Way Back Wednesday: Follow the Yellow Brick Road

By Rebecca Howell

Back in December 1981, WNED aired a documentary about the creation of “The Wizard of Oz.” The documentary contained still photographs and never before seen interviews with many of the movie’s characters including Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch of the West), Ray Bolger (the Scarecrow), and Jack Haley (the Tin Man). The characters also shared their memories about “traveling down the yellow brick road.” “The Wizard of Oz” was first seen on Aug. 15, 1939, and is still known as a Hollywood Classic.

Way Back Wednesday: Festival of the Arts

By Rebecca Howell

For this “Way Back Wednesday” we are going back to December of 1967, when WNED-TV started to air “N.E.T Festival.” This was a show that revealed great movements from the world of arts.

“N.E.T Festival” took its viewers to many different countries around the world, and displayed many different forms of art. Some pieces of art that appeared on the show were Picasso and his sculpture, Bach and his sons, and Mozart Concerto, just to name a few.

Did you happen to watch any of these episodes? If so, please comment below!

Way Back Wednesday: The American Experience

By Rebecca Howell, WNED corporate communications intern

In January 2000, WNED-TV aired the twelfth season of “American Experience,” a show which takes us back in time to important events that happened throughout America’s history. WNED began the new season with one of the most powerful women in the world, Eleanor Roosevelt. Other episodes from that season were: “Nixon’s China Game,” “Hoover Dam,” and “The Richest Man in the World.”

Did you watch “American Experience?” Have any particular episodes that were your favorite? Please comment below!

Way Back Wednesday: A TV Studio on Wheels!

By Annmarie Dean

Here is a photo of our mobile van from 1971!  The four black and white camera van was a complete TV studio on wheels.  Staffed by an 8-man crew, the unit was used often to cover meetings, sports events and concerts in the area that were seen on WNED-TV.

Way Back Wednesday: The Electric Company

By Annmarie Dean

In 1971, PBS debuted a new children’s program, “The Electric Company.”  The program was broadcast three times daily- noon, 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.- and WNED-TV was one of 200 public television stations that carried the program.  “The Electric Company” ran for six season (1971- 77) and was revived in 2009 (seen on WNED-TV Monday through Friday at 2 p.m.) 

Way Back Wednesday: Barnaby & Co.

By Annmarie Dean

Here is a photo from WNED-TV’s “Barnaby & Co..”  Featured is Dorothy Hall and Barnaby Raccoon.  The children’s series was the creation of Jim Menke and was featured on Tuesday and Thursday nights.  Menke served as puppeteer, writer and producer for the series. 

Way Back Wednesday: Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

By Annmarie Dean

Sesame Street premiered on WNED-TV in November 1969.  While I am a child of the 90s, there are certain lessons I learned while watching Sesame Street that I carry with myself everyday.  For example, I remember an animated short in which a young boy steps up to the bathroom sink to brush his teeth.  The screen is split between our young boy and a fish in a pond, which is obviously where the water to brush the boy’s teeth with is coming from.  As Carl allows the faucet to just run and run, the water in the pond, where our anthropomorphized fishy friend lives, is depleting and fast! Frank the Fish grabs his phone, calls Carl asking him to please stop wasting water and to turn the faucet off.  To this day, I think back to this short when brushing my teeth and I am cognizant of water conservation. 

Way Back Wednesday: Hello There, Mr. Goulet

By Annmarie Dean

Here’s a photo from our August 1969 Selective Viewer.  WNED-TV “Talk of the Town” host Jayne Freeman interviewing  actor and singer Robert Goulet.  “Talk of the Town” was a weekly series that focused on local cultural events happening in Western New York.

Way Back Wednesday: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

By Annmarie Dean

He is one of my all-time favorites and I am sure he is one of yours as well.  Fred Rogers, American educator, songwriter, author and television host of  “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood;”  the show has been a fixture on PBS since 1969.  I can distinctly remember an episode in which my younger brother and I watched a video (delivered by Mr. McFeely, of course) on how crayons are made. 

