590 MIGHTY MEMORY #421

WARM's Terry McNulty who had his share of covering emotional and important news stories in 1963.

WARM AT SHEPPTON

One news event that struck closer to home in August of 1963 was the Sheppton Mine Accident. From August 13th the nation was riveted by the three miners trapped 300 feet below the earth. For all of Northeastern Pennsylvania, this was a raw wound. Just three and a half years removed from the Knox Mine Disaster, the fate of the trio was huge news.
WARM's Terry McNulty was one of the first media people on the scene. In a documentary about WARM made for WVIA TV, McNulty described the tapping he heard from the two surviving miners. TV and newspapers also covered the event as a front page item every day. WDAU TV sent reporters down there every day and news director Tom Powell provided hourly updates.
People eagerly watched with concern as rescue workers tried to reach David Fellin, Henry Throne and Louis Bova. Bova’s body was never recovered.
The event was sobering because there were still vestiges of the mines left with areas pockmarked by the strip miners. And everyone in my railroad family knew a miner. The bond was emotional and deep.
As a nine year old, this was just one of the stories of human drama that got my attention. Another thing that made an impression was that even though the rescue saved two men, one never came out. WARM Radio constant gave updates, bulletins and live reports from the scene. For two weeks it was the lead story on News Live at 55 and at the headlines at the bottom of the hour.
This past week, family members of the late Louis Bova gathered at a tombstone above the earth where Bova lost his life 300 feet below. More than 200 people attended a Mass for the fallen miner.
In 1970 a local group, The Buoys had a national chart hit called "Timothy about three men trapped in a mine. It was said that the tune was about Sheppton but the song's composer Rupert Holmes said he had no idea about the incident until the song was soaring to the top twenty.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #422

The iconic Grandstand seen by hundreds of thousands of people in the last 50 years at Pocono Drag Lodge.

(All photos by Mrs. 590 Forever).

At the Trophy Table yesterday at the Pocono Drag Lodge/WARM Reunion.

Man how I loved those old Chevrolets. If I ever win the PowerBall.........

The anniversary cake for the golden anniversary of Pocono Drag Lodge. 

POCONO DRAG LODGE @ 50 

The Pocono Drag Lodge celebrated its 50th anniversary this weekend. The Drag Lodge was a large part of pop culture in the 60s and 70s for music fans and motor heads alike. Just minutes from Wilkes Barre, the Drag Lodge was a meeting place for teenagers and car enthusiasts who loved the sounds of rubber on the road and the Mighty 590 on the radio. 
This weekend’s event which featured many great looking cars as well as great music and memories was well attended on a beautiful sunny day. I finally took organizer Charlie Hulsizer up on his invitation and toured the grounds and met many old friends who enjoyed the memories of WARM Radio as well as those great motor cars of yesterday. 
WARM Radio was the station back in the day that promoted the races, gave updates on race weekends and actually told you who won on any given night. It was a great event and we hope that Pocono Drag Lodge reunions last another fifty years. 
Onward my friends…onward!!!

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #423

WARM Radio Survey letterhead, circa 1961. (590 Forever WARM archives). 

A GEM OF AN AIR CHECK!!

One of the great things about doing the 590 Forever blog site is that the more I write, the more I hear from fans of 60s era top 40 radio who viewed stations like WARM as "The MODERN Golden Age of Radio" . 
Just as there are people of a certain age (ahem us!) who treasure the hits from '55 to 85, there are many others out there that really cherish the creativity and freedom of the radio talent who brought us that music. When someone talks about the classic top 40 stations like WCFL, WLS, WKBW, CKLW, WIFIL, WIBG and WARM, the Mighty 590, the music will almost always be secondary. Fans will bring up a particular personality, "Do you remember Ron Allen?" , "Hey how about that Harry West"? or "That George Gilbert was so smooth". That is a true testament to the power of personality in the top 40 era. 
I came across this gem from a reader of 590 Forever and it is an incredible piece on the history of WARM. It is a 15 minute rewind of a winter morning of 1961. You'll hear commercials from Shorten Dodge, Acme, Genesee, weather, a bit of Mother Fletcher and you'll never believe who is doing the news live at 55!!!! (Hint, see Mighty Memory #424) Courtesy of a top 40 radio fan,
check this out on You Tube. 

