49 Years Ago Today

At home, in Key West, with Mom...

...and Dad.
(Click pics to enlarge)

49, And Counting

From the Key West Citizen, Wednesday, August 1st, 1956. Second-to-last item.
(Click to enlarge)

















This one, I think, is from either the Morning Advocate, or the State-Times.
(Click to enlarge)

Oh, Woe Is Me!

A while back someone asked me whether, or not, I get any "hate" mail. The answer is, occasionally.

This is one, from a guy named Frank. I have chosen to edit Frank's email, because you never know who is going to drop by my blog, but you will get the gist of it. Imagine, getting to work, opening your email and reading....


Meeks: Why are you such a perfect A**-HOLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

Besides being an a**hole, you can't even deal with someone on the air disagreeing with you stupid simple-minded logic; you're like a big baby whose needs approval from only callers that agree with your liberal views. You have a conservative audience, AND DON'T FORGET IT DUMB-A** ... or can't you handle compound words .... meeks, you were a F***-HEAD at TARA HIGH and you're still a F***-HEAD .... sorry about the compound words ... Now I know why the station won't give you your own show ... you're too much of the g**-damned liberal.



It's actually pathetically funny. Of course, he did say that I am perfect, didn't he?
Kev.

Watching Discovery Go, Go, Go

Here is a shot of Bob Murphy and Jodi Carson, of The River's Murphy, Sam & Jodi (River), watching the launch of space shuttle Discovery, Tuesday morning, in the WJBO Newsroom.



NASA's website (NASA) is packed with lots of information and fun projects for the consumate space junkie, including videos, photos, schedules, and much more. Steve Robinson, Andy Thomas, Jim Kelly, Wendy Lawrence, Charlie Camarda, Eileen Collins and Soichi Noguchi blasted-off from the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday morning, at 9:39 CDT. During their 13-day mission the crew will dock with the International Space Station, and two will spend some time outside the ship, walking in space.

The crew will also test new safety procedures, put into effect after Columbia's demise.

They will return to Earth at 4:46am CDT, Sunday, August 7th.

2nd Annual Schneider Family Reunion

Saturday night, Marie & I headed to New Orleans for the 2nd annual Schneider Family Reunion. Here is the view from the 2nd-floor balcony at Mike Anderson's restaurant on Bourbon Street. I think everyone, at least in this shot, has their clothes on.
(Click pics to enlarge)

Where 'yat?

Ya get to New Orleans and ya get a little crazy.

The 2nd Annual Schneider Reunion

Singing karaoke at the 2nd annual Schneider Family Reunion, Saturday July 23rd, 2005.

Playing like I'm some sort of Beach Boy singing "California Girls."

Schneider Family Reunion

Brian & Jacki (Marie's sister) Schneider.
The reason that...







...we were there.

Moon Shot! July, 1969

One of the coolest things my Dad & Mom ever did, was to take three wide-eyed boys on a vacation to the Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Kennedy (it was called Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, today it is called Cape Canaveral), Florida, a week before the Apollo 11 launch. That mission carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins on a mission that would have Armstrong and Aldrin walking on the Moon! These pictures were taken on that trip. Not the trip to the Moon, but the trip to Florida... Pay attention. Here you see the Saturn V rocket with the Apollo 11 command module on top, sitting on Pad 39A. It was just a couple-of-weeks shy of my 13th birthday.


Some support & rescue vehicles, nearby Pad 39A. On the tour, they told us that tank-looking thing could withstand a lot of fire and could be used to rescue the astronauts, if there were to be a problem.





Here is the huge Vehicle Assembly Building, where the pieces of the Saturn V moon-rocket were assembled before being rolled out to the pad on a big tractor.
All photos taken by Meeks, 7/1969.

(Click pics to enlarge)

Suiting Up

Inside the Visitor's Center were all kinds of displays. You could really feel an excitment in the air, and the place was getting, kind of crowded. By the time we left The Ramada in Cocoa Beach, FL the place was filling-up with celebrities. My brothers, and I, got autographs from David Brinkley and Peter Hackes, both from NBC News, at the time. Just a few days later and Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the Moon wearing a suit very similar to this one.
Photo taken 7/69
(Click pics to enlarge)

Launch Site

Here are several pictures of a launch area that was no longer being used. Probably from the Mercury or Gemini missions. Look at the concrete blockhouse right next to the launch pad. Controllers would use those periscopes to see what was going on outisde.
Anyone want to go outside for a smoke? Photos taken 7/69.
(Click pics to enlarge.)

Water, Water, Everywhere...

