One of the most fondly remembered, locally produced television programs, has to be Poetree and Friends.
Poetree and Friends was a CTV production, which began in the early 1990’s, after producer Greg Popowich approached management with an idea for a children’s program involving a talking tree and a bird who lived in the tree.
When the idea was approved for production, Greg then approached Yorkton’s Debbie Hayward and Joyce Bagley, continuity writers at CTV, to see if they would be interested in working on the project. They accepted the challenge, and production began.
Poetree and Friends ran on CTV locally, and it was also carried on YTV and Nickelodeon.
The program won five CanPro gold awards for excellence in children’s programming.
Production of ‘Poetree and Friends’ ended in 1997.
Recently, the puppets from the CTV production Poetree and& Friends have been donated to the Yorkton Archives and are now on display at the Community pARTners Gallery, located in the Yorkton Public Library, until the end of June. The exhibition is a partnership between the Yorkton Archives, the City of Yorkton, Community Development, Parks and Recreation, the Yorkton Arts Council and the Yorkton Public Library.
“The comfort brought on by indulging our nostalgic need --whether it be through visiting a community, burrowing into a book, or switching on a long-concluded show is, for many, the antidote to the fatigue and anxiety felt in our present realities,” noted Jennifer Fedun, City Historian in a release on the show.
“Childhood television memories often evoke deep and half-forgotten remembrances of times, people, and places uncomplicated with the concerns of the 'real world, 'and the contentment and good cheer we feel in the company of dear friends can be experienced just as deeply when those friends visit us via our screens.
“The children's television program Poetree and Friends was envisioned as a point where both young and old could encounter the encouragement of friendship from a whole host of characters, each glad that you are you, and I am me.
“Envisioned and fashioned locally, Poetree and Friends enjoyed a reach far beyond Yorkton's civic bounds and, today, the show remains a nostalgic comfort for 1990s kids and parents all across North America.”
The premise of the show surrounded Poetree, a wise old tree who could speak and create beautiful poems, and Birdie, a lively little bird who had a nest in Poetree’s branches.
There was also a treehouse visited each week by Dan The Story Man (Dan Calef) who would take part in Birdie’s wild adventures and read a story to Poetree and Birdie. Poetree would conclude each episode with a poem that reflected the adventure of the day.
The show also had a children’s craft segment, organized by Kim Balog, and a brief exercise segment for the kids.
Calef told Yorkton This Week he became involved via a chance conversation.
My involvement with Poetree and Friends happened sort of by accident,” recalled Dan Calef. “I was over at the TV station doing my weekly library spot and Greg Popowich piped up ‘you know anyone who would like to get involved with a kid's show?’
"How about me?" I replied.
“This was in the spring and I heard nothing all summer so just assumed the idea had died. Then in the fall -- away we went.”
At that point Calef was not aware the show would evolve to give him a small level of fame at the time.
“As you know, eventually the show was picked up and shown across Canada on YTV and later in the USA on Nickelodeon,” he said. “As the only ‘sort of’ human on the show I was amazed by the recognition it brought me. Running around Yorkton there were always shouts of ‘hi, Dan -- how's Birdie?’ etc.
“Walking through airports at the time I was often eyed surreptitiously and, sometimes asked if I was on TV?”
And the recognition continues.
“Two final anecdotes you might enjoy -- a book seller I knew both in Canada and while working in Wisconsin told me he was up north fishing in the boundary waters of Minnesota with pals,” recounted Calef. “He stumbled out of bed in the morning to find Poetree playing on the tube -- he muttered, ‘hey, I know that guy -- it's Dan the Storyman!’ His friend replied, ‘come on Dave, you're still hung over from last night’.”
Even today the show is fondly recalled.
“Just recently, 20-25 years after the show ended, I stopped in the Saltcoats pub for a beverage. An attractive, blonde waitress approached, took my order and upon return shyly asked, ‘Are you Dan the Storyman?’ I didn't have to buy a drink the rest of the evening.”
The fond memories often revolve around the cast of characters in the show, all poets other than Calef.
Many puppet friends lived in Poetree’s “neighborhood” and were friends of Poetree, Birdie and Dan. They included the Couch Potatoes; the Feathered Frenzies; the Boggly Bananas; Mrs. Muffin; Ned, a kindly neighbor; and Dreyfus the Dragon who lived in a cave nearby.
The show certainly created lasting memories for those involved including Debbie Hayward.
“One of the first things that comes to mind about the Poetree project is when Joyce and I were doing the papier mache work on the tree to transform it from a plywood shape into a textured tree,” she told Yorkton This Week “The form itself was about eight feet wide and ten feet tall, so that’s a lot of strips of paper and wallpaper glue! But it was great fun to see it taking shape, and once it dried and we painted it, it suddenly became magic.”
