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WHUT/WLHN Anderson, IN

B

buzzmc

Guest
...wondering about alum of the former WHUT (AM1470) and later, WLHN (97.9FM) in Anderson, IN. A lot of good talent passed thru or launched there. I know the GM under Eastern and Neuhoff era, Dave Butler passed on. I'm wondering about the likes of Jim Jacobs, Steve Cashdollar, Dave Vogel, Dan Scott (aka Steve Boker) and so on. Last I knew of Gene Swindell, he was a PR & motivational speaker from around the Atlanta GA area. I listened for years, and eventually ended up on the air there under the Lamey management. I have been pretty much off the air for several years now. If you were ever there, or know where they are now, I would love to know.
 
Only WLHN-FM alum I heard of is Dave Stout which is now at Backyard's Muncie cluster (WLBC-FM,WERK/WURK-FM WHBU and others)

WHUT had somewhat of a different flavor than WERK though thy both pretty much had the same format....the different flavor were it's jocks Jim Jacobs (with a circus announcer's voice)Dan Scott,W.J. the DJ and Tom Sidwell (who always wore a plastic ear on a chain with all of that hippie hair.) They also used TM's late 60s package which resembled that of WOWO and WCFL. Its hot audio processing blew alway WHBU when "J.J" was still PD...His replacement was a jerk.
 
buzzmc said:
...wondering about alum of the former WHUT (AM1470) and later, WLHN (97.9FM) in Anderson, IN. A lot of good talent passed thru or launched there. I know the GM under Eastern and Neuhoff era, Dave Butler passed on. I'm wondering about the likes of Jim Jacobs, Steve Cashdollar, Dave Vogel, Dan Scott (aka Steve Boker) and so on. Last I knew of Gene Swindell, he was a PR & motivational speaker from around the Atlanta GA area. I listened for years, and eventually ended up on the air there under the Lamey management. I have been pretty much off the air for several years now. If you were ever there, or know where they are now, I would love to know.
Click to expand...


I worked at WHUT/WLHN from about June 1981 to April 1982. I was the asst. News Director. Jim Butler was GM.
 
Jimmy Jacobs retired from radio to run a cheese shop in Estes Park Colorado. He married our receptionist!
Dave Vogel disappeared. He was married to a beautiful young girl named Leigh.
I went on to work in Phoenix and Boston, then bought a radio station licensed to Hartford City and moved it to Muncie and later sold it and retired from radio.
WHUT was managed by Charlie Dunn with Neuhoff Broadcasting. My good friend Dave Butler later ran the station and died young (42 I think). He was an amazing radio guy. The stations were very progressive for a small market.
When I first went on the air I was 18. I worked while I was at Ball State, went to school fromo 9 to noon and couldn't wait to get to the station. I worked til 9 or 10 every night. WHUT treated it's on air people with a lot of respect. It was unique. It was the best radio job I ever had. No pressure. Just a lot of fun. We were able to do whatever we could dream up! If we wanted to do something crazy, the manager was in favor. My friend Bob Gaines had the idea of locking ourselves in the studio, locking out everybody to raise money for something. We decided against it. When I was about 21 I started doing mornings on the station. I was immature. Sometimes I'd get there at 5:59 and sign on at 6:00 "raring to go". One morning I played Turn Turn Turn by the Byrds about 10 times in a row, just to see what listeners would say. The phone rang off the hook! Our afternoon news guy, Jay Benoit, would light a fire to a script you were reading. There was a guy named Bob Hogan. Remember him? He went on to Chicago to be the voice of a lot of national radio and TV spots. He had an average voice, but was determined to make it in voice overs. He went door to door with a suit an tie on, calling on ad agencies until they started to hire him to to tags. He was on the Sears TV commercials for years, and others. He told me he would get a hundred checks in the mail in an average month. (royalties) He made a great living. He later took his father's name, Harlen Hogan, because there was another Bob Hogan in Chicago media. Jim Stewart went on to WEAM in Washington. I went from WHUT to KPHO in Phoenix
In those days we listened to Larry LuJack on WLS in Chicago. He was our inspirational. So were the guys on WABC in New York, Harry Harrison, Cousin Brucie, Ron Lundy, Chuck Leonard. You guys too young to know those names?
Thanks for asking!! What else do you remember?
Steve Cashdollar
 
Steve- I was one of your listeners...and JJ actually helped me get into the business. I was at WHUT and WLHN YEARS later...actually it was in the 80s. I think Chris Mally did news after Jay was gone. I still see Mike Kase around Anderson...He's PR for the casino. I remember "Ramblin' Red"...really was impressive and innovative (though sometimes in need of some tlc). Was Marshal Lawrence there when you were there?
 
Remember Larry Joseph on WLHN back in the late 80's? That guy was a walking Joel Whitburn publication. You couldn't name a song he didn't remember AND have. He had a request show every Sunday night from 7pm-Midnight called Sunday Night With the Oldies and dubbed himself as "Uncle larr". He knew his oldies better than anyone I've ever heard of. I use to call his show and try and stump him. That was my Sunday night routine. I would come up with obscure songs that I thought for sure he couldn't remember, much less have. One night I requested Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep and he replied "YEAH! FROM MAC AND KATIE KISSOON!!" The dude not only knew the song but blurted out who sang it without looking it up. What really got me was when he played it 5 minutes later. Who has that song on the ready??

Last I heard he quit radio and become a preacher. He was fun. You don't hear that kind of home made radio anymore.
 
Wonder what happened to that rare and unique AM/FM before it got sold to Moody Broadcasting? The WLHN callsign got moved around to Elwood,then Muncie in the late 90s. 'LHN is a dinosaur now.
 
I can fill in a few pieces. WHUT went Country for a short time during the Urban Cowboy craze in 1981 or so. They went to an A/C format with some jazzy instrumentals thrown in. I kind of lost track after that. The FM went A/C still as WLHN until Gary Todd bought them and they became WXXP "Experience 98" targeting a place called "Circle North" wherever that was. (I know, the circle area of Indy and north). I don't even remember what the AM was doing during that time. Next thing you know, it's all fire and brimstone, all the time. I've gotten them as far east as Springfield, OH when conditions are right, even with the 175000 blaster WNCI.
 
I DO remember Soren Jensen. And as for Larry Joseph...the last I heard of him, he had married, moved to (I think) southern Indiana and was full time in the ministry. Haven't heard of/from him for years, despite attempts to contact him. Local newspaper story this week quoted Gene Swindell...longtime morning man on WHUT (long before the FM was ever a reality).
 
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