." I think it was another version of this show, probably hosted by Carson as well.
"Do You Trust Your Wife" was the original name when it aired on CBS and hosted by Edgar Bergan, but the TV game show was picked up by ABC in January of 1956, and hosted by Johnny Carson.
Later in July of 1958, the title changed to "Who Do Your Trust."
In January of 1958 it was listed on the WDAN-TV program log below as "Do You Trust Your Wife" and ran from 3:30-4pm, surrounded by the late afternoon airing of "American Bandstand."

This western ran on ABC from 1958 to 1963. The stars were Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford as father and son homesteaders trying to make a living. It ran on WDAN-TV until 1961 when the station became an NBC affiliate along with WCHU-TV in Champaign. Johnny Crawford became a teen idol during the run of this series, while Chuck Connors, a former pro baseball player, continued with a TV/Film career. This was probably one of the most popular 30 minute western series running many years in reruns.

"Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond" aired on ABC during the 1959 to 1961 seasons. This was sort of a "Twilight Zone" which ran on ABC. It was hosted by John Newland(sort of like Rod Serling). This one featured actual case histories of supernatural phenomena and the occult. It aired on ABC on Tuesday nights from 9 to 9:30pm. Sponsor: Alcoa Aluminum. It finished it's run on WDAN-TV in July of 1960.

"The Real McCoys" was developed by Irving and Norman Pincus and financed by Danny Thomas Productions. Originally turned down by NBC, this was the beginning of "rural comedies" having been blasted by the critics, this became a long running hit for ABC.

It ran from 1957 to 1963 on ABC as a first run, but later moved to CBS, where it also ran in reruns. It starred Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, Kathleen Nolan and during the final season Butch Patrick(The Munsters). Obviously, it ran on WDAN-TV only through July of 1960 with the ownership/network change.
You'll notice "The Real McCoys" listed on the program log of WDAN-TV illustrated below.

Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra showed up on the ABC schedule in "The Frank Sinatra Show" during the 1957 to 1958 season. After his success in the movie "From Here to Eternity" he was a hot property. ABC paid him $3-million, and game him carte blanche, for the opportunity to have them in the lineup. Frank, wanted to do a split formatted series of shows with a third of them musical variety, third as dramas with him as the star, and the last third as a narrator of dramas with other stars. It didn't work, although he probably took the money.

"Leave it to Beaver" actually premiered on CBS in 1957 where it stayed until the 1958-59 season when it moved to ABC to finish out it's run to 1963. The classic sitcom ran for years in syndication and is a regular today on TVLand. The stars: Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Down and Jerry Mathers as "The Beaver." This one aired on WDAN-TV from 1958 to the ownership/network change in July of 1960.

Lawrence Welk, began his empire on ABC during the 1950's.

In 1958, pictured, he hosted the "Lawrence Welk's Dodge Dancing Party" on Saturday nights. This was the time slot he held for over 20 years.

He also hosted "Lawrence Welk Talent Show" in the 1956 ABC primetime season on Monday nights.
Then during the 1957 season he hosted "Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent Show."

"Man With a Camera" starred Charles Bronson as Mike Kovac a former WWII camera man, now a free lance photographer working for newspapers, insurance companies, police departments and private individuals who wanted a filmed record of a crime or other event. This one ran on ABC and WDAN-TV from 1958 to 1960.

"The Untouchables" was a highly controversial series was a big winner for ABC beginning with the 1959 season. Called the most violent TV series ever (even more so than the westerns of the day), it also made enemies of the Italian Americans who objected to the stereotypical use of Italians as gangsters and killers. This show was produced by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's Desilu Productions at the old RKO movie studios. The series was produced by Quinn Martin who went on to produce another winner for ABC "The Fugitive." It was introduced as a segment of "The Desilu Playhouse" and went on to become a hit series starring Robert Stack as Elliott Ness. Others in the cast included: Jerry Paris ("Dick Van Dyke Show," director of many "Happy Days"), Abel Fernandez and Nick Georgiade. It ran on WDAN-TV until the ownership/network change in July of 1960.

