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GETTING NOSTALGIC

D

dareweair

Every now and then I jump on here to see how things are going in my hometown of Allentown. I left in 1976 when I left the "Super K 1320" for my first major market gig in Philly on WIBG, and since my mom moved to her hometown of Wilkes-Barre, I had only been back a time or two to visit other family in the area.
Mom passed away a year ago next week, so I don't know when I'll get back for a visit.

A few posts back somebody mentioned Jeff Dean over on WGPA. WOW, what a pleasant surprise to see Jeff was still hanging around the valley and was back on the air. Jeff was one of my earliest mentors, and while we've lost touch as the years flew by, how cool it was to see his name on here. I'll have to give him a call some Sunday while he's on the air. The old WGPA I remember was a pretty good daytimer in it's heyday, and I believe was a CBS affiliate. I remember Jolly Joe Timmer from WHOL...when I was a kid and hanging out at stations watching with baited breath, I went to WHOL one Saturday and he let me in to watch. Just like Jeff, and Les did at WKAP.

Here are a few other names (from my LV Radio past) I'd love to hear news about...even if a name or two might no longer be with us....Les Baer, Walt Brown, Johnny Michaels, Tiger Joe McLaine, Dopey Duncan & Paul Galgon, Kathy 'Craine' Yelsits (worked with her up at WFMZ), J. Robert Taylor, Steve Alan Phillips, Dave Halperin 'The Daver'(classmate and longtime friend),Tom Moran, Joey Reynolds, Alan Raber, Jerry Duckett, Tiny LaBar, Bob Kratz (another mentor), Dick Dean (yet another), Gene Werley (still selling for CAT?), Jeff Frank...and I'll come up with more I'm sure.....

Is Rick Michaels behaving himself these days?

Keep rockin' the Valley, y'all........

Steve Kelly
Director of Programming & Ops
Clear Channel
Mid-America Region, Jackson, MS
 
> Kathy 'Craine' Yelsits (worked with her up at WFMZ)

She's still at WFMZ-TV. :)
 
hi steve!!! i loved the SUPER-K and 13-KAP!!! do you remember chuck morgan? he's still in allentown on 91.7fm WMUH.glad to know you're doing ok.great fun back in the 70's shotgun steve!
 
> hi steve!!! i loved the SUPER-K and 13-KAP!!! do you
> remember chuck morgan? he's still in allentown on 91.7fm
> WMUH.glad to know you're doing ok.great fun back in the 70's
> shotgun steve!
>



Steve Winger the real humdinger!!!
 
> > hi steve!!! i loved the SUPER-K and 13-KAP!!! do you
> > remember chuck morgan? he's still in allentown on 91.7fm
> > WMUH.glad to know you're doing ok.great fun back in the
> 70's
> > shotgun steve!
> >
>
>
>
> Steve Winger the real humdinger!!!
>
Sure do...but last I remember, WMUH was the Muhlenberg college station I used to hang out at as well...89.7 at ten watts I think....
 
> Sure do...but last I remember, WMUH was the Muhlenberg
> college station I used to hang out at as well...89.7 at ten
> watts I think....
>

when i moved to allentown in 1978. WMUH was at 89.7 and yes at ten little watts.in 1980 is when they moved to 91.7 and boosted the power to 440 watts.and started the community staff in summer 1981.i've been there from the start.24 years and going strong.but no merge with channel 39....please!!!
 
Rick Michaels? I worked with a Ricco at WSBG in Stroudsburg. Aren't they the same?? <P ID="signature">______________
" All my life I've always had my *#@$ together...Problem is I've never been able to pick it up" (Burt Reynolds "The Longest yard")</P>
 
> Every now and then I jump on here to see how things are
> going in my hometown of Allentown. I left in 1976 when I
> left the "Super K 1320" for my first major market gig in
> Philly on WIBG, and since my mom moved to her hometown of
> Wilkes-Barre, I had only been back a time or two to visit
> other family in the area.
> Mom passed away a year ago next week, so I don't know when
> I'll get back for a visit.

Well, let's help that nostalgia along...

