Classic Television - Weekdays

Hodgepodge Lodge

Hodgepodge Lodge (sometimes spelled Hodge-Podge Lodge) was a children's television series produced by Maryland Public Broadcasting and shown on a number of PBS stations from 1970 to 1977, hosted by Miss Jean Worthley. It featured the quiet Miss Jean introducing elementary school children to wild animals and other nature topics (for example, trees) in a calm setting around the namesake lodge.

Hodge Podge Lodge was aired on PBS stations on the East Coast and syndicated for the rest of the nation in the early and mid-1970s. The host introduced the wonders of nature to national audiences, which included inner-city children, many of whom had never seen a garden or an animal in a setting other than a zoo. Miss Jean would do everything from opening up a pine cone and exploring its depths (which might have led to the discovery of a beetle or worm), to examining the habitat of a hedgehog or a red fox.

Unfortunately, a practice called "wiping" (taping over existing shows to save tape & storage costs) was a very prevalent practice prior to the mid 1980's. Maryland Public Broadcasting was no different, and the original master tapes to "Hodge Podge Lodge" were almost all wiped....Maryland Public Broadcasting offers some of the surviving episodes on DVD, and their description is, "The 30 remaining......" which would indicate that out of over 760 episodes, they destroyed all but those 30....whether or not any additional episodes remain hidden in network affiliates' archives is presently unknown.