Why watch a classic like the original King Kong when The Mighty Joe Young is available?
Growing up poor in Moline was difficult. When transients came to our door, we asked
them for a handout.
We had to borrow garbage from our neighbors, so we would have something to set out in the alley on pick-up day.
I am sure my classmates shared our glee when Moline finally got its own TV station. Before that, we had two channels only - Channel 4 and 6.
With WQAD we had Channel 8 as well.
Best of all, we got the goofiness of small-town TV. The same man who hosted the monster movies also ran the children's show. The monster movies were horrible and fun. The children's shows were bought from some thrift shop for new TV stations. They were old, cheap, and fun to laugh at.
Nevertheless, there were hardships with this upgrade in media. We had to walk across the room to change channels. I tell my grandchildren how wrenching it was to shake off the stupor and move. My parents did not change channels. They made us change channels for them. If I had known the phone number for Child Protection Services....
