KPTV's
--
and
Oregon's
--
first
local
program
was
a
fifteen-minute
newscast
featuring
Norman
Wallace,
on
Friday,
April
24,
1953.
The
following
Monday,
Barbara
Angell
debuted
Portland's
first
daily
show,
"What's
Cooking?"
For
the
next
five
decades,
KPTV
created
and
broadcast
some
of
the
most
innovative
and
entertaining
shows
in
the
country.
From
teens
dancing
to
parlor
games
to
sport
and
news,
KPTV
proved
herself
"up
to
the
task"
of
providing
viewers
with
an
abundance
of
on-air
choices.
Today,
all
but
a
handful
of
these
programs
are
lost
to
the
ages.
The
earliest
shows
aired
live
--
there
was
no
such
thing
as
a
rerun.
A
few
programs
were
kinescoped,
but
poor
quality
and
expense
prevented
them
from
being
used
as
a
regular
source
of
programming.
Later,
shows
were
videotaped,
aired,
then
reused
the
next
day;
a
necessity
in
an
era
of
large
and
heavy
(two-inches
wide!)
tape
reels.
Besides
that,
the
concept
of
storing
thousands
of
hours
of
programs
--
the
majority
of
which
would
never
air
again
--
seemed
an
unreasonable
and
impossible
task.
The
more's
the
pity.
KPTV's
early
years
were
an
irreplaceable
chronicle
of
local
events
and
talent,
the
likes
of
which
will
never
be
seen
again.
So,
for
most
of
the
programs
below,
this
archive,
the
recollections
of
casts
and
crews,
and
the
fond
memories
of
viewers,
are
all
that
exist
of
KPTV's
golden
age.
