BROADCASTER'S BUGLE

As funds allow, a newsletter has been published to announce planned reunions and report on previous ones. Below are excerpts from previous newsletters and more recent reports.

1999 Reunion Report
1997 Reunion report
Brad Davis Celebrates His 40th
WTIC moves

1999 Reunion Report

There was a reunion on October 2,1999 at the Holiday Inn in Rocky Hill, same as in 1997. The short two-year interval was because 1999 was the 25th anniversary of the split. Sherm Tarr wrote a report and used it in the Hartford Courant.

Broadcast Memories? WTIC Alumni Have Them

By SHERMAN TARR
�The Hartford Courant, January 9, 2000. Reprinted with permission.

Old TV reporters never die, their videotapes just fade away.
  That paraphrase of a famous military saying occurred to me while watching the recent nationally televised memorial service for six Worcester firemen who died tragically in a fire in that Massachusetts city. I had sought out my copy of a report I had done for WFSB-TV in September 1974 covering the funeral of Hartford fireman Thomas Fischer, 39, who died when the roof of a burning building fell while he was inside.
  I found that the 25-year-old videotape had deteriorated and could barely be watched. 
  Other reports on the tape also broke up while being viewed. So all I have left of that last year of my TV reporting are memories ... and the friends I worked with for 15 years, mostly when what became WFSB was a combined operation known as WTIC-AM-FM-TV3.
  But what friends they were, and are!
  Skilled veteran talents, technicians and support staff who served southern New England with locally produced programming for WTIC radio, which first broadcast in 1925, and Channel 3, which began televising in 1957. We developed strong bonds in a high-pressure business with crazy schedules.
  So, in the 25 years since the Travelers Insurance Companies (the basis for the WTIC call letters) sold the TV and radio operations to separate buyers, more than 100 "alumni" of the old WTIC have gathered at a local restaurant or hotel every two or three years for a reunion.
  They are unlike most reunions, because they involve people who worked together at the venerable station for most if not all of their professional lives - for some that was 30 to 40 years - a length of service that pales in comparison to four years of high school or college. This aspect has given the gatherings a spirit unmatched by other reunions I've been to, and because they reach back in time, the events have recently attracted people who worked there 50 or 60 years ago.
  From announcers to engineers to secretaries, they eagerly gather to chat about old times. Of course they lament about the current state of broadcasting, with its violence-dominated and celebrity-saturated news and the proliferation of syndicated and satellite-delivered programming, which has no local content and little if any relevance to local interests.
  Many readers would have felt at home during the 25th reunion in Rocky Hill in October of the "old" WTIC staffers. Al Terzi, still anchoring WFSB newscasts, led the group in recalling comrades who had died since the last gathering and eliciting updates of what alumni are now doing. Others known to many readers were on hand: announcers and personalities Bob Ellsworth, Dick Bertel, Bill Clede, Bill Hennessey, Floyd Richards, Norm Peters, Paul Sutton and Jim Thompson.
  There also were some real old-timers from the '30s, '40s and '50s, such as Phil Becker, Jack Lennhoff, Robert Bacon and a sprightly Gerard Miclette, known as "Slim Coxx", a member of the "Downhomers" band, which played live music coast-to-coast on WTIC from 1947 to 1951. He died at age 84 two weeks after the reunion. Past gatherings have drawn such WTIC talent as Bob Steele, Ed Anderson, Brad Davis, Ray Rice and Doug Webster.
  Weatherman Jim MacDonald was there, along with veteran newsmen Larrye deBear, Ralph Eno, Bill Mill and me. Previous events drew such familiar reporters as Joe Crowley, Dewey Dow, Bill Flower, Bob Killian, John Sablon (now with WVIT) and Kenn Venit.
  The camaraderie is shared by family members, too. Betty Miller, widow of talent Ross Miller and a former on-the-air personality herself, was there with her son, as was Jean Smith, recent widow of Ken Smith who headed television programming.
  On forms filled out before the reunion, comments were upbeat about time spent working at WTIC. Retired TV engineer Dick Oeser recalled "the opportunity to work with a great group of people who became lifetime friends and also to have pioneered local television with a highly respected company." Mary Howarth Cass, who worked as a script writer from 1940 to 1953, wrote, "I worked at the best time. It was like a family. I never wanted to stay home from work." Former continuity director Jim Hopkins (1950 to 1955) recalled "trying to trip up Bob Steele, who always read live copy cold" (without rehearsing).
  Throughout the reunions, "war" stories are told by people who put their faces and voices before the public, often during programs where not everything went as planned. This was most often likely to happen during sports: the Yale-Harvard regattas, University of Connecticut athletic events and the Insurance City Open golf tournament, which later became the Greater Hartford Open.
  As I look back on my broadcast news career, I think of the very first time I went on the air "live" while a student at the University of Missouri. I did a 30-minute newscast and farm market report on a commercial radio station, KFRU in Columbia, whose call letters I later learned stood for "Knowledge Flows Round Us."
  What a great mission statement for a broadcast communications service! Maybe the old WTIC'ers can chat about that at their next reunion.

