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WRVM Rochester

Savage said:
The last information I had on John Sayre - ex-WBBF GM under LIN until about 1971 and founder/part-owner of WAXC - is that he passed away. AFAIK he never recovered from the financial disaster which followed the collapse of WAXC in the mid- to late 70s. Sherlock may be able to fill in more on this.
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I'm afraid I haven't much to add on John Sayre - like Yugoidar, I haven't talked with him in a longtime. I have sent an email to a friend who has had much more recent contact and asked him let me know what John's been up to since leaving Rochester all those years ago. The last I heard he had not passed away and was, as reported, back in Lexington.

I'll let you, Bob 1370 and anyone else interested know what I find out.

P.S. Savage, you got to get by that cough syrup thing!
 
I heard back from my friend who's maintained contact with John Sayre over the years. He last spoke with him about a year ago and said that John's never mentioned a word about any business in Chicago to him.
 
Re; John Sayre; Guess my source might not have had as good info as I thought. My info came from a friend and colleague who'd worked at WAXC before I got there, and later worked with me at my current station WXXI until he retired. My friend's sadly now deceased, so I can't follow up further with him. :(
 
While we're digging up stuff from 40 years ago, does anyone remember a Rochester station called WVET? I think the owner was Veterans Radio or some such. What frequency was it on?
 
"...does anyone remember a Rochester station called WVET? I think the owner was Veterans Radio or some such. What frequency was it on?"

Now we're reaching back into my early childhood. WVET was the original callsign of the 5 kW regional that's now WHTK SportsRadio 1280. It was a personality full-service MOR station that competed with WHAM starting right after World War II. A few returning vets from the big war, headed up by a fellow named Erv Lyke (who my dad knew from the Rotary Club in later years), scratched up some cash, bought a transmitter site (a little north of the current one which was built in the early 60s) and made a go of it. They also applied for and got a half-share of the Channel 10 television allocation in 1953 (along with Gannett) when Rochester got its second TV station. WVET was the starting point for a lot of popular local personalities of the 50s and 60s including Tom Decker, Earle Jerris, Ken Powell, Tom Ryan (no relation to the late mayor) and Bob Mills. Veterans' Broadcasting was a well run company, raised the money to buy out WROC-TV and its Humboldt Street facility in 1961, changed WVET's callsign to WROC, and sold off their half interest in channel 10 to Gannett. Erv Lyke and his partners, who ran all their stations well and made them highly competitive in the ratings battles, finally sold out to Rustcraft and cashed out the whole company at a healthy seven figure profit in the early 70s. The WROC stations have survived under various ownership changes that split the radio properties away from the TV, but never have done quite as well since Veterans' Broadcasting ran the whole package.

I believe Ken Powell has passed away, Tom Decker left broadcasting to become chief spokesman of the National Safety Council and lives in retirement in Chicago. Jerris and Ryan also retired. Bob Mills, last I heard, had sold a profitable local side business in the travel industry and went to Atlanta some years back to take a management post at Turner Broadcasting/CNN. Bob would be of an age when most men are retired by now, but knowing him as I did back in the day (haven't heard from him in a while), if he's still in good health today I can't imagine him not being active in something media-related.
 
Bob1370 said:
" WVET was the starting point for a lot of popular local personalities of the 50s and 60s including Tom Decker, Earle Jerris, Ken Powell, Tom Ryan (no relation to the late mayor) and Bob Mills.

I believe Ken Powell has passed away, Tom Decker left broadcasting to become chief spokesman of the National Safety Council and lives in retirement in Chicago. Jerris and Ryan also retired. Bob Mills, last I heard, had sold a profitable local side business in the travel industry and went to Atlanta some years back to take a management post at Turner Broadcasting/CNN. Bob would be of an age when most men are retired by now, but knowing him as I did back in the day (haven't heard from him in a while), if he's still in good health today I can't imagine him not being active in something media-related.
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Decker, Jerris, Powell, Ryan, Mills- a pantheon of names from my childhood- brings back memories...

Is anyone aware that Tom Decker- who did play by play for the local Red Wings in the 50s and 60s, was offered more than one opportunity do to major league play by play? From what I understand he turned them all down, preferring to stay in news at WROC. (which he did for many, many years...

Also, Ken Powell did some TV as well- he was "Skipper Sam" on WROC-TV- a kid's show where IIRC he mixed local kiddie talent doing their thing (dancing or whatever else) with the Three Stooges and Popeye cartoons- and at the end of every show, some sort of judging was done, and the winner received what seemed to be some pretty neat toys. That show was a "can't miss" for me at my tender age. I remember hearing that Powell had only one arm...why he always wore bright white gloves as "Skipper"

As Bob Mills used to close his weather reports with...."Have a Happy"
 
To correct a couple of observations from above............

WVET was owned by Veterans Broadcasting Corp. The station went on the air in 1947.

Tom Decker did indeed go to Chicago to work for the National Safety Council, but he is now retired and living in Florida. Bob Mills is in the Atlanta area, has written several books and writes a blog several times a week.
Ken Powell is deceased. He had two arms - one of them was not fully developed.

It was a wonderful place to work "in the old days." A real family atmosphere (you remember how that used to be), and a good group of broadcasters.
 
One of my fondest childhood memories was watching GSmitty host the Brighton-Panorama TV Rolloffs every Sunday @ noon on Ch. 8.
 
