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EASTERN NC JOCKS..Where are They Now?

dosmond said:
I still have the BW pics of the automation for RCM. If you were looking into the large room from the hallway JNC was the room on the far right (largest of them all) and the transmitters were in a room next to it and in front of the RCM control room. To the left was a small room that had the automation for a long time. Later Jim and I moved the racks to the engineer's office in the basement. And yes Al, it was a yellow Vega hatchback. Do you guys recall when we started sell FM converters and installing them in the parking lot?
Click to expand...

OK, on the layout. I can't quite exactly picture the room on the main floor for the automation system. It was downstairs when I first saw it in early 1976.

Are your pictures of the unit when it was upstairs? Sure, if you have them scanned, I'd like to see.

All the other rooms are as you've described Thanks for the memory jogger!
 
When I got there in '77 the FM automation (Maynard) was on the main floor behind the receptionists office/cubicle.

Walk in the front door, itty bitty "lobby", receptionist to the left, walk straight ahead through doorway to hall, if you turn right you wind up in teletype room, if you go straight you're in AM control, if you turn left you're in the hallway, Maynard was second, maybe third door on the left.

Shadeed used to come in early on Sunday mornings (not to work, just to drink coffee) and if I was there from having been on overnight or having done the night shift and then some production sometimes we'd get in his car and ride "wherever".

One time he showed me where his dad's store had been in the old Camp Davis days, down 17 south vaguely near Verona, but on the left as you were pointed toward Wilmington.

One time we went down to Myrtle Beach for a boat show, stopping in Wilmingon on the way up and back, made a day of it.

And I was in cub scouts with Ricky Mendelson.

The Whistlin' Pig was on 17 in the middle of town until the early to mid '70s.

They built Jacksonville's first Dunkin' Donuts next to it around '70 or so, and a few years later the Pig closed and they built a Pizza Hut or Pizza Inn where it used to be. It's an oriental or Mongolian place now.

I remember the Sonic out in front of JNC and what all that roller skating did for the waitresses' figures. ;D
 
I do remember when we were selling the FM converters.

A few more anecdotes:

Speaking of boat shows, Shadeed and I bought a boat together, a little grampaw boat, very used, for about $800. The first and only time we took it out, we went offshore and damn near swamped the thing, then coming in, back up the river, Shadeed hit a floating log, the boat went airborne, the outboard flipped up into the boat and that was it. I still remember what he said right after it happened: "We're sellin the boat."

I used to do live 60 second commercials for the Pig Diner during my show. One night, tipped off by a listener, I mentioned a speed trap at a certain location and segwayed from that into a Pig Diner commercial, unintentionally p*ssing off the entire J'Ville Police Dept who hadn't heard it...but who'd been told that I called them "pigs", which was of course not true. But two cops showed up the next day wanting to find the guy who called them "pigs." Luckily for me, nobody in the station knew what they were talking about and they had to leave without the satisfaction of killing me.

One more anecdote: There was this notorious crazy female listener/fan, a real skinny, ugly woman, who used to walk around with a transistor radio to her ear all the time, and she thought everything she heard us say was directed personally to her. Shadeed warned me about her. I think she might have been stalking him. But everybody knew her. She used to show up in the parking lot and sometimes at remotes.
 
I stumbled onto this website LITERALLY accidentally and am glad I did.
I used to work as a "Jock" at both WBBS-AM in Jacksonville, NC while I was a Sophomore in High School through graduation. This was back in 1976-1978; graduated from White Oak High School. Jim Kelso was the man who hired me. I worked (started off) on Sunday mornings. My dad used to drive me to work every Sunday morning. I would be the only one in the building at the time...had my dad with me just to watch what I was doing. He never thought of me as the kid that could really "Run" a station...hahahah...sure fooled him! Anyway...I remember VIVIDLY how I would go in, and begin the startup procedure of bringing the station on the air. Kept all logs current, powered up the antenna...dialed and tuned the plate(s), etc...all to bring up to the specified power for morning broadcast. THEN....get my 45's and LP's lined up in the order I was to play along with a few 'carts' for some spots to run. Ran to the teletype machine to get the AP news feed and read live on the air. The only music I played at the time was Gospel music to start from 0600 to 1100. At 1100 hrs, flipped a few switches, turned a pot or two and brought up a live Baptist Church broadcast for the next hour. At noon, the Gospel broadcast ended, and we switched over to 'regular' (AC) music. Did this for two (2) years and loved it.

Over a short period of time, I was later hired to work as a jock at WJNC. Started off working the midnight shift (2300 to 0700). The Midnight shift was called "The Midnight Express." All totally live broadcast...45's, LP's and ran some music off of carts. Also worked in the 'prod room' making up some PSA's and local spots. One of my favorite spots to make that I recall was for "Fisherman's Wharf," "Gibson's Discount Center," and "Piggly Wiggly." I worked @ WJNC from 1979-1981 on a part time basis. I vividly recall working side by side with Mike Shadeed in the morning as he started off his broadcast day. Worked for a short time as his 'sidekick' of sorts while he was on the air doing the "Ask your Neighbor" segment. This lasted about three (3) months then the 'sidekick' spot faded away.

I also remember when WXQR was the "newest and coolest" station to hit the airwaves in J'ville back then. Went in for an air check, did a few PSA's and never heard anything else. Guess my hair wasn't long enough at the time (hehe).

