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WYMJ Beavercreek

Z

Zoe459

Guest
A friend wanted me to ask... whatever happened to the old *Majic 104* studio and tower over on Valley Rd in Beavercreek? is the tower still there?
 
> A friend wanted me to ask... whatever happened to the old
> *Majic 104* studio and tower over on Valley Rd in
> Beavercreek? is the tower still there?
>
The WYMJ tower north of Beavercreek was dismantled in the mid 1980s with a newer one erected somewhere near the Greene/Montgomery county line adjacent to Bergamo Center to more effectively cover downtown Dayton affected by a bleed-over from the WTUE tower off I-75. WYMJ(originally WHBM-FM,sister to WELX-AM owned by Harry and Ernestine Miller who also owned WERM-FM Wapakoneta) played jazz before both stations were sold to seperate owners. WHBM,licensed to Xenia became CHR WDJX "Xenia/Fairborn/Beavercreek"in 1979,owned by Ohio Broadcast Associates rivaling both WING and WTUE with a Top 40/album rock mix ala WNAP,Indianapolis before it became A/C WYMJ. In the 90s WYMJ switched to "Oldies 104"with WING alumnus Steve Kirk doing mornings before he retired and moved to Florida,then breifly WRVR "The River" playing country before it was swallowed up by Jacor,then CC becoming WXEG "The Edge" now "The X". In the 90s The studios were moved to a renovated brick building which also houses Wiley's Comedy Club in the Oregon district near downtown Dayton which also houses WONE/WIZE,WMMX,and WLQT after the Jacor aquisition. WELX-AM went silent in 1978 after a fire but came back in 1980 as a southern gospel station owned by L&D (LaRue and Darnell Turner)Broadcasting....still playing southern gospel in Fairborn as WGNZ-AM
 
> > A friend wanted me to ask... whatever happened to the old
> > *Majic 104* studio and tower over on Valley Rd in
> > Beavercreek? is the tower still there?
> >
> The WYMJ tower north of Beavercreek was dismantled in the
> mid 1980s with a newer one erected somewhere near the
> Greene/Montgomery county line adjacent to Bergamo Center to
> more effectively cover downtown Dayton affected by a
> bleed-over from the WTUE tower off I-75. WYMJ(originally
> WHBM-FM,sister to WELX-AM owned by Harry and Ernestine
> Miller who also owned WERM-FM Wapakoneta) played jazz before
> both stations were sold to seperate owners. WHBM,licensed to
> Xenia became CHR WDJX "Xenia/Fairborn/Beavercreek"in
> 1979,owned by Ohio Broadcast Associates rivaling both WING
> and WTUE with a Top 40/album rock mix ala WNAP,Indianapolis
> before it became A/C WYMJ. In the 90s WYMJ switched to
> "Oldies 104"with WING alumnus Steve Kirk doing mornings
> before he retired and moved to Florida,then breifly WRVR
> "The River" playing country before it was swallowed up by
> Jacor,then CC becoming WXEG "The Edge" now "The X". In the
> 90s The studios were moved to a renovated brick building
> which also houses Wiley's Comedy Club in the Oregon district
> near downtown Dayton which also houses WONE/WIZE,WMMX,and
> WLQT after the Jacor aquisition. WELX-AM went silent in
> 1978 after a fire but came back in 1980 as a southern gospel
> station owned by L&D (LaRue and Darnell
> Turner)Broadcasting....still playing southern gospel in
> Fairborn as WGNZ-AM
>
Im young so thanks for the history on this. i never knew the 103.9 was co-owned with that little AM station. the WYMJ studio was at 699 N Valley Rd which is off US35 east of beavercreek. but from what youre saying, the tower was never there on Valley Rd???
 
