Williamsport Radio...

[Vince Sweeney]

This might be a long shot, but I was wondering how many, if any, folks here spent time working at any of the stations in Williamsport like I did. When I was there in the 70s, the "market" was crowded considering what a small town it was. Seems to me, if my memory is intact, that Williamsport was indeed an Arbitron market, something like #117.

Stations there at the time were as follows...

WWPA: which became Twin W Radio in the mid to late 70s. By 1976, The Twin billed itself as full-service AC, complete with a respectable news and sports department. A few grads of The Twin were Craig "Stevens" Jahelka who left a footprint or two at WNEP, and Jim Thomas who did likewise at WBRE before entering a very successful career in advertising.

WLYC/WILQ: WLYC was the AM and was pretty much AC with a quite respecable staff that one time included former WARMie, Jim Gannon. WILQ-FM was an odd hybrid of country and rock. During the day, The Q was country, then come 7:00 PM it morphed into a hard rocker with what amounted to a BOSS type approach. WILQ owned Williamsport radio at the time. The late Hugh Finn once worked for WLYC/WILQ, which is where I met him long, long ago. Not untypically for a small town, Hugh did news most of the time, but jocked occasionally using the name "Huck" Finn. When I moved to WARM, Hugh was right behind me, landing there inside of a year. His time at WARM was short, since he was quickly offered a job at WBRE-TV.

WRAK-AM/FM: This simulcast operation was an NBC affiliate back then and carried a full complement of NBC/Monitor programming. I don't want to sound harsh and say that no one listened to them, but I think it's safe to say that their audience skewed late middle-age and beyond. By the early 80s, WRAK-FM had become KISS and is still a major force in north central PA. KISS became what it is today under the initial guidance of the widely respected George Gilbert. KISS is home to Gary Chrisman, who has "the morning show of record" in Williamsport. Gary is another grad of The TWIN, as am I. KISS has an audience in the Back Mountain of Luzerne County. Great, great signal.

WMPT-AM/FM: Another simulcaster, this outfit was in South Williamsport, on the other side of the river, but was always a very active player in Williamsport radio. Essentially a rocker, WMPT had its share of personalities.

Just as a point of reference, Williamsport is, as I indicated, in north central Pennsylvania, not central Pennsylvania. For geographic and demographic purposes, central PA is largely Harrisburg to State College, and that does not include Williamsport and Lycoming Counties. Williamsport is neither part of the Harrisburg nor State College markets, although more than a few radio-heads from Williamsport have made their way to Harrisburg over the years.

To wrap this up, my take is that Williamsport (and Milton as well) and Scr/W-B have a great many connections and I'm curious as to what others might think, what they might remember from a time long ago. Thanks!

 

[Coldfinger]

Vince, a fine historical overview. I used to spend a few weeks each summer as a kid, visiting (annoying) family who lived in Muncy. We'd listen to the Williamsport Top 40 station(s) until night, when WABC could be heard. Always liked the people and the attitude of the area, although I do have memories of being run off the train tracks by a railroad cop who screamed, "If I catch you little bastards anywhere near these tracks again, I'll beat you to within an inch of your lives!" Funny now, because it worked... until the following year. Two questions, has Clear Channel "ruined" the market as much as they've ruined radio everywhere else; and what's the situation at the Backyard cluster these days.

 

[Vince Sweeney]

Very interesting question, CF, since I just had a long gab this afternoon with an old and dear friend about the future of radio. He spent 30 years (more?) in the biz and we both believe that the future of radio as we remember and love it lies in small market America, where radio still has the potential to be relevant and significant to the community. That's not to say that radio will ever again be what it was, or that every small station in every small town will be held dearly by the citizenry. Sadly, those days are over. Yet all you need do is take a look KISS to realize that there are those rare instances where radio rules, where it is still very much an integral part of daily life. KISS continues to be an important component of life in Williamsport, although I really don't know about the other stations nowadays.

In light of that, I suppose you could make a case for Clear Channel oddly enhancing rather than ruining radio, at least in that town.

My old station, WWPA/The Twin, is apparently long gone, and I do mean dark. During my time there, it was the epitome of a station dedicated and devoted to the community it served. All of us who worked there felt like we were part of something that was bigger and growing, and we loved being part of it.

You're right about the people and attitude in that area, which is one reason I liked living there so much. Then again, cripes, that was a long time ago, ancient history to many...

