"I was listening to the start of the Indy 500 radio broadcast and former WKLO DJ (Larry) Jerry Baker is working in the booth this year after many years on one of the turns. He still sounds great."

Bill Bailey Obituary

Boahn, William Clyde, "Bill Bailey" "The Duke of Louisville", a prominent Louisville radio personality, passed away peacefully on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at Norton Brownsboro Hospital at the age of 81.

He was born December 18, 1930 in New Bern, NC, the son of the late Jesse A. Boahn and Jessie Ketchum Boahn. For nearly 30 plus years Bill ruled the morning airwaves at WAKY radio and other Louisville radio stations before ending his career in broadcasting in 1994 at WVLK in Lexington.

Bill was an accomplished artist and found Peace through his art. At a very young age Bill developed a love for drawing and painting. You could put anything in front of him and he could draw it or paint it. During his time in Alaska in the Air Force he took up portrait painting and was very talented at outdoor scenery.

He was a loving father and grandfather, with a larger than life personality and a one of a kind sense of humor that he kept until the end.

He is preceded in death by a sister, Jessie Faye Skiles.

He is survived by a son, Erick Boahn; his daughters, Shelly Schultz (Steven) of Boca Raton, Faith Chapman (Shane) and Jennifer Boahn of Louisville; nine grandchildren, to include, Ariana Arroyo, Kayla, Kendall and Grant Chapman; two great-grandchildren and a brother, Charles (Joyce) Boahn of North Carolina.

The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to the staff at Friendship Manor for the love and care they gave for their father.

Funeral Services to honor Bill's life will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 17th at Pearson-Ratterman Bros. Funeral Home, 12900 Shelbyville Road, Middletown. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family request that contributions be made to Kentucky/Southern Indiana Stroke Association, 3425 Stony Springs Circle, Suite #102, Louisville, KY 40220.
 

Ted Barbone Obituary

Barbone, Theodore M., 79, of Tampa, Florida, beloved Father, Brother, Uncle, Cousin, and friend, entered into eternal rest on Saturday, July 4, 2015. Born in Detroit, Michigan on May 10, 1936, he graduated from St. Bernard High School in Detroit, Michigan in 1954. Ted served in the United States Army as a communications specialist. He embarked on a career in radio and television broadcasting in Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky, then as the announcer and host of the popular “Financial Observer” show for KDNL-TV in St. Louis, MO. He was featured in numerous local and national radio and television shows and commercials and shared with all of us his rich golden voice. Later he was co-owner and General Manager for KQAZ and KRVZ radio stations in Springerville, AZ.

Ted was a devout member of the Catholic Church and served as a lector and in various parish ministries including a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus. He also was a leader in the Boy Scouts of America, a volunteer at the Straz Center and other community organizations. Ted was blessed with a wonderful sense of humor and was renowned for his many jokes and stories. He always made it a point to find the goodness in people and make them feel special.

Ted is survived by his Son, Michael (Susan) Barbone, of Odessa, Florida; Daughter, Michelle Barbone, of Lutz, Florida; Brother, John Barbone, of Phoenix, Arizona; and a loving family of nieces, nephews and cousins and lifelong friend, Jack Fansher of St. Louis, Missouri. He was preceded in death by his parents, Theodore M. Barbone, Sr. and Helen Barbone; and Sisters, Grace Barbone and Anita Barbone.

Ted will be loved forever and immeasurably missed. His admirable devotion to God, family, and service to others is exemplary and a great tribute to his accomplishments on earth before entering into the arms of God. The family will receive friends at Loyless Funeral Home, 5310 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Land O’ Lakes, Florida 34639 on Wednesday, July 15, 2015 from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. A funeral mass will be celebrated at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, 2348 Collier Parkway, Land O’ Lakes, Florida 34639 on Thursday, July 16, 2015 at 10:30 A.M. Interment and military honors will follow at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.

This obituary was penned by Jim Felton's friend Matt Zaleski

Jim Brady Felton --- a-k-a Jim Brady, Mark Richards, Scott Brady, Chuck Brady, (pick one already) --- legendary radio air personality issued his RSVP to Rock and Roll Heaven on Thursday, June 5, 2014 after a five year battle with cancer. He was 67.

Jim Felton (real name) was born in Toledo, OH on August 21, 1946 to Edward and Eloise Felton. He graduated from Devilbiss High School. While still in high school he saw Fred Mitchell, a longtime Toledo D-J doing a remote radio broadcast from a furniture store. Jim said, “You can make a living doing this?” Fred Mitchell responded, “Yeah, you can do alright.” From that point forward a radio broadcasting career was born.

In 1963, Jim Felton started working in radio at the former WTOL Radio, now WCWA, while still in high school. In January 1967 he moved to Ft. Wayne, IN to work at WLYV as Program Director. But a year later, in January 1968, found himself at CKLW, The Big-8 in Windsor, Ontario as Mark Richards. It was a time when powerhouse CLKW was the number one station not only in Windsor, but Detroit, Cleveland, and Toledo. While at CKLW, he had the chance to meet Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. With Dr. King still in the studio and getting ready to intro a James Brown song, he said on the air, “The REAL soul king is in the studio right now, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself”. But the memory was bitter-sweet when a month later, Dr. King was shot and killed in Memphis.

Jim Felton returned to WCWA to work as the morning air personality and program director, but again his talents were called elsewhere. After a brief stint in Montreal, Jim Felton went to WKLO in Louisville, KY in 1971. Then came the big move to Toronto in 1973 where he was given the opportunity to do the morning show at 680 CFTR. It was what would be the signature moment in his career. His “Brady in the Morning” show helped take the station to number one in the market and in the process he became the most listened to radio air personality in Canada.

While at CFTR Toronto, he met Eric Idle of Monty Python fame who appeared on his show and later that same week met up again with Eric Idle and Beatle George Harrison while on a first-class flight to London. In 1977, he was invited to watch the Rolling Stones perform one of the band’s legendary surprise club dates at the El Mocambo in downtown Toronto. Jim “Brady” Felton would spend the next 18 years in Canadian radio, working not only in Toronto, but Calgary and Winnipeg as well.

His career would also take him to Los Angeles and Dallas-Ft. Worth before returning to Toledo in 1996 where he worked at WRVF, WCWA, and WRQN. He retired from radio on June 30, 2008 from WRQN.

In his retirement Jim remained active. He became a published author when he co-authored a novel, “Death on the Dial” about a radio murder. He sold real estate and he did free-lance voice work which included radio commercials for The Maritime Academy of Toledo and voiced TV commercials for D. Michael Collins during his mayoral campaign in 2013.

He was also a regular at Sidelines on Laskey Rd. where he loved to meet friends and play trivia. His 17,261,100 trivia points is tops at Sidelines.

He was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Linda, and his twin children, Stephanie and Edward. He is also survived by his former wives Judy Felton and Pat Yancy-Felton.

Family and friends may visit at the Sujkowski Funeral Home of Rossford, 830 Lime City Rd. on Monday, June 9 from 2 to 8 p.m. A Celebration of Life will take place on Tuesday, June 10 at 11 a.m. in the funeral home. Interment will follow at Ft. Meigs Cemetery. The family would like to express a special thank you to the nursing staff at Hospice of Northwest Ohio, especially nurses Tracy, Kathy, and Jenny. Contributions can be directed to Hospice of Northwest Ohio or the American Cancer Society.

Jim “Brady” Felton’s final wish is that everyone see their doctor and get a check-up. Jim did not have his first colonoscopy until he was 62-years old. It was at that time his cancer was discovered. As he said in his final interview given to The Toledo Blade --- “I probably could have saved a whole lot of trouble. People have got to wake up and do it. I’m as guilty as the next guy of not checking it out. Get out there and get checked.”

Jim Brady Felton ended his shows with a line that came from a time when he was being potty-trained. His mother put him on the toilet and then there was an unexpected phone call. “I sat there for a pretty long time yelling, “’come get me mother, I’m through.’” With that Jim Brady Felton requested that his life end with that line --- “Come get me mother, I’m through!” Hopefully she’s still not on the phone.

"WKLO General Manager Ernie Gudridge and I were working on our Master's Degrees at U. of L. in 1973 when he asked me to come to work for him as station manager of WKLO-FM. I was excited to become part of the WKLO family even though FM radio was an unknown entity in those days. Mr. Gudridge divulged his plans for a 'NEW' station and format. Soon after I arrived we changed the call letters to WCSN (in honor of Great Trails owner Charles Sawyer) and contracted with Bonneville to provide us with 'Beautiful Music.'