Way Back Wednesday: Happy Holidays!

By Annmarie Dean

Happiest of holidays and the warmest of season’s greetings from our 1969 Selective Viewer!

Way Back Wednesday: Time Capsule

By Annmarie Dean

As most of you know, I spend my Mondays and Tuesdays digging through old “Selective Viewers” to find interesting pieces of WNED nostalgia.  This week, I came across a special pamphlet from WNED-TV’s 10th anniversary.  Inside, there is a section that dictates the wishes and focus on the future of the public television’s future. 

Way Back Wednesday: Twelfth Month

By: Annmarie Dean

Tomorrow is December 1st!  Check out this great cover to WNED’s December 1968 Selective Viewer.  I think it sums up the month perfectly:  a trumpeter all bundled up in corduroy performing music outside surrounded by festive lights.  The only thing really missing is over-sized, featherlike snowflakes. 

Way Back Wednesday: Juuuuuuulia Child

By Annmarie Dean

Julia Child had been a friend of PBS and WNED for many, many years. In fact, The French Chef debuted in 1963 and ran nationally for 10 years.  I found this comic from our April 1968 Selective Viewer (it’s comparable to the monthly, WNED Magazine that our members receive in the mail, today.)  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

* The comic originally appeared in The New Yorker Magazine in 1967.

Way Back Wednesday: In the Beginning

By Annmarie Dean

In my search for all things nostalgic, I came across the history of WNED-TV in its birthing stages so of course I had to share with our readers.

In 1954, a group of leaders in education and business wanted to broadcast a TV channel that “encourage[d] the educational, intellectual, and cultural growth of the community.” The following year, that group was granted a charter by the State Board of Regents as the Western New York Educational Television Association, Inc.

In 1959, with the donations of a transmitter and antenna from the Buffalo branch of NBC, contributions from industry, the public, state and local government, Channel 17 signed onto the air. It was the first noncommercial educational TV station in New York State and the 40^th of its kind in the nation. 

Way Back Wednesday: The Great TV Auction

By Annmarie Dean

Do the words “quickie board,” “bell ringer,” and “steal of the night” bring back memories of a certain auction that ran for 37 years?

Way Back Wednesday: Carol Hammer

By: Annmarie Dean 

I work with a lot of fun and really nice people here at WNED and Carol Hammer is one of them. In fact, I always find myself insanely jealous of Carol’s jewelry, particularly her eclectic bracelets. Carol started working for WNED in 1982, beginning as a temp and becoming a permanent employee in September of that year. We were able to steal her away from Channel 29 (WUTV 29) where she had previously worked for eight years.

Way Back Wednesday: Good News Bears

By Annmarie Dean

This photo might be my favorite that I’ve found while digging through boxes of black and whites. Here is WNED’s 1979 “hard-hitting softball squad [who] walked off with the first annual Upstate New York  Public TV Softball Championship…by thumping Rochester’s WXXI by a score of 16 to 7.” 

Go team!  But more importantly, where can I get one of those shirts? 

Way Back Wednesday: The Magic of Television

By Annmarie Dean

Check out the look of wonderment on these children's faces!  This photo comes from the back cover of our October 1979 member magazine, ON AIR.

Way Back Wednesday: Educating the Masses

By Annmarie Dean

For the past 52 years, WNED has been found in classrooms, summer schools and in your home. We launched our educational initiative pretty quickly; in 1959, in-school programming jumped from 3 ½ hours to 21 hours per week. Only five years later, we were reaching 60,000 Western New York students and those are just a few examples. 

Way Back Wednesday: A Radio Roadmap

By: Annmarie Dean

Last week, I brought you a timeline of WNED’s television technology. This week, I’m proud to present an abridged version of the history of our radio stations, WNED AM 970 and Classical 94.5 WNED.