It Was 30 Years Ago At The Big Win Nine-Ten
Sometime, in the last week, or two, was my 30th anniversary on Baton Rouge radio. I'm not sure of the exact date, that's why I said it was sometime in the last week, or two. I know that it was sometime in mid-to-late June.
How about a story from those days gone by.
It was one of my first nights, on the air, at WLCS. Back in those days, the radio station was not remote controlled, that is to say, usually the disc jockey was on the air from the downtown studio and another person was on duty at the transmitter location. For WLCS, that was on Groom Road, in Baker.
However, to save money, the overnight show was done from the transmitter building. I did that one night a week (a guy named David Glenn did it 6 nights a week). I worked a regular 8-hour shift as a transmitter-watcher the rest of the time.
As I've described here, before, the building was just a blockhouse in the middle of a cow pasture. Sometimes it got kind of warm, in there, and you would open doors and windows. Such was the case this, particular, night. I was in the middle of a top-of-the-hour newscast when a horse walked right into the little studio! He stared at me, but before the 'cast was over, he let out a loud horse-noise. You know, that thing they do that sounds like you are flapping your lips together? Then he turned around and clomped out. I know you could have heard it on-air. Absolutely true story.
That field, BTW, is a Wal Mart, now.
posted by Kev @ 6/30/2005 01:16:00 PM
5 Comments:
I remember dialing all but the last digit on my rotary phone trying to win Coca Cola pants during Kandy Kane's (sp?) show.
Holy crud, what memories.
I worked at WLCS/WQXY from 1972 - when the transmitter building was on Groom Road. I scheduled the commercials. I remember one night, David was on the air and reading the 2 a.m. news. He had the window open and one of those little peeper frogs got into the building. It apparently jumped onto the console because you could hear it all throughout the newscast.
I used to listen at night...to see if commercials played correctly...and often you could hear the cows in the field and sometimes - the click, click. click of a record when it was over and the DJ fell asleep - not you of course.
Remember little Phil? He sometimes did the overnight shift too.
I wrote a story about early a.m. radio in Baton Rouge for the South Baton Rouge Journal. You might find it fun if you haven't seen it - WJBO, WLCS, WXOK, WIBR, WYNK adn Pappy Burge's WAIL.
Thanks for the memories!
The real little Phil, Daddy Bear, or something like that. Sure, Phil took Kandy Kane's place.
Does anyone remember Jackson O'Connors? He ended up in stand-up comedy and has appeared on The Tonight Show many times, with both Jay AND Johnny.
Chucker, Don Simon, Terry Collins, Bill Cox, Gary King, Scotty Drake and the list goes on and on and on and on.
Is the transmitter building or the four towers still there or are they gone forever
I haven't been up there in quite a while, but I understand that it is all gone. WNDC, a gospel station, was the last to use it, I think. They operated out of the old Istrouma Baptist Church off of I-110, but they've been off-the-air for a while.
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