Around 1966 in Spruce Head, Maine with my twin and my Mom.

Cool old picture! The set appears to be a 1952 Trav-Ler, with rabbit ear antenna on the top. I'm not at all sure what TV stations were on the air in Maine in '66, but Spruce Head is a fringe area for even any of the current stations. With an old set and rabbit ears picking up Bangor or Portand (each about 60 airline miles away) would've been chancy. It looks like the interior walls are uninsulated, so it's a good bet this was a summer vacation cottage that just got a castoff set in case reception was possible. Ah, what stories the ol' Trav-Ler could tell.

Nice pic, thanks for sharing!



I grew up on Mount Desert Island, ME. We could usually get Bangor and sometimes Portland. Portland is pretty far away but mostly over water. When I was older I built an antenna from a magazine that worked great on my little B&W set I had in my room. I proudly showed my dad, he told me I did a great job and then promptly ordered me to hook it up to the family set. None who knew my Dad would find that out of character!

In that area, you could pick up Bangor and Portland Maine. If I remember correctly at night you could pick up the Boston UHF stations WSBK and WLVI. The house was a summer home that belonged to my grandfather. He closed it up in the Winter. His winter home was in Thomaston. My Grandfather gave me a bunch of photos and other items from his radio days. He was into ham and shortwave and also CB radio. I have a picture of the Antenna someplace. When I find it I will post it here.