Madison Town Column: Library to present program on hurricane of 1938 Oct. 17

Back in the late 1980s, as many remember, we in Madison had very, very few television channels. Typically, an antenna stretched from the roofline toward the skies in an attempt to capture the signals of channels 6, 8 or 13. Most times, the antenna was controlled by a box with a dial that made a horrendous motor noise, which focused the antenna on your desired station.

Being an elementary school student at the time, I remember the excitement I had when the Madison Elementary School obtained a computer program that was endorsed by Channel 6, called “Weather School.” Although the computer time was divided between that and the infamous “Oregon Trail,” the program instilled enough passion for learning about pressure systems, fronts and storms for one to “geek out” to into my — I mean their — 30s. "Oregon Trail," however, made me realize that I never would’ve made the trip to the west coast without contracting some form of diphtheria.