"Chooz-A-Route," Rochester NY (1968)

[Kniwt]

Anyone remember this local game show that was played on WOKR Rochester NY in the late 1960s?  Here's what I recall from memory, which may or may not be accurate:

The game board was a map of the Rochester highway system (rather impressive for a mid-size city, with "Inner Loop" and "Outer Loop" beltways, with spaces on freeways and expressways larger than on surface streets.  The goal was, I think, to get from one place to another (different in every game) before your opponent did so.  There were "traffic signals," red and yellow lights that did something to your progress, and there were other things as well.  I think contestants played by phone, but I'm not sure.

The internets are amazingly devoid of information on this show, but I *did* find one TV Guide listing for Toronto that confirms that the show was airing in Rochester in 1968, so I'm not totally crazy.

I would sure love to see a picture or two or the rules!  Anyone?  This seems like the type of format (like Dialing for Dollars) that would have been syndicated to multiple stations, but I see no other mention of it anywhere.

Anyone?

[TimK2003]

[quote name=\'Kniwt\' post=\'214371\' date=\'Apr 29 2009, 12:46 PM\']
I would sure love to see a picture or two or the rules!  Anyone?  This seems like the type of format (like Dialing for Dollars) that would have been syndicated to multiple stations, but I see no other mention of it anywhere.
Anyone?
[/quote]

My guess is to start at the source: Contacting WOKR (or whatever it is named nowadays).  The older the building, the better the odds as older stations still hold on to a lot of their old photos and scrapbook-able stuff (scripts, articles, etc...).  

My one regret was not "borrowing" some of the old 1950s & 1960s station magazine archives from the TV station I worked at at the time -- if not to make copies of the articles relating to the network game shows at the time.  I remember reading one in-depth article on Garry Moore during his IGAS years.  There were some great pix in there too.  But before I could start making copies, I had left the station and not too long after that, the ol' tinderbox building burned down, along with all of those rare gems.

If they have no tangible information, then see if there is one staffer or former staffer who was the "unofficial historian".  For example, former WJW-Cleveland employees Neil Zurcher and Big Chuck Schodowski -- both retired now -- saved a lot of stuff from their days at Channel 8 and they have been digging out photos and such for books and webpages.

I can't say that you'll have luck in your neck of the woods, but asking the "locals" will probably bring some quicker response.

Best of luck!

[Kniwt]

Indeed, I thought of contacting the successor station (now WHAM) at about the same time I saw the suggestion here. Amazingly enough, I've been placed in contact with a member of station management who, 40 years ago, was a cameraman on the show.

Alas, there appears to be no archival material available, and after 40 years, his memory is not much more reliable than mine, but he is supplying some information on hosts and producers, and he's correcting some of my information.  I'll summarize here when we work it all out.

[irwinsjournal.com]

Just a shot in the dark here:  There are a number of veteran and former broadcasters on the Rochester/Buffalo "Radio-Info" Board:

http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/board,233.0.html

A query there might turn up some incremental information or at least a pointer to someone in addition to your contact at WHAM-TV.

Channel 13's current lead news anchor Don Alhart was at WOKR even then, I wonder if he remembers anything?  

I'd really be interested in what you find out.  I'm quite familiar with the Inner and Outer Loops, being that I've lived in the Rochester area since 1989.