My next door neighbor in Michigan, an accountant, Mary Novak, and an engineer I knew, Don McComb, worked for Metrocom, who owned WGMZ FM Flint, WPAC AM FM Patchogue, and WHRF AM FM Riverhead at one time. When Metrocom sold one or more of the NY stations in the early 1970s, they went to Long Island to do the physical/business inventory and engineering/broadcast equipment inventory, respectively. Mary and Don always told interesting stories. Mary told me that the WHRF building was no bigger than a two car garage. I think she was surprised that a station serving The Hamptons had such an austere facility. They stayed in a hotel in NYC, and described people walking the streets in the middle of the night, which also surprised them.
There is or was a link showing an extensive history of Long Island Radio online. Beck Ross Communications later bought WPAC-FM and made it WBLI, to be the FM partner to now deleted WGLI Babylon. Beck Ross bought WGMZ around 1970, as an FM partner for WKMF. Another neighborhood amateur and engineer worked at WKMF/WGMZ in the early 1970s. We recently got back in touch by email. Coincidentally, he is sending me some WKMF/WGMZ memorabilia next week, including a WKMF mug. Bill Lee managed the stations and later acquired them from Beck Ross. Later they sold them to Faircom, owned by Long Island broadcaster Joel Fairman.
Relatively recently, I was told of the Rick Sklar connection.
Actually, much early accurate and indisputable historical information can be found on the stations' History Cards. If you haven't looked at them, you should. They can be found on the FCC website, and are also easily accessed at fccdata.org. Look up the present call letters at fccdata.org, and a station page comes up. If you look in the right bottom corner, you'll usually find a link to a History Card. If one is available, it will be dated January 1, 1980, when the FCC converted to computer records. Newer stations don't have the History Cards. Often, corporate ownership is shown as individual corporations like "WGLI, Inc.", and often no individual names are shown.
For instance, the original WAPC 1570 can be found by searching for the current call letters WFTU on fccdata.org.
