Chester Chatter: When we got a very poor reception

| Feb 04, 2019 | Comments 0

By Ruthie Douglas
© 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Down on the farm, before we got a satellite dish, television reception was terrible. The antennae on our roof brought in — maybe on a good day  — two channels.

The the aluminum-sided St. Johnsbury trucks went by on Route 103, the television got all fuzzy until the trucks reached Putnam’s Diner. When snow or rain covered the trees, our reception improved.

Don loved football and for much of the time he listened to the games on radio. When they started to be broadcast on television, he was some happy; but then came the pigeons. They hung out all over the antennae. Don got mad, and got out his BB gun to scare them off. He wasn’t the best shot and that is why he ended up shooting the rods sticking out from the antennae. Guess what? The birds returned and television reception worsened.

We never viewed the TV shows M*A*S*H and Dallas. And our girls had no idea who Mr. Rogers was. Before cable came along important events were lost on us: President Kennedy’s assassination and funeral as well as his brothers Bobby’s and Dr. Martin Luther King’s. We also missed out on the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana.

Everything  has changed since I moved into town. Now I watch a lot of television.

Out and about

Dan Atwood and Tracy Williams recently enjoyed a trip to Cancun, Mexico.

Jeff Westine of Connecticut and his sister Pam Stone of Florida came to spend time with their father Howard Westine.

Bob Gale, formerly from around here but now of Houston, Texas, has passed away.

Jack Carroll, food supervisor at Green Mountain High and Chester-Andover Elementary, has announced his retirement. See our story in The Chester Telegraph. The students will surely miss him. Jack has done a great job. He plans to retire at the end of the school year.

Thought of this week: How often do you wash your car?

Punxsutawney Phil is predicting an early spring. We’ll see!

  • This week’s trivia question: Where was the jail cell of the Chester Police Department located?

  • Answer to last week’s trivia question: Our capital city, Montpelier, has no McDonald’s, as Arlene Mutschler responded.

Street Talk

Should public school teach about different religions?

Alana Sargent: I think it would be really cool to understand the beliefs.
Ed Knapp: Yes, definitely and as early as possible.
Barbara Petterson: I believe it is a good idea to teach different religions in school.
Carlene Smith: People should be taught religion so they know about other people, so that they know how to get along.
Kevin Day: No. We have separation of church and state. Even the Pledge of Allegiance should go back to its original form, without the mention of God, and be recited in school.
Pat Bushway: Yes, I believe it would be a good idea.

 

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Filed Under: Chester Chatter • Community and Arts Life

About the Author: Ruthie Douglas is originally from Springfield but has called Chester her home for 58 years, and has been writing the Chester Chatter column for more than 40 of those years. Ruthie is also a longtime volunteer throughout the community.

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