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Maryland Cracker Barrel Magazine
Celebrating 50 Years
Reflections: Instructional Television Story Ignites Memories
By Suanne Woodring
Reminisce with us as we look back on the memories of a few of Washington County's residents. Excerpts featured here are from the current Spring 2023 issue.
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Maryland Cracker Barrel Magazine: Sentinel of Washington County's Heritage
"This Spring issue features the early days of Instructional Television in Washington County. Bryon Middlekauff suggested doing an article on ITV since the 2021-2022 school year had marked the 65th anniversary of the project launch. His article is the core of this issue.....
I recently had a chance to sit down with Jim Eckel and Richard Munch and discuss Washington County’s role in ITV. Jim, Richard, and I had grown up together at Grace Brethren Church in the 1950s and early 60s. All of us had ended up with the Washington County School System. Richard taught Math on television for a number of years. Jim was part of the art department that provided the necessary visuals, etc. for the lessons. Jim is also responsible for rescuing the photographs that recorded the teachers, staff, and others involved in the project. A real treasure would have been lost if he hadn’t have acted to salvage these photographs...."
Window to Yesterday:
Washington County’s Closed Circuit Television System - The Early Years
By Bryon Middlekauff
"For many Washington County school children, the summer of 1956 was filled with anticipation, excitement, and a bit of apprehension as a number of Washington County children were aware that they would attend a brand-new school and experience a new educational television system. Pangborn Boulevard Elementary School and South Hagerstown High School would open for the first time in September. Baby Boomers growing up in Washington County in the 1950’s and 1960’s likely recall television in the classrooms. The 2021-2022 school year was the 65th anniversary of the project launch. This experiment was the brainchild of the then Superintendent of Schools, Dr. William M. Brish. Dr. Brish, assessing the post-World War II population explosion of school age children and the growing presence and influence of television in their lives, envisioned a county wide system where educational resources could be maximized, teacher shortages addressed, and stress upon community resources minimized. His idea was to develop television production studios which could send lessons into every classroom
in the county. Television teachers would be among the best and most engaging presenters, having access to films, slides, demonstrations, guest presenters, historical objects, and geologic and biologic samples, which regular classroom teachers would find difficult, if not impossible to assemble. The result would be that each child would be exposed to the highest quality education. I can remember, as a rising fourth grader in the summer of 1956, the buzz and excitement, as Pangborn Boulevard Elementary School and South Hagerstown High School were brand new schools, opening that autumn and that both would be included in the educational television experiment...."
Pausing to Ponder:
Lifelong Lessons Learned
Working With ITV Program
By Suanne K. Woodring
"North Hagerstown High School graduate, Jim Eckel, was in the right place at the right time. Graduating in the first NHHS class, 1957, after Hagerstown High School was split with the completion of South Hagerstown High School in the south end of town, Jim knew he didn’t want to go to college. He would rather hunt and fish but realized that he needed to get a job. ...The fall of 1957 was the beginning of the “grand” experiment known as Instructional television (ITV) that Washington County was fortunate to participate in. Enter local artist, Clyde Roberts, who was
Jim’s art teacher in high school and mentor. Roberts knew that Jim was a talented artist and encouraged him to interview for an art position with the fledgling ITV project. After a “quick” interview with T. Wilson Cahall, the first ITV coordinator, he was told to report for work the next day. That first day he was just supposed to observe the cameraman, floor manager, and others. When they ended up short-handed, he found himself manning a camera. For the next couple of weeks, he spent his time learning all aspects of TV production. He then became a part of the ITV Art Department...."