Poetree was a large wooden structure, with room for three people to stand inside, one being the actor playing Poetree, Jim Brock and later, Judd Niven; Joyce Bagley, who operated the eyes for Poetree; and the other being the actor who played Birdie, (Debbie Hayward), explained material supplied on the gallery show.
The tree had an opening on one side for Debbie’s puppet arm. On the exterior of the tree, there was a platform that was the “treehouse” in Poetree’s branches, and a ladder for Dan The Storyman, (Dan Calef), to climb into the tree.
The entire wooden tree shape was paper-machied by Debbie and Joyce, then painted to imitate bark. Silk foliage attached to two-by-four strips across the top of the tree completed the look.
Poetree’s face, approximately 24 inches around, was made by a local person out of flexible rubber, and his eyes were on hinges operated manually from inside the tree, so that he could move his eyes. His mouth was operated by hand.
The puppets were unique and special for Hayward, who thanks Fedun, pARTners Gallery and the library for the current show.
“All the puppets were handmade, and really made on a shoestring,” she told YTW, adding for example, “the ‘Couch Potatoes’ were made from pantyhose.”
Hayward said the puppets were integral characters for the show.
“The puppets all saw a lot of acting time, especially Birdie and the Couch Potatoes who were in every episode,” she said. “They all held up amazingly well, and though they were made with basic materials, each one had a great deal of personality that made them come alive.”
That included Hayward’s own character.
“Birdie was definitely an enthusiastic and vibrant soul, always upbeat and excitable,” she said.
“The three Couch Potatoes emerged as three very unique spuds: one was always trying to get the others to take part in some wild plan, one was up for it most of the time, and one was just always too tired to give it a try.
“But all the personalities that were in Poetree’s and Birdie’s circle of friends always showed the special qualities of loyalty, kindness, and caring for each other, no matter how different their personalities may have been . . .
“My favorite episodes involve the story lines of Birdie either trying to clean out his nest, or wanting to have a garage sale. His nest was full of things that were treasures to Birdie but junk to everyone else, and his attempts to part with things are something we can all identify with! In one episode, Birdie and Dan give some things to a garage sale and then end up buying each other’s stuff back.”
“It was great fun for me to play Birdie, he was based on a compilation of exuberant childhood friends that we probably all had.”
Birdie was a puppet about 20 inches long, made of felt and feathers, designed and created by Hayward.
Many puppet friends lived in Poetree’s ‘neighborhood’ and were friends of Poetree, Birdie and Dan. They included the Couch Potatoes; the Feathered Frenzies; the Boggly Bananas; Mrs. Muffin; Ned, a kindly neighbor; and Dreyfus the Dragon who lived in a cave nearby.
Bagley said it was very much a group effort.
“Whoever was on shift ran camera, and then production edited it,” she said. “The few who worked on each show would be on the screen at the end . . . hard to believe that such a small group could do a show that ran on Nickelodeon in the U.S. for a while.
“One thing I do remember, we had a hard time writing and taping some shows because we would burst out laughing. Our other work was work, this was play.”
Fun was a huge part of the show for those involved, agreed Calef.
“The show was just so much fun to work on,” he said. “We taped every couple of weeks and usually, tried to do two or three shows in a session.
“Debbie was constant energy -- Birdie really fit her personality.
“Joyce's poems were excellent -- some sharp minded Saskatchewan publisher should have produced a nice children's book built around the poems.”
The small crew and group effort to create things for the show stuck out for Calef too.
“Looking back I am amazed how good the show was given no budget, no staff etc.,” he said.
“As you can see from the exhibit at the library, Debbie sewed all the puppets herself.
“The early scripts we just sort of brain-stormed -- how about this, what trouble can Birdie get into etc.
“Later, Joyce sort of gave them a bit more shape -- with a moral sometimes.
“No one really knew what to expect but, early on, Birdie became the star of the show -- I was just her accomplice in the disasters.”
Hayward too recalls the team effort to make the weekly show.
“There was also a talented team that worked hard behind the scenes to make the show happen. People would probably be surprised to know how many people were ‘backstage’, running camera, audio, editing, and many other Hollywood tasks! It was a big project,” said Hayward.
“The fun and interesting thing about the show was that it was so different from anything we had worked on before, because it was a project that stretched over several years, the characters had a chance to grow and learn how to relate to each other.
“Joyce’s beautiful poems, which she custom wrote for each episode, probably are the main reason a great many children who watched the show grew to love the beauty of words in poetry. And Joyce was the actor/puppeteer who made Poetree’s face come alive!
“Dan’s kind and patient personality, and his wonderful reading voice, made the “treehouse” a place where friends could gather, relax and be themselves and accepted.
“And the two gentlemen who were the voice of Poetree, Jim Brock and Jud Niven, managed to bring a wise and caring personality to Poetree, even though they were never seen onscreen.
“I feel very privileged to have had the chance to work with these creative people.