During the period from 1953 to 1960 ABC and WDAN-TV aired the following prime time network programs: You Asked for It, Frank Leahy Show, Walter Winchell Show, Peter Potter Show, Hour of Decision, Sky King, Of Many Things, Junior Press Conference, Big Picture, This is the Life, Cavalcade of America, Make Room for Daddy, U.S. Steel Hour, Motorola TV Theatre, Name's the Same, Inspector Mark Saber, At Issue, Through the Curtain, America in View, Wrestling from Rainbow, The Lone Ranger, Quick as a Flash, Where's Raymond, Back the Fact, Kraft Television Theatre, Stu Erwin Show, Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, Price of the Family, Comeback Story, Showcase Theater, Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club, Leave it to the Girls, Talent Patrol, Music at the Meadowbrook, Saturday Night Fights, You Asked for It, Flight #7, Martha Wright Show, Dr. IQ, Break the Bank, Kukla Fran and Ollie, Come Closer, Voice of Firestone, Boxing from Eastern Parkway, Twenty Questions, Stop the Music, Disneyland, Masquerade Party, Enterprise, Treasury Man in Action, So You Want to Lead a Band, Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin, Ray Bolger Show, Dollar a Second, The Vise, Dotty Mack Show, Chance of a Lifetime, Original Amateur Hour, Life Begins at Eighty, Topper, Medical Horizons, Warner Brothers Presents, DuPont Cavalcade Theater, Talent Varieties, MGM Parade, Life is Worth Living, Star Tonight, Down You Go, Crossroads, Ethyl and Albert, Ozark Jubilee, Tomorrow's Careers, Omnibus, Bold Journey, Danny Thomas Show, Lawrence Welk Talent Show, Conflict, Cheyenne, Broken Arrow, It's Polka Time, Ford Theater, Circus Time, Treasure Hunt, The Vise, Ray Anthony Show, Maverick, Bowling Stars, All-American Football Game of the Week, American Bandstand, Guy Mitchell Show, Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent Show, Sugarfoot, Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, West Point Story, Tombstone Territory, Walter Winchell File, Circus Boy, Zorro, Real McCoys, Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, O.S.S., Navy Log, Adventures of Jim Bowie, Patrice Munsel Show, Frank Sinatra Show, Dale with the Angels, Colt .45, Keep it in the Family, Country Music Jubilee, Lawrence Welk's Dancing Party, Mike Wallace Interviews, The Lawman, Encounter, Jubilee USA, Anybody Can Play, This is Music, The Rifleman, Naked City, Confession, Lawrence Welk's Plymouth Show, Donna Reed Show, Patti Page Olds Show, Leave it to Beaver, Rough Riders, Traffic Court, Man With a Camera, 77 Sunset Strip, Dick Clark Show, Sammy Kaye's Music from Manhattan, The Rebel, The Alaskans, Bourbon Street Beat, Adventures in Paradise, Bronco Layne, Court of Last Resort, Hobby Lobby Show, Hawaiian Eye, Gale Storm Show, The Untouchables, Take a Good Look, Walt Disney Presents, Man from Blackhawk, Robert Taylor(The Detectives), Black Saddle, High Road,.

Many of the shows which premiered during the 1960-61 TV season probably didn't appear on WDAN-TV as the ownership and network affiliation change happened in June of 1960 before some of the shows premiered.

"Cheyenne" was the first successful series produced by a major motion picture studio. It starred Clint Walker, who during the run of the most successful years of the program fought Warners on contract issues which he claimed was too restrictive and limited his income opportunities. The show ran from 1956-1964 and produced only 13 episodes per season for a total of 107 episodes.
(Capture from Encore Western Channel)

"Conflict" was an anthology series which rotated with "Cheyenne." It was used as a springboard for many of it's later successful series by airing the pilot shows of most of the series listed here.
(no graphic available)

"Warner Brothers Presents" was the first TV show produced by Warner Brothers Pictures and appeared on ABC during the 1955-56 season. The show was hosted by Gig Young and was an anthology type series with new stories and casts each week. The show also used previous WB movies as story lines, reduced to a 60 minute format. The show also took more programming time to promote the theatrical Warner Brothers movies. It was also a time in which other movie studios were getting into TV as an economic necessity. MGM also had a show on ABC.
By the next year, "Warner Brothers Presents" had abandoned the format and went with a rotating series featuring "Cheyenne" and "Conflict." Since each series took more time to produce, each show had it's own production crew working to air a new program about every 2-3 weeks.
This worked well as a promotion vehicle for Warners but it also helped secure major advertisers to ABC, a feat which had been difficult for the 3rd place network.
The shows were well produced, sometimes using stock WB footage from old Warner's films, especially with the westerns.
Most of the non-western shows were very appealing to the youth of America and helped begin the careers of many of the teen idols of the day.
(Capture from Encore Western Channel)

"Sugarfoot" starred Will Hutchens as Tom Brewster, a drifter who was studying to become a lawyer. He also had an aversion to violence, and each episode featured the interaction of guest stars(similar to Cheyenne) but he settled conflict with persuasion rather than gunfire.

