If you could bring back a Central PA station, what station, format and era?

[JJCLP30157]

I used to travel on the weekends, back in the spring/summer of the early 1980's, to go to Swatara Township to MTI School. I used to listen to AM 1400 out of Harrisburg. I think they were calling themself "FIRE 14".
It was a TOP 40 station. I would always have to laugh, as each Friday evening as I got to within range of the signal, as I made my way from the PA TPK WEST, I would hear "ELECTRIC AVENUE" - EDDY GRANT. They must've had this song in the HOT ROTATION, by the time I'd reach "3-MILE ISLAND" it would play again.
(Kind of ironic, ELECTRIC AVENUE as you would drive past TMI)
I think they also were heavy on reverb.
I would listen to them all weekend long, as much as I could, before I had to head back west.
Unfortuately, it was costing me too much $$$ at the time to travel THE PIKE & I was getting tired getting off at Blue Knob or some of the other back roads to get me into HBG, area. I ended up transfering to the MTI School West of Columbus, OHIO.
I thought I'd just give AM-1400 a vote in this matter.

 

[meryll]

this is a reply to the post by "hardcore" re: WSBA-AM. I was a part of that newsteam, and I appreciate your kind words. That time at WSBA was when radio was really fun, and the news department had a purpose. I've been out of the biz for close to 10 years now, and could not even think about getting back into it. why doesn't anyone chase firetrucks anymore?? anyway, thank you "hardcore" for remembering me!! ML

 

[meryll]

cont. after reading all of the posts on here...i have to post another. i started my broadcasting career at WNOW-AM/Q106FM. Those were some of the best years of my life!! I was the female half of Mike and Mary in the morning. Joyce (?) was up next, and Jack Malloy followed. Jack Malloy, by the way, had one of the best set of pipes in the business and a very keen ear...his production was flawless! I also worked upstairs at Q-106...Jim Cook did the mornings, anyone know what happened to Johnny Ringo? Doc was doing sales at that point for both stations, and I agree...he had style. I moved over to WSBA-FM and had the pleasure of working with Jack Swanda in the morning, and the smooth talkin' usually hung over Jim Boyle. Marshall Passmore was PD at that time. On the AM side, it was Ralph, Jim Horn, Rod Burnham, and of course Ed Lincoln among others I can't quite remember. Damn, I wish we could go back for one more day!!
I just found this site today...thanks D!! What great memories this has brought back.

 

[loeper]

how great to see someone remember both Jim Boyle and Marshall Passmore on this site. worked with both of them at 103.3 and they were both good broadcasters and really great guys to work with. Marshall was best man at my wedding in 1979. Anybody know if Jim is still alive? Maryis correct about the news department at WSBA. Ed Wickenhiser was a storng newsdirector and the staff were all pros. nothing like it in central pa today.

 

[rinso]

8) I would bring back the following:


WKBO during the John St.John days,you just can't beat that.
WFEC 1970-73 when THEY were the top dogs in Top 40 radio
WHTF Starview...one of the best AOR stations of all time!
WSFM Rock 99...loved this station when it first came about,automation was cool!
WNOW 1968-70 this country station played a lot on my dad's stereo.

I don't listen to the radio much these days due to the fact most stations in this area
are boring,and have too much hip-hop on them.

 

[FreddyB]

8) I would bring back the following:


WKBO during the John St.John days,you just can't beat that.
WFEC 1970-73 when THEY were the top dogs in Top 40 radio
WHTF Starview...one of the best AOR stations of all time!
WSFM Rock 99...loved this station when it first came about,automation was cool!
WNOW 1968-70 this country station played a lot on my dad's stereo.

With you on WKBO, WFEC, Starview and ROCK 99! I wouldn't have entered the radio world without the influence of John St. John, and I got my start on ROCK 99 doing weather and PSA breaks back in '77. I agree - radio isn't very exciting anymore.

 

[vetguy]

Jim Boyle at the end did mornings on 101.3 when they were still WNCE, beautiful music. He died of cancer either in very late 80's or early 90's. Jim was a chain smoker and at 101.3 the building was smoke free. It was comical to walk into the studio, stay for a few minutes and watch him try to do his air shift while trying to hide a cigarette in his hand so you did not see it. Like you could not see the cloud of smoke in the room and the smoke rising from between his fingers.

 

[maines]

Oh how I miss a good radio station. If you think about it even the so so ones are better than the cookie cutters of today. They all had personalities and connected to the communites. Real news departments and a feel of excitment when you walked through any of their doors. The sales people could really sell and the managers were so strong. Oh well we'll just have to do with what we got. I still have that radio passion.

