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Then and Now
Popular Television Shows
Many who grew up in Athens in the 1950s saw television for the first time through a window in Parker Brothers Store. Curiosity and interest was accelerated when WDBJ-TV, Channel 7 in Roanoke Virginia, signed on the air in 1955. With a strong signal in Athens, Fred and Frank Parker tuned a set they had for sale to the station for passersby to see in the evening. It was quite the attraction! Many of the first sets in Athens were sold by the Parkers and E. H. Jennings. Blaine Jennings started repairing sets and made home visits with his tube tester and various replacement parts.
Position | Title | Network |
|---|---|---|
2 | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. | CBS |
2 | Bonanza | NBC |
2 | The Lucy Show | CBS |
3 | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. | CBS |
3 | The Ed Sullivan Show | CBS |
3 | Have Gun, Will Travel | CBS |
3 | Dragnet | NBC |
3 | Arthur Godfrey and His Friends | CBS |
3 | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (tie) | CBS |
3 | Tales of Wells Fargo | NBC |
3 | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. | CBS |
3 | Have Gun, Will Travel | CBS |
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