 

[marker101]

In light of that, I suppose you could make a case for Clear Channel oddly enhancing rather than ruining radio, at least in that town.

Absolutely. Take a look at the Clear Channel "Kiss" brand nationally. Rhythmic CHR is mostly what KISS is all about. Not in Billtown though. If you wanted to equate Williamsport's Kiss with a Clear Channel "brand" it would probably fall under the moniker "Mix" or even "Star". But WKSB amazes me what they do on the air, yet are still Clear Channel owned. They play AC music during the day. They have the Gary Chrisman Morning Show. They don't report to Mediabase. They are very much community involved. Heck, even take a look at their webpage and compare it to other CC Kiss stations. In the days of the same song every 90 minutes, Ryan Seacrest, and voicetracking in general....I sometimes think that Clear Channel doesn't even know they own a Williamsport cluster. Good for them!

 

[jimbradley]

vince.....nice overview of good old billtown. i worked at WILQ 74-76 doing overnights.
It was a different kind of station....country from mid til 7p then top 40 7-12. the
change overs are classic...."Kiss to merl haggard" at midnight.
Is Lou klob still in the market....he did mornings on Wlyc.

 

[Vince Sweeney]

Louie is still in town, he's at KISS. Lou Kolb, Cary Chrisman, Ken Sawyer, all guys who've been in radio in Williamsport for over thirty years...and that's not thirty total, that's thirty years each. I doubt you could find that anywhere else.

My time there, Jim, was 74-78, so you have me very curious as to who else was at WILQ when you were. Got any names?

You just reminded me of the first time I met Lou Kolb. It's no secret, never has been, that Lou is blind (at one time logs were done in braille for him). One cold day I was getting ready to cross Pine and Fourth and noticed a guy next to me who was a bit tentative about stepping off of the curb, with the reason being that the road was full of ankle-deep icy slush. I offered a hand, whereupon we crossed the street. When done, this guy said to me. "Hey, Vince Sweeney, right?" It was Lou, he recognized my voice. We were pretty much friends from there forward...

 

[warmland]

This might be a long shot, but I was wondering how many, if any, folks here spent time working at any of the stations in Williamsport like I did. When I was there in the 70s, the "market" was crowded considering what a small town it was. Seems to me, if my memory is intact, that Williamsport was indeed an Arbitron market, something like #117.

Stations there at the time were as follows...

WWPA: which became Twin W Radio in the mid to late 70s. By 1976, The Twin billed itself as full-service AC, complete with a respectable news and sports department. A few grads of The Twin were Craig "Stevens" Jahelka who left a footprint or two at WNEP, and Jim Thomas who did likewise at WBRE before entering a very successful career in advertising.

WLYC/WILQ: WLYC was the AM and was pretty much AC with a quite respecable staff that one time included former WARMie, Jim Gannon. WILQ-FM was an odd hybrid of country and rock. During the day, The Q was country, then come 7:00 PM it morphed into a hard rocker with what amounted to a BOSS type approach. WILQ owned Williamsport radio at the time. The late Hugh Finn once worked for WLYC/WILQ, which is where I met him long, long ago. Not untypically for a small town, Hugh did news most of the time, but jocked occasionally using the name "Huck" Finn. When I moved to WARM, Hugh was right behind me, landing there inside of a year. His time at WARM was short, since he was quickly offered a job at WBRE-TV.

WRAK-AM/FM: This simulcast operation was an NBC affiliate back then and carried a full complement of NBC/Monitor programming. I don't want to sound harsh and say that no one listened to them, but I think it's safe to say that their audience skewed late middle-age and beyond. By the early 80s, WRAK-FM had become KISS and is still a major force in north central PA. KISS became what it is today under the initial guidance of the widely respected George Gilbert. KISS is home to Gary Chrisman, who has "the morning show of record" in Williamsport. Gary is another grad of The TWIN, as am I. KISS has an audience in the Back Mountain of Luzerne County. Great, great signal.

WMPT-AM/FM: Another simulcaster, this outfit was in South Williamsport, on the other side of the river, but was always a very active player in Williamsport radio. Essentially a rocker, WMPT had its share of personalities.

Just as a point of reference, Williamsport is, as I indicated, in north central Pennsylvania, not central Pennsylvania. For geographic and demographic purposes, central PA is largely Harrisburg to State College, and that does not include Williamsport and Lycoming Counties. Williamsport is neither part of the Harrisburg nor State College markets, although more than a few radio-heads from Williamsport have made their way to Harrisburg over the years.

