Over the past few months, these Instant Replays have looked back at local radio and TV stations from the day they signed on to the time when some of them (CKEY & CKFH) disappeared forever.
 
But there are some memories that can’t be categorized. So here, in no particular order, are a few Odds and Ends that don’t quite fit anywhere else.
 
These Tricks Were For Kids
 
If you were a kid in the 1950s or 60s, Saturday morning meant only one thing – cartoons from sign on (around 6 AM) until at least noon. What were you watching? Here are a few vintage examples.
 


 
As previously mentioned in an earlier Replay, Diver Dan became a hit – despite being made on the cheap. Not that you noticed that stuff when you were a kid.
 


 
Some early syndicators, like ZIV TV, tried to fill the gaps when the networks weren’t putting out anything.
 



 
Ratings Of The Lost Art
 
None of these shows had any sort of ratings on them, and those infamous squares in the corner of your TV (“G” for General audiences, “PG,” for Parental Guidance or “18+” for Adults) are now on just about everything you watch. But did you know they were considering them as far back as 1960?
 

"Ad" Nauseam  

You’ve probably read complaints here over the years that some radio stations are airing too many commercials and are turning off listeners. Turns out, the powers-that-be weren’t happy about that either in 1962.
 

 
The CRTC had so many rules about advertising liquor, it was enough to drive you to drink. You couldn’t actually show anyone drinking an alcoholic beverage and God forbid anyone should have a good time while they were doing it. Eventually, it was banned altogether. So they turned to some “Southern” comfort.  


“American’s” Pie
 
In 1973, CFRB’s Gordon Sinclair did an editorial about our neighbours to the south in a time of need. Little did he imagine what that few minute oration would become. “The Americans” eventually turned into a flag-waving hit record and became something of a sensation in the U.S. Sinclair’s version got played and so did a re-recording of it by famed CKLW newsman Byron MacGregor. But did you know there was a third version?
 

Speaking of Sinclair, in 1967, he was pretty convinced his career wouldn’t last long because he refused to lay off controversial issues. In that, at least, he was very wrong.
 

But he certainly didn’t do much to help himself, especially when he deliberately did this in 1972.
 

Sinclair wasn’t a one man band. Turns out, he passed a lot of his curmudgeonly genes over to his son, who eventually became a big deal on his own over CJAD in Montreal. But he started early, as this item from 1947 proves.
 

 
I’ve published this here before, but it bears repeating. I have a sort of personal response to this radio legend, whose 5:50 PM newscast was a #1 attraction on CFRB for many years. Turns out my father wrote him on several occasions – and he wrote back on his own stationery. Here’s one of those responses from the days when some celebrities actually answered their own letters.

  
What’s In A Name?
 
Back in the early days of radio, a station’s call letters were a big deal, making it part of their advertising and identity. In some cases today, it’s all about branding and you almost never hear them. But there was a time when they were not only important, but promo artists made up things about what they really stood for. Here are a few examples.
 
CFRB (Canada’s First Rogers Batteryless) 1946
 

WGR Buffalo, 1948 & 1952
 


 
Let Your Reach Exceed Your Market
 
It’s always amazing when a station in one country tries to tout itself as a great attraction in another. But for those of us on the border, that was always a reality. Sometimes it was a Canadian outlet boasting about how many ears they had in the U.S. And sometimes it was an American company pointing out how many eyeballs in the north they were attracting. Here are just a few examples.
 
CKLW Windsor 1942
 


 
WBEN-TV Buffalo
(I love that we're considered a "bonus audience")


 
WGR-AM Buffalo
 

 
WGR-TV Buffalo
 

 
Help Wanted
 
Ever wonder what an ad looking for talent at some of the bigger radio stations in North America looked like? It appears they were trying to say “amateurs need not apply.” They certainly wouldn’t have been considered.  
 
CHUM Toronto, 1976
 

 
WKBW Buffalo, 1968 & 1982
 


 
I Love Lucy – On The Radio?
 
And finally, a media mystery. By 1964, Lucille Ball was right in the middle of her second TV show, “Here’s Lucy” airing on CBS. What’s less well known is that she apparently intended to get into radio at the same time. Does anyone know if this ever came to be and are there any episodes that survive?
 

Next week: 3D TV on Global, Mickey Rooney On Sports & FM in Mono only? It might have been in Canada.