"For the first few months hardly anyone knew what I was doing there (including myself at times). One morning I overheard Bob Cline ask Bill Love: ' Who is that guy and what the hell does he do here?' I would arrive at 5am at the KLO studios, disappear into the DUNGEON (the WCSN studio was located in the basement), do my morning show, then attend to my managerial duties until 2 p.m. and leave the building...with the ROCK JOCKS aka Bo Brady and Gary Major asking the same question: 'Who is that guy?'

"We did everything we could think of to bolster ratings and make FM a 'viable' frequency. (Who knew what it would become?) We even sold FM converters to auto owners for $9.95 with FREE INSTALLATION. AM radio was still 'the thing' in the mid-70s and WCSN-FM was viewed mostly as an automated monster in the dungeon that needed attention (much to the chagrin of the WKLO jocks) lest it stop working altogether.

"I was offered the position of station manager and chief announcer on WUOL, the new University of Louisville radio station in 1976. I stayed in Public Broadcasting for a couple of years, but longed for the competitiveness of commercial radio and went to work for Sunnyside Communications (WXVW) in 1980 and stayed with that company for almost 20 years (a long GIG in this business). Sunnyside bought WAVG (formerly WAVE radio) in the early '90s and I retired in 1998 while serving at Operations Director and morning DJ on WAVG playing the 'Music of Your Life.'

"I am now partially retired and working as a public speaker for Louisville Technical Institute, a part of Sullivan University in Louisville."

This "Personality Profile" appeared in the July 13, 1968 issue of Billboard.

WKLO's Clark: An Integrator

LOUISVILLE - Bill Clark of WKLO, the local Hot 100 format radio station, is an integrator. Not because of ideals, but because he's a good Negro deejay who likes easy listening music and rock 'n' roll equally as well - if not more than - rhythm and blues.

"Mainly, I came into the business without any idea of there being a difference. I never knew what a Negro station was for many years…in Youngstown, Ohio, where I was born and grew up, there wasn't any Negro station," said Clark.

In those early years, he had ideas of becoming a singer. "People said I sounded like Billy Eckstine and Arthur Prysock. But there just wasn't any more room for another Eckstine or Prysock." R&B music had begun to grow popular about this time, "but I couldn't make the transition."

But a trial stint as a deejay gave his direction. From 1954 to 1959, he worked at WFAR in Farrell, Pa. buying and reselling time and presenting r&b and gospel programs. Then he joined WABQ in Cleveland for a year or so before moving on to WCIN as a deejay. In 1965 he went to his real love - a good music show nightly on WPFB in Middletown, Ohio. He also provided color on high school and college football games. In 1966 he joined WKRC in Cincinnati, doing weekend stints and a weekly jazz program on WKRC-FM. Then last October, he shifted to WKLO in Louisville to handle the all-night rock show.

3 Stations

So, he can honestly claim to having integrated three stations. But being the only Negro on an otherwise white station does not signify a denial of his roots "I'm able to be myself, and to be judged on my ability. It is a very comfortable atmosphere in that respect. There are few such stations in the country where that is possible.

"I do feel that Negroes should be given a chance in all kinds of radio," he said. "For the most part, the industry has relegated the black man to the ethnic stations. And, once paying your dues there, no matter how experienced or professional, it's rough, if not impossible to go beyond it. I have great admiration for Negro radio, but I am against the principal…the fact that for most of the industry it is used as a ghetto, an excuse to avoid hiring blacks.

"Crow-Jim Now"

"After being Jim-Crowed, the broadcasting industry will have to Crow-Jim now. Most soul brothers, especially those with a family, can't hit-and-miss around the industry like I have."

He felt that Negroes should be hired at stations "regardless of the format." Clark said the he'd hosted country music shows on occasion, though "we didn't tell the audience. The management and other deejays were astounded that I knew my way around country music. I told them without us Negroes, 'You wouldn't have country music.'"

"One of the men who has helped Clark is Mitch Michaels, who used to be with the station. "He impressed upon me that I am a professional broadcaster who happens to be playing contemporary music. If the music was changed to country, I'd still be a professional broadcast who just happened to be playing country music."

"I worked at WKLO beginning in December, 1973. I did (as Gary Major offered) weekends and swing shifts till January, 1975.

"I went back to WKLO in February, 1976, did news on WCSN three nights a week, and did 2 or 3 weekend shifts. Remember those FM stations back then that played 'The World's Most Beautiful Music?' WCSN was one of those (soon to become "THE NEW KJ-100" in 1979). About June, 1976, I did middays in between Lee Gray in the morning and Bo Brady (Tad Murray) in the afternoon. Rusty Rodgers (God bless his soul) did evenings at that time. I was on middays live for about 4 months and then they infiltrated an automation system that eventually was pitched. I eventually did 11p - 2a from about January - August, 1977. At that time I left and went to WLAC in Nashville.

"I returned to the same company (Great Trails Broadcasting) in the Summer, 1980, and worked on KJ-100's AM, which had switched to Country 11. I eventually did afternoons there (with Bill Bailey in the morning for a little over 2 years. The call letters eventually became WCII. The station did well till about 1983, when Coyote and crew [at WAMZ] started kicking ass.

"By the way, I started seriously listening to WAKY and WKLO on Labor Day 1960!

"Today I live in East Louisville and I'm a Alcohol/Drug Counselor for a place called Ten Broeck Hospital. I love it. I quote lines from songs sometimes in group. Some of the other employees know I used to be in radio and tell the patients, who in turn ask me about it. There have been a few that all but freaked out, 'Wow, that was you?' I just say something like, 'Yeah, that was me! And just standing next to me will be added on to your bill.' They love it when we joke around with them.

"My boss asks me why I don't do something with radio these days and I just say something like, 'It ain't what it used to be!' And it isn't. I tune around just hoping to hear some semblance of what radio was in the '60s, '70s, '80s, hell, I'll even take the 90s. I get excited when I hear Dick Clark's 'Rock, Roll & Remember' on WASE in Ft. Knox on Sunday Nights. 'Oh, Dick Baby, keep em, comin'.' I respected the hell out of the guys on WSAI from January, 2003 to January, 2005, for doing what they did. They had fun. I listened to every God blessed word.

"I can remember standing in the studio of WAKY with Jim Brand and Timothy L. Tyler. I think it was in 1964. They did this experiment to see how many people they could fit in the studio, and this friend of mine & I went down to 5th & Jefferson Streets (on the bus mind you), at like 5:30 in the morning. I remember it was wintertime, that's all. It was a blast. Ed Bowman let me 'cue up' The Beach Boys "Surfin' Safari" in the old KLO studios in the Commonwealth Building. It was probably in the Summer of 1962. I floated home.

"See that's what was so fun about it all. We, the people in live radio, 'spinnin' the platters, makin' the chatter,' did all kinds of kind of risky, interesting stuff.

"Oh, by the way, I don't remember the bit about singing along with Paul Simon's 'Kodachrome' on WKLO in '76 or '77, but I don't deny that it happened. I probably did it, knowing me."

Bill Crisp Legacy.com Obit

MILLSBORO — Bill Crisp passed away Tuesday morning, Dec. 6, 2011, at Atlantic Shores nursing home in Millsboro. He had been in poor health for the last several years.

He had been a resident of Rehoboth Shores, Long Neck, for the last 10 years. He was a member of the American Legion, Millsboro, having served as a radio operator, aboard U.S. naval ships, during the Korean war.

Bill was born in Tennessee, was raised in Lewes, and graduated with the Class of 1952, at Lewes Special School.

He played trumpet in the band, and during the years, played with area bands. Mr. Crisp was involved in radio broadcasting most of his life, working on the air in many large markets around the country. Mr. Crisp was owner and manager of WSUX AM/FM in Seaford during the 70's and 80's, where he lived with his wife, Sandy, and daughter, Lynne.

He is survived by a brother, Don Crisp of Bishopville.

A private memorial service is planned.

From a James Doussard Courier-Journal Column (June 1974)

Eileen Douglas has been named news director of WKLO Radio 1080 and WCSN-FM (99.7).

She will supervise and direct a staff of nine newscasters and reporters.