> >
> >
> Im young so thanks for the history on this. i never knew the
> 103.9 was co-owned with that little AM station. the WYMJ
> studio was at 699 N Valley Rd which is off US35 east of
> beavercreek. but from what youre saying, the tower was never
> there on Valley Rd???
>
I think it was in 1974 they came on the air at WDJX, the first operator that had the station at 3,000 watts. WHBM, as already mentioned, was off the air most of the early 70's. When on the air just simulcast the WELX AM signal, all programmed from a shack at the base of the towers on the west edge of Xenia. WHBM was authorized 1,000 watts but their old cabbaged and patched transmitter was lucky to give an ERP of 500 watts. That tower site received some damage during the 1974 tornado and was off the air then too. The first Studios for WDJX was at Kinsey Rd. & N. Detroit St. in Xenia. The transmitter was on Beaver Valley Rd. in Beavercreek. It always has upset me when poeple can't correctly pronounce Xenia. These local yocals would say WDJXenia without taking a breath and would sound like they couldn't pronounce it either. By the time the studios had moved to Valley St. the transmitter had moved to
land owned by Dayton State Hospital (now 10 Wilmington Pl.) I didn't know about a transmitter site on or near Bergamo land. I would be interested in more info Jim. WHBM/WELX was my first brush with radio broadcasting as I used to ride my bicycle to that shack at the base of the towers almost every day in the summer of 1972 to see how radio wasn't to be done. Before the Walmart and shopping center were put there those towers were only acessable at the end of a housing platt off Second St. in Xenia
 
WDJX came on the air in 1978. I don't remember it being a CHR/AOR hybrid, seemed pretty straight forward CHR. I'd love to hear an aircheck of them. Dayton had no true CHR between 1975 (WTUE's flip to AOR and WING had become more of an A/C by then) and 1978, and again from 1980 through 1984.<P ID="signature">______________
"Your right to know supersedes your right to exist"..Gary Burbank</P>
 
> > >
> > >
> > Im young so thanks for the history on this. i never knew
> the
> > 103.9 was co-owned with that little AM station. the WYMJ
> > studio was at 699 N Valley Rd which is off US35 east of
> > beavercreek. but from what youre saying, the tower was
> never
> > there on Valley Rd???
> >
> I think it was in 1974 they came on the air at WDJX, the
> first operator that had the station at 3,000 watts. WHBM,
> as already mentioned, was off the air most of the early
> 70's. When on the air just simulcast the WELX AM signal,
> all programmed from a shack at the base of the towers on the
> west edge of Xenia. WHBM was authorized 1,000 watts but
> their old cabbaged and patched transmitter was lucky to give
> an ERP of 500 watts. That tower site received some damage
> during the 1974 tornado and was off the air then too. The
> first Studios for WDJX was at Kinsey Rd. & N. Detroit St. in
> Xenia. The transmitter was on Beaver Valley Rd. in
> Beavercreek. It always has upset me when poeple can't
> correctly pronounce Xenia. These local yocals would say
> WDJXenia without taking a breath and would sound like they
> couldn't pronounce it either. By the time the studios had
> moved to Valley St. the transmitter had moved to
> land owned by Dayton State Hospital (now 10 Wilmington Pl.)
> I didn't know about a transmitter site on or near Bergamo
> land. I would be interested in more info Jim. WHBM/WELX
> was my first brush with radio broadcasting as I used to ride
> my bicycle to that shack at the base of the towers almost
> every day in the summer of 1972 to see how radio wasn't to
> be done. Before the Walmart and shopping center were put
> there those towers were only acessable at the end of a
> housing platt off Second St. in Xenia
>
You're right about the Wilmington place location and I was wrong about the Bergamo loation...I stand corrected. My aplologies.
I was also trying to recollect where the WDJX transmitter was located. I kept thinking it was on a township road off of north Fairfield Rd. (Beaver Valley Rd. sounds logical.) I might add that the WELX transmitter site originally had only two towers before a third one was added in later years(late 80s/early 90s I think)The WMMX calls(for Message Music Xenia)were breifly used before they were moved to 107.7 FM (the former WWSN/original WDAO-FM)before the WGNZ calls were adopted.Don't have any airchecks from WDJX but they had some top notch talent including Joe Dawson,Cindy Spicer and Libby Fox before it mellowed into A/C WYMJ. WDJX also was the first to play Weird Al Yankovic's "Another One Rides The Bus"..supposedly "borrowed" off of a Dr.Demento tape before it was finally released a year later as a single on the now defunct TK label. Bill Lyons did mornings around 1981 who later became a missionary...before that he was at WTUE during its top 40 era around 1974 and at WNDE,Indianapolis in 1975 as comedic morning man "Rob N.Hood"(say it fast and you get the pun). Other Indiana talent included Chad Hunt,fomerly of Muncie's "990 WERK" who later became part of the 'O Malley and Chad morning team at WXGT,Columbus(92-X) and Charlie Butcher who did evenings and got away with playing the unedited "Who Are You" by The Who one sunday evening. He's now working in Ft. Wayne suposedly at WOWO doing news after being a morning man at WMEE with(breifly)Chad Hunt before his move to 92X..now country WCOL-FM. That's about all I know about WYMJ aside from the WDJX calls moving to the former WKJJ in Louisville.
WDJX I might add never used any jingles so they can have a more AOR feel as they played the album versions of hit songs similar to Indy's WNAP. They used some real slick TV ads that said "Nobody rocks Dayton like 104 WDJX." as if they were in more direct competition with WTUE. WYMJ(as Magic 104 and later as Oldies 104)used Johnny Mann-styled accapellas for jingles.
 
