As a culture geek, I love exploring/mining the past of American media, especially Ohio’s. Once in a while, I’ll find something that’s not only really fascinating, but also something that even I don’t know about.
Today, I’ve unearthed a doozy. It turns out that decades ago, Cincinnati had their own version of Hee Haw/The Lawrence Welk Show called Midwestern Hayride. For a view of how it looked, check out the video below (courtesy of the WLWT YouTube page):
If you want even more information on the show, read this description/breakdown from the WLWT webpage:
“For years, "Midwestern Hayride" dominated the Saturday night television airwaves in Cincinnati.
The country music show first aired on WLWT in 1948, two months after the station began commercial broadcasting.
It became a staple of WLWT's programming in the golden era of television, featuring live music from predominantly local musicians.
For much of its run, "Midwestern Hayride" was hosted by Dean Richards. Other veterans of the show included Kenny Price, Bonnie Lou and the Midwesterners dancers.
The show aired until 1972.
At the show's peak, there was a months long waiting list for tickets to be in the audience.”
With the huge concentration of country & western music fans in Southern Ohio, I wonder why this show was canceled? This may bear an investigation.
Maybe that’s what my next article will be about. Hmmmm.
