TV came into the average Canadian home later than in USA. We got our first in 1955. It was a big box console with radio, too. The screen was small. Yes, everyone sat watching it in the living room. There weren't so many regular programmes then. A lot of special events programmes. We had to watch Queen Elizabeth's coronation in a store-front window. Nobody we knew had a TV in their home in 1952.
We weren't allowed to eat while watching TV. My extended family was about 33 for weekday dinners, and about 50 on weekends. Literally! We had a big dining room table, plus two card tables [[children's tables) connecting into the hall towards the living room. Connected to them, moving across the living room were two connected long outside barbecue tables. Our clan occupied two adjacent duplexes, plus one adjacent free-standing house, plus another of those down the street, plus another on the next block. Three more families of Aunts', Uncles' and cousins joined us on weekends. We usually didn't turn on the TV when all 50 were there.
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