Squiggles!



A "squiggle" becomes a horse!

 A recent donation of materials made us smile -- and made some of our volunteers sing! -- here in the Library. Among some general memorabilia and photographs of a local young man were three "squiggles" made by local children and enhanced by Jim Fisk on WRGB's "Breadtime Stories."

Freddie Freihofer himself pops up
for a portrait in this "squiggle."

WRGB began production of “Breadtime Stories,” also known as “the Freddie Freihofer Show,” in 1949. The program proved to be very popular and ran until 1966. Children who had a birthday could be on the show to celebrate and were given a birthday cake from Freihofer’s Bakery. Host “Uncle Jim” Fisk would create a drawing from a “squiggle” made by a child on the show. Ralph Kanna, Bud Mason, Ed Joyce, and Bill Carpenter each served as hosts of the show before Jim Fisk, but Fisk was the host from 1956-1966 and is perhaps the show's best-remembered host. During the 17-year run of "Breadtime Stories," over 200,000 local children appeared on the show.

Birthday boys and girls with “Uncle Jim” Fisk on the set of “Breadtime Stories”, 1957.
Photograph from Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.