Brad Davis' 40^th

May, 1999 -- Brad Davis celebrated his 40^th year in broadcasting.
  Mike Kintner of O'Neal & Prelle and Doug Evans, executive director of the Bushnell, cooked up a surprise party on Feb. 8. Brad, who began his broadcasting career with "The Milk Show" on Channel 3, went to the Bushnell to salute seven major donors to the theater. Instead, Brad and wife Rosanna found 200 friends yelling, "Surprise".
  Former governor Bill O'Neill and wife Nikki don't agree with much of what Davis says but they never miss his morning show on WDRC. Governor John Rowland and wife Patty were at the party and took part in a video, a hilarious history of "the man, the myth, the milk." Hartford Superior Court Judge Art Spada was wearing a tie that said "Guilty" and "I Call My First Witness."

WTIC is moving

May, 1999 -- After 73 years in downtown Hartford, beginning when Calvin Coolidge was president, WTIC Radio is moving out. The 70 employees of WTIC AM and FM are moving to new facilities in Farmington. The new building at 10 Executive Drive is already home to WRCH-FM and WCMX-FM, All four stations are owned by CBS Radio Inc./Hartford.    Hartford Mayor Mike Peters said WTIC belongs in Hartford. "What're they going to say `WTIC Farmington'? That's silly," Mayor Peters said.
  WTIC first went on the air February 10, 1925 broadcasting classical music from a studio on the sixth floor of the Travelers Building on Grove Street, across from Travelers Tower. The station manager and announcer wore tuxedos to work every night. When Coolidge was inaugurated on March 4, 1925, WTIC was part of the first coast-to-coast hookup to broadcast such an event.
  The Station moved to Broadcast House at Constitution Plaza on 1961. In October 1974, WTIC Radio moved to the Gold Building at the corner of Main and Pearl. WTIC's lease at the Gold Building was due to run out the end of 1999. General Manager Suzanne McDonald said the Farmington space opened unexpectedly when another tenant decided to leave. WTIC is now "NewsTalk 1080". WTIC FM is a modern adult contemporary station.

1997 Reunion a Howling Success

January, 1998 -- No question. There will be another reunion. Everyone on the committee was flooded with compliments about the 1997 WTIC Alumni Reunion. With latecomers, six more showed up than were registered when the head count was given to the hotel, but there were six no-shows. Arnold Dean had to cancel due to the death of his sister-in-law, so the final count was 130 persons total.
  Five alumni came from Florida for the event, three from Massachusetts, two from Maryland, and one each from Indiana and Rhode Island. It looked like the one from farthest away was Lu Holcomb from Los Angeles, California, but honors go to Ray McDonald who now calls Maui, Hawaii home. Names of those who sent regrets were read.
  To start the evening, Bill Hennessey selected on-air personalities to do "man on the street" interviews with the people around their tables. Among the interviewers were Dick Bertel, Bill Clede, Brad Davis, Floyd Richards, and Al Terzi. Everyone had a minute or two of mike time.
  It worked well. Ron Delisa of D&K Sound, son of former music librarian John Delisa, provided the sound system with three wireless microphones. But any system needs engineering, capably provided by John Reno.
  CIGNA (Jim Stewart) and Travelers (John Reno) supplied the video system with a projection TV. A montage of photographs was shown over a musical sound track. Doug Webster's "New Announcer Introduction to Broadcast Plaza" was played behind video scenes of the relocation from Broadcast House to the Gold Building (pix supplied by Dave Kaplan).
  Ed Anderson, who just turned 80, said one word typifies the old WTIC, "camaraderie". He waxed eloquently until he said, "My wife just told me to wrap it up." The house broke up.
  Owen Martin, former film editor and now a landscape artist in Jacksonville, Florida, presented an original watercolor to Jim Stewart for being his mentor in his early days.
  The camaraderie of the WTIC family attracted widows of deceased alumni. Among them were Lois (Jack) Guckin, Marie (Paul) Kuntz, Betty (Ross) Miller, and Virginia (Bob) Tyrol.
  It was a time for reminiscing and bringing up wonderful old memories.
  The table of memorabilia attracted a lot of attention. Much of the material sent or brought in for display was retained for future reference. Brian Hartnett volunteered to be WTIC Alumni Reunion historian. He gathered materials and will store it for the next reunion.

WTIC Radio to Remember

This was the title on a book published by the station in 1985, and many people remember the "old" WTIC even today. The story of the station reads like a history of broadcasting because WTIC dates from February 10, 1925. WTIC signed on that evening at 7:45. The Traveler's Walter Cowles gave an opening speech:

" ... This service has been installed purely and simply as a new means of publicity. It is a method by which we are able to come into close personal relationship with the public... The hope and constant aim of this station will be to earn the goodwill, friendship and confidence of those who hear us."

