Pictures Out of Thin Air

During a span of thirty years, Helen’s work evolved into “People Unlimited” , a television program which she arranged and coordinated.

Helen confesses to always being nervous in front of a television camera. She could never get used to “the people jumping around behind the camera”. All that action “off stage” terrified her. Perhaps her first experience on television had something to do with it.

The late Dr. Kenneth Parker was chairman of a panel early in the first year of CFCY television. None of the participants had ever been on television before, and panic and fright were common. The program was structured, and questions and answers were to be prepared in advance. Everything was “live” at the beginning and there was no way of videotaping a show. Material went on the air just as it was spoken. In some manner Dr. Parker gave out a set of questions to Helen MacDonald that were meant for Mrs. Basil McDonald from Tracadie and she got Helen’s questions. The rehearsal was disoriented. Mrs. Basil McDonald, a devout member of the Roman Catholic church, became speechless; then out came: “Glory be to God”, she said. “I’ll never be able to do it.” Beads of perspiration hung on her forehead. She was so shaken that Dr. Parker drew Helen aside: “Take her home for a cup of tea and calm her down!”

When they went back after supper, it was Mrs. Basil McDonald who sailed through with colors flying while Helen, faced with those two lights in front of the camera, shook like a jelly fish as the mixed—up questions came her way.

I am amazed at the echoes and parallels we found in television of radio. For example, radio had its famous disaster, the Moose River Gold Mine. Early television too had its disaster which electrified and coa- lesced the country—the Springhill Coal Mine disaster. The synthesis was completed. In addition to reading and hearing about it, people were seeing it.

Just as early listeners dressed up to listen to radio, early viewers of television had the feeling that as they were watching people on the screen, they in turn were being watched. Henry Purdy recalls, years later, a gentleman being surprised that Henry didn’t recognize him.

“I don’t see why not,” the man said. “I watched you every blessed Friday night.”

Perhaps the chilling things that George Orwell wrote about Big Brother came from this early effect television had on people. In any case, it points out again the power of the media—a power my father was ever

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