To wrap this up, my take is that Williamsport (and Milton as well) and Scr/W-B have a great many connections and I'm curious as to what others might think, what they might remember from a time long ago. Thanks!

Vince,

Wasn't one or two of the Williamsport station owned by Bob Vanderheaden (spelling?) aka Bobby Vee and his late partner back in the 1990s for a while?
Was it WWPA and another? Radio legend Dick Heatherton (brother of Joey Heatherton) was a GM there for a while. Dick worked at CBS-FM in New York City and also WFIL when Famous 56 was a giant in the 'biz.' Who he got to Williamsport was a mystery after working major markets.

 

[jimbradley]

during my tour at the "Q"
joe dalto mornings don't know his whereabouts

jim cameron 10-3 was working for comcast in baltimore
bill wilson 3-7 out of radio works on wall street
dick andre 7-12 production director for c.c. harrisburg
i did the overnights currently in station ownership
over on sister WLYC
lou did mornings
barry drake 10-3 owns backyard broadcasting
teddy g 3-sign off doing voiceovers lives in lancaster

hope this helps

 

[jimbradley]

can't forget the news team.

lori shannon did morning news..she married jim cameron

and the late hugh finn did afternoons. hugh & i went to
college at mansfield...he got me the job at the Q.

 

[mimo]

My old station, WWPA/The Twin, is apparently long gone, and I do mean dark. During my time there, it was the epitome of a station dedicated and devoted to the community it served. All of us who worked there felt like we were part of something that was bigger and growing, and we loved being part of it.

It it is dark it had to have been recently. Last time I was there (November of 2005) WWPA 1340 was still on the air, unless this is a different station than the one you worked for. WLYC was actually off the air for almost a year between 2004 to 2005

 

[stoshman]

i enjoyed listening to WILQ at nite while i was a student at Bloomsburg 'state college'..........i hated whlm until i interned there in 1980 (the only person at the time to earn an 'a' for my intership because i played softball on the station team; a lot of fun that summer and the only station i ever worked at where the studio monitor didn't mute when u keyed the mic)...........also loved turning on both the am and fm transmitters when i was on sundays during the summer of 1980............

 

[Vince Sweeney]

jim cameron 10-3 was working for comcast in baltimore
bill wilson 3-7 out of radio works on wall street
dick andre 7-12 production director for c.c. harrisburg
i did the overnights currently in station ownership
over on sister WLYC
lou did mornings
barry drake 10-3 owns backyard broadcasting
teddy g 3-sign off doing voiceovers lives in lancaster

Rather amazing how many are still working in the biz, Jim, whatever the capacity. Wasn't Barry Drake's father a long-time morning guy in Harrisburg way back when? Thanks for the list, it shook loose more than a few memories. Does the name Kelly Watts ring a bell at all? He and Ted Genevish (Teddy G) were, I do believe, pals. Kelly worked at WMPT, then WLYC, then back to WMPT. In a very odd twist of fate, Kelly and I reconnected a few years back, although he's been in Arizona for some time where he owns a travel agency.

Good Lord, Lori Shannon! I haven't seen or heard that name in thirty years. Seems I remember her leaving WLYC for KOOL in Phoenix, only to come back east in short order. Lori could turn a head or two, and a fender bender wasn't out of the question either.

Warmland, if you check The River's website, you'll find a photo of Bobby "Vee" and, of all people, Dick Heatherton. Does that have any relevance to your question? Don't really know, but it sure could.

My chronology of WWPA's ups and downs is shaky, I wouldn't bet a nickel on it. So, mimo, you're probably right about WWPA being back on the air, although I am fairly certain it was dark for some time. Let's say that I know that there were some great highs, followed by some dreadful lows, with actual bankruptcy being one of those lows. And that was at a time when radio stations NEVER went bankrupt.

 

[jimbradley]

kelly watts...i have not heard that name in 30 years. he was p.d. at wmpt i believe..
i know we had a "radio war" with them for some reason.it started before i got to billtown.
I do remember you doing afternoon drive on the "twin w's". here's a few more names from
back in the day...remember don daniels from wmpt...don & i worked together in the lehigh
valley ..johnny knight?.... from wmlp milton don steeds (?). he came to the Q around the time
i was leaving in 76.

 

[warmland]

.

