ghosts under 314 main street, nlr.
former home to CC's Q100, Magic 105, KBOX, a furniture store (?) and who knows what else...
former home to CC's Q100, Magic 105, KBOX, a furniture store (?) and who knows what else...
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
The Horror Stories
- Thread starter SandySanford
- Start date
I remember hearing about a (nameless) guy back in the 80's doing a Sunday morning gospel show on KBHS 590. Just did the gospel show once a week for fun. He was right in the middle of a sentence & he says on-air to someone else in the studio "hold the mike, I gotta go take a dunk." The other guy was totally floored.
I think "Mister Dunkin's" broadcast career went to the toilet after that & he went back to his regular job. He may have not been a regular jock, but at least we know he was regular. ;D
I think "Mister Dunkin's" broadcast career went to the toilet after that & he went back to his regular job. He may have not been a regular jock, but at least we know he was regular. ;D
Lancer said:
Whenabouts in the '80s? I was at KBHS/KSPA in 1982-83, while a senior in high school. Did 6-sign off on the AM and babysat the FM 'till midnight. I also did a Sunday afternoon shift on "The Mighty 590" ... the guy who came on before me was from Malvern. Not sure how long he was there -- as I recall, he worked fulltime at a battery company on 270, then moonlit Saturdays at KBOK/Malvern (under a different airname) and Sunday mornings at KBHS. He was maybe 50-something .... quirky older guy. Of course, at the time I was a quirky young punk. ;D
Ahhh, KBHS - where I cut my teeth, and made all my stupid and embarrassing mistakes on a low-channel 5 kW blowtorch during 'critical hours.' [shudder] Studios were in a real dung heap on 3rd Street. Had to dodge rats and roaches to get to the AP wire in the back. Plenty of memories from that place .... got unceremoniously fired from there (on the day of my high school graduation, no less!) because I had the gall to record some lame-o DJ parody stuff, and the GM found the incriminating reel of tape in what I thought was a hiding place in the prod room. Well, it was either that, or sit still with my left thumb up my ass while the reels played ... changing tapes twice an evening and cutting a weather drop each hour. Something about "idle hands" and Satan .... a 17-year-old should never be given complete run of a radio station without a live shift, i.e. a short leash to the control room.
I like to think I've grown up a little since then.....
The station manager's then 8-year-old did some "airshifts", too. I have one of his weather breaks on tape. What else? The spots for Gene Lockwood sporting goods, voiced by PD Bob Roberts -- with slap-back echo and a badly-cueburned copy of "Cotton-Eyed Joe" as a music bed. "Yellow Cab, they go betwixt and between, call 6-2-3 Six-TEEN! Six-TEEN!"
But what a coverage area. I could hear KBHS as far away as Jonesboro, and I understand it also made it into parts of metro Okla. City!
There was some real history in that dive, and if only I had my 42 year old's perspective and half-wits at age 17-18, I'd have made some copies of a few tapes, etc. And those jingles, too: "First on the dial in Arkansas ... KBHS!" Of course, they all went up in flames with the rest of the station in 1985 (I think).
It's true - you never forget your first station.
--Russell W., Savannah, Ga.
Hey Russell, I have to tell off on you. Russell and I went to high school together in Hot Springs. He even dated a friend of mine but he was one of those "older" guys. His brother was my age and the hottie of the class but what I remember most is that Russell had a job in (GASP) radio. :-*
At that point in my life, I wasn't interested in what I was going to do with the rest of my life but I do remember thinking how cool it was that *I* knew someone in radio. I have to laugh at that now because EVERYONE I know now is or has been in radio. LOL!
Years later, I went to work at the same station. Russell had moved on and somehow or another I seemed to follow him from one station to another yet we never worked together. It wasn't until years later that we have become email friends.
My experience with KBHS wasn't nearly as scary as Russell's. I came on five years later after the fire and by that time KBHS had moved into a strip mall on Albert Pike. I was a silly little 19 year old girl without a clue in the world. I never had the big dream to be in radio and just fell into it because I had a good voice. I also had no self esteem and a HUGE fear of the mic. I remember the GM, Dick Antoine, giving me the best advice ever. JUST BREATHE!!! LOL...it took me years to really get comfortable with the mic and I had the chance to go back and work at US97 with Dick. For me he will always be that special person that everyone needs in their lives. He gave me a break into radio and started building the confidence I needed to do it.
