:: Romper Room in Baltimore :

The quality of this video is not great -
video from Romper Room
is extremely rare and this is all we have!

1960 / WJZ Baltimore, MD
Nancy Rogers Claster

The Opening - Kids who grew up with Romper Room in Baltimore got it unadulterated.

Romper Room had its origins in Baltimore, on station WBAL back in 1953. Miss Nancy (Claster) was not only the local Baltimore hostess, she was the nationally syndicated Romper Room hostess as well. A pioneering educator, Claster created the program and trained all of the other Romper Room teachers from around the nation.

The program invariably opened with a phrase the RR ladies made famous, "Pop goes the weasel, and the Jack-in-the-box jumps out of his house, and that means it's time for the Romper Room school."

The Closing - Watch as Miss Nancy peers into her Magic Mirror and names off the kids she 'sees' in the home audience. Oddly, this Magic Mirror is a more high-tech version than the one seen in later years; every local Romper Room hostess ended the program this same way.

When Miss Nancy retired in 1964, her daughter Miss Sally took over as the national hostess.

From an old fan of Romper Room, now a current middle school teacher comes this question: My question is with regards to the syndicated (filmed) version of Miss Nancy, Romper Room in Baltimore. Were the syndicated versions the same films sent to various studios around the country who needed "replacement" Romper Rooms during emergencies and when the local hostess took a holiday? I just remembered the "letter/mail" segment of our local Romper Room out of Milwaukee, WI. The mailbox on the set gave the actual address in Milwaukee. However, when the local hostess was on vacation, and we had the filmed segments of Miss Nancy, I noticed that the mailbox was "blank" or just said "Romper Room". Why didn't it have a local Baltimore address? Or, was the Baltimore address on the mailbox for the local version (unadulterated) of Miss Nancy? I hope my questions are clear. Thanks for your advice.

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Dr. Berg writes, "February 1953 was the beginning of Romper Room's forty year run. 'Miss Nancy' was the much adored teacher. Her stage name was 'Nancy Rogers' but she was actually Nancy Claster, married to the show's producer, Bert Claster.

"In December of '53, at the age of four, I was one of the children on the show, for the standard two week stint. But Miss Nancy asked my mom to have me extend for an additional two weeks, and we did.

"Nancy Rogers (Claster), America's predecessor to Fred Rogers of 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood,' was a GODDESS to me and probably millions of other children! She radiated goodness, beauty and light. And when, as you see at the end of the film, she asks me if I would like to give her a hug, well, I took maximum advantage of the opportunity!

"For my Romper Room show-and-tell I brought in a scale model of a house that was built my the construction firm my dad worked for. As a result, the TV station, Baltimore's WBAL, was swamped with inquiries about the house. It sold within a week (but no commission for me, darn it).

"Rest in peace, Miss Nancy."

Here's Baltimore's Miss Sally:

 

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