 

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #424

WARM's Harry West in the late '50s. (Photo: WARM Radio) 

HARRY THE NEWSMAN 

Did you know that long time morning man Harry West started at WARM Radio as a Newsman? It’s true. Harry did the Morning News Live at :55 before he became the Morning radio host. George Gilbert manned the shift while Harry did the news.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #425

DOG GONE 

Do you know that in the late 1950s and early 1960s, if you lost your dog WARM Radio would help you find it? It’s true. WARM had a feature called “DOG GONE” And they gave a description of your lost pooch and a call back number. And those exchanges were Glenwood and Olympic. Those were the days!

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #426

The ubiquitous “Sparrow” button. Every kid had to have one. (Photo: LuLac archives). 

WARMLAND’S HERO 

The Sparrow 

When the “Batman” TV program began its run on ABC TV, it was wildly popular. Radio stations across the land decided to try their hand at creating superheroes that would be identified with their area. In Chicago, WCFL Radio, the Voice of Labor and the Big 10 created a character called “Chicken Man”. The end tag line for the fowl bird was, “He’s everywhere, he’s everywhere”. 
 In WARMland,. Ron Allen, the programming genius of the Mighty 590 created a character called “The Sparrow”. The tag line was “The Sparrow Knows”. 
Allen created a cast of characters turning “The Sparrow” into WARMland's Superhero. Scripts were written by Allen and voices were performed by various and sundry WARM personalities and staff members who just happened to be nearby. Ted Raub, famous for the Uncle Ted program and “The Ghoul School” was a major voice contributor along with then WARM newsman Bob Oliver. 
“The Sparrow” series ran throughout 1966 when “Batman” was hot and continued sporadically through 1967. After “Batman” bit the dust, so did “The Sparrow”. 
For a Top 40 station, an old time radio series was very labor intensive as both WCFL and WARM learned. But WARM had Ron Allen to do the production, scripting and voices. “The Sparrow” was an homage to old time radio as well as an attempt to do what WARM consistently did in its heyday, take a hot idea and put it into practice for WARM’s benefit. 
Plus “The Sparrow” served a dual purpose. The old time radio theatre gave adults listening to WARM a taste of the old days and gave their kids an idea of what it was like in their parent’s time. 
In the turbulent and divisive 60s, it was a bridging of generations that would soon fade into a memory. But “The Sparrow” had a good run, there were thousands of buttons that flooded WARMland that promoted the program. The late Bruno Gallagher dressed up in “The Sparrow” contest for remotes and made it popular. 
“The Sparrow” is fondly remembered as a piece of WARM history that still brings a smile to the faces of WARM listeners of a certain age. 
Editor’s note: Thanks to WARM’s Tom Woods for filling in some of the blanks and my friend Drew Wasko for sending “The Sparrow” button along for this stor.

590 MIGHTY MEMORY #427

Joey Shaver with George Herbert Walker Bush. Former Kiwanis member Frank Procopio is behind Shaver. Shaver and Procopio flew down in Shaver’s aircraft. (Photo: The White House). 

WHEN JOEY MET GEORGE 

One of the building blocks of being a WARM personality was involvement in community service. WARM jocks were expected to take part in community projects and promotions. That also included service clubs. Former WARM General Manager Phil Condron was involved in the Rotary Clubs for years. WARM’s Joey Shaver was a Past President and member of the Wilkes Barre Kiwanis is Club for years. 
In the mid 1980s, the Kiwanis Club visited Washington, D.C. to get an award from the Reagan White House for its Wheel Chair program. For years, if anyone needed a wheelchair, all they needed to do was contact the Wilkes Barre Kiwanis Club. 
On this particular occasion, Shaver and along with other Kiwanis members met with then Vice President George Bush. The trip was coordinated by Kiwanis member Rob Friedman through former Kingston resident Marc Holtzman who was a key player in the Reagan Bush political era. 
As we all know, Vice President Bush later became President and Joey Shaver got to meet him before he was the 41st Commander In Chief of this nation. And how great was that for Joey, meeting a President because Shaver’s birthday falls on February 22nd, the official birth date of our first President, George Washington.