In making the appointment, the stations' president and general manager, E.A. Gudridge, said that, to his knowledge, Ms. Douglas "becomes the only woman now in charge of a separately staffed broadcast news department."

The selection was made, Gudridge said, based on "experience, preparation and journalistic perception."

Ms. Douglas joined WKLO News in November 1970 as a part-time reporter. For the past two years, she has been assignment editor and has produced a public-affairs program called "The News Special" broadcast at 8:30 a.m. Sundays on both stations.

She was graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse University in 1968, earning election to Phi Beta Kappa.

A Syracuse, New York native, Ms. Douglas is married to Jeff Douglas, a WHAS Radio 840 broadcast personality. They have a daughter, Rachel, 3.

She is co-producer with Jeff of WHAS-11's weekly half hour show, "Now."

Before coming to Louisville, Ms. Douglas reported news for FM radio and TV stations in Syracuse and was a reporter and feature writer for The Syracuse Herald-Journal.

Obituary Published in The Courier-Journal on December 11, 2016

Ken Douglas, of London, England, passed away in England, November 21, 2016.

He was a former disc jockey for WKLO, WAKY, and WINN radio.

Ken lived a very exciting life from working on cruise ships sailing around the world to touring with the Beatles in 1966, and meeting and interviewing many celebrities. Ken worked for the Monkees in Los Angeles and became life long friends with Davy Jones. Ken then became manager of the men's store at Fred Segals in California. After retiring, Ken returned to England to be closer to family and his daughter, Heather.

Ken loved meeting people and making friends. No one was ever a stranger.

He is survived by his daughter, Heather Douglas (Jason Pethers), sister, Audrey Lamb, brother, Terry Douglas (Jean) and many nieces and nephews.

The funeral service will be December 14, 2016 in England.

"Stumbled upon your site today! I am one of the creative directors for Bristol Broadcasting in Bristol, Virginia. Been with this company about ten years and will probably remain here as long as they'll have me. I stage a couple of their news/talk stations and consult two of their contemporary morning shows (one here and one in Charleston, W.Va.) Programmed for a while before that at WQUT in Gray, Tennessee.

"Before WKLO I was at WAIR in Winston Salem (not sure what that is now) and before that my first civilian radio job at WBLU (a daytimer) in Salem, Virginia. I was a news person with American Forces radio during the Vietnam war stationed in Thailand prior to the start of my commercial career. I did the radio news to all troops stationed in country from seven to midnight. When I got off the air at midnight I went right to the production studio and practiced being a jock till daybreak then slept all day! I did that for a year.

"After leaving WKLO I worked at WRKO in Boston for about a year then went to WKRQ in Cincinnati to do nights. From there to a stint in Chicago for ABC's FM WDAI (now WLS-FM). I left there to open a production company in Roanoke, Virginia for about five years. I closed that company and answered the radio call again for a 7-midnight gig in New York at a Doubleday station called WAPP. They sold that to Emmis after a while and changed the call letters to WQHT.... Hot 97 I think it was. Kind of an urban/street beat format. I did mornings for them for two years and decided the Big Apple was no place for a country boy and moved here to the Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia area. I've been kicking around here for about twenty years now. I love Tennessee and I love this company.

"My time with WKLO and Bill Hennes was a great experience. I learned a lot from Bill. I learned never to play poker with Lee Gray (or anybody else for that matter!) after losing an entire paycheck one night at his place. Chuck Brady, Big Brother Love and so many others became dear friends and great teachers to me. I was so young and inexperienced.

"Glad I found this site. My memory is not one of my distinguishing assets these days but I do have fond recollections of my time in Louisville."

"For old times sake I just checked the WKLO 'roster.' The only name I recognized was Beecher Frank; that's because I used to work with him between 1949 and 1953. Does anyone remember the mini music boxes he played on the air back then? He was a very talented, articulate guy!

"In the early 50's we did one of the very early 2-man disc shows: the Farron-Bright Show (Ed Farron and Robin Bright). Does someone know where Robin might be? I also did the Night Shift: a late night record show that followed the Foster Brooks Show. In the mornings, Jimmie Osborne and his little group would get the station rolling. Charlie Farmer did Farm News (surprise!). Mary Lou Moore wrote copy, D.C. Summerfield was the Chief Engineer and Joe Eaton the General Manager. Plus Randy Atcher...big time country player!

"...and I turned down WAVE when they offered me the first TV host spot in town, because they offered 5 bucks a week less than I was making at WKLO! Well, I was young in those days!

"I was reading a couple of letters from guys talking about the 50's. The early 50's was a great period in KLO history. Beecher Frank was certainly a big part of it. And Foster Brooks! He wasn't there long, but made lots of friends while he was around. Then he went on to national fame.

"Jean Clos; News Director. I wonder how many remember him and his 'Clos Look at the News.' He'd come in about 9:45 pm (or later) to do a 15-minute 10:00 o'clock newscast (a bit worse for the wear). He'd rip the news off the machine, put it together in some sort of fashion, and ad lib around the stories...making this his 'Clos Look at the News.'

"In the afternoon, a genial record shop owner on Louisville's main street would do a live, remote 15-minute record show from behind his store-front window. The theme song was Glenn Miller's 'String of Pearls.' Afterwards, the 2-hour Farron-Bright Show...which featured a constant flow of doughnuts, chocolates, ice cream, etc...provided by our sponsors, and wolfed down during the show by the two of us while plugging the contributors. Great fun.

"Someone mentioned Jack Bendt. He arrived at KLO about 1951. I don't know how long he stayed. Jack Everbach (a local boy!) was one of the announcers. It would be great to hear from him. And I wonder if the station is still doing the live Organ Show from the bar of the Henry Clay Hotel. (I doubt it).

"I left WKLO in '53 to go to WBBM, Chicago. Would really enjoy hearing from anyone who recalls that era. Anyone still around?

"I'm retired. The last gig for me was 'Swingin' the Blues' at the local University radio station (KCSN). Did this for a couple of years, on Saturdays, and gave it up a few years ago. Now I'm just a listener."

"I worked with Jim in Lawton, Oklahoma before we both joined WKLO. Jim came to Louisville first, probably in late 1959, and I followed in May of 1960. He recommended me to Barney Groven.

"Jim was a very quiet and self-contained intelligent guy and was an excellent production person. He loved producing commercials and promos and was an artist with splicing audiotape. He was a DJ, but he preferred production. His most unique quality as a DJ was that you could walk into the control room while he was talking on the air, and you couldn’t actually hear what he was saying. He always used a very low volume voice level, and he always sounded great. I finally learned to appreciate his approach and in my later years at WKLO lowered by voice projection level considerably. Jim used to tell me, 'You don’t have to shout. That’s what the microphone and amplifiers are for.'

"On a personal level, Jim was well read, liked classical music and was active in amateur theatre. Unfortunately we lost touch with each other after he went to WAKY and I went into government."

From the Courier-Journal Obituaries (January 4, 2010)

FLETCHER, JOSEPH "JOE" L., 75, this popular retired radio personality passed away December 23, 2009 at Springhurst Health & Rehabilitation after a prolonged illness.

A native of Louisville, Mr. Fletcher was born to Evelyn S. and Leonard Fletcher who preceded him in death.

An alumnus of Male High School, he attended Bellarmine College and served his country in the U.S. Army and was a veteran of the Korean War.

Joe Fletcher's radio and television career spanned from 1960 through 2002. He was a WAVE/WAVG 970 TV and radio personality who received awards for his popular show "The Joe Fletcher Show" by TV Radio Mirror. He was also known to fill in on the weekend weather at WAVE TV-3 and hosted the program High Q. He worked for Louisville radio stations WAKY, WKLO, WINN, WAVE, WAVG, and WKJK - Clear Channel Radio where he retired. Early in his career he worked for WSAC - Ft. Knox, KY and WSLM - Salem, IN. He also worked at WFBC in Greenville, SC.

As a kidney organ recipient, he was a volunteer and friend to KODA as well as the National Kidney Foundation of Kentucky. He was a friend to Seniors Citizens East and lent his talents to many charitable and non-profit organizations. These included Kosair Charities, Ursuline School of Music, the Cerebral Palsy School, Highland VFW Post, J-Town Gaslight Festival, J-Town Band, the Fillies Inc., the Kentucky Derby Festival, and many more.

