Monday, October 14, 2019

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #98

MEDIA MATTERS


KEVIN LYNN BACK ON WILK

Kevin Lynn was back on WILK Radio today and will return tomorrow filling in for the Conservative afternoon talk show host, former Democratic State Representative Frank Andrews. 
Lynn was in rare form today calling out the Trump junkies and their inane opinions. 
Hit it guys......

Sunday, October 13, 2019

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #99

WESTCOTT FAMILY AND FRIENDS GIVE HARRY WEST A LOCAL SEND OFF 

Two of Harry West's children, Wendi and Scott traveled from Pittsburgh yesterday to have local friends, fans and listeners say a final farewell to Harry West. For over four hours, people remembered the former WARM personality and shared stories of Harry. 
Radio people are a special breed. All of them came to remember Harry as a person but as an entertainer. 
Those gathered there appreciated the kindness of both Wendi and Scott (as well as Harry's sister, husband and son) to give us a chance to say, "Till We Meet Again".
 With old, (well how about vintage) broadcast buddies at Harry West remembrance yesterday at the Grotto. . Joe Middleton, Bobby Day, Rob Neyhard, Tommy Woods, Joey Shaver and Bob VanDerhayden (The Duke of Doo Wop). https://wnep.com/2019/10/12/remembering-harry-west/

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #100

HARRY WEST MEMORIAL SATURDAY AT GROTTO IN HARVEY’S LAKE 

Members of Harry West’s family and friends will be holding a get together on Saturday October 12th at The Grotto Pizza at Harvey’s Lake. Friends, listeners, fans and former co-workers are invited to stop by and share memories of Harry. The event is from noon to 4pm.

Monday, September 30, 2019

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #102

RADIO LEGEND HARRY WEST PASSES AWAY 

Harry West, the radio voice of generations at WARM Radio passed away Friday night, September 27th in Pittsburgh. West was ill for some time. He relocated to Western Pennsylvania in 2016 when his family moved him into a Skilled Nursing Facility. Harry was feted by friends and family at one of his favorite places in the area, The Grotto at Harvey’s Lake. 
West, born Harry Westcott was fond of telling the story of how his parents got him a crystal radio set when he was a boy. Harry retold that story for years. He started his radio career in Reading but then moved up to the Scranton area when WARM Radio rocked the local radio industry and changed formats in 1958. The outlet went from a standards type of music to rock and roll. It was an instantaneous success. When Harry joined WARM Radio he came onboard as a newscaster for WARM First News First. 
After morning deejays Harry Newman and George Gilbert moved on respectively to other markets (Newman) and responsibilities,(Gilbert) Harry was made the Morning Man. Harry’s show, part of the dominant WARM format became a huge success. For the next decade he was the cornerstone of WARM programming. His show consisted of wry humor mixed with sledgehammer irony and downright corny, but well delivered jokes. Harry West became the morning jolt for all of the WARM audience which was called WARMland. 
As a young boy wanting to get into radio, Harry was my broadcast idol. If there was a remote he was at, I’d ride my bike to it if he was in range. He was always gracious, kind and encouraging. As a teenager I interviewed him for a rock and roll column I was writing. In college at Radio station WRKC FM my friend Jim Gibson had him speak to the station staff. As a broadcaster myself at WVIA FM, I gave Harry a tour of the station when he was on Auction 44. He had just returned from York the year before. 
My best interactions though were when I was in Public Relations working with him at The United Way and later other entities. 
Harry got WARM’s mission about non profits and charitable causes. He was a ready participant in causes even at one point getting legislative action for disabled children. Harry and his wife Audrey had two disabled sons. 
Harry West was a radio legend when radio actually meant something back then. Now with competing entities, broadcasting, especially locally based stations are just cookie cutter shells of earlier days. There are some people in their 30s and 40s who have no memory of Harry or what he brought to the community and that is unfortunate. But there are those in my generations and others who have fond memories of The Harry West Show. His career never made him a rich man. Broadcasting in local markets never puts you in a high tax bracket. But you touch lives every day. Inform people. Inspire others. Create a memory for times gone by. Age and infirmity took the physical presence of Harry West away from all of us. But the mere mention of the name Harry West brings a smile to every face and a fond memory that links generations back to a time when life was simple and dare I say kind. 
For those who want to relive those memories and carry Harry with them in their hearts, please come to a celebration of his life on Saturday October 12th from noon to 4pm at The Grotto. Harry enriched all of our lives with his career. In many ways, because of how many lives he touched, Harry West died a very rich man. Beloved and remembered fondly, frozen in time in our memories. 


Harry with Sue Henry when she interviewed him at WRKC FM for WILK Radio. 
Harry's show is on this WARM retrospective we did a few years back.

