WEJL Tower

[hoovy107]

PRESS RELEASE

One highly visible sign that the Holiday season has arrived in Northeast Pa is the huge Christmas tree on top of the Scranton Times building.
The 293-foot-tall WEJL-AM tower will start lighting downtown Scranton this Friday November 18th at 5pm. Commissioner Bob Cordarro will have the honor of throwing the switch.
The tower has been a fixture of the Scranton skyline since it was erected in 1950, the Christmas lights, first turned on ten years later and its lighting has become symbolic with the holiday season.
Traditionally the lights are switched on the day before the Santa Parade in Scranton and remain lit through the Christmas Holiday.

Happy Holidays
Mark Hoover


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[NigelWick]

Is the AM 910 antenna on the stick yet?

 

[crmc]

480 lights, give or take a few from wind breakage!!!

 

[ThomasCarten]

A crapload of obstruction lights with a tower hidden among them.

 

[yonkstur]

One of the best parts of Christmas as far as I'm concerned.

Yonkstur

 

[masterg]

One of the best parts of Christmas as far as I'm concerned.

Yonkstur

Growing up maybe a dozen blocks from the tower, it was cause for great excitement when the lights went on. From our back porch, you had a completely "unobstructed" view of the "obstruction."

 

[crmc]

Also quite visible "from up the line." Anybody remember when Santa used to land on The Globe parking building roof on a helicopter and they'd time it with the turning on of the lights? (What years??)
I was always told that the real Santa was the Globe store one, though I had some friends who swore it was the one at The Scranton Dry Goods.

 

[radiogal62]

I have to agree with Yonkstur...the tower lights are a great part of the Christmas tradition in our area. My best memories of the lights....Getting to plug them in when WEJL signed off the air when it was still a daytimer and then unplugging them the next day before sign on. This was in the early 80's.

 

[masterg]

I was always told that the real Santa was the Globe store one, though I had some friends who swore it was the one at The Scranton Dry Goods.

The Globe had the BEST Santa in the area, bar none. The Dry Goods? Maybe close, but not quite there, just not as good as The Globe's. Window displays? Same deal, always The Globe, they were first-rate, completely animated. If ever many of us "older" guys miss The Globe, it's this time of year. A trip to The Globe for me was mandatory up to the very end. Great store, big loss...

 

[warmland]

I have to agree with Yonkstur...the tower lights are a great part of the Christmas tradition in our area. My best memories of the lights....Getting to plug them in when WEJL signed off the air when it was still a daytimer and then unplugging them the next day before sign on. This was in the early 80's.

I could get very cold up there also. If the wind was just right, it could come very, very close to blowing someone right of the roof.

 

[warmland]

I was always told that the real Santa was the Globe store one, though I had some friends who swore it was the one at The Scranton Dry Goods.

The Globe had the BEST Santa in the area, bar none. The Dry Goods? Maybe close, but not quite there, just not as good as The Globe's. Window displays? Same deal, always The Globe, they were first-rate, completely animated. If ever many of us "older" guys miss The Globe, it's this time of year. A trip to The Globe for me was mandatory up to the very end. Great store, big loss...

I agree with you masterg . The Globe was It for us oldsters back in the gold old days. Great Christmas window displays with the animated figures. Scranton Dry was also great. I liked then both. Wonderful years fro sure.

 

[stoshman]

hey radiogal62, do you remember the note about plugging in the lights on the wejl tower that was on the roof; step by step instructions on what to do; and if you didn't, you will be 'fried'............i never laughed so hard the first time i had to plug in the lights..............

 

[masterg]

I agree with you masterg . The Globe was It for us oldsters back in the gold old days. Great Christmas window displays with the animated figures. Scranton Dry was also great. I liked then both. Wonderful years fro sure.

