"Say kids, what time is it?"... this isn't just Howdy Doody, it's Heavy Doody! Great stuff!
Like you I'm more from the "Winky Dink and You" re-run generation but my Sister, who is 8 years older, told me she was in the Peanut Gallery twice on the show as a kid along with "Lunch with Soupy" studio audience when we were living in Detroit. Back in the day Howdy Doody was a God!
I believe in the early 50's there was also a Canadian CBC version of "The Howdy Doody Show" with Scotty from Star Trek, James Doohan, as Timber Tom and William Shatner as Ranger Bob.