Going back to Jim Kelso for a moment...he really encouraged me to continue in radio...to the point where he would give me some training/study materials to take my Element 3 (I think) test (?). I remember starting off with my Provisional Radio License and had to take a written test regarding three (3) different elements for a 3rd Class Radiotelephone License. Forgot what elements were involved. STILL have my original Provisional Certificate from 1977 and later my 3rd class ticket which had to be posted in the control room of the station we worked. My, how times (and rules) have changed. I've met some of the 'new guys' here ...not one of them knows anything about 'tuning the plates,' or keeping or maintaining a power or tower log.

Thanks for your posts in here! Sure did bring back great memories! I've searched high and low...when did Mike Shadeed and Jim Kelso pass away? Not finding anything in Google...I've called J'ville...asked around...can't find anyone that seems to recognize either name. THANKS!!

Ed Terrell
[email protected]
619-786-2801
 
Wasn't it elements 1, 2 and 9 for the RP for broadcast?

Too many dying brain cells to remember that far back.

I looked at reply #7 and looks like the links aren't working anymore.

I never found anything regarding Mike Shadeed's death, other than a line or two in some beach music postings, and the comments here.

I was doing a quick search and found this mention of Mike:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...eEhOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tRMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6935,395352

I had not seen Mike since about the time I left Jacksonville, 1979, when I moved up to Greenville.

There is more discussion regarding eastern North Carolina folks on the EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA thread, under WJCV 1290.

This link might work:

http://radiodiscussions.com/smf/index.php?topic=194220.0
 
Ed, what name or names did you use on air at which station?

I'm trying to place you.

I started, hired by Kelso, as a part-timer at BBS in the spring of '77, and when they let Kelso go they shuffled the lineup and Rick whose last name I can't remember got mornings, Jay Laurence got mid-days and I got afternoons.

Until about the middle of summer when I think all 3 of us got replaced.

Then I started doing nights at JNC in late July of '77 until around the end of January '78.

I was back later that year as a part-timer and then wound up taking over as MD for a while when Greg Allen left.


Shadeed had a heart attack out of the blue back in early '98, and his funeral was the last time I saw Kelso, who died about the same time of year 7 years later.

Here's as close as I could find to Kelso's obit

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=43241240

Oddly, they didn't run his obit in the Jacksonville Daily News (even though the same company owned the New Bern and Kinston papers), so I didn't find out until after his funeral.

And I have no idea why he was buried in Chapel Hill.


Elements 1, 2, and 9 had to be passed to get a 3rd with a broadcast endorsement.

I think you had to pass element 3 to get a 2nd, which I tried and might have been able to barely squeak by if my calculator hadn't died.

And I think element 4 was required for a 1st. No way I'd learned enough electronics to have passed that one, but if I'd passed the test for 2nd I'd have taken a crack at it anyway for the experience since I'd already gone to the trouble of driving up to Norfolk and loosing a day's pay. Well, actually a night's pay, since this was Dec. '77, and I was still doing nights at JNC.
 
Kelso was buried in Chapel Hill because I believe that's where he lived when he was a boy after moving here from Iowa. He loved UNC and Chapel Hill. Man, I miss that guy. A true radio icon!
 
Eastern NC Radio - brings back lots of memories

I happened upon this site recently, again, and it revived memories. I was a 'DJ wannabe' and started in 1955 at WISP, thanks to a friend - 'Ace' Asa Franklin - who worked there on weekends and was on the control board in the early AM for Amos Sexton (Legendary basketball coach in Kinston, NC). Ace got involved in radio thanks to a mutual friend Parrott Sutton. Parrott started with Jack Hankins at WELS, went into the Air Force, and then back to WFTC where he retired. I recently contacted him, and mentioned some of the names on this thread. His response was:

"Paul Ridenhour was morning man on WELS. Moved to Franklin, N. C. and bought a Gospel A.M. He died in 2008. I talked with his wife Margaret a year ago.

Jay Kroll was WFTC announcer, highly talented, worked with Bennie Williams in the afternoons, lived two houses down from us on Morningaide Drive. I lost touch with him.

Carl Caudill was morning man on WELS for years, highly popular, and my Sunday School Teacher at St. Mary's. He got a high profile job on a quiz show on the network, but prior to that worked at WITN T.V. in Washington, N. C. Surely he is deceased, he was substantially older than I.

Amos Sexton deceased.

Jay Holmes was WFTC Staff Announcer. Nice guy, but crazy. He hit and killed a man while intoxicated, and fled the scene. Went to prison and I lost touch when I went in the service.

Bert Allen was the best morning man I ever heard, very amusing, very clever, great radio voice. He last worked at WGBR in Goldsboro. He moved to Greenville in the late sixties and considered working for WGTC but never did. He walked up on me at the new WGTC building site one afternoon. When I told him who I was he said, "You are the best sounding thing they have got!!" I cannot tell you how honored I was!! I said, "Well, you are going to think I am patronizing you, but I hear you all the time on GBR, and I think you are a great talent." He could do "voices" and my favorite was Tom Brokaw, absolutely flawless!!

When I was new in radio, WGTM in Wilson had an announcer named Bill Biggs, fabulous voice!! I drove all the way to Wilson one Saturday afternoon to meet, and it was a real let down. He rode a Harley, and was in fact outside the station working on the Harley while the network was on. He was wearing greasy clothing, and was quite an unpolished individual, very unlike his voice quality.

Ba deep ba deep ba deep, that's all folks!!"
 
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