"Bronco Layne" was developed during the time in which Clint Walker was in the contract dispute with Warners. Even through the character was different, it still used the "Cheyenne" name. Bronco was played by Ty Hardin as a former Confederate Captain. Later, "Bronco Layne" became its own show and was rotated with the other segments of "Warner Brothers Presents."
(no graphic available)

"77 Sunset Strip" was the original in a long lineup of "hip" detective series all produced by Warner Brothers for ABC. This one starred Efram Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, Edd Byrnes(as "Kookie" who became a teenage idol), and Louis Quinn. Taking place in Hollywood, it guest starred a bevy of other WB contract players of the time and spawned a bunch of spin-offs including those listed here. 77 Sunset Strip ran on ABC from 1958 to 1964. It ended it's run after WDAN-TV became WICD-TV in July of 1960.
(Capture from Good Life TV Network)

"Hawaiian Eye" was just like "77 Sunset Strip" but it took place in Honolulu. Being that Hawaii just made statehood, it was a perfect match for ABC and WB. This one premiered on ABC in 1959 and ran until 1963. The stars were: Connie Stevens("Wendy and Me"), Bob Conrad("The Wild Wild West"), Anthony Eisley, Grant Williams("the Green Hornet"), Troy Donahue and Poncie Ponce. Even though the show took place in Hawaii, it was filmed in Hollywood.
(Capture from Good Life TV Network)

"Surfside 6" was another of the cookie cutter detective series spun off from "77 Sunset Strip" in 1960 where it remained until 1962. This one starred Van Williams(later "The Green Hornet") as Ken Madison along with other stars Lee Patterson, Troy Donahue and Diane McBain. "Surfside 6" took place in Miami, but was filmed in Hollywood.
Since the ownership and network affiliation switch occured before the 1960-61 TV seasion began, this was likely not seen on WDAN-TV.
(Capture from Good Life TV Network)

"Bourbon Street Beat" was the first of the cookie cutter detective series spun off from "77 Sunset Strip." This one starred Van Williams(before he went to Surfside 6), Andrew Duggan, Richard Long("The Big Valley", "Nanny and the Professor") and Arlene Howell. BSB was the least successful having run on ABC from 1959 to 1960. Many of the characters of "77 Sunset Strip," "Surfside Strip," and "Bourbon Street Beat" all appeared on each other's shows from time to time to cross promote the entire group of shows.
(Capture from Good Life TV Network)

"The Roaring 20's" aired on ABC from 1960 to 1961 and wasn't seen on WDAN-TV since the station was purchased and the network affiliation was changed before the 1960-61 TV season premiered. It's included because it was one of the many series created by Warner Brothers Studios for ABC during the era.
The show starred Dorothy Provine, Rex Reason, Donald May, John Dehner, Gary Vinson(later McHale's Navy) and Mike Road. ABC put the series up against two blockbusters on the other networks Perry Mason on CBS and Bonanza on NBC.
(no graphic available)

"Colt .45" ran on ABC and was based on the 1950 Warner Brothers movie of the same name which starred Randolph Scott. This TV series starred Wayde Preston as Christopher Colt who was an undercover government agent in the wild west. This was also produced by William T. Orr and Roy Huggins.

"Maverick" premiered in September of 1957 and aired on ABC through the Summer of 1962. James Garner is probably the best known Maverick brother, playing Bret from 1957 to 1960. Jack Kelly was Bart throughout the entire series, while Roger Moore(yes James Bond, 007-Roger Moore) played Beau from 1960 to 1962. The show featured a rotating format with many episodes featuring just one of the Maverick brothers, although there would often be scenes that included two of the brothers at a time. The show was created by Roy Huggins while the series was Produced by William T. Orr.
(Capture from Encore Western Channel)

Ozark Jubilee was one of the first Country(and Western) music shows which ran on a major TV network in the 1950's. This show originated from Springfield, Missouri and was hosted by Red Foley. The show featured some of the hottest country and western performers of the day, including names like:
Webb Pierce, The Foggy River Boys, Pete Stamper, LeRoy Van Dyke and Porter Wagoner.
The show was noted as the showcase for an 11-year old who went on to a successful recording career during the late 1950's and 60's, Brenda Lee. The show also featured "Stringbean" a tall, thin country comedian who would later appear in Hee Haw during the late 1960's.