He loved sports and was the announcer for the Louisville Blades Ice Hockey team. He was the public announcer for Friday Night racing at the old Fairgrounds Motor Speedway. His hobbies included auto racing, history, photography, music, theatre, and bird watching.

He is survived by his daughters Elaine Ann Fletcher Key (Kevin F.) and Jo Lynn Fletcher Farmer (Bill); his grandchildren Thomas Fletcher Farmer and Kirby Lynn Farmer.

He will be missed by his family, friends, and fans, but his beautiful voice will live on in the archives of Louisville radio for generations to come.

The Memorial Service to celebrate his life will be Friday, January 8, 2010, at 10 a.m. at Pearson's, 149 Breckenridge Lane, with burial to follow in Cave Hill cemetery. His visitation will be Thursday, January 7, 2010, 4-8 p.m. Memorial dedication suggested to Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, 106 E. Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202.

"Beecher was my ex-husband's uncle. After he left radio, Beecher took over his mother's business and retired...just dinked around with antiques, etc. His wife Gloria is still living in Somerset. Beecher was a real character, curious about everything and everyone -- and very well read. He was one of my favorite people. He marched to his own drummer!"

"I went in and told the receptionist what I wanted to do, and she said, 'Mr. Gray is here. Do you want to see him?' I said, 'Oh no. I don't want to do that.' And I turned around and left the station and left Louisville. Would you believe he called me the next day and offered me a job? He told me someone on his staff quit the day I showed up. I guess I was at the right place at the right time on that particular day.

"I asked him once why he used the 'stage' name, Lee Gray, and not his real name, Lee Darling. He replied, 'We're in the South, son. You don't go on the air and call yourself "Darling"!!'"

_________________________

Former WKLO and WAKY newsman Reed Yadon, when asked if it was true if Lee Gray was his flight instructor, replied: "Lee did check me out in several different airplanes. I was already licensed, but he did serve as the check-out pilot for retractable GA airplanes and did some work on me on multi-engine aircraft.

"Lee and I used to take friends and fly to Florida for the weekend. Once we went down to Florida and back in the same day just for the heck of it. Lee had to get back to do a Coke Hi-Fi club remote that night. We brought some sand back to prove our trip.

"We landed at O'Hare Airport in a single engine plane at 3 a.m. once. We had left Louisville after our Friday evening shift to spend the weekend in Chicago. On final approach we were spaced between jets and we darn near had to maintain cruise airspeed to keep from getting run over by the jet following us. Also the controller asked if we had the runway in sight and I replied, 'Yes, the one with the lights on' and he replied, 'Sir, we have 18 runways with lights on.'

"Lee was a very good plot and loved his flying. I learned a great deal from him as flying is nothing more than a constant process of learning. He was also helicopter rated.

"Lee was a great guy who died far too young."
WKLO

"I go by the air name Jon Summers and work in television now. I'm with WKBW-TV, Channel 7 in Buffalo, New York.

"I joined WKLO early in the year of 1967; I don't remember whether it was February or March. was only there about a year, but it was one of the most memorable years in my some 47 years in the industry.

"Perhaps the most memorable, but not the most pleasant, was the day one of the major ratings came in and apparently I kicked butt. Mitch Michael, the PD, called me into his office and told me about the ratings. However, instead of congratulating me and telling me "good job," he looked at me and said he just didn't get it, but I must be doing something right. Then he said he was busy and had to get back to work.

"Other than that, I had a great year."

"WOW…what a great website!!! What an undertaking on your part. Congratulations and thanks for doing so.

"Reading Dave Carson and Big Joe London's comments brought back a lot of great memories.

"I was at WKLO from May of 1969 through May of 1970. A 19 year old newscaster in Louisville….I thought I was really hot stuff.

"I was the night-time news guy opposite Carl Strandell and 'Muttley the Wonder Dog', followed by Dave Carson. I was recruited by my friend Big Joe London, whom I had worked with in my hometown, Muncie, Indiana (WERK-AM). Of course, WERK's most famous part-time announcer was another of my mentors, this crazy guy named Dave Letterman.

"Funny memories from that year at 'KLO: Big Joe calling me in the middle of the night with tears in his big voice, telling me I had to come to the station ASAP and cover his show. Joe had just purchased a new car, and because it was the midnight to 6 shift, the cops let him park it on the street directly in front of the street studio, so that he could keep an eye on it.

"Well, Big Joe was monitoring a police chase through downtown Louisville on the newsroom police scanner. Sure enough, the chase ended right in front of our studio with the bad guy plowing his car into Big Joe's new dream-ride, thus Joe's tears and his call to me, 'Get your ass here, right now'.

"Jack Sorbi, mid-day guy, known for the short-fuse, totaling destroying the 'bat phone' after being critiqued while 'on-air'.

"A frustrated Jackson Five fan tossing a brick through the showcase window, when informed several times by Carl Strandell that he couldn't move the requested song up in the rotation. (We had a phone outside on the street for just such requests.)

"Cops hanging out at night in our studio, doing surveillance on the bar across the street, suspected of running prostitutes.

"Every Sunday to Monday overnight I covered for Joe's day off. At 3:30am the buzzer at the door at the rear of the station would sound, meaning the trash pick-up guys had to be let into the building. So, I would have to sprint out of the studio (front of the building) all the way to the back, let the trash guys in, exchange pleasantries, then sprint back to the studio, before the commercial or record ended.

"After leaving KLO in 1970. I returned to my hometown of Muncie and WERK serving over the following 10+ years as News Director, Program Director, Talk-Host, Football Play-by-Play and General Manager.

"I also did a short stint at WLBC AM/FM in Muncie, before joining Group W's, WOWO-AM in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as Assistant PD. I was promoted a year later to station manager. Upon Group W's decision to sell WOWO, I was transferred to Denver, where I had the tremendous pleasure of running KOSI-FM from 1983-1986. We were recognized by author Tom Peters' and the NAB publication (1985), "Lessons From America's Best Run Radio Stations'. 1986-1988, I was GM of WYNY, New York for NBC radio. I returned to Group W in 1988 as GM of WBZ-AM Boston, where we hired this guy named Bergeron to be our morning talent.

"Always wanting to return to Denver, I left 'BZ' in 1992, started my own media consulting business. In Denver and Colorado Springs I worked for both Salem Broadcasting and Focus on the Family, then served as Executive Director of my church and the Denver Chapter of Youth for Christ. In 2003, I jumped back into media full-time, this time on the TV side, accepting my position here at Caption Colorado. We provide real-time closed captioning to the majority of local TV newsrooms across the US, as well as several cable nets. WHAS-TV is one of our customers. Thus, when I chat with personnel there, the memories of KLO flood back into my head."

"In my freshman year of college I was an intern at WHAS-TV in the fall of 1977. Jess Peterson was News Director at WKLO at the time, and was going to start an internship program there in January 1978. I saw a posting at school, applied and was his first intern! My father, Jim Smith, was an anchor/reporter at WLKY-TV 32 from 1961-69, so I always had an interest in TV and radio.

"After being at WKLO a few weeks, Bernie Thompson allowed Jess to add me to the payroll. I learned a lot back then from Jess and Dave Jacob Straub and Barry Steiger...and became friends with Bo Brady, Rusty Rodgers, Hitman Mac, Tim Hurst, Don St. John, Scott Thompson and others.

"I have fond memories of giving Bo Brady his morning 'wake-up; calls to make sure he'd roll in for his 5am show, late nights downstairs listening to new records, WKLO Pepsi Basketcases ballgames, backstage with Rusty and John Denver at Freedom Hall, Hitman's first ride in his Porsche with the headlights taped in place, Sunday night White Castle runs...the list goes on! I was like a sponge back then, soaking up everything I could from everyone willing to share and teach -- and I am to this day, grateful for all who shared their time and knowledge with me.

"I then worked a series of radio shows in smaller markets, and my last gig in radio ended in 2001 as host of 'Morning Talk with Dave James' at WULF-FM, a 50,000 FM station based in Radcliff, KY, when it was an all-talk formatted station.

"Today, I am in real estate property management and still own and operate a Mobile DJ business (At Your Service DJ's ), begun with my first gig via WKLO back in '78, thanks to Gary Major not wanting the gig! The mirror ball and motor I still use today was purchased for that first paying gig in '78 from the old Ayr-Way store at the former Bashford Manor Mall!