Dick's still working at US97 in sales and he really is Mr. Hot Springs. A generation of kids in that town have grown up with Dick being Hot Springs' Santa Claus. He's always there for the community and knows that it takes the community involvement to make a station really do well. But, for me...he's still the guy that took this really green little girl and opened her eyes to the magic of radio.
But, if I close my eyes and think back...I can still get that sweat palm feeling of the first time I spoke into a mic. Little did I know I would have one hanging in front of my face for the rest of my life.
I love ya'll Russell and Dick!
Tracey
At that point in my life, I wasn't interested in what I was going to do with the rest of my life but I do remember thinking how cool it was that *I* knew someone in radio. I have to laugh at that now because EVERYONE I know now is or has been in radio. LOL!
Years later, I went to work at the same station. Russell had moved on and somehow or another I seemed to follow him from one station to another yet we never worked together. It wasn't until years later that we have become email friends.
My experience with KBHS wasn't nearly as scary as Russell's. I came on five years later after the fire and by that time KBHS had moved into a strip mall on Albert Pike. I was a silly little 19 year old girl without a clue in the world. I never had the big dream to be in radio and just fell into it because I had a good voice. I also had no self esteem and a HUGE fear of the mic. I remember the GM, Dick Antoine, giving me the best advice ever. JUST BREATHE!!! LOL...it took me years to really get comfortable with the mic and I had the chance to go back and work at US97 with Dick. For me he will always be that special person that everyone needs in their lives. He gave me a break into radio and started building the confidence I needed to do it.
Dick's still working at US97 in sales and he really is Mr. Hot Springs. A generation of kids in that town have grown up with Dick being Hot Springs' Santa Claus. He's always there for the community and knows that it takes the community involvement to make a station really do well. But, for me...he's still the guy that took this really green little girl and opened her eyes to the magic of radio.
But, if I close my eyes and think back...I can still get that sweat palm feeling of the first time I spoke into a mic. Little did I know I would have one hanging in front of my face for the rest of my life.
I love ya'll Russell and Dick!
Tracey
Russell W. said:Lancer said:
Whenabouts in the '80s? I was at KBHS/KSPA in 1982-83, while a senior in high school. Did 6-sign off on the AM and babysat the FM 'till midnight. I also did a Sunday afternoon shift on "The Mighty 590" ... the guy who came on before me was from Malvern. Not sure how long he was there -- as I recall, he worked fulltime at a battery company on 270, then moonlit Saturdays at KBOK/Malvern (under a different airname) and Sunday mornings at KBHS. He was maybe 50-something .... quirky older guy. Of course, at the time I was a quirky young punk. ;D
Ahhh, KBHS - where I cut my teeth, and made all my stupid and embarrassing mistakes on a low-channel 5 kW blowtorch during 'critical hours.' [shudder] Studios were in a real dung heap on 3rd Street. Had to dodge rats and roaches to get to the AP wire in the back. Plenty of memories from that place .... got unceremoniously fired from there (on the day of my high school graduation, no less!) because I had the gall to record some lame-o DJ parody stuff, and the GM found the incriminating reel of tape in what I thought was a hiding place in the prod room. Well, it was either that, or sit still with my left thumb up my ass while the reels played ... changing tapes twice an evening and cutting a weather drop each hour. Something about "idle hands" and Satan .... a 17-year-old should never be given complete run of a radio station without a live shift, i.e. a short leash to the control room.
I like to think I've grown up a little since then.....
The station manager's then 8-year-old did some "airshifts", too. I have one of his weather breaks on tape. What else? The spots for Gene Lockwood sporting goods, voiced by PD Bob Roberts -- with slap-back echo and a badly-cueburned copy of "Cotton-Eyed Joe" as a music bed. "Yellow Cab, they go betwixt and between, call 6-2-3 Six-TEEN! Six-TEEN!"
