590 MIGHTY MEMORY #467

PHOTO INDEX: THIS BLOG EDITOR AND HARRY WEST, THE CHILI RECIPE IN THE WARM COOKBOOK> (CLICK TO ENLARGE).

CHERRY BLOSSOM TIME!

WARM Radio always got involved with the Cherry Blossom Festivals in West Pittston and Wilkes Barre. In the 80s, WARM ramped up its coverage of the two concurrent weekend events and did live broadcasts. Usually the West Pittston Cherry Blossom Festival came first, then then the Wilkes Barre soiree. WARM personalities like Melanie Apple, John Hancock, Vince Sweeney, Steve St. John, Terry McNulty and the venerable Harry West did live broadcasts from the event. One year, in cooperation with the promotion of one of the releases of an edition of the famous WARM cookbook, yours truly made Cherry Blossom Chili. There were no ingredients apropos of the festival flowers but it was a good way to move the cookbooks and raise some money for some non profits. The recipe that was served to the folks in the 1987 Cherry Blossom Festival on the River Common in Wilkes Barre is in the photo index as well as the famous promotional picture of me and the great Harry West.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #468

PHOTO INDEX: WARM EASTER SURVEY SHEET ANNOUNCEMENT OF WHO GOT THE BIG BUNNY!!!

WARM’S EASTER PROMOTIONS

Warm Radio also took the lead in promoting the Easter Season. As a prelude to the big day, WARM had an array of advertisers like Gertrude Hawk candies, markets selling hams and kilbossi as well as the involvement of various malls that put on gigantic Easter Egg hunts. WARM always did a promotional Egg hunt with Pocono Downs usually the day before Palm Sunday. WARM also gave away tons of chocolate. A WARM tradition was the giving away of a large Easter bunny. One year, a listener suggested that WARM give the big guy away to children who were a little more disadvantaged than the average WARM child. And so every year, from that listener seed, a local charity got a big bunny, courtesy of the Mighty 590.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #469

PHOTO INDEX: FORMER WEJL AND WARM PERSONALITY KIM MARTIN.

RECRUITING TALENT

WARM Radio always had a reputation of recruiting on air talent from surrounding radio stations. Tommy Woods, Terry McNulty and Joey Shaver, three members of the Sensational 7 came from local radio outlets. Harry West came from Reading and became the morning man. When West left in 1968 to go to KQV in Pittsburgh, WARM looked to a former staffer Len Woloson to return to WARMland. When Woloson left WARM suddenly, for a time the Mighty 590 had George Gilbert fill in as the morning man. A nationwide search ensued for a new morning guy. Interviews went on and on until WARM decided on their new guy. It wasn’t anyone from a far away market but a guy broadcasting in Scranton on WEJL AM. To usher in the 70s WARM chose Kim Martin. Martin came to WARM in early ’71 and did the noon to 3pm (Double G’s old stomping grounds) initially. Then when Woloson left Martin did the mornings. Martin had an easy style about him which was a precursor to a subtle style in the new genre of WARM jocks. He was best known for gentle jabs like referring to WARM news reporter Kitch Loftus as Kitch Newsworthy. But that style was only on WARM for a short time because the big Philadelphia market came calling and Martin wound up there using the name McClintock. The instability of the WARM morning drive time show ended in July of 1973 when Harry West returned to WARM after working at KQV in Pittsburgh and WSBA in York.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #470

PHOTO INDEX: THE FIRST WARM SURVEYS ON 8 AND 1/2 BY 11 PAPER, THE FIRST SMALLER SURVEY SHEET, THE NEXT GENRE WITHOUT PHOTOS, BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS WERE ADDED AROUND 1965, A FEW YEARS LATER ARTIST RENDERINGS OF WARM'S JOCKS WERE ADDED, THE GOOD GUYS SHORTENED THE FORMAT BUT STILL KEPT THE RENDERINGS AND FINALLY IN 1971 PHOTOS WERE ONCE MORE ADDED.

FOR THE MUSIC GEEKS

By request here are some of the WARM survey sheets which highlight the actual music. Note the progression of the format from its earliest days to the final ones put out in 1971. (Click to enlarge to see).