"My wife, Donna and I live in Crestwood, KY. She has three grown daughters and I have a son who is the Sports Editor for a weekly newspaper and a daughter attending EKU. We're going to become grandparents for the first time in October 2006. My, how times flies!

"I'd love to hear from anyone from that era and thank John Quincy for his creation and dedication to this site!"

"Think I got hired by Robin Walker in mid Spring 1974, just before the April ratings were underway. I came up to KLO from putting WCGQ on the air in Columbus, GA. Robin hired me because I was a good bull rider. (That's an in joke since both he and I also rode bucking horses in rodeos from time to time.) I replaced the Rock and Roll Pig, Ron Lake. Danny Mason was in his final few weeks at KLO at the time. Big Bill Love was mornings, Gary Major was trying to do middays, Bo Brady was PM drive then me. After Ron Lake left, Robin hired Chuck Diamond from Cincy.

"Ty Meredith was news director. Mike Rivers was in production. Was there through the summer of 1975 and left to return as PD of KISN in Portland, Oregon. Following KISN I spent several more years on-air and then migrated into sales in radio and TV for about ten years, finally settling in Seattle, WA and owning a broadcast advertising agency until I retired in 2002.

"Photos? Why heck no, I had to get rid of them when I got married. But there are tons of great stories. Stories about Bob Cline. One time I took three or four vacation days to visit Bob at his gig in Paducah. When I arrived in town, he got fired! Or the night on the air when Rusty Rodgers was trying to do a newscast and he was, as usually, murdering every pronunciation in the book. For instance he was talking about Dull-lou Airport in Washington DC. You and I knew it as Dulles. Or he was talking about the Cincinnati Red rooster. Most folks would have said ROSTER. Or the time Rusty got a job in Anchorage. Got married, got a new four-by-four and drove for a solid week to get to the new station. When they got there, the station had been sold and, you guess it, the new owners knew nothing about Rusty's hire. So we sent him gas money and home they came!

"There are a ton of them!"

Thanks to Dan Mason for sharing the following CBS RADIO memo with 1080WKLO.com:

OBITUARY

Johnny R. Aspenleiter “Johnny Randolph”, 78, died July 22, 2020 in Danville, Kentucky. John was born in Middletown, Ohio on August 7, 1941, son of the late Clarence John and Dorothy Marie Copsp Aspenleiter. John graduated from the Chattauqua High School in Ohio and earned an Engineering Degree at Miami University of Ohio. John loved studying the history of radio including call letters history, frequencies of stations and everything about the industry. He was a broadcaster and DJ for WAKY radio beginning in the early 60s and became so well-known across the state that he was recognized by strangers as soon as they heard his voice. On April 1, 1967, John joined WAKY as a jock and Assistant Program Director, until 1977. During his years at WAKY, he became a huge fan of Charlie Rich. Charlie’s record “Behind Closed Doors”, was played on air for the first time by John. The song later appeared on WAKY’s top 30 charts. The songs popularity spread from Louisville, selling more than a million copies and turning Charlie Rich into a superstar. He then later co-owned a station in Danville with WKLO call letters. From February 2005 to February 2007 John worked as Director of Programming for Walter May’s East Kentucky Broadcasting Group in Pikeville. Later that year John joined WAKY-FM in Elizabethtown to do the PM Drive, a position that he held until 2020. He had a fantastic sense of humor and was a good-humored prankster. When his sister was listening to her favorite songs on her radio in her room as a teenager, he would set his radio to a similar station to interfere with her reception. He loved musicals, dancing and traveling around the world. John was a student of anything and everything and he had a long-time fond love of old diesel Mercedes. He was a member of Southland Christian Church and a volunteer for Heritage Hospice. He is predeceased by his wife of 34 years, Frances Evelyn Aspenleiter and a granddaughter, Jennifer Franklin.

He is survived by three sons and two daughters, Jon Christopher Aspenleiter of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Cassie (Ed Silver) Hill of Orange Beach, Alabama, Carrie (Thomas) Owen of Danville, Gordon Edward Couch of Louisville and Tim (Patricia) Gulley of Danville; six grandchildren, Christopher (Lori) Tims, Timothy (Lisa) Tims, Michael Tims, Aubrey Lanier, Jr, Lee Gulley and Jonah Couch; one sister, Sharon Aspenleiter (Tim) Maddox and special family friend, Sandy Turner.

The funeral service will be held, 1:00 p.m., Thursday, July 30, 2020 at the Showroom in Danville. Hershel McKinley and Charlie Perry will officiate. Visitation will be after 4 p.m., Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at the Showroom in Danville. Masks and social distancing will be required at The Showroom. Memorial donations are suggested to Heritage Hospice. Our Hugs from Home program and the online guestbook are available at www.stithcares.com

"By age 10, I knew that I wanted to be in radio. And since I grew up in the Louisville area, that meant either WAKY or WKLO. In the late '60s WKLO used to sponsor an annual event called 'Other 98 Day,' to honor the '98% of kids you don't hear about' who stay out of trouble. The lucky chosen ones got to be station employees for a day, with the really lucky ones getting to go on the air. I applied in 1968 (at age 13) and was elated when I was selected. Although I didn't get to go on the air, I still got to tour the place and meet my idols.

"After that I got REALLY obsessed with radio and made an utter pest of myself by calling the DJs at all hours and peppering them with questions. Although some of them were understandably annoyed, most were very gracious, and a few went out of their way to be kind. Johnny Randolph, Weird Beard, Carl Truman Wigglesworth, and Ed Walker come to mind in the latter category as being especially encouraging and helpful.

"My first paying job was at WIEL in Elizabethtown, KY. I did some freeform FM on the side at WSAC-FM in Fort Knox before landing at WAVE in Louisville. I was about to move from evenings to middays at WAVE, but instead I got canned, for the first and last time ever. (I guess everybody should go through it at least once.) Within a few weeks I ended up at WKLO and a lifelong dream was finally fulfilled.

"By then the great Top 40 era was over. WAKY and WKLO were both struggling to find new identities and FM was moving toward dominance. WKLO was experimenting with an odd format that involved doing call-out research on oldies and placing the ones that tested well in hot rotation. Thus we ended up playing the Beatles' 'Yesterday,' among other well-worn titles, every three hours. And this was in 1978, eight years after they broke up. Fortunately, that experiment didn't last, and we evolved into a quite respectable full service operation. It wasn't the awesome Top 40 powerhouse of the 60s and early 70s, but it seemed like the station had gracefully eased itself into a successful middle age.

"I stayed busy in those days. In middays I was Rip Rinehart on WKLO, and in the mornings I was Eric Henderson, downstairs on sister station WCSN-FM, doing live drop-ins (and trying to stay awake) on what was otherwise a fully automated 'beautiful music' outlet. In between I did everything from production to winding carts with fresh tape.

"Of course, this is radio we're talking about here, and nothing lasts forever. By the following year WKLO/WCSN was a memory. The FM became WKJJ (KJ-100), and the AM became little more than something that had to be kept on the air. By then I was bored with reading liners and weather forecasts and got more into production, eventually becoming Production Director. KJ-100 did well on FM and eventually what used to be WKLO-AM became WCII, 'Country 11.' Around 1981 WCII hired the legendary Bill Bailey away from WAKY and I had the honor of working with him for several months before I left for Phoenix.

"In Phoenix I worked at KDKB and did freelance voiceover work; went back to school and got a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering; have worked in engineering ever since in Phoenix, San Diego, Austin, and now work from home here in Shelbyville, KY as a software consultant for Avaya Communications."

Jim Rivers writes:

"Well-done WKLO site! My couple of years at KLO are among my most pleasant memories; I'm grateful that you've brought them alive again. Regrettably, I have no airchecks or any other kinds of souvenirs from that era (1970-71) - it's been too long and, as your bio correctly notes, I changed careers in the mid-80s. For what it's worth, I'm now retired, and moved from Chicago to Atlanta in July '05.

"I did PM drive at KLO from about September 1970 to October 1971, when Brother Love (a peach of a guy, by the way) moved into that slot from early evenings. Before then, I worked the late night gig on KLO, commuting as a soldier from Fort Knox. The Courier-Journal did a piece about that during the summer of 1970.

