590 MIGHTY MEMORY #120

THE FIRING OF BOB OLIVER 

One of the most controversial personnel changes at WARM Radio became very public in  October of 1969. Bob Oliver first was a Newsman at The Mighyt 590. Known as Robert Oliver, I first heard him when he broke the news of the death of the 31st President, Herbert Hoover. 
Later Oliver gained an air slot on WARM after the departure of Tommy Woods who went to WTOP in Washington, D.C. 
Oliver's transgression was minuscule and pale in comparison to some of the stuff you heard on the radio later on. I mean this was no Howard Stern broadcast. 
Here is the press news on what he said and what caused a very unusual and public dismissal. To this day, many people repeat the phrase about his firing and the reason why, "No good deed goes unpunished!"

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #121

WARM AND THE HISTORY OF MODERN MUSIC

WARM Radio ran a syndicated program in the spring and later summer of the History of Modern Music. It was a comprehensions look at how popular ad rock and roll music evolved. 
There was a two fold purpose. The first was to give on air personnel down time. The second was to do something entirety different and out of the box. 
It worked. Here's an ad promoting it. 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #122

BILL KELLY'S MARCH OF DIMES WALK

WARM's Bill Kelly, later to become the most consequential GM in the history of Public TV in this region, was front and center when he embarked on a WARMland "hike" to help the March of Dimes. Here's an article on the effort, it's progress  and its culmination.  
A side note here. During The Blizzard of '78, I was working at WVIA FM and TV. I think I worked from Sunday night until Wednesday afternoon.  Bill Kelly was then second in command to George Strimel and gave me a ride home after staffers were able to make it in.  As we drove through the Pittston Junction area, Kelly remarked, "I remember this area well from my walk". 
To this day, years after that foray, people remember that walk, his yellow outdoor gear and the good he accomplished that day for The March of Dimes and The Mighty 590!

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #123

WARM HELPING THOSE IN NEED 

WARM Radio always had a strong community bond. The station would go out of their way to help a good cause. As a matter of fact, WARM even had a Public Service Director, Pete Gabriel.  Now in the current broadcast age, few if any stations are hard pressed to even know what that position means. 
From March 22nd, 1970, here an article from The Tribune. 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #124

WARM BROADCASTS OVERSEAS TO FIGHTING TROOPS 

WARM Radio brought a little bit of home to the troops in the 70s as they fought in Southeast Asia. Here's an article regarding how that effort came to be. From June 15th and the Scranton Times report on it.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #125

WARM AND THE 5th DIMENSION

The 5th Dimension was a stand out pop group that came on the scene in 1967 and endured as a group and solo entities in the persons of Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo through the early 80s. Countless Top Ten hits as well as a summer replacement show and a variety program hosted by Davis and his wife Marilyn are part of their rich resume. 
In the middle of this run, there was WARM Radio and their jocks. Now dubbed "The Good Guys", WARM helped sponsor the concert. Here are pieces of a full page ad that ran in The Scranton Tribune as the big day approached. 
Thanks to our friend Joe Klapatch for helping us out on this one. 
By the way, the ad ran on in the winter of 1970 and at that time The 5th Dimension had these songs on the radio. One was "Blowing Away" which was leaving The Top 40 while the next "Puppet Man" was just arriving on the scene.

 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #126

WARM CHRISTMAS DAY PROMO 

December 22nd, 1956. This ad ran in the Scranton Tribune promoting a Christmas special that captured the true spirit of the holidays. It was a different time and a different era. Christmas began a week after Thanksgiving and not on Halloween. 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #127

AL KORNISH NAMED GM AT WARM 

The start of the Mighty 590 era was still a year away, the station called WARM needed a leader. .The station needed a guy in the driver's seat to put all the pieces together and maintain them. Or possibly make a transition to a larger format. The guy to do all that was one Al Kornish. Thanks to our friend Joe Klapatch, here's an article from the Scranton Tribune of March 19th, 1957.