Warmland, if you check The River's website, you'll find a photo of Bobby "Vee" and, of all people, Dick Heatherton. Does that have any relevance to your question? Don't really know, but it sure could.

Vince, thanks. Both Dick and the "V"worked for CBS in New York, not sure if they worked togther, but Dick was GM for a short time in Williamsport before teh V and his late partner (Ron something) fired him. How does someone who worked in NYC at at major station end up in NEPA or Williamsport is today question.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

How does someone who worked in NYC at at major station end up in NEPA or Williamsport is today question.

Friends? Family? Quality of life? Familiarity? Burned out from the big city grind? Comfort zone?

I work in Buffalo. Coulda taken the show on the road years ago and worked in Indy, Pittsburgh and Atlanta. I just didn't want to spend my life movin' up and down the dial. Buffalo isn't glamorous... you might even call it "a bigger Williamsport or Scranton" in some ways, only with NFL and NHL franchises. Buffalo is far from perfect, but it's home and lots of people feel comfortable living here for the good things the area offers. Could be the same thing for people who chose to stay in or return to Scranton, Williamsport and whatever community in which they feel comfortable in NEPA. Then again, for the people in question in this thread, it could be as simple as going "where the job was."

 

[Vince Sweeney]

Johnny Knight I remember, Don Daniels I do not. Don "Steeds" has to be Don Steese, a WMLP guy that The Q lured away to do mornings. That didn't last long, he went back to WMLP in short order. Don't much know why. Right about that same time, we had an ex-WMLP jock working for us part-time at The Twin. His name was Darryl Willow. He also went back to WMLP.

The Watts/WMPT/WLYC radio war dated back to a time when WMPT was the big dog in town, which it became because they were the first to emerge from the cave and start playing contemporary music, aka rock&roll. That feud dated back long before you or I worked in Williamsport.

Falling from a major to a relatively obscure market used to be a rather common occurrence, and mostly for the reasons already cited here. What typically drove talent into small (tiny?) markets was an overwhelming desire to get out of the rat race, to go somewhere and do what you loved without a maniacal PD up your backside 24/7. One interesting phenomena is that some big market guys thought they could come to the little pond and dazzle the locals, which almost never happened.

I've often said that Buffalo and Scranton are the same city, except that Buffalo is bigger. There is some truth to that, inasmuch as Buffalo was once the western end of the DL&W railroad and Scranton was near the east end. When things went in the tank in NE PA, a lot of people here followed the railroad west and settled in Buffalo.

 

[radioboss]

Vince,
Williamsport has definitely seen some big changes.

WLYC(1050 AM) is an ESPN station. They have been doing All Sports since 2005. They added a translator in 2008 on 104.1 FM.
WWPA(1340 AM) is doing talk programming. No real studio. It's just a computer running quietly in the rear of WILQ's studio. No local at all. Hasn't been since 1997 or 1998.
WRAK(1400 AM)/WRKK(1200 AM - Hughesville) is doing News Talk. Has been for quite some time. They just added a translator on 94.9 FM in the last year. Ken Sawyer is the OUTSTANDING OM/PD there. Formerly at WWPA.
WJSA(1600 AM - Jersey Shore) is a religious station. They came on in 1979. First, as a country station with Ron Shobert as the GM. Then, went religious in 1980.
WBZD(93.3 FM - Muncy) is the old Hot 103.9 and former WJKR (J 104). Jack Kennedy owned this station in the beginning and then sold it to Vic Michaels.
WBYL(95.5 FM - Salladasburg) is Bill 95 FM, doing Country. Lou Kolb had been doing mornings there until recently. They simulcast with WBLJ (95.3 - Shamokin), that used to be known as SPI 95 - WSPI.
WJSA(96.3 FM - Jersey Shore) is the same as the AM. Religious. They also have a translator on 100.5 FM. They have a blowtorch of a signal from Wilkes Barre to Altoona. This station used to be on 93.5 FM.
WVRT(97.7 FM - Mill Hall) had been years ago known as WSQV - The Ultimate FM 98 in Jersey Shore. Then, in 1987 it was sold to Bill Ott, who at the time owned WWPA.
WZXR(99.3 FM - South Williamsport) used to be known as WMPT and later WFXX. They do AOR/Classic Rock.
WQBR(99.9 FM - Avis) does Country and is known as the Bear.
WKSB(102.7 FM - Williamsport) is the station to listen to. Gary Chrisman, Lou Kolb, Tom Turner and others grace the landscape there.
WILQ(105.1 FM - Williamsport) is the COUNTRY GIANT. Since 1972, no other station playing Country can topple them and probably never will; unless WKSB switches formats.
WRVH(107.9 FM - The Last Williamsport Allocation) plays AC. Tried being the River; but, Clear Channel owns the rights to that moniker; and therefore will not let Backyard use it.