"Carl Truman Wiglesworth was always one of my favorite people, even though I've had no contact with him since the '70s. And I've also retained a great respect for Ernie Gudridge, a very intelligent and very human manager. Ernie was one of the few GMs who let his PD run the programming function fairly autonomously. Ernie did not micro-manage.

"As you're probably aware, in the early 1970s WKLO and WAKY were fierce competitors for ratings and share, but the DJs at both stations knew each other off-air, and sometimes socialized. Gary Burbank (Bill Purser) dated my next-door neighbor for a time, and John Randolph was instrumental in my move from WKLO to WBBF in Rochester, NY (WBBF was a sister station to WAKY, as was WFIL, Philadelphia). Lee Gray also briefly worked at WBBF in 1973.

"One quick additional piece of bio that you can do with as you wish: Dick Braun, who did KLO mid-days ca. 1970, came there in the mid-sixties from WSAI, Cincinnati, where he was known as Dick Wagner. He couldn't use his real name (Braun) in Cincy because of the prominence there at that time of Bob Braun on WLW Radio and WLWT television. Bob Braun, by the way, worked with Nick Clooney at WLWT. Nick was Rosemary's brother and George's father (yes, that George Clooney)."

"Something I've always been proud of regarding WKLO was its annual participation in the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots drive. KLO put on a yearly live concert at Christmastime in Freedom Hall. The admission price was a new toy."

Biography: James Ezra Hazeltine III

James Ezra Hazeltine III, 67, of Douglasville, passed away Saturday, August 01, 2009. He was born October 16, 1941 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to the late Glenna and James Hazeltine II.

He was a Veteran of the United States Army. He received Professor Emeritus Status from Northeastern Illinois University. He was currently employed as a marketing professor at the State University of West Georgia. He attended both Ebenezer Baptist Church and First Presbyterian Church of Douglasville.

He is survived by his wife, Sandra Lynn Hazeltine of Douglasville and his sisters: Rachel Gawn and Glenna May Hazeltine of Pennsylvania.

Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday, August 4, at 11:00 am from Hightower’s Memorial Chapel in Douglasville with Reverend Jeff Childers officiating.

The family will receive friends Monday, August 3, from 6 until 9 pm at the funeral home.

Hightower's Memorial Chapel of Douglasville has charge of arrangements. 770-489-2818

From 440 Satisfaction:

IN MEMORIAM: JIM HAZELTINE:
By his sisters, Glenna Hazeltine and Rachel Gawn:

James E. Hazeltine, III, formerly of Lancaster, died August 1, 2009, in Atlanta, Georgia. Born in Lancaster October 16, 1941, Jim was the son of the late Glenna May and James E, Hazeltine, Jr., of Lancaster.

Jim attended the Lancaster public schools, graduated from The Hill School, Pottstown, PA, and from Franklin and Marshall College, where he was a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, and he matriculated at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Following military service, Jim enrolled in the University of Kentucky to complete the MBA begun at Wharton and went on to earn a doctorate.

Jim’s two loves were education and radio. Jim began his radio career while at Franklin & Marshall as a disc jockey and station manager at WLAN in Lancaster, and later worked as a dj at WIBG in Philadelphia, where he became known on-air as Jim Rivers. Jim went on to work at radio stations in Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, Rochester and Lexington.

Following his radio career, Jim spent twenty years in higher education as a professor, beginning at Illinois State University and from there to become associate dean in the business college of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Jim retired as Professor Emeritus from Northeastern and at the time of his death was employed as professor at the State University of West Georgia.

Jim is survived by his wife Sandra Lynn Hazeltine of Atlanta; sisters Glenna Hazeltine of Philadelphia and Rachel Gawn of Lancaster; and by nephews and nieces Jenn and Jim Hazeltine of Guatemala; Kristin and R.J. Hazeltine-Shedd of Houston, Texas; and Sarah and Alexander Gawn of Lancaster.

Funeral services were held August 4, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. Memorials may be sent to Franklin and Marshall College.

STICHT, Robert (Bob) Thomas Age 83 of Nashville, passed away January 11, 2012. He was born in Noxapater, MS to the late Frank Sticht and Nannye Pearl Davis Sticht. He was stationed at Cherry Point, NC while serving in the US Marine Corps. After the military, Bob began his broadcasting career, where he helped pioneer "Rock 'N Roll" radio in the early sixties. At WHB in Kansas City, MO, his on-air name was "Bob Robbin". He then worked as station announcer in Memphis, Louisville and New Orleans before becoming a renowned on-air personality in Nashville at stations WLAC, WSIX, and WAMB. In addition to his work on many radio stations, Bob had a syndicated radio show, "The All Time Greats Parade", co-hosting with the late Snooky Lanson. After a brief stint as owner of Station WSVT in Smyrna, TN, he returned to WAMB until his retirement in 2007. He is preceded in death by his wife, Jean Sticht; and two brothers, Frank Davis Sticht and Walter Fred Sticht. He is survived by his longtime companion, Helen Mitchell; nephews, Mike Sticht of Bolivar, TN and Don Sticht of Bartlett, TN; nieces, Rebecca Sticht Hayes and Elizabeth Lee; and longtime friend, Jim Gilmore. Visitation will be held Friday, January 13th at Brentwood United Methodist Church, from 12 p.m. until the 2 p.m. funeral service. The Reverend Dr. Jeffrey Wilson will officiate. Burial will follow in Mount Olivet Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations may be made to Willowbrook Hospice, 318 Riverside Drive, Franklin, TN 37064; or to Brentwood United Methodist Church, 309 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027. MOUNT OLIVET FUNERAL HOME, (615) 255-4193.

LYTLE FUNERAL CHAPEL ONLINE OBITUARY

Kenneth R. Trimble, 69, of Madison, Indiana, passed away Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at King's Daughters' Hospital in Madison . He was born Sunday, February 7, 1943 in Washington, D.C., the son of Robert and Elizabeth (Koury) Trimble.

Ken was currently the vice president and general manager for radio station WKID 95.9 in Vevay, Indiana where he had served for twelve years. He started his radio career at WIEL AM and WKMO FM in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, while serving in the US Army in the 1960's. He returned to those stations as president and general manager in the 1980's. During his career, he also worked for radio stations in Louisville, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Hartford, CT, and Madison.

Survivors include his wife, Patty (Crosby) Trimble, whom he married on Monday, December 23, 1996; a daughter: Teresa McCammon, Louisville, KY; a son: Todd Trimble, Louisville, KY; a brother: Richard Trimble, PA; 2 grandsons; and two step-children: Bryan Tinsley and Tish Geftos. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Family and friends may call from 1:00 until 4:00 PM Sunday April 15, 2012 at the Lytle Funeral Chapel, 423 West Main Street, Madison.

The family requests expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to the American Cancer Society. Memorial envelopes are available at the funeral home.

"I worked with Jim Schneider, a.k.a. “The Flying Dutchman” during the summer of 1991 at WIRO in Ironton, Ohio. He spent many years prior to that at 103.3 WTCR/1420 WTCR in Catlettsburg, KY (Huntington, West Virginia/Ashland, Kentucky/Ironton, Ohio radio market). WTCR is the number one-rated radio station in this market and has been for many years. The numbers were huge when Dutch was there as Program Director and morning air personality (30+ shares).

"Dutch left WTCR around 1990 or so and was part owner in WIRO in Ironton, Ohio. He and his wife, Mona, worked at the station. While I only worked with him for a brief period of time, his legacy will be in my memory and a part of who I am for the rest of my life. The man was amazing in a production room. And he was very talented when it came to doing a morning drive show.

"Dutch passed away in 1992. I believe he was in his mid-to-late-40s."

"I’m happy to report that Bob Shannon is alive and well and still keeping his 'hand in the biz' and his face behind the mike as the Saturday morning news anchor at NewsTalk AM 580, WDBO, Orlando, Florida. I know this to be true, for I am he, now living and working under my real name, Bob Johnson.

"It seems like just a blink or so ago that I was part of one of the most incredible line-ups in broadcasting... From ’68 through most of ’69 it was Bill Bailey, Jack Sorbi, then me, then CTW (Carl Truman Wiglesworth – obviously a real name – who the hell would make that up?), Lee Gray, Al Risen and Bill Clark overnights.

"Of course, I’ll never forget that group. How could I? We were amazingly well received by 'Derbytown' and were all together during one of the shortest fashion fads ever – the Nehru Jacket. I have the photo to prove it.

