It was the most exciting day in this 8 year-old Burien boy’s life. Certainly more momentous than four years earlier when my parents brought my baby sister home from the hospital.
It was a summery August day so I should have obeyed my mom’s usual admonishments to go outside and play.
But on that afternoon my family was FINALLY getting its first television set ever. Oh, the anticipation!
What I remember from that first glorious afternoon in 1955 is watching live the Slo-Mo V hydroplane flip during a qualifying run. Believe it or not, back then all three network-affiliated Seattle TV stations would interrupt programming to show all Seafair race qualifying attempts. No--not just the race on Sunday—but all the three-lap speed runs during the week.
The other thing I remember from that inaugural afternoon is seeing the wondrous “King’s Klubhouse” with Stan Boreson and motionless No-Mo, the basset hound.
I went on to have many more grand days watching Stan Boreson on Channel 5 and, of course, the magical, J.P. Patches on Channel 7. Capt. Puget on 4, Brakeman Bill on 11 and Sheriff Tex on13 provided more magical moments.
Imagine my thrill many, many years later when I got to interview Stan Boreson for the Highline Times. The column was a preview of his Christmas concert appearance with ChoralSounds Northwest at Burien’s Highline Performing Arts Center.
Alas, a snowstorm prevented me from seeing the show. I can assure you if I had been living in Burien at the time, I would have strapped on snowshoes and made the overland trek to the performing arts center.
As August rolls around, this Burien baby-boomer is reflecting back on that childhood era. As everyone has heard, the beloved J.P. Patches (Chris Wedes) died July 22. I heard tributes to J.P. at both the Burien and SeaTac council meetings last week.
And our sister paper, the Ballard News-Tribune reports that Stan Boreson, 87, has retired from both performing and leading travel tours. Reporter Zachariah Bryan, whose parents were probably only gleams in the eyes of his grandparents when Boreson held forth on local TV, had a great interview with Mr. and Mrs. Boreson.
And Pat Cashman gave Robinson Newspapers his reflections on fellow local TV icon, J.P. Patches. I’ve had the honor of interviewing Cashman, too. Again, ChoralSounds was the hook.
I thought Highline Times readers would enjoy the pieces by Cashman and Bryan.