 

[pensive sojourner]

For me it would be WTPA 104.1 when it was Stereo 104 in the late 1970's. This would be when Jack Wagner did late afternoons and Bob Janus mornings. The rest of the time was automated with a jazz show Sunday nights. The automation system was pretty archaic even for that time because it didn't shuffle the music and if you were a regular listener you always knew which song was coming next in a five song, fifteen minute set but it was fun to listen to and had an interesting variety. RIP Paul Baker.

My second choice would be WPDC AM 1600 when it simulcasted on 106.7 FM, same era as above. I remember they also had an interesting show on Sunday evenings I believe about UFO’s.

My final choice would be Lite 97.3 WHP FM in the mid 80's. The variety was phenomenal and wasn't easy to categorize. I remember on time they went from a tune by the Letterman to "Lucky Man" by Emerson Lake and Palmer. These were the days before the homogenized sound of corporate radio when listening to the radio was actually fun.

 

[thebigT]

WSBA theMighty 910 era of the sixites, and good guy jocks Dan Donovan, Ed Lincoln and Harper
WFEC late '60s when Bob Janis was PD and had a boss radio format
WKBO early to mid 70's with Dan Steele, Alexander and of course John ST John

 

[BigBob]

Hey Mary L...good to see you here. Ringo is alive and well and flying for a private air service out of Alabama (I think). Kevin is, of course, in Chicago doing very well for Kiss-FM there.

 

[RockMustLive]

105.7 The EDGE, before it became the garbage pool known as The X

 

[ProdMonsterGeneral]

105.7 The EDGE, before it became the garbage pool known as The X

Citadel Broadcasting at their finest. I have faith one day it'll return to glory.

...or be buried by someone, ANYONE, who has the sense to challenge them in the market. So far the closest "competition" is WTPA and that's not really saying much of anything.

 

[ProdMonsterGeneral]

I do miss 98 YCR, Mid to late 90's. I can't remember the jocks name but he would cover the local high school football scores and I would call in every Friday night and rattle off like all of them to him. He humored me the entire time, cool guy.

wut in the bloody hell was his name??

 

[dscottQV93]

One of my favorites was WHYL-FM (now red 102.3) They were Fm-102 then Country 102. Nice mix of older country (now classic) and currents, re-currents. It was my first venture into country music. The current format is very similar to the original so in essence, they have brought back at least the format.

 

[bossjock 56]

I do miss 98 YCR, Mid to late 90's. I can't remember the jocks name but he would cover the local high school football scores and I would call in every Friday night and rattle off like all of them to him. He humored me the entire time, cool guy.

wut in the bloody hell was his name??

Let's see...mid to late 90's....would that be Captain Connors?

 

[ProdMonsterGeneral]

I do miss 98 YCR, Mid to late 90's. I can't remember the jocks name but he would cover the local high school football scores and I would call in every Friday night and rattle off like all of them to him. He humored me the entire time, cool guy.

wut in the bloody hell was his name??

Let's see...mid to late 90's....would that be Captain Connors?

Yup!!! That's the guy. Whatever happened to him? He still working in the business?

 

[karlyle]

Captain Connors ended up doing mornings at a station in South Carolina...got let go after the station switched format and they said he was out of a gig (Sounds familiar to a lot of us right?). He's currently still living in the SouthEast and now does mobile DJ work. Has a few guys working for him and is doing quite well!

 

[epmark]

WINK 104, mid-to-late 80s. Tim Burns did well in the mornings, and Bruce Bond commanded the afternoons.
Music? It really didn't matter except in the other dayparts. There was synergy there that made them unstoppable. Tim was smart and retired; Bruce is in retirement behind bars.

Not that today's WINK 104 is all that bad, but it's pathetic that WHP580 does so well with mediocre programming, 75% of which is syndicated. Those people who listen to 580 don't know how to switch to FM.

 

[Boardengineer12]

Also, Top 40 92 Rock, WHTF Starview during it's all too short reign 1983-84
And Hot Hits WFEC 1982-83

I've got very fond memories of Starview 92; I used to be Mike Sarzynski's engineer when he was at WNBC in NYC back in the late 70's early 80's; I heard that he'd bought a station in York with Mike Montione and being that I had family in York at the time, I'd spend time up at the station up on the hill when I was town. He'd have me do a few "guest segues" so he could crow about being the only morning jock in York with an engineer to run his board. The station didn't have much in the way of equipment for its studios in those days, the production studio was something out of the 1950's and the air studio wasn't much better, but at least it was able to get their programing on the air.

But I could tell it was a fun station to work at; The format really rocked as well as far as classic rock stations went in those days; they had some real characters working there; Tim Drayer (not sure on the spelling) was MD; Mike Ondayko was PD. Then the station was sold and I lost track of most of them. Sarz unfortunately passed away some years later during surgery and likewise I heard that Tim passed away as well. I'm not even sure if the station is physically located on Mt. Zion hill anymore. I know that the format got dumped sometime after the sale. Good memories for sure. I think i still even have some bumpers stickers lying around somewhere.....