<a target="_blank" href=http://www.jeffreyt.com/audio/WKAP.mp3>www.jeffreyt.com/audio/WKAP.mp3</a>
 
I just found this site & this topic has been inactive for a long time. Just want to say that the names mentioned here bring back lots of memories for me since my husband (Sammy Anderson) worked with most of these people. He was in local radio for over 50 years - until 2001. Mostly on WKAP with Dopey Duncan, Les Baer, Paul Galgon, etc. He began at WSAN and also spent time at WAEB. Being in the radio business necessitated moving around pretty much as stations changed formats.
 
What a list of names from Lehigh Valley Radio! I came to the valley in '89 to work for Traffax Traffic Network and worked on and off for them until they were sold to Metro Traffic. Came back once to work with Metro but the garbage that comes with having a Mom and Pop shop sold to a corporation really turned me off and I left radio until 69 News drew me back in to do fill in traffic for the stations they started serving when Metro decided to close Allentown and serve it from Philly.

Back in my early days I worked with some of those names (Less Baer, Al Raber, Joey Mitchell) plus Phil May, Carl Baker, Don Rutt and I am sure a few more I am simply not remembering at the moment. The list sure brought a smile to my face. When I walk by the building that used to be WSAN on 9th Street I still stop and look at the facade with the microphone carved in the granite.

I must say the changes to radio have not been able to kill everything off but hopefully some names that have a history will continue to add to history by staying employed and at stations with some kind of stability. These are the people that were on the air when many of us were forming our careers and I hope they all are able to enjoy what is left of the great art of radio.the valley and there were many really nice people who helped and encouraged me (even after quite a few whoops'). I've had the opportunity to be on just about every frequency in the Valley and will always have a soft spot in my heart for Allentown radio. Even if deregulation killed much of local personality programming.

Bill Crumlic
(aka: Mr. Bill-Q100, Layne Change-Hot 99.9, Roadkill Bill-107.9 WPMR, Bill "Rush Hour" Crumlic-96 WLEV and Bill Mane-Rat Country 96)

Most memorable fun moment: "... Well Randy we have golf balls the size of hail falling near Hellertown on I-78."
 
Well Bill, you can add me to the list of names that remember your time in "The Valley" fondly. I had the pleasure of having your reports on my PM drive shows at WGPA-Bethlehem in 1989 when we were still light AC, and at WMGH-Lansford in 1993-1994. I have an off-air tape of your predecessor Ken Fortna singing his heart out to Andy Kim's "Rock Me Gently" while waiting to go live. It's priceless! I hope you are doing well.
Gene Werley Jr.
 
Layne Change. that's awesome. LOL

i never knew where WSAN was. i'll have to go look at that building.
 
Im begginning to remember something unpleasant about Ken Fortna.
 
Steve,

You wanted to get intouch with J Robert Taylor. Well here I am buddy. Alive well and overweight in Houston, Texas (not too far from you) I've been asking about you all over the place so I could get back in touch with a true friend in radio. We had some fun at 1320 Super K on the hillside in Whitehall (you know the building and towers are long gone). Remember when we got our asses chewed for making fun of a Chevy spot that was made to parody Tony Orlando and Dawn's Tie A Yellow Ribbon. I think Tom Moran was poppin' a vessle that day.

I've dropped out of full time radio, to boring these days. I'm a full time engineer for Walt Disney/ABC Inc. I dabble in radio from time to time, and I do Voice/Imaging for some friends of mine that own stations. Would love to voice track for you some day. Let Me know, OK?

I do miss the fun radio used to be, back when DJ's were given some latitude to entertain their audiences, not just be the keeper of the Audio Vault.

I'll try to get intouch with you. If you've moved out of MS since the last posting, here's my email. [email protected]

Take care, talk to you soon I hope.

J. Robert Taylor
 
Bill Crumlic, Gene Werley, Jr. Practically the entire WGPA crew from the old days. Good to see some names around here that I worked with around the Valley.