Ozark Jubilee was also called Jubilee U.S.A. ran on ABC from 1955 to 1960, when ABC cancelled it to air the Gillette Saturday Night Fights, but that was OK, because WDAN-TV would soon change from an ABC affiliate to NBC when it was acquired by WICS and WCHU in 1960.

A reproduction of an actual WDAN-TV broadcast log of January 2nd, 1958
Program and Operating Log WDAN-TV---Channel 24
Scheduled Time	Program and Sponsor	SPR (x)	F.I.	Time On	Time Off	Type	Video	Audio	Remarks
	Tone & TP	x		9am	2:59:30	LC	SL	ET	H.W. Shoup on log at 9am
2:59/30pm	SIGN ON			2:59/30	3:00:00	LSA	SL	ET	H.W. Shoup off log at 3pm Laverne White on 3pm
3:00	AMERICAN BANDSTAND			3:00	3:29:30	M	ABC	ABC
3:29/30	Public Service			3:29/30		NCSA	FILM	SOF
3:29/50	Station ID			3:29/50		LSA	SL	ET
3:30	DO YOU TRUST YOUR WIFE			3:30	3:44/30	Q	ABC	ABC
3:44/30	Pat Boone Promo			3:44/30		LSA	SL	ET
3:44/50	Station ID			3:44/50		LSA	SL	ET
3:45	DO YOU TRUST YOUR WIFE			3:45	3:59/30	Q	ABC	ABC
3:59/30	O.S.S. Promo			3:59/30		LSA	SL	ET
3:59/50	Station ID			3:59/50		LSA	SL	ET
4:00	AMERICAN BANDSTAND			4:00	4:13/50	M	ABC	ABC
4:13/40	Thursday Night Promo			4:13/50		LSA	SL	ET
4:14/50	Station ID			4:14/50		LSA	SL	ET
4:29/30	Circus Boy Promo			4:29/30		LSA	SL	ET
4:29/50	Station ID			4:29/50		LSA	SL	ET
4:30	AMERICAN BANDSTAND			4:30	4:59/30	M	ABC	ABC
4:59/30	Zorro Promo			4:59/30		LSA	SL	ET
4:59/50	Station ID			4:59/50		LSA	SL	ET
5:00	WOODY WOODPECKER (KELLOGG)	X		5:00	5:29/30	CH	ABC	ABC
5:29/30	Real McCoy Promo			5:29/30a		LSA	SL	ET
5:29/50	Station ID			5:29/50		LSA	SL	ET
5:30	MICKEY MOUSE CLUB (BRISTOL MYERS & GEN FOODS)	X		5:30	5:59/30	CH	ABC	ABC
5:59/30	Traffic Safety			5:59/30		NCSA	SL	ET
5:59/50	Station ID			5:59/50		LSA	SL	ET
page 2
6:00	NEWS(Woodbury's)	x		6:00	6:05/20	N	CA	Studio
6:05	SPORTS(Barkman's)	(c)		6:05/20	6:10	SP	CA	Studio
6:10	WEATHER			6:10	6:14	W	CA	Studio
6:14/30	Movie Promo			6:14		LSA	SL	ET
6:14/50	Baker Transfer ID	x		6:14/40		LSA	SL	ET
6:15	JOHN DALY & NEWS			6:15/05	6:25	N	ABC	ABC
6:25	JOHN DALY & NEWS			6:25	6:29	N	ABC	ABC
6:27	Meis Bros	x		6:27		LCA	CA	Studio
	Modern Dry Clnrs	x		6:29				ET
6:29/30	NARB Promo					NCSA	SL	ET
6:29/50	Station ID			6:29/50		LSA	SL	ET
6:30	CIRCUS BOY (MARS)	x		6:30	6:59/30	CH	ABC	ABC
6:59/30	Pat Boone Promo			6:59/30		LSA	SL	ET
6:59/50	Station ID			6:59/50		LSA	SL	ET
7:00	ZORRO (SEVEN UP)	x		7:00	7:29/30	V	ABC	ABC
7:29/30	NARTB Promo			7:29/30		NCSA	SL	ET
7:29/50	Station ID			7:29/50		LSA	SL	ET
7:30	THE REAL MCCOYS (SYLVANIA)	x		7:30	7:59/15	V	ABC	ABC
7:29/30	Interstate Bakeries	x		7:59/15		LCA	FILM	SOF
7:59/50	Barkman ID	x		7:59/50		LCA	SL	ET	off 8:00 Lavern White W.E. Hunt on log 8:00pm
8:00	PAT BOONE CHEVY SHOWROOM (CHEVROLET)	x		8:00/15	8:29/30	M	ABC	ABC
8:29/30	Barkman's	x		8:29/30		LCA	SL	ET
8:29/50	Station ID			8:29/50		LSA	SL	ET
8:30	O.S.S. (Anacin)	x		8:30	8:59/30	V	ABC	ABC
8:59/30	Walter Winchell Promo			8:59/30		LSA	SL	ET
8:59/50	Station ID			8:59/50		LSA	SL	ET
page 3
9:00	NAVY LOG (Anacin)	x		9:00	9:29/30	DOC	ABC	ABC
9:29/30	Traffic Safety			9:29/30		NCSA	SL	ET
9:29/50	Station ID			9:29/50		LSA	SL	ET
9:30	STAGE 24			9:30	10:53	M	FILM	SOF
9:45	Movie Break Pen-Bar Mfg Co.	x		9:45	9:46/15	LCA	SL	ET
10:00	Movie Break WDAN-TV Promo			10:03	10:04	LSA	SL	ET
10:15	Movie Break WDAN-TV Promo			10:29	10:30	LSA	SL	ET
10:44/30	WDAN New(sic) Promo			10:53		LSA	SL	ET
10:45	SIGN OFF			10:53/30		LSA	SL	ET
10:45/30	STAR SPANGLED BANNER			10:54	1058/20	LSA	FILM	SOF	W.E. Hunt off log 10:54/20