"I also used to have, but can no longer find, another special souvenir of my days in those 3rd. and Walnut 'Showcase Studios.' We all had name plaques made to show passers-by who was on the air. CTW (again, Wiglesworth – can you believe it?) had been named PD, replacing Mitch Michael who had gone to the 'big apple' and he decided I should be on the air as Shannon, dropping my first name. So, he called and ordered the plaque, telling the person he was placing the order with it was to say just plain Shannon. Yeah, you guessed it. The plaque came in and said exactly that... JUST PLAIN SHANNON!

"WKLO’s General Manager back then, Ernie Gudridge did me one of the best favors anyone’s ever done for me, although at the time I thought it was the cruelest thing anyone had ever done to me. He called me in one Friday afternoon and asked me to come to work the following Monday early in the morning and to wear a coat and tie. I asked why and he answered by telling me that as of that coming Monday, I was no longer on the air. I was being moved into sales. Can you imagine what that did to a 'personality’s' fragile ego?

"Less than a year after that I was again privileged to be part of one of the most incredible teams in broadcasting. The sales team at 700, WLW in Cincinnati. The years I spent there were the most productive, financially, I’d ever experienced anywhere. Being linked to 'The Nation’s Station', The Big Red Machine and the upstart Cincinnati Bengals was like living in a dream world for most of the '70s and the early ‘80s.

"My family and I moved to Orlando in 1984 and have been here most of the years since. My bride and I have four grown children and six grandchildren.

"By the way, I have to thank Ernie Gudridge for another milestone in my life. Prior to those good old days with the 'Duke of Louisville; and the rest of the ‘KLO crew, Ernie hired me as the summer replacement at the Air Trails Station he was managing in Springfield, Ohio. This was in the summer of 1961. I’ll always remember driving to Springfield for the interview with Mr. G. from my home town of Ashland, Ohio. When I got there, the receptionist told me that he wasn’t in.

"I was shocked and a bit miffed. I said, 'But he has to be. I have an appointment with him.' The pretty young girl calmed me down, told me she was sure he would be right back, and offered me a soft drink. Sure enough, Mr. G. did show up, I had my interview and when I got back to my home in Ashland my mother asked me if I got the job. I told her, 'I don’t know yet, but I met the girl I’m going to marry.' We’ll celebrate our 45th. anniversary this October.

"My god, the memories. I hope this finds Bailey doing well, and that Reed Yadon (who used to talk about his Gracie a lot) and skinny Johnny Randolph remember me. I’ll never forget any of them.

"October 3rd. will be my 66th. but don’t get me anything more extravagant than what you sent last year. Ha-ha. Isn’t broadcasting amazing?"

SMITH, ISAAC KEY "IKE," 64, of Louisville, passed away Sunday, March 9, 2014 at his home.

He was born June 28, 1949 in Madison, IN the son of Leslie Key Smith and Rose Dee (Pratt) Smith.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife of 39 years, Barbara Versaw Smith.

Ike was a 1967 graduate of Henry County High School and later went on to complete his Bachelor's degree at University of Louisville. He worked in Louisville area news radio for 25 years and was a member of Calvary Episcopal Church and The Sons of Confederate Veterans.

He leaves to cherish his memory a daughter, Jennifer Smith Sinclair; a son, Nathan Key Smith; a granddaughter, Adalyn Ellen Smith; and a sister, Lillian Ann Smith Arbogast (Al).

A service to celebrate Ike's life will be conducted at noon on Saturday, March 15, 2014 at Calvary Episcopal Church, 821 S. Fourth St. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. on Friday at Arch L. Heady & Son at Westport Village, 7410 Westport Rd.

In lieu of customary expressions, donations may be given to Calvary Episcopal Church or WHAS Crusade for Children.

"Like a lot of people I banged around some small markets before I got the gig at KLO. I started there as a part-time weekender during the last of the 1974 AM glory days...just before the advent of and acceptance of FM radio (read: WLRS and the Superstars format) in Louisville. I worked there with production director Mike Rivers. After he left, Fleetwood Gruver took over production director duties. I made myself available doing on-air work whenever someone was sick or on vacation. By this time I was totally not interested in being an on-air talent. So, when Fleet took a job in Atlanta, I was given the production director title. I think I was always more of a manager type and, if I had stayed in the business, I would have gravitated toward programming, sales and management.

"As the last production director of WKLO/WCSN, I was in the room when John Page Otting, the new general manager, introduced E. Alvin Davis as our interim PD. This was a sales-only meeting, closed to the entire programming staff...but I considered myself more part of the sales team than programming. (I only pulled a Saturday midday air shift at the time.) I had sent E. an aircheck several years earlier when my good friend Gary Guthrie worked at WNOE in New Orleans with Gary Burbank et al. E. replied with a note telling me to 'get out of the business' while I still had a chance.

"At the meeting, E. read down a list of negatives associated with the call letters WKLO. He also said a decision had already been made to blow out the entire programming staff. I was pretty depressed at that moment knowing I had just heard that I was gonna be fired. After he was done, Dan Hymson (now deceased) a senior sales exec. asked E., "Well, is there anything good about this damn place?" E. replied, "Well, whoever is your production director, he is doing a good job...we're gonna keep him." I smiled and got a wink from Dan and my other sales friend Mike Horlander. So I became the first production director of WKJJ AM/FM.

"When I left for dental school I had been at that time I believe the longest lasting programming staffer in the station's history with 7 plus years.

"After I got my head around the first few weeks of dental school, C.C. Matthews and John Otting gave me a gig at WQMF. I did production, then part-time and all-night DJ work. I hated being on the air but really needed the money since dental school was terribly expensive.

"I really cherish the crazy memories and great people I had the opportunity to work with and meet. Working in this business and associating with the people I did afforded me many of the tools I use every day in my dental practice. Radio and dentistry are almost exactly similar: You are with one person at a time and it's all about relationships and loyalties."

Services will be held at Saint John’s Church, on Saturday, September 27th at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Saint John’s Church, 2615 Saint Beulah Chapel Road, Montgomery, Texas 77316 or to the Literacy Volunteers of America, at P. O. Box 2704, Conroe, Texas 77305.

"Hard to believe it's been nearly 40 years since I sped around the Fairgrounds Speedway on a tricycle. I believe Dick Braun presented me the trophy pictured here, after I sped past Bill Bailey and Carl Truman Wiglesworth. Great fun with wonderful people.

"When I left WKLO I moved to New York City where I lived until May 1975 working as an actor in commercials with an occasional bit on 'Search For Tomorrow.' If you don't blink you'll see me dressed as a cop sitting behind Al Pacino in the opening graduation scene of 'Serpico.' Part of the 'New York actor gig' included driving a cab, waiting tables and tending bar at the cabaret Reno Sweeny.

"I moved to Grant County Kentucky in 1975, became a tobacco and cattle farmer, and continued working as an on-camera and voice talent in hundreds of commercials and industrials. I am a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and served eight years as a board member for the Tri-state local of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

"Currently I am producing a documentary about my long time friend, Kentucky artist William Petrie, 'In Dreams Awake' in collaboration with House of Commons Films in Lexington. Look for the show in September 2006.

"I continue to make my home in the country at the Madwillow Creekhouse, which I built with the help of friends and neighbors in the mid '80s.

"I am still working in radio. I am the voice of Red Barn Radio, a weekly syndicated show featuring Kentucky musicians and song writers recorded live at Art's Place in Lexington.

"I am very grateful to have been a very small part of the broadcast history made by WKLO and WAKY. Thanks for these tribute Web sites."

"Here's a summary of Harold's broadcast career. It may be that the dates are a little off. It was difficult to construct since he didn't always show dates on his resume. The sequence is correct however. There are a couple of times when he quickly changed to another station when the format changed, the station was bought out, etc. He spent 19 years full-time in the business.

Carl Strandell writes:

"I worked at KLO from '68-'71 and primarily the night shift (hours changed from 6-10, 7-Mid, 10-2). The line-up that comes to mind was Bill Bailey, Dick Braun, Jack Sorbi, Carl Truman Wiglesworth (the PD), Jim Rivers, myself, Dave Carson and Joe ( Luebbe) London. Over the years there were others: Al Risen, Montgomery Hogg, Lee Gray, etc.