(Click pic to enlarge)
Here is a picture of high water on the Mississippi. Look at how close the water is to the road, on top of the levee, in the bottom right of the photo.

Flying Over The Intra-Coastal Waterway

One of my all-time favorite pictures of our town. This picture was scanned from a 35mm slide. Isn't technology wonderful? I use this picture as wallpaper on my home computer. Click the pic, to enlarge it, then right click on the image and select "Save as wallpaper," or "Set as desktop background," or something like that. Give it a try!

The "New" State Capitol

(Click pics to enlarge)
This was scanned from a 35mm slide. It is almost three-dimensional, isn't it?

More From 1,500 Feet Over BTR

Tiger Stadium gearing up for a Saturday night game. Sometimes I would go to the game after landing the plane. Since everyone was already in the stadium, I would have no trouble getting there and, often, would find a parking space very close to the stadium. Of course I would catch hell getting out. In those days we didn't do any post-game traffic reports.

Great shot of downtown. How many buildings can you see, that no longer exist. Both of these pics were taken around 1980.
(Click pics to enlarge)

The Whole Gang - Christmas 1980

Bottom row, l to r, Gary King (program director & afternoon drive), Robyn Eckings (news), Laurie Hardison (promotions, and she is still at WJBO!), Julie Tate (evenings).
Top row, l to r, Danny Simar (sports director), Eric E. (overnights), Kevin McKay (middays & Skywatch traffic), Lois I-can't-remember-her-last-name (weekends), Charles Burchell (news), Mike Ross (news), Rex Russell (mornings). (Click pics to enlarge)


Check out the channel line-up from that same issue of Cablecast. 12 whole channels, and we were glad to get 'em!

Jaybo in Arkansas?

Since radio station call-letters are unique, I wonder who owns this plate? And where are the other eleven?

Working Hard

Here is WJBO News Director Robert Lee looking over the shoulder of Program Director and BR Morning News Co-host Matt Kennedy in the soon-to-be-deconstructed WJBO Studio. Our engineers are in the process of building a new suite of studios for WJBO. You've gotta love the copper pipe right in the middle of the room. Matt and I have been working together for 9 years!

Flood!

(Click pic to enlarge)
This is another view of the Mississippi River just south of the I-10 bridge in 1979. Look the water level. She's practically lapping at the road, on the top of the levee.
There is a capsized barge just to the left of the center of the picture.
Photo taken by Kevin McKay (Meeks) in the Skywatch plane.

I-110 Underwater

(Click pic to enlarge)
I-110 at the curve just north of Memorial Stadium. That's the Louisiana Department of Labor building at the top-left. Look at all the water!
Taken by Kevin McKay (Meeks) in the Skywatch plane, 1979.

I-110 Flood

(Click pic to enlarge)
I-110 near Memorial Stadium during the Flood of 1979. It really went underwater. Notice the water in the neighborhood to the right (south) 0f the picture.
Courtesy Kevin McKay (Meeks) in the WJBO/WFMF Skywatch plane.

More 110

(Click pic to enlarge)
Another shot of I-110 in the stretch between the Governor's Mansion and Scenic Highway. There is Memorial Stadium to the left.
Taken by Kevin McKay (Meeks) in the WJBO/WFMF Skywatch plane, 1979.

Comite River Flood - 1979

(Click pic to enlarge)
Railroad tracks crossing the flooded Comite River.
Courtesy Kevin McKay in the WJBO/WFMF Skywatch plane, 1979.

Greenwell Springs Road Floods

(Click pic to enlarge)
Greenwell Springs Road at the Comite River during the Flood of '79. What a nightmare. Well, not for me... I was flying above it in the WJBO/WFMF Skywatch plane.

Comite River Floods - 1979

(Click pic to enlarge)
Greenwell Springs Road at the Comite River during the Flood of 1979. Look closely and you can see white water!
Taken by Kevin McKay in the WJBO/WFMF Skywatch plane.

Danny Simar

(Click pic to enlarge)
Another pic of Danny Simar, aka Jim Nasium. This was in the "new" WJBO Production Room. A production room is where we record commercials and do other work that is not on-the-air, live. I love those two, old, Ampex reel-to-reel tape machines. They were "reel" workhorses.
This room had been the WJBO On-Air Studio when I started working there in the fall of 1977.

WYNK If 'Ya Love It!

