ON THE ROAD WITH CHARLES KURALT {PING PONG; TOWN MEETING; WWI REUNION; EAGLE PASS; WABASH CANNONBALL} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of television magazines, in which host Charles Kuralt presents clips from his twenty-five years of travel journalism through the back roads of America. The program opens with an interview with Mrs. Marilyn Woods. Confined to a wheelchair, Mrs. Woods plays ping pong and throws the javelin in competitions for the handicapped. She tells Kuralt that as an employment counselor for the disabled, she convinces employers that individuals such as herself can compete not only in athletics, but in the workplace as well. Next, Kuralt attends a town meeting, a tradition in Stratford, Vermont, for the past 175 years. Practicing pure, not representative, democracy, the town follows the founding fathers' original intention in giving all citizens a voice. Vocal votes, written ballots, and a standing vote where everyone is encouraged to "stand up and be counted" are shown. In the third segment, Kuralt visits the annual reunion of Company B of the 143 Texas Infantry from World War I. There are only fifty-four of the original 250 men still alive, and a bottle of champagne is kept for the last surviving member to toast his comrades who have passed away. Following this, Kuralt profiles Rumel and Jo Fuentes. They devote their lives to making Eagle Pass, Texas, a better place to live for its poor Mexican American population. Finally, Kuralt takes a ride on the Wabash Cannonball, a train destined to cease operation very shortly. A relic of the age of glamorous train travel, this relic travels between St. Louis and Detroit while the song bearing its name plays in the background. Commercials deleted.
("On the Road with Charles Kuralt" consists of excerpts from Charles Kuralt's segments on the CBS Evening News, beginning in 1967. In the 1970s the show was aired in four special broadcasts, and in 1983 it was developed into a regular ten-week summer series. In addition, the series was reworked for and aired on the Travel Channel in 1993.) Cataloging of this program was made possible by the CBS Foundation, 1998.
Details
- NETWORK: Travel Channel
- DATE: 1993
- RUNNING TIME: 0:21:25
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:54737
- GENRE: Magazine
- SUBJECT HEADING: Handicapped; Journalism, travel; Local government; Television journalism; Railroads; Trains; Travel
- SERIES RUN: Travel Channel - TV series, 1993
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert Northshield … Executive Producer
- Dalton Delan … Executive Producer
- Meredith Stark … Coordinating Producer
- Bernard Birnbaum … Senior Producer
- Phil Frank … Senior Producer
- Brook Porter … Producer
- Peter Freundlich … Writer
- Tom Harris … Writer
- Charles Kuralt … Writer, Host, Interviewer, Narrator
- Jo Fuentes
- Rumel Fuentes
- Marilyn Woods