But what a coverage area. I could hear KBHS as far away as Jonesboro, and I understand it also made it into parts of metro Okla. City!
There was some real history in that dive, and if only I had my 42 year old's perspective and half-wits at age 17-18, I'd have made some copies of a few tapes, etc. And those jingles, too: "First on the dial in Arkansas ... KBHS!" Of course, they all went up in flames with the rest of the station in 1985 (I think).
It's true - you never forget your first station.
--Russell W., Savannah, Ga.
1984....5000 watt am gospel station..My first job..I was a weekend board op...
We had these thirty minute "preacher shows" on reel to reel. I used to popo one on, run across the street to a little cafe and get a cup of coffee while the shows ran and would come back about six minutes before the show ended...
One Sunday, about twenty minutes in, I came back to a control room full of magnetic tape. The take up reel malfunctioned.....
Funny thing was we were dead air for 20 minutes and no one noticed....
We had these thirty minute "preacher shows" on reel to reel. I used to popo one on, run across the street to a little cafe and get a cup of coffee while the shows ran and would come back about six minutes before the show ended...
One Sunday, about twenty minutes in, I came back to a control room full of magnetic tape. The take up reel malfunctioned.....
Funny thing was we were dead air for 20 minutes and no one noticed....
Dan Rather tells a similar story from his early radio days, only his involved a recorded religious show that was on an electrical transcription disc...16'' for those who never came across one. He put one on night, ran out for a hamburger and while he's flirting with the waitress at the hamburger stand, the phone rings there and it's the owner screaming "Rather, you're fired!" Turned out the disc had a scratch in it and it kept repeating the phrase "go to Hell" over and over again....
My first horror story was in Conway at KTOD 1330 AM.
No, it wasn't because of working for Mike Harrison; but, because it was flooding.
I think it was around 1983 or 84. The station was located just down the street from the Conway Corp. (electric utility company owned by the city) and also near the Faulkner Co. Courthouse. The water came all the way up to the back door (which was about 2 feet up off the ground. The metal steps were completely under water.
The studio and engineering closet was at the back end of the station; but, never saw any water come in the building.
The second horror story was in Bellefonte, PA at WBLF 970 AM (near Penn State).
It was in December 1993, and the building owner would never do anything to keep the building in good repair.
I was sitting in the studio and watch the snow come through where the window jambs were supposed to be tight to the frame. Well, the snow was blowing in so well; I thought that I was going to get electrocuted from the snow hitting all of the remote control equipment and all of the audio hookups.
I told the owner that I was gone or the station should go somewhere else.
Well, they heeded my advice and moved.
Everything going down 41 steps and into the snow and moving 2 miles and down another 26 steps into a basement facility.
Well, I guess I LOVE RADIO (and now TV).
No, it wasn't because of working for Mike Harrison; but, because it was flooding.
I think it was around 1983 or 84. The station was located just down the street from the Conway Corp. (electric utility company owned by the city) and also near the Faulkner Co. Courthouse. The water came all the way up to the back door (which was about 2 feet up off the ground. The metal steps were completely under water.
The studio and engineering closet was at the back end of the station; but, never saw any water come in the building.
The second horror story was in Bellefonte, PA at WBLF 970 AM (near Penn State).
It was in December 1993, and the building owner would never do anything to keep the building in good repair.
I was sitting in the studio and watch the snow come through where the window jambs were supposed to be tight to the frame. Well, the snow was blowing in so well; I thought that I was going to get electrocuted from the snow hitting all of the remote control equipment and all of the audio hookups.
I told the owner that I was gone or the station should go somewhere else.
Well, they heeded my advice and moved.
Everything going down 41 steps and into the snow and moving 2 miles and down another 26 steps into a basement facility.
Well, I guess I LOVE RADIO (and now TV).
MH doesn't have a good reputation.