There seemed to be a mass exodus from WDJX to Ft. Wayne. I believe Mark Elliot (who has contributed to this board lately) was part of that staff and eventually ended up at WPTH (later WFWQ and now WAJI)Ft. Wayne along with Charlie Butcher, who, as mentioned did mornings for ears at WMEE and now hosts WOWO's morning news. John Robertson became PD of Z-93 a few years after WDJX flipped, he was the first PD of Ft. Wayne's WBYR. <P ID="signature">______________
"Your right to know supersedes your right to exist"..Gary Burbank</P>
 
> There seemed to be a mass exodus from WDJX to Ft. Wayne. I
> believe Mark Elliot (who has contributed to this board
> lately) was part of that staff and eventually ended up at
> WPTH (later WFWQ and now WAJI)Ft. Wayne along with Charlie
> Butcher, who, as mentioned did mornings for ears at WMEE and
> now hosts WOWO's morning news.

Sure is nice to be remembered.. (gr8, do I know you?)

In 1981, Geoff Vargo, GM of WDJX, moved to Ft. Wayne to take over what was WPTH (Rock 95) as GM. Geoff is now the head of Sarkes Tarzian, based in Bloomington, In and a great guy. I followed him to Ft. Wayne about two weeks later.. (my furniture was on the same moving truck as his, I believe, but I didn't have much coming off a divorce.) Charlie followed a couple of months later.

The year I was PD of 'DJX it was very pop and CHR, with Bill in mornings, Joe Dawson middays, and Charlie at night. I'm very proud of the way that station sounded and it's success at the time. The funny thing is, I was back there in 1992, taking over mornings (for a VERY short period) when Steve Kirk (forcibly)left Oldies 104.
 
I don't know you, but I've heard you in several markets (even Tampa while visiting). You gave WMEE a run for their money for a year or two with WPTH/WFWQ.
I was curious who the guy was who did evenings and I think became your sidekick on mornings there...I never heard him again anywhere after 95Q mellowed out to A/C.<P ID="signature">______________
"Your right to know supersedes your right to exist"..Gary Burbank</P>
 
> I don't know you, but I've heard you in several markets
> (even Tampa while visiting). You gave WMEE a run for their
> money for a year or two with WPTH/WFWQ.
> I was curious who the guy was who did evenings and I think
> became your sidekick on mornings there...I never heard him
> again anywhere after 95Q mellowed out to A/C.
>

Jeff Bolen.. He's working in Cincinnati as part of the CBS stations morning shows doing traffic (WUBE, WGRR - I think he uses different names on each) as well as fill ins on WGRR. Great guy.. just talked to him about a month or so ago
 
> > I don't know you, but I've heard you in several markets
> > (even Tampa while visiting). You gave WMEE a run for their
>
> > money for a year or two with WPTH/WFWQ.
> > I was curious who the guy was who did evenings and I think
>
> > became your sidekick on mornings there...I never heard him
>
> > again anywhere after 95Q mellowed out to A/C.
> >
>
> Jeff Bolen.. He's working in Cincinnati as part of the CBS
> stations morning shows doing traffic (WUBE, WGRR - I think
> he uses different names on each) as well as fill ins on
> WGRR. Great guy.. just talked to him about a month or so
> ago
>
Actually, he's Maverick on both stations, plus he does an air shift on GRR Sundays. Good guy, talented jock.
 
Re: WYMJ Beavercreek- Steve Kirk

> Why did Oldies 104 remove Steve Kirk?
>
> Shark
>

It's tough for me to say since the decision was made prior to asking me to step in (somewhat abruptly, if I remember correctly.) Steve is and was a great air personality who might have let the business pass him by... He certainly made a mark in Dayton radio
 
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