Remember Romper Room?

 

Original Article HERE

“Romper bomper stomper doo…Tell me tell me tell me do…

Magic Mirror please tell me today…Did all my friends have fun at play?”

If you grew up in the 1960s or 1970s in Utah, odds are that you know exactly where that quote comes from. Romper Room was a popular children’s television show that aired on KSL from 1953 to 1981, and preschoolers around the state gathered around the TV every afternoon to see if Miss Julie would call their names at the end of the show. 

Romper Room was a national franchise that ran shows across the country from 1953 to 1994. Each station had its own host. Utah’s KSL had three hosts over the years. Edna Anderson-Taylor, was "Miss Julie;" she hosted the show for 17 years, from 1964 to 1981. Local children appeared on the show, six at a time. Every week, three children "graduated" from the on-air classroom and three new kids joined. Romper Room encouraged kids to be "Good Do-Bees" who were polite, kind and helpful. There were segments where the kids were encouraged to move around, dance and play with musical instruments.

At the end of the show, Miss Julie would get her "Magic Mirror." She’d hold it up and say, "Romper bomper stomper doo...Tell me tell me tell me do...Magic Mirror please tell me today...Did all my friends have fun at play?" Then, she’d read off several names, saying, "I see Tommy...and Michelle...and oh, look! There’s Travis and Melissa…" Preschoolers all over Utah would wait with bated breath to see if she would read their name.

Jen remembers Romper Room ... how many of the other Westra siblings do? Derek probably doesn't, as the show ended in 1981 and he wasn't born until 1982.

What shows do you remember from childhood? Sesame Street? Mr. Rogers? What shows will the next generation (the Westra grandkids) have as their TV memories, and how different will those memories be from the oldest grandkids (Conner, Kaden, McKenna, Alyssa, Kellin, Landon, Janika) to the youngest set (Jenna, Calder, Ani, Layla, Noelle) and how do the parent's perception of these productions differ from that of the kids (Sesame Street had some pretty clever things that only adults would catch, like the "Beatles" being actual bugs, singing about the "Letter B" ... it was fun to see some of these fun additions). 

Some thoughts from Mom/Margie ~

I remember when out of high school or business college, I interviewed for a job at KSL with "Miss Julie" of Romper Room. I didn't get hired.

I remember Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, Bill Nye the Science Guy (he shows up as the father in his role also as Bill Nye the Science Guy) of the gal computer specialist on the TV show "Blind Spot." Funny connection for them to put in.

I heard a reference to the old "the Electric Company" on the news a couple of days ago. The journalist was talking about educating people about the vaccine, so they weren't afraid to take it. He said we need

some Electric Company episodes about it. The show taught kids about things, but with the flash bam effects to hold their interest.

Kaptain Kangaroo.

I used to copy a lot of educational shows on VHS tapes for Chris's kids, who couldn't get TV. Reading Rainbow shows. And there was another one teaching good morals, with little bible stories or maybe it was fables--can't remember the name.

Later past our kids was Blue's clues, Magic School Bus, Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?