D
dave388
Guest
Well, I did a shortwave radio show.. 3 Hours 9pm to midnight and this one day, the state was under one of them tornado watches (so yea bad storms comming) im on-air. starting the 2nd hour of my show. and pow lightning strike and then power drops, my backup gen. dont kick on. which left 30mins of my show "dead air" and wouldnt you know the stupid power kicked on at 12:02am. ( i got lucky the guys at the shortwave station realized i died and put on a old show recording after the 30mins of dead air)
Sandy--great thread!
I've done too many embarrassing things too numerous to mention but one Saturday remote in the 3rd largest city in Nebraska, back in the
mid 80's comes to mind. First of all let me preface this with I like to be spontaneous and create excitement at remotes.
A typical car dealer remote via Marti in the station van. The dealership had just paved a huge area of their lot and had not driven their cars back on it. Getting a little antsy during the 3 hour remote (by myself). I tried to upstage myself each hour of the remote. In the final hour
I had discovered that the van idled fast enough to move all by itself without pressing the gas pedal so I headed to the "open" pavement area. Shortly after, I did a "MacGyver" thing and took the driver's seatbelt and "belted" the steering wheel all-the-way to the right. The van drove by itself in a neat little circle. I then proceeded to somehow squeeze out of the window and pull myself trough the drivers-side window to the top of the circling van and proceeded to do my remaining 3 breaks. Not only that, but I struck a "surfer" pose on top of the van--pretty cool, eh?? People driving by honked their horns, sales people came running out, people pulled into the lot--they sold cars long after I had left due to people hearing, either on the radio or word-of-mouth from their friends, that some psycho DJ was standing atop of a moving vechile with no driver inside.
The end result? Well, while it was relatively easy to exit the van it was nearly impossible to get back inside because of something called centrifugal force (missed that lecture in Physics class on G forces). But I did eventually make it back inside without any help (they were too busy pointing and laughing). I left with a happy car dealer and a burned out power steering pump which I had to replace myself (my employer did not "get" it) and which "reappeared" at the company Christmas party later that year.
Once other car remote story. A one hour lunchtime remote (same city by-the-way) on a Wednesday at the local Toyota Dealer. Three remote breaks later, I sold their most expensive car in the showroom from a person who listened on the radio some hour away. The result?
The car dealer had to drive out and pick this person up, they bought the car that afternoon. Another happy car dealer. ;D
I've done too many embarrassing things too numerous to mention but one Saturday remote in the 3rd largest city in Nebraska, back in the
mid 80's comes to mind. First of all let me preface this with I like to be spontaneous and create excitement at remotes.
A typical car dealer remote via Marti in the station van. The dealership had just paved a huge area of their lot and had not driven their cars back on it. Getting a little antsy during the 3 hour remote (by myself). I tried to upstage myself each hour of the remote. In the final hour
I had discovered that the van idled fast enough to move all by itself without pressing the gas pedal so I headed to the "open" pavement area. Shortly after, I did a "MacGyver" thing and took the driver's seatbelt and "belted" the steering wheel all-the-way to the right. The van drove by itself in a neat little circle. I then proceeded to somehow squeeze out of the window and pull myself trough the drivers-side window to the top of the circling van and proceeded to do my remaining 3 breaks. Not only that, but I struck a "surfer" pose on top of the van--pretty cool, eh?? People driving by honked their horns, sales people came running out, people pulled into the lot--they sold cars long after I had left due to people hearing, either on the radio or word-of-mouth from their friends, that some psycho DJ was standing atop of a moving vechile with no driver inside.
The end result? Well, while it was relatively easy to exit the van it was nearly impossible to get back inside because of something called centrifugal force (missed that lecture in Physics class on G forces). But I did eventually make it back inside without any help (they were too busy pointing and laughing). I left with a happy car dealer and a burned out power steering pump which I had to replace myself (my employer did not "get" it) and which "reappeared" at the company Christmas party later that year.
Once other car remote story. A one hour lunchtime remote (same city by-the-way) on a Wednesday at the local Toyota Dealer. Three remote breaks later, I sold their most expensive car in the showroom from a person who listened on the radio some hour away. The result?
The car dealer had to drive out and pick this person up, they bought the car that afternoon. Another happy car dealer. ;D
- Status