Saturday, April 13, 2019

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #103

RADIO DEBATE ON WARM 

Thirty years ago in the Scranton Mayor's race, Republican Jim Connors faced off against Jerry Notarriani in a radio debate on WARM Radio. The show was hosted by former Mayor Jim McNulty and was broadcast at noon. 
It was a unique situation because all three men were Democrats except for Connors who switched to the GOP to make the run against the Democrat. 
Connors went on to win three more terms as Mayor and then ran for Congress as a Democrat. 
in the race to succeed Joseph McDade. 






590 MIGHTY MEMORY #104

WARM POST CHRISTMAS 

It is never too late in terms of a thank you and in this article from March 8th, 1990, Dan DeMuro from WARM accepted kudos from an organization, The Voluntary Action Center helped by The Mighty 590. Meanwhile, Len O'Hara accepted a generous check.


Thursday, February 7, 2019

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #105

WARM'S CHRIS O'BRIEN PASSES AWAY

At WBAX. (Photo: Frank Cali FB page)
His real name was Frank Cali. But to radio listeners around here he was known as Chris Starr. He worked at WBAX in Wilkes Barre in the mid 70s and was known for his famous banter with afternoon newscasters Madeline Fitzgerald and David Kush.
His time at WEJJL n Scranton was legend as well as his stint at The Mighty 590. Weekend News anchor at WNEP Tv, Andy Palumbo had this remembrance on his blog. Here it is as well as the link to Palumbo's site. 
Frank Cali started working at WARM maybe a year after I did, in the very early 80's. Frank, under the name of Chris O'Brien, did the overnight shift at first. Yes, this was the time when real radio stations had real live people working around the clock. It was called "full service radio."
I was the evening news person at the time, and I'd hang around after my shift ended at 11:30 PM, just shooting the bull with Chris for hours, hearing some old stories and learning about the business. He loved radio. Let me repeat: Chris loved radio. Before his arrival at WARM, Chris programmed a few radio stations in the market. I will never forget his advice. Chris believed radio programming wasn't all that difficult. All you really had to know was "shut up and play the hits." Of course, it was a little more than that. He had one odd accomplishment. It seems every station Chris joined, excluding WARM, had a polka show, and he always canceled it.
When Chris was "between jobs," he borrowed my typewriter to bang out resumes. I'd drop it off at whatever place he was renting and pick it up a few days later.
Chris was what we in the business call a "floater." He changed jobs frequently. It's usually viewed as a negative. I didn't see it that way. He was just constantly looking for something new, a challenge. Chris might have been the original Dr. Johnny Fever. I remember when he arrived at WARM, he needed a card in front of him to remember his new air name and the station's call letters.
One of my favorite stories was when Chris worked at a radio station with big windows in the studio, looking out onto a used car lot next door, run by a shady operator. As Chris was talking on the air, he watched the used car lot owner get punched in the face by an angry customer. Yes, I know assault isn't funny, but even after all these years, I still think of the way Chris told the story, and I can get a good laugh out of it.
We stayed in touch long after the WARM days. He hired me to work with him at WKRZ AM 1340 in Wilkes-Barre. I almost jumped, but WARM offered me more hours as a counter. I stayed. We reconnected a few years back, going out to lunch a few times. It was good to talk with an old friend. Chris, and I always called him that rather than his given name (he didn't mind), collected old television memorabilia. Out of privacy and security concerns, I won't give the list of everything I saw in his most impressive collection, but there was a chair from Al Bundy's "Married with Children" shoe store, one of Johnny Carson's coffee mugs, some of Soupy Sales' old cancelled checks and contracts. plus tons of 3 Stooges stuff. He was friends with cartoon voices, including June Foray, who brought Rocky the Squirrel to life. Chris knew Moe Howard's daughter. He had several autographs of the major movers and shakers from his time at the Voice of America in Washington.
There were plenty of health problems over the years, and that made me sad. He had a lot left to give. Chris used to live in a high rise a few miles from my house. Even though he had moved, I'd pass the high rise and say to myself, "I have to see how he's doing." The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
I'm sorry. Frank Cali, Chris Starr, Chris O'Brien died Friday night. I lost a teacher. I lost a friend. 
https://andypalumbo.blogspot.com/search?q=Frank+Cali

590 MIGHTY MEMORY # 106

WARM REPLENISH'S CHILD'S BANK ACCOUNT 

As we all in WARMland and America struggle with affordable health care, here's a story involving WARM that tells us health insurance, medical coverage and illness could fell a family's bank account. Even a child's. 
In this story from The Tribune, WARM Radio replenished the bank account of a youngster whose father was trying to get better. It involved an afternoon WARM Newsman Gordon Weise and John Hancock.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #107

TERRY McNULTY, THE BIG FELLA PROFILED IN THIS 1985 ARTICLE 

Terry McNiulty was a WARM lifer. Arriving from WSCR, McNulty had a series of jobs at WARM. This March 1986 profile of McNulty pretty much said it all about his WARM persona. 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #108