A male quartet from the Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York sang several selections. Mrs., Gertrude McAuliffe, gave a recital accompanied by pianist Mrs. Burton Yaw. Clayton Randall, Chief Engineer, assembled a mobile unit, parked it in an alley behind the Hotel Bond, and brought listeners the music of the Emil Heimberger Trip performing inside. It was WTIC's first remote broadcast. The opening night program lasted until 10:24. Herman Taylor was Assistant Engineer.

The first transmitting site were twin 150-foot towers on the Grove Street building supporting a T-shaped, center-fed antenna. Walter Johnson became the first regular announcer in 1925. By the late 50s, he became President and General Manager.

The Early Days

Early music programming was almost entirely live,  recorded music was considered of such poor quality. Local groups provided it but WTIC soon began hiring musicians. Laura Gaudet was hired as staff pianist in 1925. The Travelers Jongleurs, a string quartet conducted by Norman Cloutier was the first significant musical group. Later in 1929, Cloutier lead the WTIC dance band, The Merry Madcaps, to national fame with a half-hour noontime network broadcast. WTIC announcer George Bowe introduced the band.With the addition of the Traveler's Symphonic Ensemble in 1926, WTIC built a large reserve of musicians and announcers.

The 500-watt Western Electric transmitter served for four years. In 1928, WTIC acquired the Talcott Mountain site, bought the first RCA  50,000-watt transmitter, affectionately know as "Old Number One", and put it on the air in 1929.

That's the year Paul W. Morency (at right) joined the station. He was acutely aware that WTIC had already developed its own personality. It had become far more than just a publicity vehicle for Travelers. WTIC issued its first rate card in 1930. He was also aware what competitors were doing. He became WTIC's first President.

Leonard J. Patricelli (at left) also joined the staff in1929, as a scriptwriter. He became the first full time continuity writer in New England. He became program manager in 1943, vice president of television programming in 1957, vice president and general manager in 1963, executive vice president in 1966. He became president of Broadcast Plaza Inc. in 1967, a title he carried over to the Ten Eighty Corporation. In 1978 he was named chairman of the board, holding that position until his death in 1982.

The "Golden Age of Radio" was during the 1930s when people couldn't afford going out. Movies were inexpensive but you could stay home and listen to a drama with sound effects that became the "theater in your mind". You remember Little Orphan Annie, Jack Armstrong, Lone Ranger, The Shadow, I Love a Mystery, Inner Sanctum, Lux Radio Theater, and others. With vocal characterization and sound effects, your mind could imagine far more dramatic scenery than television could ever show.

WTIC produced its own radio dramas. The WTIC Playhouse went on the air on September 23, 1931 under the direction of Guy Hedlund with his repertory company of such actors as Ed Begley, Edie (Michael) O'Shea, Gertrude Warner, Louie Nye, and Jan Miner.

"The Wrightville Daily Clarion"  was written and produced by Paul Lucas, who played Elisha Wright. Announcer Fred Wade played Cousin Zeke and other roles. Eunice Greenwood was Sister Janey. The show ran from May 1933 to March 1939. It was revived briefly in 1949 as "Wrightville Folks."

"The Musical Clock" was the morning show then. In 1934, Ben Hawthorne (at right) took it over. Everything said was carefully scripted, then. Hawthorne was the first announcer to ad lib on WTIC.

Although news, sports, and weather were broadcast regularly as early as1927, there was no local news staff. Announcers read news from the Hartford Courant and The Hartford Times. By June1935, the station subscribed to Transradio News Service, replaced by Yankee Network in 1936, and developed its own Central Connecticut Bureau of  Transradio News in 1938.

The flood of 1936 and hurricane of 1938 set the pattern for WTIC's further development -- accurate, responsible and community-oriented reporting. The Connecticut River inundated Hartford in 1936 and WTIC became the focal point for disaster information. It served the role again in1938 when a hurricane swelled rivers all over the state. WTIC was the only station able to remain in constant operation. Ben Hawthorne and program manager Tom McCray used a makeshift shortwave setup to report live from atop the Travelers Tower.

When Ben Hawthorne, host of the popular "Morning Watch" program enlisted in the Army in 1942, Ben's wife, Travilla, played Rosie the Riveter, that is, she took over her husband's duties. Some months later, in March 1943, Bob Steele (at left) was given a chance to audition for the morning time slot. Bob had introduced "Strictly Sports" in 1939. His lively wit and wisdom established him as one of the station's unique personalities. The "Morning Watch" eventually became the "Bob Steele Show".

