Distracted driving in the 1960s
By Joan Janzen
What do you think distracted driving looked like in the 1960s? Kindersley resident Bill Stephenson recalled setting a 9-inch black and white television on the fender of his tractor while he worked back in 1965.
“People asked - how do you see where you’re going when you’re watching TV,” Bill said. “I said, well, I can’t miss Ma Perkins or Another World.” ‘Another World’ was a popular soap opera in those days.
Bill couldn’t help but be excited about watching all his favourite television shows because it had only been a couple of years since a CFQC tower had been set up beside the Stranraer ski hill. Bill and his friends were instrumental in getting the tower placed at Stranraer, and he explained how the story began to unfold.
A photo of the Stranraer Ski Hill. Photo courtesy Saskatchewan Archival Information Network
“We had a problem with the Sask. television tower; nobody could receive a signal,” he said. But that was about to change. Bill’s neighbour won a contest singing and playing guitar at a radio station in Saskatoon. The people at the station suggested the community start a petition to get a TV tower in the area.
Bill and four or five friends got together every morning for a visit. They formed a league, and Bill became president. Soon, a petition was signed by people from 50 miles away in every direction. Even though the signatures were pouring in, Bill had a better idea.
“I said let’s go to the top and write a letter to the Prime Minister of Canada,” he said. The letter was sent off, and before long, they received a letter from the Prime Minister’s office that said there was a television station from Swift Current that was interested in their area.
“I said let’s get in the car and talk to a Member of Parliament,” Bill said. They showed their MP the letter, and he said he was heading to Ottawa the next week and would see what he could do.
“Within two weeks, we had our television station,” Bill stated. That was in 1963. “The letter is what got the thing going.”