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MORE HISTORY-RADIO ON THE NORTH SHORE

I was proud to work for WBOQ from 1992 to 1997 when it was the station known as WBACH. Doug Tanger took Simon Geller's WVCA and made it into a station that consistently was winning Mass. Broadcasters Assn. Station of the Year awards. While it wasn't a ratings success, WBACH super-served the North Shore and played a better variety of classical music than what Laurence Glavin calls the "South Street Snoozer", WCRB. Plus, we did some pretty adventurous things, like becoming the first classical station to broadcast from the radio studios of both Walt Disney World (1993) and the Universal Orlando Resort (1994). And we had some terrific personalities, like Scott Hooper (now at the WBACH Network in Maine), Heather Kent, Karl Alan, John Dankosky (now at WNPR Radio in Connecticut), John McTague, and Charlie Curtis & Jacky Ankeles (both still with the station in its North Shore 104.9 incarnation).

People may remember the features we did...the "Sousalarm" at 7, the "Symphony at Three", "The Five O'Clock Waltz", the "Seven O'Clock Stressbuster", "The Best of Boston". etc. Man, that was fun radio that we may never hear again anywhere.

I remember the day Simon Geller died in 1995. Listeners called in to share stories about Simon. We played clips of him on the air doing his "We need money, or we'll have to shut down the station" plea to the audience. He was a one-of-a-kind, the last of the one-man radio operations in New England. What a trip he was. Anyone else on this board remember Simon Geller?

Steve Murphy
Former WBACH Operations Manager
 
Did anyone remember that WJDA and WESX also owned another station in the mid-60's..... Ready for this?!?..... WGAW in Gardner.
 
gosox said:
I was proud to work for WBOQ from 1992 to 1997 when it was the station known as WBACH. Doug Tanger took Simon Geller's WVCA and made it into a station that consistently was winning Mass. Broadcasters Assn. Station of the Year awards. While it wasn't a ratings success, WBACH super-served the North Shore and played a better variety of classical music than what Laurence Glavin calls the "South Street Snoozer", WCRB. Plus, we did some pretty adventurous things, like becoming the first classical station to broadcast from the radio studios of both Walt Disney World (1993) and the Universal Orlando Resort (1994). And we had some terrific personalities, like Scott Hooper (now at the WBACH Network in Maine), Heather Kent, Karl Alan, John Dankosky (now at WNPR Radio in Connecticut), John McTague, and Charlie Curtis & Jacky Ankeles (both still with the station in its North Shore 104.9 incarnation).

People may remember the features we did...the "Sousalarm" at 7, the "Symphony at Three", "The Five O'Clock Waltz", the "Seven O'Clock Stressbuster", "The Best of Boston". etc. Man, that was fun radio that we may never hear again anywhere.

I remember the day Simon Geller died in 1995. Listeners called in to share stories about Simon. We played clips of him on the air doing his "We need money, or we'll have to shut down the station" plea to the audience. He was a one-of-a-kind, the last of the one-man radio operations in New England. What a trip he was. Anyone else on this board remember Simon Geller?

Steve Murphy
Former WBACH Operations Manager
Click to expand...

Isn't WJIB-AM a one-man operation?
 
gosox said:
I was proud to work for WBOQ from 1992 to 1997 when it was the station known as WBACH. Doug Tanger took Simon Geller's WVCA and made it into a station that consistently was winning Mass. Broadcasters Assn. Station of the Year awards. While it wasn't a ratings success, WBACH super-served the North Shore and played a better variety of classical music than what Laurence Glavin calls the "South Street Snoozer", WCRB. Plus, we did some pretty adventurous things, like becoming the first classical station to broadcast from the radio studios of both Walt Disney World (1993) and the Universal Orlando Resort (1994). And we had some terrific personalities, like Scott Hooper (now at the WBACH Network in Maine), Heather Kent, Karl Alan, John Dankosky (now at WNPR Radio in Connecticut), John McTague, and Charlie Curtis & Jacky Ankeles (both still with the station in its North Shore 104.9 incarnation).

People may remember the features we did...the "Sousalarm" at 7, the "Symphony at Three", "The Five O'Clock Waltz", the "Seven O'Clock Stressbuster", "The Best of Boston". etc. Man, that was fun radio that we may never hear again anywhere.

I remember the day Simon Geller died in 1995. Listeners called in to share stories about Simon. We played clips of him on the air doing his "We need money, or we'll have to shut down the station" plea to the audience. He was a one-of-a-kind, the last of the one-man radio operations in New England. What a trip he was. Anyone else on this board remember Simon Geller?

Steve Murphy
Former WBACH Operations Manager
Click to expand...

Remember Simon? Hell yeah! I had the pleasure of talking to Simon many times on the phone, for hours at a time. Was he crusty and stubborn? Sure he was. But spite of his crusty personality, he would be glad to talk to anyone who'd listen to him. He had a lot of things on his plate. In 1982, the FCC took away his license, only to have it restored after the other applicant (who had an CP for 104.9) died. Later on, after many people came to bat for Simon, the FCC also realized their mistake in taking Simon's license to operate WVCA and had it renewed. However, the many court dates and Simon's overall health issues took a toll on him. He eventually sold the station for a million bucks. Simon moved on with his million bucks to "Lost Wages", Nevada (that's "Vegas", baby.....). And you knows what happens in Vegas.......

OH, well...... Simon was one of a kind. If you check out the http://radiodxer.net page, check out some audio of Simon several months before he signed-off from WVCA for good.

