Summary

The author recounts a childhood memory of meeting Pat Woodell, his celebrity crush from the TV show "Petticoat Junction," during an annual Klondike Days celebration at a local mall.

Abstract

The narrative describes the author's experience of the Klondike Days festival in Edmonton, a celebration of the Canadian Gold Rush era, which was a significant event during his childhood summers. The highlight for the author was the opportunity to see Pat Woodell, known for her role as Bobbi-Jo on "Petticoat Junction," perform live as Klondike Kate. The author was captivated by Woodell's performance and her iconic rendition of "Bye Bye Blackbird," which led to a memorable, albeit brief, personal interaction where he obtained her autograph on a paper plate. This encounter left an indelible impression on the author, symbolizing innocent and naive childhood love.

Opinions

The author holds a nostalgic view of Klondike Days, emphasizing its importance in his childhood and the community's engagement with historical celebration.
Pat Woodell is portrayed with admiration and affection, reflecting the author's boyhood admiration for her role in "Petticoat Junction" and her singing talent.
The author conveys a sense of innocent infatuation and the magical quality of meeting a celebrity in person, especially one from a beloved television show.
There is a hint of disappointment in the fleeting nature of the encounter with Pat Woodell, yet the autograph serves as a cherished keepsake of the experience.
The author seems to appreciate the era's television and cultural references, suggesting a fondness for the early 1960s and the impact it had on his youth.

VALENTINE PUPPY LOVE

Meeting My Boyhood Celebrity Crush

Remember when love was naive and innocent?

Who could resist that toothless grin — author’s photo

Where I grew up, every summer we would celebrate Klondike Days, a tribute to the Canadian Gold Rush in the 1890s. Edmonton was considered the Gateway To Canada’s North because it was the last big city before gold miners traveled north to the Yukon where the Gold Rush was underway. Some would-be gold panners died as they made the dangerous trek north, while others gave up their journey and settled in Edmonton.

Klondike Days meant that people would dress up like gold panners, pioneers, and dancehall girls. Other women would wear long Victorian dresses with lots of petticoats, hats covered in feathers, and matching parasols while the boys and men would dress up in top hats and carry walking sticks.

There was always a parade downtown. My mom and I would take the bus to the parade every year to watch the floats, the marching bands, the clowns, and the horses and riders.

There was a big fair with rides, games of chance, and cotton candy, and in those days most everyone dressed up in their Klondike finery.

Entertainment in bars, clubs, and community stages was reminiscent of the 1890s Gold Rush, although many of the songs that were being sung were not quite that old.

It was the highlight of our summers on the Canadian prairies.

One year, when I was about eight years old, my friends and I rode our bikes to the big shopping mall that was about half an hour from our homes. In those days parents didn’t worry about kids out on their own. We often would head to the mall to buy a cheap hotdog or a soft serve ice cream. That year, we were all excited to see the stage show that the mall put on.

Klondike Kate was going to be Pat Woodell. Not really a household name except for little boys growing up in the 60s. She was Bobbi-Jo from Petticoat Junction. The dark-haired brunette, who with her two sisters helped run the Shady Rest Hotel and would occasionally sing on the show.

Bobbi-Jo (Pat Woodell), Betty-Jo, Billie-Jo — Wikimedia Commons — CBS Television— in the public domain

I lived about a block from school so I would race home every lunch hour because I didn’t want to miss the opening sequence for Petticoat Junction.

I loved the show’s opening and as soon as I heard the train whistle I would be glued to the TV. It showed the little train with just one passenger compartment, pulling up to the small rural train station with a giant wooden water tank and a sign advertising Hooterville’s Shady Rest Hotel. The shot changes to the water tank where the girls who are bathing, pop their heads up over the edge to grab their petticoats. Pretty risque for the early 60s, and for a show aimed at kids. Although I didn’t mind.

I was a huge fan of the show and I knew that Pat Woodell had been replaced a couple of years earlier when she announced that she wanted to be a singer. Unfortunately, she never made it and she was only able to get a few guest acting roles on TV shows in the sixties and a couple of movies in the early 1970s before she retired.

Klondike Kate was the Queen of Klondike Days, the Belle of the Ball. She was always the headliner and her costumes were always the most elaborate, colorful Victorian dresses with big, wide-brimmed hats covered in colorful feathers to match her dress.

One of the original Klondike Kates — Wikimedia Commons— this photo is in the public domain

I remember being star-struck as she took the mall stage, dressed up in her Klondike costume, to sing a medley of old favorites. I can still hear her voice as she sang Bye Bye Blackbird. Even today when I hear the song, I am transported back to that moment when I sat in the audience spellbound by a beautiful Hollywood star (at least to me.)

I remember the group of us boys, running to the stairs at the back of the stage as she was taking her final bow and as she came down the steps she looked right at me and smiled. I was in heaven and I was sure I was in love.

The next day I tried to get my friends to go back to the mall so I could see her again but they had already moved on to something else. So I went alone. I don’t think my mom would have approved of me riding alone to the mall and back but I had to see my crush again.

My eyes spotted her as she was walking toward the stage wearing a bright red long dress, and a hat with feathers. You could see her a mile away with the flamboyant costume.

Once again she sang her medley of songs ending with Bye Bye Blackbird again. I caught her eye as she was singing and I knew she had to be singing it to me.

Where somebody waits for me Sugar’s sweet, So is he Bye Bye Blackbird

As she was thanking the crowd I got up and rushed behind the stage. Waiting with sweaty palms, trying to think of what I would say when she spoke to me. But it wasn’t to be.

She swept past me like she didn’t even see me. I followed her as she walked through the mall with two men, smiling and waving at the shoppers as they went past. When she was almost at the mall offices where I guessed her dressing room was, I caught up to her and in a timid voice said, “Excuse me.”

She turned and smiled at me. I gathered all my strength and stuttered, “Can I please have your autograph?” She said, “Of course,” as she opened her red satin clutch purse and took out a pen but she said she didn’t have any paper. There was a big wooden table next to the mall offices and there was a half-eaten sheet cake and a stack of paper plates.

I grabbed one of the plates, with a fake woodgrain on the front and a plain white back, and handed it to her without saying a word. She turned it over and with a flourish of her pen, she signed her name and handed it back to me. She smiled and said, “here you go.” And she turned and walked away… out of my life forever.

At least I had my paper plate with a smudged signature on the back to hang onto and remember my meeting with my first celebrity crush.

Thank you for reading.