I spent some time at WAEF-FM (the "FM" tag was used in station I.D."s and other on-the-air references) during the 1960's. It actually started at 104.3 on the dial when it went on in 1959 and had a much-lower power. I seem to remember 4,800 watts or something like that. The station changed to the 98.5 frequency in the summer of 1964 along with the added power increase. Their studios, offices, transmitter and tower all stood at 6004 Wiehe Road just down from Langdon Farm Road and with-in easy walking distance of the Cincinnati Gardens and basically almost on the line separating the Golf Manor and Cincinnati limits. Al Fishman and his wife, Shirley, ran the business end of the station and brother, Ed Fishman, was the engineer. Al even did some on-air announcer under the name of "Tony Ambus" and Shirley did a recorded commerical or two that was heard over the air.
Al and Shirley lived on nearby Elbrook Avenue and he even had FM radio in his Buick. Needless to say, it never took him long to get to the station if he felt the need to. Ed lived not too far away in Reading.
In the early days, there was a large picture window in the front of the building and passers-by could look in and see the announcer in the studio. The teletype news machine was arranged so it could be viewed through the front door. Both drew interest from those going by which was usually when an event at the Gardens was completed (such as a Cincinnati Royals game). Unfortunately, there was no outside speaker on the building, so watchers were unable to hear what was being broadcast. After some years, the picture window was broken when a firecracker was placed against it. This resulted in the area being bricked in.
Music played was actually individual cuts from 33 1/3 records by the announcer on duty. News was given approximately every three hours by the announcer from material from the news machine. In addition to the easy-listening format, the station also featured a couple of specialty programs such as "Strickly Dixie" on Sunday evenings and "Jazzville U.S.A." on Friday evenings. Some of the announcers back then included: Bill Lohrman, Chuck Moore, Mike Sherman, Jim Holt, Irv Diehl, Gary Lee, Lee Williams, Dana Euwell and Jim Dale. Some of the sponsors were: Schott Buick, IGA Stores, NuTone, Hyams/Lowrey Organs and even Ball Jars.
With regard to specialty programs, in the summer of 1962, WAEF-FM even featured a show called "Musical Bingo" whereby listeners could participate by punching out the squares if they knew the answer to the instrumental numbers played. Al, himself, hosted the show. One of the tunes played was titled, "Cuban Love Song". In giving a hint for the name of the tune, Al would note, "there is not much love for this country right now".
In terms of providing music for businesses, the station made an agreement with Carters Restaurants for it to be played at their locations in both the dining area and over the outdoor speakers where drive-in customers ordered and ate. The Carters location in Montgomery became a little infamous for adjusting the receiver in their store to WCPO-FM which featured a rock 'n roll format.
WAEF-FM eventually sold to another company which began operations from another location. The building at 6004 Wiehe Road was later sold although the tower stood on the property for a time afterward. A tax preparation business operated out of that location until about 1985 when a gas explosion leveled it. The debris was eventually cleared and that location remains vacant to this day serving only as a parking lot for nearby residents.
Shirley Fishman passed away not many years after the station went off the air and Al died in Florida in 1991. Ed Fishman continued to reside in Reading until his death in 1999.
