David Nelson Dies This Week at the Age of 74 - Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson Tv Show

They had only small problems that were quickly solved in each short tv episode. David's brother, Ricky, a famous singer and actor, died in a plane crash in 1985. Father, Ozzie, died in 1975 and mother, Harriet, died in 1994. They were our favorite tv family.

Our house before the Ozzie and Harriet Nelson days

Our country lane had no electric power at the beginning of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson" television show. My father and two other property owners, on that road, had to pay the power company to put in electric poles and run lines. The next step was having the house wired.

Wiring the house for electric

The electrician placed outlets and a light fixture in the ceiling of each room. Each fixture had a hanging pastel-tinted glass shade that hung from steel chains to conceal the light bulb. These glass shades were embossed in elegant flowers and rarely can they be seen anywhere today. We were becoming modern in the 50's.

Light switches in the upstairs hallway

There was a light switch at the bottom of the stairs to the top bedrooms, another one at the top of the steps and a third one at the end of the hallway and they all controlled the hall light. We kids loved this feature.

A new type of artificial light before the tv

After we had electric power we were amazed at that light bulb in the ceiling. No more kerosene lamp flickering at the oil-clothed kitchen table. Now we could all see better at night with this new artificial light. It cast light beams onto the polished black paths worn into the "linoleum" floor pattern. This linoleum had a coating that easily wore off and exposed the black under-base material. All of our neighbors had black paths in their homes too, but this never kept us from scrubbing the floors and keeping them waxed and buffed - even the black path.

When someone had the new squares of red, black and white vivid checkerboard floors in their kitchens, it started a rush for that pattern. It started appearing in all of the neighbors kitchens that could afford it. There's nothing so satisfying as walking around and cooking dinner on a over-sized and brilliant checkerboard art-piece.

The new invention - television

We had heard of television and soon we had one in our living room. It had to be "installed" by a professional. It had a dangerous-looking lead-in wire that could possible "electrocute" an unknowing person, and that wire trailed to a dangerous roof-top antenna. We were happy when the installer was done and no one lost their life.

Finally, we turned on the tv and waited for the tubes to warm up. We could anxiously look in the back of the tv to make sure they were each taking their turn to light. Finally the picture appeared and we were on the way to a life of modern electronics and entertainment. We sat by the tv and watched the snowy, flickering picture with actual people talking and singing.

Horizontal and vertical adjustment buttons

The tv had horizontal and vertical buttons which we turned often. When a flickering and elongated Roy Rogers rode his elongated horse, Trigger, and sang "Happy Trails To You," we would adjust the buttons for a better picture. Ozzie, Harriet, David and Ricky Nelson were among our favorites. They were almost like family.

Turning the pole

We received signals for two tv channels, and the antenna (attached to a pole that went to the ground) had to be "turned and adjusted" by hand to bring in each channel. Someone was selected to go outside, even in zero temperatures, and start turning the "pole" while someone watched the tv screen inside and yelled, "no, a little more, no, turn it back a little, you almost had it, you went too far, turn it not so far this time, there, that's it, stop, I can see it, no wait, I think I saw a clearer picture just awhile back, turn it just a smidge, there, that's it" - and the frozen adjuster would come in from the cold and thaw out in front of the wonderful tv.

The tv stopped broadcasting any more shows around midnight, leaving the screen with a soft hissing snowy picture.

We felt chosen and blessed to be tv viewers and it is a sad day to say goodbye to David Nelson. We loved them all.

Sources:

http://www.herald-mail.com/obituaries/la-me-david-nelson-20110112,0,988898,full.story