Did you know?
I’m always pleasantly surprised when I research one of these columns, and I discover facts that I’d never considered.
While we see paid television services like Netflix as being the latest in the marriage of high-tech TV and telephone technologies, it’s really been more than 60 years that “pay-per-view” (people paying for individual TV programming) came into being.
According to the Feb. 19, 1950 edition of the Uniontown Morning Herald, Zenith radio (one of the leading television manufacturers of the time) was given a thumbs-up by the Federal Communications Commission to set-up a system, then called, “pay-as-you-see,” that would send specific television shows to subscribers.
“Telephone, TV Hook-Up See,” was the headline for a story that, in those days, which may have seen space-aged, but today seems old hat.
“It (Zenith) expects to transmit first run movies at $1 a showing to 300 selected TV-equipped home(s) in a north side Chicago neighborhood,” it was reported.
Those who were given the special equipment (something they called Phonevision) to receive those programs, could view the programming. Those people who didn’t have the special equipment only saw a scrambled signal – just like today.
The Phonevision system was tried out for 90 days, but the FCC refused to give Zenith a license for it.
It wouldn’t be until October of 1975, for the famed “Thrilla in Manila” fight between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali that TV viewers could pay to see a single broadcast event from the comfort of their own homes.
Nowadays, you can rent movies that you can see on your tablet, cell phone, and, of course, your big screen TV with the click of the mouse, or your handy remote control.
If somebody mentions the name Colonel Sanders, you know his image is tied to his creation – Kentucky Fried Chicken.
And while the images of Uncle Ben and Betty Crocker have changed over the years, when we see their faces in our local supermarkets, we know exactly what brands they represent.
But did you know that at one time a Uniontown woman was once the “face” of a national product?
“Kellogg Says: Uniontown Woman Is The Modern Housewife,” was a headline on the front page of the Morning Herald on Feb. 11, 1944.
“Pancakes have their ‘Aunt Jemima,’ but Kellogg Coffee has its ‘Kay’ – and she’s a Uniontown woman,” said the lead paragraph.
According to the article, Kellogg was looking for a “Typical Modern Housewife” to be the face of its new coffee brand (Kellogg’s All-Coffee), and the company chose Kathryn Adrian of Uniontown.
Adrian was descried as a “young looking mother,” who was a “talented Uniontown musician and leading vocalist.”
It was reported that she’d been selected from 18 models who projected a “serene and hospitable domesticity.”
“Try-outs and actual filming of the picture were made in the John Young studios, Chicago, home of the manufacturer J.L. Kellogg. Upon her selection, the original kodachrome photograph, beautifully finished in Technicolor was presented Mrs. Adrian, framed with special electrical lighting effects,” said the article.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any of the pictures, or any information about the actual manufacturer of “Kellogg’s All-Coffee.”
I did find another Kellogg’s brand of coffee (that’s no longer being made), strangely called “Kellogg’s ‘Kaffee Hag’ Coffee,” but that was made long before Mrs. Adrian’s involvement with the company.
Abraham Lincoln was born 205 years ago this week (on Feb. 12, 1809).
On the occasion of the 105th anniversary of his birthdate (on Feb. 12, 1914), the Herald Standard ran an interesting front page item about how he was actually perceived while he was alive.
According to that item, very little was written about him during his presidency.
“Beginning with his first presidential term some impromptu biographical sketches appeared, mostly in pamphlet form, but it was not until his assassination in 1865 that the flood of Lincoln literature began.”
But at the time that article was published (100 years ago this week), it was reported that there were nearly 1,000 books and pamphlets, and in French, German Italian, Japanese and in “Modern Greek.”
The life and times of “Honest Abe” have certainly increased in popularity among writers and moviemakers since 1914.
According to a project conducted by some folks at Ford’s Theater Center for Education and Leadership in 2012, they found 15,000 biographies related to Abe Lincoln.
That’s not all. They decided to build a giant tower out of the individual titles of the available Lincoln books, and put it on public display.