ABBREVIATIONS: M-Music, V-Variety, CH-Children, Q-Quiz, RE-Religious, AG-Agriculture, ED-Education, N-News, Dis-Discussion, T-Talk, SP-Sports, NBC-National Broadcasting Company, CBS-Columbia Broadcasting System, DUM-DuMont Television Network, ABC-American Broadcasting Company, LS-Local Sustaining, LC-Local Commerical, NC-National Commerical, C-Commercial, S-Sustaining, FI-Film Identification, SI-Silent Film, SOF-Sound on Film, A-Annoucement, ET-Electrical Transcription, R-Record, SL-Slide, CA-Camera, LA-Live Announcement, NEMO-Remote Pickup, K-Kinescope, SA-Spot Announcement, NCSA-Public Serivce Spot, P-Participating

Notes on the above:
1. American Bandstand-seems to have 2 separate parts, one running from 3-3:30pm, then the second part from 4-5pm.
2. Do You Trust Your Wife-starred a young Johnny Carson with Ed McMahon on a comedy quiz show.(see "Who Do You Trust?" above)
3. Woody Woodpecker-the cartoon half hour hosted by creator Walter Lantz.
4. Mickey Mouse Show-see programs above for details.
5. 15 minutes of local news followed by ABC news with John Daly, host of CBS game shows like "What's My Line" It's unknown who the news, sports and weather anchor(s) were. Anyone know for sure???
6. Circus Boy-starred Mickey Braddack, who later changed his name to his real last name of Dolenz. Mickey Dolenz was a member of the "The Monkees" during the late 1960's. His daughter is the actress Amy Dolenz. Later in 1958, Circus Boy was replaced by "Leave it to Beaver."
7. Zorro-another Disney production(see programs above for Walt Disney) A great adventure series!
8. The Show "O.S.S." is probably a WWII documentary. The next show "Navy Log" was a government produced documentary from WWII and ran on ABC.
9. Stage 24 was the theme title of the nightly movie. It's unknown what the movie was as it was not indicated on the program log.
10. Notice the lack of local commercials. Many station breaks, were filled with short promos or PSA's. Also notice that station breaks were only 30-seconds long!

The actual program log above is now property of the Vermilion County Museum.

It was in July of 1960 that WDAN-TV, Channel 24 was purchased by Plains Television and consolidated with WCHU, Channel 33 in Champaign-Urbana. WCHU had gone on the air in September of 1959 to re-broadcast the signal of WICS in Springfield. Both WCHU and WICS were NBC affiliates. With that purchase the signals of WCHU and WDAN-TV were in simulcast with that of WICS. The call letters of WDAN-TV were changed to WICD-TV. The short range of the signal of WCHU, estimated to be about 15 miles from the transmitter site at the Inman Hotel made the reception of WCHU nearly impossible to the Danville area. Therefore the signal of WDAN-TV increased the coverage area of WICS into the Danville and even into the west central Indiana area. By September of 1960, WCHU was broadcasting NBC shows in color, but WICD as channel 24 never broadcast in color. More on the history of WCHU in Part 2....

Page 2 is next...