JOHN HANCOCK & HOWARD JOHNSON'S AND THAT CRANE

He came into this market mindful of the heritage of WARM. John Hancock arrived after a very turbulent time for the station. Hancock knew how much the station meant to the listeners as well as their Mighty 590 radio people. He fit right in but was very gracious to all who worked with him. 
Hancock even bought into the Community efforts and promotions pioneered by his intrepid predecessors. 
In this June 15th 1985 story from The Scranton Tribune, you see Hancock hovering for 59 hours and wait for it..raising over $5900 dollars for The Easter Seals.
While all this was going on here was one of the hits WARM Radio was playing.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #109

WARM, HARRY AND THE LOTTERY 

By the mid 1980s, the Pennsylvania Lottery was a big business. WARM got in on the action along with their Morning Man Harry West with a lottery-license plate  contest. Check out this ad from November 21st, 1985. Notice that WARM was partnering with The Globe Store in handing out a very big Holiday Check. 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #110

DRUCKER RETURNS TO AIRWAVES....THIS TIME TALKING RELIGION! 

When Jim Drucker was an all night disc jockey on WARM, certain members of management were not happy when Drucker would talk about being a good person in the eyes of God.  Drucker didn't go over the line but there were some that felt he should not have been preaching the golden rule on the air. 
In 1986 Jim Drucker returned to the airwaves but this time talking about his religion as well as the history of his church. Here's an article from The Scrantonian from September 6th, 1987.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #111

LT. GOVERNOR GETS SUPER BAGEL FROM BILL KELLY

In case you are wondering what exactly a Lt. Governor in Pennsylvania does, well he or she presides over the Senate in Harrisburg. The second in command might also stand in at ceremonial events across the stte when the Governor might not be available.
If it is a campaign year, the #2 guy is oiut on the hustings where there are potential voters. So on St. Patrivk's Day 1974, Ernest Kline then Governor Shapp's Lieutenant was presented with a 15 pound green bagel in front of the big WARM vehicle that was a show stopper in the parade.
The photo is kind of fuzzy but one we wanted to include.

Former Lt. Governor Mark Singel had this to say about Kline, "As lieutenant governors go, he was one of the best. Gov. Milton Shapp entrusted some of the key issues of the day to him. 
When the Arab oil embargo threatened our economic stability, Shapp's Lt. Governor initiated the Governor's Energy Council and set the tone for one of the most progressive agencies of its type in the nation. Lt. Gov. Kline was the first to assume control of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and establish the precedent for the second in command to step into the breach anytime there was a life-threatening occurrence in the Commonwealth. Kline also utilized his leadership skills and strong connections to labor and other constituencies to handle a potentially explosive truckers strike early in his term of office. 


Kline was Pennsylvania's 25th Lieutenant Governor and lost a bid in the 1978 Democratic primary to be the nominee in the '78 election. 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #112

WARM ANNOUNCES BROADER PROGRAMMING 

While this news release that ran in The Tribune in July of 1982 was not very specific, it did pique interest as WARM  was embarking on a type of hybrid format. Music during the day and Sports at night, along with Larry King in the wee hours of the morning. 
This was also the Bill Kimble era where he paired the jocks to work "in tandem". Jim Gannon was paired with Harry West at the time. 
The talk shows and sports at night, along with Larry King outlasted Kimble's "tandem" idea. 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #113

WARM BOASTING NUMBER 1 STATUS 25 YEARS AFTER ITS START 

WARM Radio held the ratings leader spot for a very, very long time. To pit it in perspective, here is an ad from 1983 that still highlighted WARM's stature as the number 1 station in WARMland.From February 7th, 1983. Remember WARM went on the air with The Mighty 590 in June 1958. 


590 MIGHTY MEMORY #114

ALL NIGHT JIM BECOMES FATHER JIM 

Jim Drucker had a storied career in radio. From WRAW in Reading to Program Director at WBAX and to the Mighty 590, Drucker was a mainstay in the 1960s and 70s music scene. He did all night radio on WARM and was one of the most popular overnight disc jockeys WARM had.

But a hymn was calling him to the Priesthood. Here's that story from the November 9th, 1980 edition of the Scranton Tribune. 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #115

WARM AND UNITED WAY 

WARM Radio has always been a huge supporter of United Ways in both Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. In my five years at United Way with the late Frank Pasquini, Susan Jelig and then Martina Martin, our Communications team always had the Mighty 590's resources at our disposal. 
In this 1978 article from The Scranton Tribune's October 11th edition, you see WARM front and center at those iconic UW thermometers. 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #116

BILL KELLY'S CANOE EXPEDITION 

The late Bill Kelly had run a lot of promotions with WARM. One of his finest as a canoe ride. Here is the story from one of the newspapers on his efforts in the early 70s. 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #117

DISC JOCKEYS AND SOFTBALL? 

Yes, deejays and softball have always been a winning combination. Before there was the WARM softball softies, two WARM personalities played in a league with other area radio announcers from other stations.  Our thanks to our good friend Joe Klapatch for finding this gem in The Scrantonian edition of 1980. 
The photo was from 1958 when these jocks were in a league of their own.