590 MIGHTY MEMORY #494

PHOTO INDEX: WARM VEHICLES THROUGH THE YEARS.

STATION VEHICLES

The lifeblood of any radio station is the ability to get out to the public. For years radio stations have used promotional vehicles festooned with logos and big colors promoting the radio station. WARM Radio knew that better than any other entity in this market. WARM had numerous vehicles for their news department. Terry McNulty used to say that WARM had news cruisers 6, 7 and 8 numbered instead of 1, 2 and 3 to give the illusion there was a fleet. Many times WARM news staff used their own cars to cover a story. WARM had vans, and two big RV type motor vehicles. One big unit came from KLIF in Dallas, Texas. Most of the news cars came from auto dealerships with trade accounts (barter for advertising) and I understand that the bigger units were bought either second hand or some sort of promotional deal was cut to paint and style them. WARM made a splash and presence everywhere it went. WARM Radio coined the term "making tracks."

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #495

PHOTO INDEX: WARM COVERAGE MAP.

TRIBUTE VIDEO

Drew Techner did a fabulous video that is up on You Tube. The sound is from a WARM 50s weekend. It was also during the momentous Hurricane Gloria rainstorms that virtually flooded the Tripp Section of Scranton and caused havoc. This is a great snapshot of what WARM was in the 1980s.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #496

PHOTO INDEX: PHOTOS FROM DREW AND TOM'S EXCELLENT WARM ADVENTURE. DREW TECHNER STANDING IN FRONT OF WARM VAN AND TWO PHOTO'S OF STEVE (OLSHEFSKI) ST. JOHN AND VINCE SWEENEY.

FAN'S MEMORIES OF WARM

One of the hallmarks of WARM Radio’s legacy is the connection people felt to it. The Mighty 590 was a major draw to teenagers coming home from a Prom Date or Basketball game. Kids would peer into the studio windows to see the on air personality. WARM also had its share of fans from outside of the area who made pilgrimages to their favorite radio station. In the spring of 1985 Drew Techner and his friend Tom Parker took a drive up north and took a chance on dropping in on the staff of the Mighty 590. They were in luck because two of the WARM “young guns”, Steve St. John and Vince Sweeney were in the house. Here’s Drew’s story:
My friend Tom Parker's family has a cabin in Promised Land and he spent every summer there growing up. He always loved WARM and tried to catch it when back in Philly. Both Tom and I became DX listeners of AM and FM back in high school. We made so many aircheck tapes and had a great time getting QSL cards and letters. These were the days before the Internet and it was such a thrill to listen to stations far away that nobody else knew about. On or about March 1, 1985: Tom drove us up to Scranton in his yellow 69 Dodge Dart for several days in the Poconos. We made an impromptu visit at WARM and found Steve St. John and Vince Sweeney obliging hosts. Vince gave me his business card. We were surprised that they just let us like that. Vince noted that he had decided to "dress up" that work day and had a three-piece suit. Maybe he expected advertising clients that week, who knows. But there we were... inside the broadcast studios of the Mighty 590 WARM. I was working at Franklin's Family Restaurant at the time. They had 12 restaurants and I worked at the one in Philly. After our visit at WARM, we went for lunch at Franklin's in Scranton. Remember the fresh Strawberry pie or the "Big Ben" burger? Tom and I were both on WRDV-FM in Warminster, Pa. for a few years in the late Eighties. We still listen to the radio and pull in WARM when we can. ...that's me standing in front of the WARM-mobile.
NEXT TIME, DREW'S VIDEO OF WARM.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #497

PHOTO INDEX: P.S.B.B.

PUBLIC SERVICE BULLETIN BOARD

When you listened to WARM in its heyday, you heard all about your friends and neighbors through The Public Service Bulletin Board. A personality may have been coming out of a record or into a commercial, whenever but you could count on hearing about a blood drive, church picnic or event happening in WARMland. Dubbed “P.S. B. B.,” at one point the feature even had its own jingle. Community groups knew that by having a blurb on WARM, then the number 1 station, the event broadcast would get good publicity. Around 1970 WARM dropped the jingle and in 1976 Elden Hale and WNEP TV co-opted Public Service Bulletin Board as Channel 16’s own. The late Tim Karlson who worked at WNEP TV in Sports and later Production told me he was surprised WARM never fought WNEP on taking the name. He also said when he had to cut a spot for it, he thought of WARM.
Currently WARM Radio continues the tradition of community service by having broadcasting “The WARM Community Calender”. At least three times an hour WARM runs announcements on events going on in the area. A tradition of “community” continues on WARM. Whether it was P.S.B.B. or the current programming, WARM keeps you updated on what’s happening in town.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #498

PHOTO INDEX: "STOP 'N GO" RESTAURANTS.

STOP ‘N GO

One of the places closely linked with WARM Radio was a fast food restaurant called “Stop ‘N Go”. Long before McDonald’s or Burger King came into the area, “Stop ‘N Go” was the place for 15 cent hamburgers and good crispy fries. “Stop ‘N Go” was one of the unofficial burger hangouts as well as a place where WARM listeners could get the weekly WARM survey sheet or even a copy of that now famous 45, “The Ballad of WARMland.” “Stop ‘N Go” eateries left the WARMland road map in the 70s with the addition of places like “Top Spot”, “Carroll’s” and the major chains. But in the memories of WARM listeners, “Stop “N Go” was the place to have a snack as you headed out to a game, date or cruise with the Mighty 590 tuned on the radio.
Brian Hughes, News Director of the current incarnation of WARM (the station airs Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel) wrote this note about Pal's Restaurants. "Don't forget about "Pals" among the fast food joints. They had 2 locations, at the top of Moosic Street in South Scranton, where Dunkin Donuts now stands, and at the Viewmont Mall in Dickson City, just down from the old "Barrells Whiskey & Rhyme".
http://www.warm590.com/.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #499

PHOTO INDEX: WARM FOOTBALL TEAM RANKINGS.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

When WARM Radio was making the oh so very subtle transition from Top 40 station to community based adult operation, high school football became a very important piece of the move. In the late 60s after WARM started 20/20 sports in drive time, WARM on the weekends began to report the scores on high school games during the weekend.
When WARM began the weekly Sunday Night Sports Line with Ron Allen and Pete Ericson, a large portion of the show was dedicated to high school sports. WARM even had weekly team ranking which intensified the rivalries among school districts. In the 80s when WARM had a hybrid format, (music in the 6am to 5pm period) and in the 90s when they want talk, WARM carried actual live games. Before Ron Allen left the station, one of the most highly anticipated sports programs was his Friday night wrap around where various WARM reporters (staffers and imports) reported games as they happen to Allen. The kids who began to listen to WARM as teenagers now tuned in to hear their own kid’s names and gridiron exploits mentioned on the Mighty 590. WARM stopped broadcasting high school football games around 1999 because they were not bringing in the revenue the new company wanted. But for over 30 years WARM Radio and High School football were synonymous.