Clippings I Found

Yes, we've been digging through a bunch of props costumes, and drawers full of make-up and other items this week- some construction is going to be done in our storage area here at the station, so we need to move a lot of things. You might recall that I mentioned we'd be doing this, and there might be a few reprints of older blogs just to bridge the gap while I'm taking care of all the shifting and relocating of all our stuff within our studio building. My "dressing room" and prop closet has been a room known to some here at the station as "the rat room"-that is no reflection on me- when we first moved into the building, and a promotion department person went down to the room, which was divided into my half and a second back room that held promotional items, and was frightened by something- she claimed it was a rat!(Note: no one ever saw any rats down there- I think, years later, someone may have seen a mouse, and subsequently a glue trap was placed there, but it was never -uh- "occupied"- so we always wonder if her imagination and apprehension might have gotten the best of her!) Anywa, I've been spending a lot of time down there, and found all sorts of things, especially in the drawers of the desk I've been using as a make-up table. I found enough phony blood capsules (which I must have been given by someone) to keep a zombie army looking red on "Walking Dead" - I wonder of those capsules age well, since they could be about 11 years old? We had a box of fake beards- a box of various eyeglasses-a clown nose(hey, Bozo- you missing anything?)-mike flags (those boxes you see on microphones on TV with the show title or channel number- ours have everything from my picture, to the logo "Sven TV" to pictures of the Three Stooges!)-and various small sizes of rubber chickens, including some of those disgusting ones that, when you squeeze them, an "egg" pops out of their bottom in a clear plastic,liquid filled balloon! I also found handfuls of business cards- some for people I recognize and remember, some that I'd like to forget, some that I have no idea who gave me them (yes, even with a name on them I haven't a clue...) and- I found some newspaper clippings! One is actually a copy of a clipping from the Chicago Tribune, about the Mystery Science Theater guys, in which they mention watching Svengoolie shows- this was important to me at the time, because some uneducated people were , at the time, sending me e-mails about bhow I ws ripping off the MST3K show, and how they were there first?! I understand that the MST3K folks have acknowledged me many more times, which is nice of them. Another clipping is a page from the Berwyn Life newspaper-dated January 20, 1995- which was only twenty days since I came back onto Chicago TV via The U. The somewhat yellowing clipping stated that "Svengoolie, known for his light-hearted Berwyn jokes,is now back on WCIU TV".Interesting how they,like most others, knew our Berwyn jokes were that- just jokes- even though a future Mayor of Berywn- NOT the current one, mind you- never got that. The rest of the clipping states "his name was misspelled in the Jan 13 issue"! Included with the clipping was an note from the author of the original Jan. 13 article, Gail Siwek, apologizing for leaving the 'e' off 'Svengoolie' in her first article- she remarked she had actually watched the show the next night- and realized her mistake! Yes, finding lots of memories- and a lot of junk, too- no snooping around the staion dumpsters for souveniers!