Ray Rayner and His Friends

Just a great kids show that ran in the 60's and 70's on Chicago's WGN. Nothing was better than hearing Ray read the name of your school on a snow day. Ray would pin notes to himself on his clothes (this was before post-it notes!)and announce the next cartoon or feature. I doubt that many kids who grew up in Chicagoland during this period did not love Ray. If you missed yesterday's Cub highlights (this was before ESPN), Ray would show them. If you needed your 'Diver Dan' fix, Ray had them. When Ray cried on air during his last show, thousands of people of all ages cried with him. Heard Ray wound up in New Mexico after his long run at WGN.

I remember Ray Rayner sometimes hosted a talk show on WGN that featured a female vocalist and co-hostess named Mina Cole. She supposedly was a dark brunette Caucasian woman, but she resembled vocalist Lena Horne very much. I remember this lady being on the show, but I cannot find anything about her on the internet. I would like to hear from other baby-boomers who remember her.

As a Boomer growing up in suburban Chicago, I fondly remember Ray Rayner and Friends (and Bozo, Cookie, Romper Room, etc. ). Sure, he was goofy but I ate it up as a kid. Cartoons, "terrible" arts and crafts, reading letters from viewers, the Zoo segment (the Unicorn song!), the duck and more all kept me entertained. The show was certainly low on "polish" but I enjoyed it's DIY look.

As another reviewer stated, hearing your school's name called on a snow day was the ultimate day off!

I'm sure people watching videos of it today don't get it/like it. For me, it will always be a great memory growing up in Chicagoland.