One summer day in 1948, six boys from the Pine Plains area travelled to New York City to appear on a network radio show, “Child’s World with Helen Parkhurst.”
I was one of those boys.
Credit: Wikipedia
Miss Parkhurst, a well-known progressive educator—she created the Dalton Plan teaching system, which was much like Montessori—started “Child’s World” in 1947. Each episode showed how children viewed a particular issue, such as religion, death, segregation, etc. The 30-minute national show aired each Wednesday evening on the ABC Radio Network.
Miss Parkhurst’s brother, financier Alden Parkhurst, visited Pine Plains regularly to see his future wife, Vivian Hansen, who was secretary to the manager of Briarcliff Farms. It was because of this connection that Pine Plains was selected to send farm boys to be on an episode of “Child’s World.”
Each of us was selected to represent a specific type of farm. Jack Pulver worked on a large dairy farm; Don McGhee on a small dairy farm; Ted Sweet on a sheep or pig farm; and Bobby Palmatier, whose father ran the linotype machine on the Register Herald newspaper, was a beekeeper. I represented chicken farms. I no longer remember who the sixth boy was or what he represented.
My mother, who was not particularly outgoing, was somehow chosen to lead this bunch of rambunctious 10- to 13-year-olds. We took the train from Poughkeepsie and then a cab to Miss Parkhurst’s Park Avenue apartment, where she had a recording studio.
Miss Parkhurst offered us lunch prior to recording the show. Soup was served and when we were done, the maid asked if anyone wanted more. Ted Sweet wanted more soup. It turned out that he didn’t know that more courses were coming.
I remember nothing about the actual program, which consisted of questions asked by Miss Parkhurst and our candid responses. I do remember that Pine Plains social studies teacher Tom Davis recorded the show as it was broadcast, and that he was only able to record 20 minutes of the 30. Unfortunately, my part was in the last 10 minutes.
Once recording was complete, Miss Parkhurst asked if we would care to watch television. None of us had ever seen TV, which was at an early stage in its development. We enthusiastically looked forward to the opportunity. We were to watch a New York Yankees baseball game from Chicago, but it was rained out. The only thing on the TV screen was the station ID. No alternative show was broadcast.
Our most vivid memories of the day were the train ride, the soup episode and “almost” watching TV. For my mother, I believe, the best memory was getting us back home safely.
Calvin Knickerbocker grew up on a small farm in Shekomeko where his parents bred show chickens. He was valedictorian of the class of 1953 at Pine Plains Central School. He now lives in New Hampshire and can be reached at calknick9@gmail.com.
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