Between Clear Channel (WRAK, WRKK, WBYL, WVRT and WKSB) and Backyard Broadcasting (WWPA, WBZD, WZXR, WILQ, WRVH) there will be a battle among the giants of the market. The Bear, WLYC, and WJSA will always get some of the scraps because of the audiences they cater to directly.

 

[warmland]

WKSB(102.7 FM - Williamsport) is the station to listen to. Gary Chrisman, Lou Kolb, Tom Turner and others grace the landscape there.

Didn't the late George Gilbert of WARM fame manage WKSB for several years before heading back to WARM again. I heard at the time that G was upset he didn't get the WARM GM job of the week and left. The guy who did get the GM job at WARM (no names please) was called Sir Lunch A lot and looked like Art Carlson on the WKRP TV show. Both did about the same thing all day...nothing Oh yeah, later the WKRP guy became the Maytag repair man on TV spots. Anyone recall?

 

[Vince Sweeney]

Hey, Boss, very helpful update, thanks. I knew that FMs had proliferated in that part of PA, but never realized to what extent.

Salladasburg, Muncy, Jersey Shore, Avis, Mill Hall, Hughesville, none of these towns had licenses allocated. Then again, no one was running five radio stations out of three rooms with two bodies back then either. No one could have even imagined it possible. More important, perhaps, is that no one wanted to do it back then. If your station was licensed to a town, your station, including studio, was in that town, served that town, and was an established part of the community. Yeah, I know, I'm dreaming here about a time that was and will never be again. Sorry, it's one of those "geezer moments."

Ken Sawyer and I go back to 1974 when I first walked in the door of WWPA. Ken was already there, had been, I think, for three or four years. He's closing in on forty years of radio in that market, which is remarkable in itself. Gary's not all that far behind him. Likewise remarkable. And the same goes for Lou Kolb and Tom Turner as well.

WVRT/WSQV? I'm near certain that signal existed all the way back in the mid to late 70s but I have no recollection of what it then offered. (This is going to sound absurd to a lot of younger radio-heads, but you have to realize that most cars didn't have FM tuners back then, seriously. If you couldn't "sample" in your car, you likely never heard some stations.) Also interesting that Bill Ott acquired it, since his beloved Twin was seriously handicapped by being an AM only operation. Oddly, it was the only station in Williamsport that was AM only.

Now, about George Gilbert and WKSB. Warmland is right, GG not only managed WKSB/WRAK for several years, it was George who, along with Tim Durkin and Dan DeMuro, took the old WRAK-AM/FM and turned it into KISS and the exceptional operation it is today. Gilbert, Durkin, and DeMuro were all friends of mine, with DeMuro and I going back to the early 70s at WHPA in Honesdale. The irony of it all, at least to me, was that GG had hired me at WARM, bringing me over from Williamsport, then within roughly a year, he went to Williamsport. Sadly, both Gilbert and Durkin are gone.

Here's a little trivia, and you really need to be a Williamsport radio-weenie to know this. When GG came to town, Kerby Confer and Paul Rothfuss, then owners of WILQ/WLYC, bought a billboard on Fourth Street near the station welcoming GG to town. The billboard read something like, "The Silver Fox Is In The Hen House," a reference to George's premature full head of gray hair. How prophetic they were, likely never imagining what a run WKSB would give their monster WILQ in a very short period of time.

 

[Element9]

Here's a little trivia, and you really need to be a Williamsport radio-weenie to know this. When GG came to town, Kerby Confer and Paul Rothfuss, then owners of WILQ/WLYC, bought a billboard on Fourth Street near the station welcoming GG to town. The billboard read something like, "The Silver Fox Is In The Hen House," a reference to George's premature full head of gray hair. How prophetic they were, likely never imagining what a run WKSB would give their monster WILQ in a very short period of time.

Kirby Confer! Serious wack-job. Successful as all get out, but certifiably nuts. And Keymarket (the original and re-incarnated version) is cheap as the day is long. But successful.