I was stunned to find out that my favorite TV childrens Show host was Anonymous outside of my small circle of programming. Mention your favorite TV kids personality and watch 90% of people draw a blank. Ever heard of 'Soupy Sales'? 'Tomorrow will be sunny, followed by monny, twooy.......

I was surprised by this picture because I actually grew up in Diamond Bar in the 80's/90's. When I first saw that picture, I was shocked that it was in 1967 because it looks so similar to what my backyard was like. I guess some things never change! Reminds me so much of my childhood.

I remember watching my dad build a "patio cover" just like the one in the photo at out house in Garden Grove in about 1969. I was about 5 years old at the time. And yes, all dads had that hairstyle.

Almost a twin to TTerrance's photo in layout. Our patio in Penticton British Columbia, the city of Peaches and Beaches and long hot summers,this patio was a must have for the hot days and nights. To the far right my Dad built long shelves that ran the length of the patio, he created an outdoor plug in and we had our tv in the center of the unit, he made swinging doors on the front to enclose it for overnight or when we were away. We would eat all our meals out there and at night sleep on the lounge chairs under the stars. Those trees in the back are Bing cherry and apricot, the one next to the patio which you can only see a few leaves is a cherry tree we also had plum, apple and tons of rose bushes.We kids never wanted to store the patio furniture for the winter that just finalized our summer fun.

This backyard patio is probably standard for California, but it is weirdly similar to the backyard patio of a house I rented this summer in Santa Barbara. I was immediately reminded of the always-perfect weather, so different from what we have here in CT.

Tom Hatten

Looks exactly like our back yard in Garden Grove. Thanks for the memory kick!

I also grew up in Claremont -- 4 years old in 1967; we had moved there in '65 and our tract home had a crappy screened-in "patio room" that we later enclosed with killer 1970s wood paneling.

Not coincidentally, that room was also where the TV was -- Channel 52, Channel 13, Channel 11 and Channel 9. A kid's best friend during those years!

The guy in the sailor hat and white T shirt was Tom Hatten. He hosted a kiddie show featuring Popeye cartoons. He would have a guest child on his show every day who would draw on a board, what Tom called a "squiggle." He would then incorporate the squiggle into a drawing. My grade school classmate Nancy Despie was a guest on his show. Tom Hatton still works in local theater here in Los Angeles.

I wanted to comment on stanton_square's perspicacious observation about the Hockney-like aspect of this shot. I'm sure it wasn't on my sister's mind when she took it, and as I worked with the scan I wasn't specifically thinking of him. But, as I worked with the cropping and composition and the color and density adjustments, I definitely found something of that look emerging, and I decided to stay with it through the final tweaking.

I see that dad is reading up on this summer's project in Popular Mechanics. He's already poured his concrete pad, and installed the arbor. The "good neighbor" fence is done, so what's next? Ah, how about a nice brick BBQ!

The extension cord is a nice touch. It doubles as the hookup to the party lights for those swinging good times.

That particular hairstyle required Butchwax, or at least mine required a lot of Butchwax. I can still smell it to this day.

The first "Big Screen Portable Color TV" came out about the time this picture was taken. The first sets we sold were 19-inch Sylvanias looking very much like the one in this picture. It was covered in a beigey fabric and was priced around $400. It must have weighed between 50 and 60 pounds. The "portable" tag was a misnomer -- few people (the Governor of California comes to mind) could lift it by the handle.

Did every dad in the '60s have that haircut? Mine did. And I had one to match.

Were Engineer Bill and Skipper Frank (was that his name--the guy in the white tee shirt and sailor cap who drew sketches to illustrate his stories?) still on the air in 1967? I remember watching them in the '50s; by 1967 I was too old for them. But I wasn't too old for Soupy Sales in the '60s. There is a great clip on YouTube of him and Pookie the Lion. Nice memories!

I bet he actually used the handle on top of the TV to move it out there. I don't think ours was ever used for that purpose -- just something I could fidget with. Our "portable" always sat there on the metal rolling cart in the dining room, where I'd watch Gilligan's Island and Brady Bunch reruns.

Though it lacks the archetypal swimming pool, this photo reminds me very much of a David Hockney painting: most specifically in the colors and lighting. Is this a testament to tterrace's nascent appreciation of the emerging 1960s art movement or simply due to the the play of light on the typical California architecture of the era?

In addition to the channels DoninVa mentioned, it could be tuned to KCOP 13 (A Chris-Craft station). Just maybe it had that second UHF knob that turned slowly instead of clicked on to stations and was tuned to Speed Racer, Kimba, or Gigantor on Channel 52. Thanks tterrace for all of your great photos. As someone who grew up in Buena Park in the 60's and 70's, they sure look familiar (especially those from Knott's which was down the street from my house and where I got my first job).

Sheriff John on KTTV Channel 11. "Put another candle on my birthday cake, and when I do, a wish I'll make. Put another candle on my birthday cake, I'm another year old today. We'll have some pie and sandwiches, and chocolate ice cream, too. We'll sing and play the day away, and one more thing I'm going to do. I'll blow out the candles..." I can hear him and see him still.

I swear we had the same childhood. I grew up in the same years in Claremont (about 15 miles from Diamond Bar). My TV favorites were Engineer Bill (I drank milk to his "red light, green light" game), Sheriff John with his "laugh and be Happy" song, Kukla, Fran, and Ollie, Roy Rogers, and the Mickey Mouse Club. We often slept out on the patio during summer nights and listened to the sound of the crickets. Those were happy days.

Maybe the kiddies were watching Engineer Bill on KHJ Channel 9, or Skipper Frank on KTLA 5, or the late and lamented Soupy Sales on ... I forget which channel. This was the year I left home and went into the world.

A wonderful ode to the weather of Southern California and to the naturally rapscallion nature of modern kids who loved to be able to cut up for the camera whenever possible! Contrast these darling children with kids of the early 1900s. Thanks, Tterrace, from your fans in the chilly and wet Northeast!

Motorola ad from 1961. Artist: Charles Schridde