One of my favorite memories, warmland, is that of hitting The Globe last minute and doing ALL my shopping, and I mean ALL of it. I could blow through The Globe in an hour and hit everyone on my list, which at that time was much larger than today. The Globe must have had a huge design/display staff and they also must have made everything in-house. Then there was The Globe Warehouse on Rocky Glen Road - WARM often did marathon cut-aways from there, remotes that would span several airshifts. Funny, but although I did a bunch of those remotes from the warehouse, I don't ever recall any being done from the store itself. I never thought of that until just now.

 

[crmc]

So, does no one else remember the helicopter?

 

[radiogal62]

It was very cold and windy "up on the roof," but it did offer a great view of our fine city.

I do remember the note about getting FRIED...however my biggest fear was having the door lock behind me and stdranding me on the roof. I use to wedge a chair in the door so that it could not close.

An ice storm hit before my Sunday sign on/unplug the lights shift. The roof was a sheet of glass. I literally crawled around to all the sockets.

I don't remember the helicopter, but do you remember the houses that were decorated along North Washington Avenue in Green Ridge?

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

 

[unobtanium]

alright.. How many of you took the old light bulbs from the lights, that were placed on the canvas bag on the staircase going down to the 5th floor, leaned over the back wall, waited till employees started walking to their cars, then dropped the bulb close enough to scare the living Scheiss out of some poor unsuspecting soul walking to their car in the back parking lot.. Or if you were a real prick, how about going on to the metal scaffolding under the huge Scranton Times sign and doing the same thing in the front... GUILTY!!! and still laughing my immature butt off. Yeah, how many "smoke" breaks were taken up there as well..hahhaha..
Go up the staircase by the elevator shaft and walk out that door, how many of you folks know about that one...(well alot now ) Oh yeah, many good memories of getting up there, eating lunch, having some cold ones, and terorrizing Scranton Pedestrians... Oh Tony the Chooch, where are you now, I know I made you change your drawers on at least 1 occasion..hhaahaha

 

[masterg]

I don't remember the helicopter, but do you remember the houses that were decorated along North Washington Avenue in Green Ridge?

Me? I easily recall both. The chopper was one of those Bell models with the glass cabin and sled-type runners instead of wheels. Seems to me we're talking early '70s or so here, and it didn't last long. That was about the time downtown Scranton was REALLY circling the bowl. FWIW, the family that owned The Globe didn't sell the "parkade" when they unloaded the store; they still own it, best I know.

The N. Washington Christmas display was largely the 1600 and 1700 blocks. Lots of money in those two blocks, big money, old and new. My personal favorite display was at the SW corner of Delaware and N. Washington - they had this sled, full size, complete with a big bag full of "presents" all wrapped in magnificent foil paper and big bows. Some marvelous memories there.

 

[crmc]

Thank you Masterg. You are the first one who validated my memory. Yes, a Bell helicopter.I remembered "A whirlybird" as my Dad called it.I wonder if it was insurance or the FAA that stopped it.But to this day, when I have a " warm and fuzzy " moment on Christmas memories, that is in my top 10.The wind blew me back, the tower lights came on, and all was well in the 18503 zip code from the perspective of a young believer in Christmasland.I'm verklempt( sp? I speak better than spell yiddish) just typing it out.
On the topic of great lights...when did the Moosic street guy start?I remember when Clear channel tried the Christmas lights on display for an admission fee in Nay Aug and the Moosic street guy's free set-up was better!!! What a world!

 

[masterg]

Did the helicopter land in town, or did it land at the airport where Santa was picked up, then motorcaded into downtown Scranton? Don't know why that's popping into my head right now, but somewhere a vague bell is ringing that tells me that was the procedure. I somehow recall pictures in the paper of Santa landing at AVP.

The Moosic St. guy's name is/was Culkin - that display has to stretch back at least thirty years, maybe more like thirty-five. I do believe they still go way over the top at Christmas. Last year wifey and me took the drive through Nay Aug to see the city's display, one for which there is some small charge. We thought it was pretty cool, and agreed that if we'd seen it as little kids, it would be one of those warm and fuzzies you mentioned.

 

[Nokmo True]

The Santa helicopter may have landed at the airport somewhere along the way but I do seem to remember it also landed on the Globe Store parking garage, didn't it?