VALLEY SPRINGS, SD (KELO) — New Year’s Day is a time for many people to plop down on the couch and watch football all day.
But a retired Lutheran pastor in Valley Springs is inviting everyone to his home for the holiday where the TV’s themselves, not the games, are the main attraction.
When Jerry and Paula Merkouris want to watch TV, it’s not about deciding what programs to see, but rather, on which TV.
“It’s kind of like your first car. People are around still that remember when they first got television,” Jerry said.
Jerry has converted his backyard workshop into a replica of an old-fashioned TV repair business.
“I think it was about 1959. I went with my dad into a TV repair shop and I remember as a little guy, I was just in awe! I remember florescent lights, all these vacuum tubes. Of course, I didn’t understand any of it,” Jerry said.
Merkouris took an electronics class in high school which eventually led to his hobby of restoring vintage televisions. His first project was an old Admiral model back in 2017.
“I chose Admiral because I was in the navy. I thought, I gotta do something with my team,” Jerry said.
Watching these old TV sets, you don’t have to worry about getting a snowy picture or the vertical hold going haywire. Those were problems that plagued a lot of TV’s back in the fifties and sixties. That’s because Merkouris has retro-fitted more modern TV parts in with these old sets.
“Take a TV from, let’s say 2005. Still picture tubes and I take the whole picture tube and chassis and just transplant it into an old cabinet and it still has an original look. But it has far more reliable technology,” Jerry said.
Paula is willing to put up with the accumulation of TV parts her husband has collected through the years.
“Well, it gives him something to do and keeps him out of my way,” (laughs) Paula said.
Some of Merkouris’ old sets pre-date when KELOLAND first went on the air, more than 71 years ago. In a modern era of giant flat-panel TV’s, Merkouris’ collection reveals how much history and entertainment can be packed into such small screens.
‘Merkouris’ open house is Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 26472 484th Street, Valley Springs.