(Click pic to enlarge)
On-the-air at 101.5 WYNK-FM in early '83.
I worked at WYNK part-time during a period of unemployment after I got canned at WJBO in '82. It was the only job from which I got canned. A couple of months after this was taken, I started a 13-year run at 98.1. During those years we called ourselves WAFB-FM, Z-98, Oldies 98.1 and Eagle 98.1.
With new owners, and thanks to Matt Kennedy, WJBO wised-up and brought me back home in 1996.

Girls, Girls, Girls!

(Click pic to enlarge)
Not what you are thinking, though. These ladies are co-workers. From left-to-right, Lenita Lenoir (The Nightflower on WFMF and WJBO), Terri Lynn (WJBO News), and Julie Tate (WJBO DJ and traffic person). This was at a party at Joe London's (WJBO Program Director and afternoon guy) house.

Al Before He Was 'Ya Pal

(Click pic to enlarge)
My old friend, and roommate, Al Nassar. This was taken at the Studios of WFPR-AM 1400 in Hammond, America, located in beautiful Kin Talley Estates, a development of Quick Realty. (Whew! We used to have to say that as the Top-Of-The-Hour I.D., right before A.P Network News. Al went on to be a mainstay on WCKW for a loooong time. He's in New Orleans, now. I met Al my first day at Southeastern LA. University in Hammond in the fall of '74. He, too, was into radio broadcasting and we became friends and eventual roommates, when we worked together at KXOR-FM in Thibodaux in '76 and '77. .
Look at those "boat-anchor" cart machines. (Radio lingo)

Party On!

(Click pic to enlarge)
L to R - Jim Miller (WFMF 7-midnight), Rex Russell (WJBO Morning Show), Gary Haile (WFMF Mid-day), Charles Burchell (WJBO News). This was taken at a party on the Ticfaw River (I think) at Gary Haile's place around 1979 or '80. Judging from the way everyone is dressed, it must NOT have been summer! Once upon a time, we had a party on Gary's Dad's 3-story houseboat.

For Everything There Is A First Time

Look closely and you will see a crew installing a tower and antenna on top of the Humanities Building at Southeastern Louisiana University, in Hammond, America. It is the fall of 1974 and mine was the very first voice to be transmitted on the brand new KSLU-FM. They should put up a plaque. LOL! Really, I just happened to be in the right place, at the right time, when the engineer, Bob Priez, needed to do some tests. WLCS, my first real radio job, was still a little under a year away.

Marc 'n Russell

Here is WJBO's morning team of Marc and Russell. That's Marc Truelove, on the left, and Rex Russell on the right. Look closely and you can see that Rex is wearing a Bruce Swisher for Governor t-shirt. Swisher was one of the characters on their morning show. This photo was taken at a party around 1979.

If You Can't Do It On Friday, You Can't Do It At All

Here's my old friend Danny Simar, WJBO's Sports Director. To fans of WFMF he was better known as Jim Nasium. If you look really close (click pic to enlarge) you can see that the picture was taken in Tiger Stadium, and it wasn't just any game. This was Charles McLendon's last home game in 1979. We beat Mississippi State that night, if I'm not mistaken.

Jim Miller on WFMF

That's Jim Miller, on the board, at WFMF. Jim did the 7pm to midnight shift, while I held down the fort, down the hall, on WJBO. Jim now lives in Hawaii and is an engineer. Yep, he up and got a real job. This was around 1979.

Clap For The Wolfman

Wolfman Jack visited WFMF Studios in 1979. Left to right, Randy Rice, Bob Perry, The Wolfman, J.J. Stone.

The Skywatch Plane

This was the plane that was used, most often, for Skywatch. A Piper Cherokee Warrier II, tail number N2162C. I remember her well, she was a good plane. In the early days we flew out of Louisiana Aircraft. We later switched to Beechcraft and flew out of Baton Rouge Aircraft. Both are located at Metro Airport.

Flying Skywatch 1,500 Feet Over BTR

This picture was taken while flying over the I-10 Mississppi River Bridge while flying Skywatch for WJBO/WFMF. I am not sure exactly when this was taken (I flew the traffic from '77 to '82) it looks like morning and winter (note the shadows).

1986 - Live From Disneyworld

Live, by satellite, from Epcot Center during Walt Disney World's 15th anniversary celebration in October of 1986. We called ourselves Z98's Breakfast Bunch, Michael Adams and me. That's engineer Bo Hoover on the far left.

1983

WYNK-FM's Control Room, circa early-1983. This was on Main Street, downtown. Can you find the two things that I have recently given up, in this picture? (Click to enlarge)

30 Years On Baton Rouge Radio...

Hard at work at Z98, on Government Street, back in the 80s.