Too bad we lost Bob Wolken. What a guy he was. I'll never forget the time that he was supposed to call the previous owners of WGPA at 5:15 a.m. to be sure they were up and ready for a flight that they had and he replied "I'll have to call you at 5:13, because I head out to get my breakfast at 5:15." Also remember him showing up at the station at 3:30 one morning when Pat Galgon (the engineer) and I were rewiring the studio. Bob showed up because he was concerned about a noon Lehigh wrestling event that was scheduled and wanted to be sure the station would be back on the air by then. Those were the days!

Chuck
 
hey chuck...you might laugh or cry...but i have tape of bob wolken from 1953. it is classic and a hoot. he was a friend of mine and i truly miss him.
 
Bob Wolken...a true legend. Didn't drive, and was proud to tell you how he never missed a day in god knows how many years. then one day at about 11:20am I was doing mid-days and he told that he was leaving and I would have to do the 12 noon newscast (which Bob always, always did). I found it odd and sure enough, the bugger was having chest pains and checked himself into the hospital to have bypass surgery. I was asked to fill in while he was out, and other than vacations I do believe they were the only shifts Bob was ever out "sick" for.
I'll never forget his final day on the air at WGPA. I was doing mornings at WSPI at the time and I called him to wish him well in his retirement. He puts me on hold and the next thing I know I'm on the air with him. I didn't mind, except that I was trying to do my own show too. So when my song came down, I opened the phone line and explained that I was on with an old buddy of mine who was retiring that day. We were live on each other's show's simultaneously.
When it comes to longevity in the biz, it's tough to top Gene Bethman, Al Raber, and Bob Wolken.
 
Hey Gene,

I left radio full-time in 1999 when I was doing sports talk at 1320 AM and they were sold and went Spanish. Worked in the medical field for a few years and now run Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies web sites for the Scout.com network - PhillyFootballNews.com and PhillyBaseballNews.com - and recently went back to radio part-time doing a Phillies talk show on ESPN of the Lehigh Valley (1230 and 1320 AM) on Saturday mornings.

If any of the old gang wants to get in touch, my e-mail address is [email protected].
 
dareweair said:
Every now and then I jump on here to see how things are going in my hometown of Allentown. I left in 1976 when I left the "Super K 1320" for my first major market gig in Philly on WIBG, and since my mom moved to her hometown of Wilkes-Barre, I had only been back a time or two to visit other family in the area.
Mom passed away a year ago next week, so I don't know when I'll get back for a visit.

A few posts back somebody mentioned Jeff Dean over on WGPA. WOW, what a pleasant surprise to see Jeff was still hanging around the valley and was back on the air. Jeff was one of my earliest mentors, and while we've lost touch as the years flew by, how cool it was to see his name on here. I'll have to give him a call some Sunday while he's on the air. The old WGPA I remember was a pretty good daytimer in it's heyday, and I believe was a CBS affiliate. I remember Jolly Joe Timmer from WHOL...when I was a kid and hanging out at stations watching with baited breath, I went to WHOL one Saturday and he let me in to watch. Just like Jeff, and Les did at WKAP.



Here are a few other names (from my LV Radio past) I'd love to hear news about...even if a name or two might no longer be with us....Les Baer, Walt Brown, Johnny Michaels, Tiger Joe McLaine, Dopey Duncan & Paul Galgon, Kathy 'Craine' Yelsits (worked with her up at WFMZ), J. Robert Taylor, Steve Alan Phillips, Dave Halperin 'The Daver'(classmate and longtime friend),Tom Moran, Joey Reynolds, Alan Raber, Jerry Duckett, Tiny LaBar, Bob Kratz (another mentor), Dick Dean (yet another), Gene Werley (still selling for CAT?), Jeff Frank...and I'll come up with more I'm sure.....

Is Rick Michaels behaving himself these days?

Keep rockin' the Valley, y'all........

Steve Kelly
Director of Programming & Ops
Clear Channel
Mid-America Region, Jackson, MS
Click to expand...


I remember when Shotgun Steve Kelly and Bill Sheridan were my Board techs for my Studio 13 show live from casle Garden Dorney park in 1979, ah the memories!
 
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