Posted 6 Jun 2005

My own resources being exhausted, I am turning to you, O Internet Experts, to solve this nagging problem.

The show I’m thinking of was a drama, airing around 1959-1961. Maybe as late as 1962-1963.

It was about American history, each episode highlighting some incident from the past. I recall one episode about Harriett Tubman and the Underground Railroad.

I think it was on in the early evening, but I’m not sure. Maybe on Fridays.

The opening titles showed a series of quick, familiar images from American history (Bettmann archive stuff, perhaps). The last image was of a rocket (Mercury space program?) being launched.

After 45 years I still recall the theme music, a march.

It is not “Eyewitness to History” (theme song, “Epic March” by John Ireland). That was a news show and the theme music isn’t the one I’m thinking of.

Doing a search on the IMDB I see “Our American Heritage,” which seems to be on the right track and appearing on TV at the right year, but the Internet Movie Database only shows three episodes – none of which are about Harriett Tubman.

Maybe it was locally aired only in the Los Angeles area?

Wes Clark

Webmaster, Avocado Memories

Update, 14 June 2005

The Internet is wonderful! One of my readers, Mark Donnell, sent me this:

Hello Wes:

Enjoy your site and can relate to the Avocado Green!! Could you be looking at the show "The Great Adventure" that ran from 1963 to 1964? There was an episode about Harriet Tubman, but I’m not sure on the theme song.

Regards,

Mark Donnell

Looking at the Internet Movie Database entry, I see that this must have been the television show I remembered. (I just thought it aired a few years earlier than it did.) Thanks, Mark!

It’s interesting to note that the march I recalled was by none other than Richard Rodgers.

Wes

Update, 11 July 2008

And what did this Richard Rogers march sound like? Thanks to reader Rob Brown, we now know. Here it is. Catchy, no? The funny thing was that, even after the passage of 45 years, I could hum it exactly. It needs to be recorded by somebody like Erich Kunzel and reintroduced at a Capitol Fourth (of July) performance.

Wes