Television Comes to Bangor: A Conversation with Industry Pioneers

Abstract

Today, almost every household—98 percent of U.S. homes— has at least one television. There are hundreds of broadcast, cable, and satellite television channels sending out programming to viewers across the world. Yet only forty-seven years ago, television was in its infancy. What was it like to be part of this new form of information technology? George Gonyar and Margo Cobb, interviewed in March 1997, were part of a small group that pioneered television in greater Bangor. They not only brought television to the area, but they guided its development over the next forty years. Judith Round earned her Bachelor of University Studies degree with a minor in history in 1999. She is a native of Orono, Maine, and is Communications Coordinator and Assistant to the Dean for the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture at the University of Maine. Her most recent history project was a commemorative calendar highlighting 115 years of research in the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station. She would like to thank Mr. Gonyar of Orono and Mrs. Cobb of Bangor, for their interviews and insights