PHOTO BY JIM SHULMAN
In 1950 when our family got its first television set, Pittsfield only received one channel. It was WRGB in Schenectady, which was owned by the General Electric Co.
Throughout the 1950s, there were very few weekday afternoon programs for youngsters. They were mostly nationally syndicated half-hour shows, hosted by charismatic cheerful adults. Some of the favorite hosts of baby boomers included Buffalo Bob Smith of “The Howdy Doody Show”; Miss Francis of “Ding Dong School”; Miss Nancy of “Romper Room”; Fran Allison of “Kookla, Fran and Ollie”; Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop in “Captain Kangaroo” with Bob Keeshan.
What we as youngsters did not realize was that these early kiddie shows and their hosts offered much more than pure entertainment. The hosts, often accompanied with marionettes or puppets, imparted words of wisdom and lessons in living that reinforced things parents wanted their children to learn.
As baby boomers outgrew these shows in the 1970s, most of the programs ended and the hosts retired altogether from television. The next generation, Gen X, experienced new hosts and new shows such as “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” and “Sesame Street.”
People who were born between 1946 and 1964 were labeled as baby boomers. Now in 2025, it is hard to believe that the youngest baby boomers are 60 years old and the oldest are soon to be octogenarians. All of the kiddie shows of 50 to 75 years ago are mere memories (for those who can remember that far back). And I assumed all of our childhood mentors on those shows had long passed.
In 2014 doing research, I discovered that the host of a local WRGB kids show from the 1950s was not only still living, but actively involved in television in her mid-80s. This was Glendora (Folsom Buell), who in 1956 on WRGB became the captain of a fictional spaceship on a 45-minute daily afternoon program called “Satellite Six.”
Glendora shared stories and gave positive messages to the young viewers. The program also showed the “Felix the Cat Show” and Warner Brothers cartoons and provided Felix the Cat Club membership cards to viewers.
The show had fictional characters like Glendora’s nemesis, Mr. Munimula, who made gibberish phone calls to her, but never appeared. (The character’s name was aluminum spelled backward.) “Satellite Six” was on the air from 1956 until 1963.
I learned Glendora was living in upstate New York, only 25 minutes from Pittsfield. My wife, Jackie, and I met her 10 years ago and were fascinated by this unique and energetic 86-year-old.
I wrote an Eagle column about her background and her early TV days. Ever since our first meeting Jackie and I speak with Glendora regularly. Every phone call begins and ends with several jokes, and we also always learn something new in our calls.
We last visited Glendora in the fall of 2023. Her apartment was a hubbub of activity with friends coming and going. She had pictures and memorabilia covering every spot on the wall. She was seated at a table with a microphone and an assistant videotaping her as she was in the midst of her public access TV show called, “A Chat with Glendora.”
Glendora always dressed nicely with a shirt and a tie, and often a smart blazer. She has 55 hats and wore a different one every day of each month.
Although she lost her eyesight five years ago, she is in excellent health. She will be 97 in May, and she has an incredible memory of people, places, events and dates.
This past week I had arranged a phone interview with her and prepared the following questions for her responses.
Q: You started your public access TV program, “A Chat with Glendora” back in 1971. Please share an update on how that is going.
A: With the internet, I am able to do the half-hour programs and tape them from my home. I tell jokes, conduct interviews by phone, interact with callers, share thoughts and even sing a hymn now and then. I have a wonderful staff and volunteers who assist me. Stephanie helps moderate programs while Amy does the videotaping and then downloads it to YouTube.
Another assistant, Vicky, uploads the video, adds titles and cleans up the taping. She then sends the final product to a network of assistants who forward it to public access stations in 79 markets, from Boston to San Diego. Each market airs the chat show with its own schedule. Pittsfield’s PCTV usually shows my program at two times: 6:30 a.m. Wednesdays and 11:30 a.m. Saturdays. I do recommend readers check the times to confirm them.
Q: You began these programs in 1971 when public access television first began and have been doing them going on 54 years. That is incredible.
A: Yes, I have the longest-running, continuous public access show in the country. The last program was number 14,437 in all those years.
Q: In your chats you have interviewed some interesting people and handle these quite well. I remember seeing your interview of the president of NBC.
A: That was shown when I appeared as a guest on “The David Letterman Show” in 1987. I enjoyed interacting with David. He is a good interviewer himself. But he couldn’t believe I was able to interview the head of the network whom he never had on his show.
Q: To what do you attribute your good health?
A: No hospitals, no doctors, no medicines, no pills, no bills and I am vegan! I became a vegan in 1962 after seeing farm animals in frigid weather in a stock car on a speeding train. Then and there I decided that I would strive to protect animals the rest of my life.
Q: You are like the Duracell Bunny that keeps on ticking. You will turn 97 in May. Do you think you will retire from doing your programs?
A: I plan to live until age 107 doing the things that spread happiness.
I believe in the things that Dan Buettner the researcher and writer advocates. He found in five areas of the world people live longer than in other parts of the world with a large percent of them living over 100. These areas are called blue zones. The only blue zone in this country is Loma Linda, Calif. The residents live longer in these communities because they follow plant-based diets without much processed foods, exercise, avoid stress, avoid alcohol and have strong connections with others and their communities. In addition, I would add that a belief in God is important for longevity.”
Q: I will check out more about Buettner and the Blue Zones. I always learn from you. I have known since we met that you are spiritual person. When did you become spiritual?
A: As a teenager I converted to God and it was perfect for me since back then. Before I lost my sight I attended as many as five churches a week: a Roman Catholic one, a Methodist one, a Seventh Day Adventist one, a Dutch Reform one and a “born-again church.” I read the Bible but primarily certain passages and I like to sing hymns. One of the most important passages is Romans 8:28. “All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and who are called according to his purpose.”
Q: You do like to make people happy and have an endless supply of cute jokes. It is remarkable how many of these jokes you recall and never repeat any when we speak in our monthly calls.
A: I had always wanted to be a performer and learned as a child that a good sense of humor was important. My late husband, Frank, also had a good sense of humor. And we both liked making people happy with a chuckle or two.
Q: In closing what joke do you have today?
A: A famous author was interviewed on television and asked by the interviewer what was the best work of fiction he ever wrote. He thought for a few seconds and replied. My income tax form!
To see “A Chat with Glendora,” visit achatwithglendora.com. You can write her at achatwithglendora@gmail.com.
Tags: baby boomers, Bob Hope, Bob Keeshan, Bob Smith, Captain Kangaroo, Ding Dong School, Felix the Cat, Fran Allison, kiddie shows, Kookla Fran and Ollie, Miss Francis, Miss Nancy, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, octogenarians, Romper Room, Satellite Six, Sesame Street, Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, The Howdy Doody Show