"Quiz of Two Cities" wasn't the first quiz program on the station. WTIC invented the format in 1927 with a show called "Jack Says: Ask Me Another." But "Quiz of Two Cities" became an instant hit when it first aired on October 6, 1940. George Bowe was emcee for Hartford and Fred Wade handled the broadcasts from Springfield.

The War Years

With the approach of World War II, Paul Morency strengthened his resolve to report accurately. He was less interested in getting the story first than he was in getting it right. To coordinate all news operations He hired N. Thomas Eaton in October 1941.

WTIC geared up for the war effort. Sales manager Irwin Cowper suggested the Morse code letter "V" (dit, dit, dit, dah) for Victory be used as the hourly time tone. Patricelli refined it to the opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth, and it went on the air on July 4, 1943. The station originated the "United States Coast Guard on Parade" program. The emcee was the youngest announcer on NBC, Bob Tyrol (at right).Tyrol became so enamored he enlisted several months later. After the war, Tyrol came home to WTIC.

The station helped to raise more than $1,000,000 in war bonds. Then $l,132,000 to fight polio. Chief Announcer Bernard Mullins (at right) directed the project.

On July 6, 1944, spectators were enjoying the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Baily Circus when the main tent suddenly burst into flames. Announcers George Bowe and Bernie Mullins rushed to the scene and found uncontrolled panic. Regular programming was cancelled and the station turned its attention to Red Cross, fire, and police officials to help quell rapidly swelling rumors. 

Post-War Period

"Cinderella Weekend"was one of the first audience participation shows. It premiered on August 4, 1947 and remained in the program lineup until May 1,1953, 289 Cinderellas later. The show originated from the Orchid Room at Ryan's Restaurant on Pearl Street. It became such a hit that announcers Floyd Richards (at left) and Bob Tyrol adapted it for the stage and took it on the road around the state.

The station continued to present live music into the 1950s, the audience clamored for the latest recordings. Ross Miller (at left) became WTIC's first true disk jockey in the late 1940s when he brought "Juke Box Jingles" to his afternoon drive time show. Ross became known as "Ross, the Musical Miller". Bob Downes (at right) was engineer for "Juke Box Jingles." He later became Bob Steele's engineer.

WTIC consistently featured shows for women. Jean Colbert joined the station in1947 and became hostess of "Radio Bazaar", later changed to the "Jean Colbert Show." Six days a week, the audience heard her opening at 8:30 am, "Good morning, everybody."

Allen Ludden was hired in the late 1940s as a continuity writer and eventually helped develop the concept for "Mind Your Manners", a program for teenagers. The show was picked up by NBC and won many awards for youth programming. On May 5, 1951 the show taped an interview with a 16-year-old drug addict in prison. It aired on NBC and became the focus of a campaign to fight teenage drug addiction. "Mind Your Manners" continued on both NBC radio and a local New York television station. Ludden went on to become the host of the popular CBS TV game show, "Password".

"Your neighbor down the road" was the unforgettable Frank Atwood (at left). He launched "Connecticut Farm Forum" in 1939 as a Saturday morning feature. He joined the staff full time as Farm Director in 1946.The Frank Atwood Show aired daily from 5:30 to 6:45. He developed the WTIC Farm Youth Program involving youngsters in breeding and raising purebred dairy and beef calves. Atwood retired in 1970 and Don Tuttle stepped in to host the farm show. But the state's farm population dwindled. Later, Bill Clede became host of the 5 to 6 am "WTIC Outdoors".

By the end of the decade WTIC upgraded its technology replacing the original RCA 50,000-watt transmitter with a more modern 50,000-watt Westinghouse transmitter. It went on the air in July 1947. WTIC engineers hand-built a 1 kilowatt FM transmitter and put it on the air on February 5, 1940, as W1XSO. By December the station became permanent as W-53-H picking up most of its programming from the AM station. It officially became WTIC FM in November 1943.

With its broad audience, WTIC musical programming covered everything from jazz to opera. George Malcolm-Smith, editor of The Travelers Beacon, was the resident jazz expert. His "Gems of American Jazz" ran from1942 to1951. Robert E.Smith (at right) was the station's classical music maven. His "Your Box at the Opera" premiered in 1945 and ran for 25 years.

Then one day in 1973, the news hit the station like an atomic bomb, "The stations are being sold off by Travelers." When Ross Miller hired Bill Clede as Outdoor and Environmental Director, he tried to explain the job benefits and got confused. Clede said, "Just pay me money, Ross, and I'll take care of myself." The day the news of the sale broke, Ross passed Clede in the hallway and said, "What was that you said about job benefits?"

The Washington Post made a deal for TV3 and Kathryn Graham came to town to cement it. Patricelli and Tyrol joined with David Chase to buy the AM FM Radio side and moved it to Chase's Gold Building on Main Street. That day marked the end of an era that was not likely to ever be rebuilt under then FCC Rules.