WNET/Thirteen - Shining Time Station Pledge Drive (December 1991)

To watch the full pledge drive airing, go here:    • Shining Time Station - 'Tis A Gift   Merry Christmas to all! PBS pledge drives were a common thing back in the day. I'm not sure whether they still are or not, but I remember pledge drives on the two PBS stations I grew up with - WETA in Washington, and MPT (Maryland Public Television) In December 1991, during an airing of the Shining Time Station Holiday Special "Tis a Gift", a series of pledge drive promos aired in between the special. This pledge drive took place either during Season 2's initial airing or not long afterwards. Regardless of when exactly it aired, a series of pledge drive promos were featured in between the special, as titled "Thirteen: Inside and Out". We start with Didi Conn (Stacy Jones) talking about sentimental music. Then we see a promo for an ERTL pullback model of Thomas the Tank Engine for a $75 pledge. I used to have this model of Thomas I think, and one of Percy too, but they were both gone a long time ago. On a side note, it said that the Thomas deliveries wouldn't be available until February 1992, which was the month I was born. Kind of a coincidence, eh? After that, we see Louis Dodley talk about two new preschool shows on the PBS schedule in the new year - Lamb Chop's Play-Along and Barney & Friends (though the latter was still referred to Barney and the Backyard Gang at the time). I used to watch these shows when I was young, but I wouldn't care to watch either nowadays. Then we see a "Facts of Life" promo for the show "Nature." ...Yeah, I don't know what that is either :P We see a promo requesting people to join Club Thirteen. Afterwards, we have a promo for a Sesame Street Live Show called "Big Bird and the ABC's" for an $85 pledge. I like Sesame Street, but I actually never heard of this live show prior to watching this promo, probably because it happened before I was born. Outside the kid stuff, Dr. William F. Baker, President of Thirteen, says that they are determined that they going to bounce back despite the drop in New York State funds. In a "Kids on Thirteen" segment, an elementary school kid talks about how he does math problems at home. We also see a promo for a Club Thirteen T-shirt, and a promo of college students talking about a TV adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet". And finally, Joseph Schwarz, video editor at Thirteen, talks about working at the PBS station before we return to the Shining Time Station Holiday Special. Massive thanks to waymuu and Brandon Hargus for posting this! Hope you guys enjoy this blast from the past! :D I own nothing in the video.