This year, we here at WEEK–TV are celebrating this station's 55th birthday.

It's a little disconcerting –for some of us—–to realize there are central Illinois folks applying for their AARP card who've never known a world without television.
Here's what it was like at the beginning.

In 1952, there were only five TV stations in Illinois... but it was a rapidly growing industry, and those behind WEEK TV were gambling that people would spend a considerable amount of money—–200–dollars for this ten inch set – nearly three week's average salary–to be entertained by this new medium.
That's not to say there weren't TV sets in Central Illinois.
They just didn't receive very much.
" I know I had a 100–foot tower".

Older members of the audience will now explain to the younger members just what a TV antenna is...
Merlin Hindert was a pioneer TV dealer. Hindert says reception in those days—–varied—a lot.

" It was like looking at a picture though Venetian blinds".

When WEEK–TV finally went on the air in February of 1953—–in black and white —–with a test pattern as a part of the programming—it was big news.
This was the special insert in the Peoria Journal Star...

"It was like magic....seeing those pictures in black and white from all the way across the river –instead of the blurry images at friend's houses coaxed from far away Rock Island or Champaign," said former network journalist Bob Jamieson.

And, in those days, WEEK's viewers were seeing not only NBC, but programs from CBS and the Dumont network.
In those days—–it paid to be the only game in town.
Those first shows were on a one–week delay –since videotapes or kinescopes had to be mailed to Peoria.
That's not to say there wasn't local programming. In fact, WEEK–TV's first programming...was a movie.

"It was the move 'Stagecoach" with John Wayne, and I did the Motorola commercial live with no teleprompter. We had to memorize the whole thing. I can still remember, 'Glare down, sound up," remembered the late Peoria television pioneer Bill Houlihan in 1983.

There was local news.... fifteen minutes of News Weather and Sports at first...
And there were local talk shows....and kid's shows....Captain Jinks and Salty Sam became legends locally...
And, in a bid to capture the teen audience....there was the Hi–Fi Club.
You can explain what Hi–Fi means later...for every weekend 200 kids crowded into the TV 25 studios.
This was a Halloween show...no...everybody didn't dress like this at the time.
None of this is to be construed as love letter to the gold old days.
It's just better now.
Satellite Dishes —not the mail—brings us programming—
Photographers edit with video, not with silent film—–
Computers have replaced typewriters.
Color replaced black and white—
Digital replaces analog –
The only constant in television—–is change.

Now, if you've got some old pictures related to WEEK–TV or it's people...we'd like to see them.
You can post them to YouNews here are WEEK–Dot–Com...We'd love to see them.