Ed Ball: PBS’s Steadfast Supporter
The Bob Ross Experience is a new long-term exhibition on Minnetrista’s campus. It is located inside the Lucius L. Ball home, where WIPB-TV filmed and produced “The Joy of Painting” for many years.
Over the past few months, the name Bob Ross has popped up a lot at Minnetrista. Last October we opened a new long-term exhibition, the Bob Ross Experience, as well as a temporary art exhibit, Bob Ross at Home – Artist, Teacher, Friend. We are also offering monthly Bob Ross painting workshops where participants can try their own hand at Bob’s wet-on-wet technique through the guidance of a Certified Ross Instructor.
Sure, Bob Ross is more popular now than ever, but why tell the story of this PBS icon at Minnetrista? There is of course the fact that one of our historic homes – the Lucius L. Ball home – served as the television studio for Muncie’s own public television station, WIPB-TV, for many years. From the former living room of the house, Bob Ross filmed many seasons of his beloved show “The Joy of Painting.” Equally important, however, is the fact that Minnetrista is the home of the Ball jar. It was on our site that the Ball family (owners and operators of Ball Brothers Glass) built their side by side homes.
Ball jars? PBS? Not seeing the connection? Let me help. Born in 1905, Edmund (Ed) F. Ball spent the majority of his childhood and youth growing up along Minnetrista Boulevard. There he played, stretched his imagination, and explored the world around him. His curiosity and explorative nature followed him into adulthood. As a successful businessman and industrialist, Ed saw Ball Corporation venture into many new and innovative endeavors, including the company’s entry into satellite and aerospace technology. Outside of his responsibilities at Ball, Ed was an avid traveler, an engaged philanthropist, and had a passion for communication systems.
Ed Ball featured on the January 2000 cover of On the Air – WIPB’s member magazine. That year, WIPB released a documentary exploring Ed’s life. Minnetrista Heritage Collection.
With his keen interest in communication and satellite technology, it is no wonder that in the 1960s Ed become involved with the board of the National Association of Education Broadcasters. When the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) was established at the end of the decade, Ed came together with twenty-four other laymen from around the nation to form its board of governors. Ed took on the role of third vice-president. His interest in public broadcasting was never surface level, however. Ed Ball genuinely believed in the importance of educational television and the need for local broadcasting stations. When the Nixon Administration attempted to muzzle PBS’s public affairs programming in the early 1970s, Ed put his steadfast support behind PBS, working with others in Washington to demand the continuation of federal support dollars. Quoted by The Star Press in 1978, Ralph Rogers (chairman of the PBS board) had this to say about the trying time in Washington - “one of the stalwarts was your quiet and calm Mr. Ed Ball. We owe him an undying vote of thanks for helping to preserve freedom from censorship in public broadcasting.”
At home in Muncie, Ed was just as concerned about educational programming. In its infancy, the popular show Sesame Street reached Muncie viewers through ABC affiliate WLWC Channel 13. When the show was picked up by Indianapolis’s new PBS station, WFYI in the early 1970s, the broadcast signal did not reach Muncie and local viewers no longer had access to the show. The solution? A group of local entities and interested citizens (including Ed Ball) came together to raise the necessary funds to get Muncie’s own public broadcasting station established and off the ground. On Sunday, October 31, 1971 at 4pm WIPB-TV Channel 49 went on the air for the first time. In homes around Muncie, many smiles were brought to faces when their beloved Sesame Street appeared on the screen.
In 1989 Ed Ball was presented with Elizabeth Campbell Outstanding Public Broadcasting Volunteer Award by the National Friends of Public Broadcasting. The award recognized his more than 20 years as a devoted advocate of public broadcasting. Minnetrista Heritage Collection.
From that point on, WIPB made good on their promise to bring quality programming to audiences in the Muncie area. In addition to showing nationally recognized PBS programs, they produced many of their own original shows varying from local news to “The Joy of Painting.” Throughout the rest of his life Ed remained a constant supporter of WIPB and PBS.
From national service to supporting the local station’s yearly fundraisers, Ed constantly showed his enthusiasm for public broadcasting. When WIPB celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1991 Ed said, “It’s brought into this community a great many programs that wouldn’t be available with any other kind of media. It can be our own station, whereas if it came in from an outside station, like Indianapolis, we’d just be on the periphery of it. This is our station, our community station.” As always, Ed’s love for community came through in both his actions and his words. And his work in the early years of PBS helped lay a strong foundation for the work and local identity that continues today.