Aw you guys here I go one another nostalgia trip down Humboldt Street.
I grew up living just down the road from Ch.8...dad knew Tom Decker and I was that kid who always came in to watch them do the 6:00 news, sitting front row in those studio theatre seats. At 5:30 Mort Nusbaum would be practicing, reading his script over and over. The floor crew was busy putting those little letters on the black felt screens for the teases (pre-Chyron), and Bob Mills would be juggling paper wads after he finished putting his high and low pressure magnets on the weather map. I'd even go see Bob do his afternoon radio show at some Dodge dealer downtown. He'd have a 2-turntable set up right there in the showroom.

Anyway, the place was thriving with people and energy. It got me hooked on the business and I have to say that not only Veterans, Rust Craft was also a very good owner. They led Ch.8 at its peak in the 60's. They even did a 1:00am newscast, ususally with Tom Ryan, in the "black and white" studio. It was Sunrise and the others that tore the place apart.

I came back to town after college and worked on-air there in the 80's...what a let down. A skeleton crew, blocked-off and abandoned sections of the building and tacky, makeshift, thrown-together rooms with new equipment, plus a disaffected, demoralized crew...I think only Jim Parsons had any passion for the place. I left after 2 years. The moral of the story, ya can't go home again. And I (and many of you) were just born too late!
 
Veterans sold the WROC stations to Transcontinent Broadcasting which also owned the WGR stations before Taft.

I did a forgettable audition on WROC-AM and also ran into a studio next door to feed the engineer at WPXY transmitter the rip and read news/weather. I came away from the experience feeling I had it better in Fort Lauderdale even though I really liked Rochester a lot.
 
"Veterans sold the WROC stations to Transcontinent Broadcasting which also owned the WGR stations before Taft."

Slight tweaking of the record...Veterans BOUGHT WROC-TV FROM Transcontinent in 1961 (it was the original WHAM-TV on channel 6, then channel 5 on its way to Channel 8, changed callsigns when Stromberg-Carlson left the TV biz in the late '50s, and is no relation to the current WHAM-TV on Channel 13). Erv Lyke decided to move WVET radio into the building, and decided at the same time to change the radio callsign to match the TV one rather than vice-versa, which you might normally expect.
 
Re: WRVM Rochester/Flower City radio-TV memory lane

One more thing...a shout-out to Gary Smith, a fellow member of this board. I remember you well as WROC-AM's midday personality, not to mention a prominent part of Channel 8's personality lineup in the 60s, 70s and 80s and later the Lincoln Group team at WVOR and WHAM. Our school group met you during a tour of the WROC complex in 1965--we enjoyed meeting you and appreciated how cordially you greeted us and answered all our questions, even while conducting your show. That tour and that meeting kindled an interest in the business that for some of us lasts to this day, and helped convince at least one guy in the group to try doing it for a living.

My apologies on that score...
;-)
 
Re: WRVM Rochester/Flower City radio-TV memory lane

Bob1370 said:
One more thing...a shout-out to Gary Smith, a fellow member of this board. I remember you well as WROC-AM's midday personality, not to mention a prominent part of Channel 8's personality lineup in the 60s, 70s and 80s and later the Lincoln Group team at WVOR and WHAM. Our school group met you during a tour of the WROC complex in 1965
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Gary,

That has to make you feel real good when someone my age comes up to you and says "Hey I remember you when I was a kid in high school!" :D

I hate to mention this, but I also remember you on the bowling show, but never said anything when we worked together for fear you might have tossed me out the third floor window on Winton Road.

Knowing my luck I would have landed on top of Jay Myers ****-eyed parked car head first. LOL !!!

Guido
 
One more thing...a shout-out to Gary Smith, a fellow member of this board. I remember you well as WROC-AM's midday personality, not to mention a prominent part of Channel 8's personality lineup in the 60s, 70s and 80s and later the Lincoln Group team at WVOR and WHAM. Our school group met you during a tour of the WROC complex in 1965

Gary,

That has to make you feel real good when someone my age comes up to you and says "Hey I remember you when I was a kid in high school!" Cheesy

I hate to mention this, but I also remember you on the bowling show, but never said anything when we worked together for fear you might have tossed me out the third floor window on Winton Road.

Knowing my luck I would have landed on top of Jay Myers ****-eyed parked car head first. LOL !!!
Click to expand...

Throwing in my hat...nostalgia time. I know Gary (and would consider him tops in the biz and cordial just the same), I dealt with Jay, never met Mark...but the stories here are converging!! Gary is a mean competitive softball player on those media teams!! And if Thirsty's is still open...I think his professional inspiration was always rekindled there after the game!! (Coke or Pepsi of course) :D
 
It's funny with all this about WRVM & WRNY I work with two (outside of radio) fellows that were connected with the stations. One is the nephew of Bob Bohr. I passed along the remarks made about Bob and he was very pleased with the kind remarks and that he was remembered.
The other guy was actually the chief engineer of WRNY for a while. He told me that the station was owned by the Genesee Brewery at one time. One of the benefits of working there was FREE BEER! Ah, the benefits of radio in the old days.
 
Thanks for the kind words guys, I appreciate it.

It's always fun to reminisce on the board. And don't worry about the "old" stuff....I've had people I know are over 50 tell me how their parents used to listen to me. What the hell, it beats the alternative!

And those media softball games were fun!! And, as for Thirsty's, we all know that dehydration is a serious problem, so we took measures to alleviate said problem. Simple as that.
 
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