73,

Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts
 
Isn't WJIB-AM a one-man operation?
--------------
When Bob did his New Years Eve Day all-request show, he mentioned that he had a dog with him...
Click to expand...
========================
Yes, WJIB is a one-man operation; has been for several years. But on the New Years Eve Request Show, I had two of our dogs with me:
"Misty, the Good-Music-Wonder-Dog" and
"Henry Houdini, the Little Monster".
(The latter, Houdini, the escape-artist, who wanders the woods of Maine, behind WJTO, for hours at a time).
---would also like to book Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog!
 
Did work at 1570 several times over the years starting under the WMLO call letters during the days of Phil Durkin when I was in high school. Later under the WBVD and WNSH call letters. Sorry to see the destroyed Gates BC500T on the You Tube Video.
If memory serves the Phasor for some reason was purchased from RCA and both air and production consoles were Gates Yards.
Before WMLO came on the air I had my mother drive me over to Clinton Avenue
and the only thing there at the time was the two towers with coils of Romex for the tower lighting rolled up at the tower bases. (I was probably 12 at the time)
I never understood why that site was abandoned for coastal Beverly, I listened
to WMLO all through high school and they had a great signal in Beverly, Danvers
all of Salem though the signal started dropping off at the Swampscott line
and was NFG in Lynn due to the null to WPEP.
Signal was also good in Middleton, Manchester and Marblehead with great coverage
of the major malls.
When the grants allowing nightime operation on 1570, the station stayed 500 watts
at night actually becoming 500 watts DA-1
Very potent signal followed the Danvers River into Beverly and Salem.
I would have never left that site, covered what was needed with a low electric bill
 
Growing up just south of Salem, 1570's signal was a tough pick up, drive into Salem and poof there it was... At night, CKLM 1570 @ 50kw- DA-2 from Montreal used to step all over WNSH.. That station used to blast in there at night. WESX seemed to have quite the signal for a 1kw-ter.. Mahhhblehead is a good spot for a stick ;D
 
JIBGUY said:
========================
Yes, WJIB is a one-man operation; has been for several years. But on the New Years Eve Request Show, I had two of our dogs with me:
"Misty, the Good-Music-Wonder-Dog" and
"Henry Houdini, the Little Monster".
(The latter, Houdini, the escape-artist, who wanders the woods of Maine, behind WJTO, for hours at a time).
---would also like to book Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog!
Click to expand...

I guess you can say that his show is going to the dogs! ;D ;)
 
Not interested in selling sponsorships / commercial time on your stations, Mr. Jibguy ?? Sounds like you have a great story to tell with WJIB..
 
Jo Jo Kracko said:
Not interested in selling sponsorships / commercial time on your stations, Mr. Jibguy ?? Sounds like you have a great story to tell with WJIB..
Click to expand...

Nope. Diet pills, colon-cleansers, get-rich-today programs don't appeal to me. And they should not appeal to ANY station with a conscience.
 
Jo Jo Kracko said:
Not interested in selling sponsorships / commercial time on your stations, Mr. Jibguy ?? Sounds like you have a great story to tell with WJIB..
Click to expand...

Nope. Diet pills, colon-cleansers, get-rich-today programs don't appeal to me. And they should not appeal to ANY station with a conscience.
 
Jo Jo Kracko said:
Growing up just south of Salem, 1570's signal was a tough pick up, drive into Salem and poof there it was... At night, CKLM 1570 @ 50kw- DA-2 from Montreal used to step all over WNSH.. That station used to blast in there at night. WESX seemed to have quite the signal for a 1kw-ter.. Mahhhblehead is a good spot for a stick ;D
Click to expand...

But the current occupant of 1570 in Montreal (actually, Laval, which is a Montral suburb), CFAV, which runs 10 kW-U--not CKLM's 50 kW--from what I believe to be the same site as CKLM used--though probably not from the old CKLM towers--doesn't come in nearly as well as CKLM did. IMHO, the signal where I live (northwest of Boston--not the North Shore) is a lot weaker than I figured it ought to be with 1/5 of the power. At this point, we could revive the old DXer argument about some nonlinearity in skywave signal strength vs power, but let's don't; ALL of the theory says that, if everything else is equal, skywave signal strength (just like groundwave signal strength) is proportional to the square root of antenna-input power. I believe that CFAV uses the same pattern as CKLM did and has towers of the same height (1/4 wavelength) as CKLM's were at the same Tx site. Maybe CFAV's ground system is inferior to CKLM's. Anyone have any different information about CFAV and why its nighttime signal down here isn't more potent?
 
Listened to WRKO this morning, where Tom Finneran spent quite a bit of time discussing the current financial crisis in Salem. Its one of several situations over the last year or so (The Danversport explosion immediately springs to mind), that have caused me to sincerely mourn the death of live, local, full service radio on the North Shore. The old WESX would have done a great job providing the local angle of that story. I still harbor hopes that WNSH and/or WBOQ will beef up their coverage of local news and events, but I realize its highly unlikely.
 
Re: MORE HISTORY-RADIO ON THE NORTH SHORE - WMLO

Boy those calls briing back great memories! I think when I was 18 - in 1968 - I drove from my home on the south shore tyo visit that station that was replaced by CKLM at night. The station was in a mobile trailer, and the jock was Doug Poor (wish I could find him to thank him today). he format was MoR - Maybe MLO stood for Mellow? Instead of carts, the commercials were on 3" tape reels, hung up on nails on a wooden boarrd, to the right and left of the jock for easy selection.

I think the mobile studio was in use because the original station hd burned down. But those days, I was so darned introverted, I hardly had the ability to ask any questions at all!

It was a good-sounding station. I wish I could find anyone who worked there! If you have, please let me know? shel at wrko dot org. Thanks!
 
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