"I arrived not long after CTW had become PD. Both off and on-air the person I remember most was Bailey. I was with him (at Kev's) the night WAKY made him the offer (long story). The last time I saw Bailey, he was in town (but working at WLS). He phoned so we could meet up. While we were drinking, he went over to the pay phone and called WLS to tell him that he couldn't make it in that Monday morning (perhaps snowed in...does it snow in Louisville?).

"What I recall most from the night shift was the 'crystal ball.' I'd make these high school football predictions (through the magical crystal ball) and nearly every night there would be groups of cheerleaders, bands, football players banging on the showcase window -- it was pretty exciting. I'd have to attend pep rallies and often had to sit one half of the game on one school's side then on the other side. I do remember several student bodies cheering, 'Go to hell Strandell, go to hell...' especially when the crystal ball was wrong and they were winning! It was such a big promotion that when people went by the [showcase] studio the first thing they would see would be the school banners, pom-poms, and of course The Crystal Ball.

"When I left WKLO I went to work at WPOM in West Palm Beach and a short while later I joined WBBF (Rochester, NY) where Jim Rivers (former afternoon jock at KLO) was the PD. Jim later went on the get his masters degree and I became the PD of WBBF, owned by LIN, who also owned WAKY. Interesting time."

Dave Straub writes:

"I did so much 'stringer' news at WSB for NBC during the Carter Administration, I went with them full time. Then later, Len King, I and a few other veterans worked to create the CNN Radio News Network format and I anchored there for several years. Finally, I worked in management in radio and TV until I retired and started my own business in 1995.

"Today, I am CEO of APSI (Alternate Power Systems, Inc.), a solar/wind/renewable energy company based in Atlanta and doing business worldwide."

"I worked at WKLO from about January-July of 1973. I may be slightly off with the months, but certainly not much. I was working at KSLQ in St. Louis when Bill Hennes hired me for afternoons that winter, and during the months that ensued, he went to program CKLW. Shortly thereafter, I left to go to KHJ. During this era, I was using the name 'Bill Taylor.'

"I remember the radio battle that spring. The famous 'Secretariat' won the Kentucky Derby, and 'Horse With No Name' (which was out the year before) was being played on WKLO as a recurrent. I may have started something at the station when I said, 'The horse now has a name.' I heard my fellow jocks say similar things until the excitement of the Derby finally simmered down, which took several days. Though we may have been just a bit stilted, I think we sounded much better than WAKY at the time, and the Spring 1973 book proved it with some of the best numbers WKLO ever had against WAKY. I don't remember the exact numbers, but I remember we had invaded and beat them in many dayparts that they had previously 'owned.'

"WKLO was one of the very few stations where the sales people and jocks had a camaraderie. I wish I could remember some of their names, and the name of the GSM. I do remember some of the news staff, which included Julian Mouton, Ty Meredith and (fellow coffee drinker) Dave White. It was strictly top notch and a better news staff than many stations in larger markets like Cincinnati or St. Louis.

"I played 'Smoke On The Water' many times during my radio career, but playing it as a current on WKLO still holds truly special memories of what great radio could be.

"The last five years, I've been a voice outsource for radio stations doing image and production. I worked in Chicago radio for quite a long time, as well as 7 years at Satellite Music Network. The last actual radio station I worked at was WMAQ. I was there when they closed in the summer of 2000. I have almost no desire to be on the air again. Radio sucks big time."

OBITUARY

Dennis L. Day of Hardinsburg, KY died March 16, 2015 at Hardin Memorial Hospital. He was born in Clarksville, IN on September 26, 1950, the son of William "Bill" Day and Kathleen Day.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Wilda "Peachy" Hendricks.

Dennis is survived by his son Jason Thomas Day, 1 niece and 1 nephew

Dennis began broadcasting at the age of 16 and continued that successful career working in radio stations in major markets including Louisville, Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Orleans, Charlotte and finally in 1992 helped establish WXBC in Hardinsburg, KY where he was employed until his death.

He was a member of Hardinsburg United Methodist Church.

There will be a private memorial service.

Expressions of sympathy are requested to the Hardinsburg United Methodist Church.

Meisburg, John M. "Jack" Sr., 94, passed away at Treyton Oak Towers in Louisville on March 11, 2015.

Jack was born in Louisville on January 4, 1921 and had a long career in Louisville as an educator. He served as principal of five elementary schools in downtown Louisville and as Assistant Superintendent of both the Louisville and Jefferson County Public Schools.

In the Louisville schools, he was a teacher, principal, director and Assistant Superintendent for Instruction. (1948 - 1974) He was the first director of the Louisville Head Start Program in the summer of 1965 and also headed other federal programs in Louisville, including the federal Title I Program.

When the Louisville and Jefferson County school systems were merged in 1974, he became Assistant Superintendent of the Jefferson County Public Schools. He retired from the Jefferson County Public Schools in 1980. During his career Jack also served as adjunct faculty in political science and education at the University of Louisville, Jefferson Community College and Georgetown College.

All of the Louisville schools Jack served as principal are now closed. He headed the Mary D. Hill and George D. Prentice schools at the same time and then headed the George Morris and Frederick Douglass schools. Morris and Douglass were segregated schools that were brought together in 1961 in a new integrated school (Omer Carmichael) at Hancock and (then) Walnut Streets. Jack was the school's first principal. In 1962 Carmichael School enrolled over 900 pupils. The student body and the staff were evenly integrated, 50% white and 50% African American and this neighborhood school attracted the attention of journalists from other countries who visited the school. (In 1956, the Louisville Public School system was honored by the Freedoms Foundation for the peaceful integration of its schools.)

Jack was always active in the work of professional associations. He served as President of the Louisville Education Association (LEA). During his term as President in 1965, the LEA sponsored the historic law suit (Russman v. Luckett) which forced the state of Kentucky to assess property at fair cash value. This action resulted in dependable, continuing financial support for all school districts in the state.

The Louisville Education Association came of age as a professional union during Jack's term as president. The Association, supported by the National Education Association (NEA), employed Kentucky's first full time Executive Secretary of a teacher association. (Rodney VanZant) This marked the beginning of professional negotiations with the Board of Education on matters of salaries and working conditions. Jack was a Life Member of the National Education Association and the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

Jack was a graduate of Male High School (1938) and a member of the Male High School Hall of Fame. A graduate of the University of Louisville, he earned the BA in 1948 and MA in 1951. Later he did graduate work at Indiana University and the University of Kentucky. At U of L, before World War II, he was president of his class, sports editor of The Cardinal and a member of the "L" Club. (Baseball).

An Army veteran of World War II, Jack served as an officer in the Chemical Warfare Service and as an Information and Education Officer. After the war, he served as an officer in the Kentucky National Guard (138th Field Artillery) and in the Army Reserve, as a Plans and Training Officer. He retired in 1981 with the rank of Major. He was a Charter Life Member of the Military Officers Association of America.

Radio news broadcasting was Jack's avocation. While teaching history and journalism at duPont Manual High School in the 1950s, he wrote and produced a weekly news program that was heard in Louisville and Jefferson County classrooms on WFPL-FM. This program was nominated by the Louisville Public Schools for a Freedoms Foundation award. When he was a teacher, he also worked part time for WKLO and other local stations as an announcer and news editor. As a newsman at WKLO he used the name, Jack Thurston.

Following his retirement from the Jefferson County Public Schools, he worked for the City of Louisville. Mayor Harvey Sloane appointed him to give direction to the City's federally supported Summer Youth Employment Programs of 1984 and 1985. When Jerry Abramson became Mayor, Jack was assigned to the staff of the City's Private Industry Council where he prepared job training contracts with Louisville training providers under the federal Job Training Partnership Act.

In recent years, Jack came out of retirement again to work part time for the Jefferson County Public Schools as a course developer, writing and teaching courses for the school district's new eSchool. His courses in Government and History were presented on line as part of the district's "school on the internet."

Jack was a member of Walnut Street Baptist Church. Previously, at Bethany Baptist Church, he served as a Sunday School teacher, Chairman of the Board of Deacons and Church Moderator. He was also a member of the U of L University Club and the Lakeside Swim Club.

Jack was preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, Marion Lucas Meisburg.

He is survived by his three children, John M. Meisburg Jr. (Denise), a federal Judge in Jacksonville, FL; Suzanne Radermacher (Tom), a counselor in the schools of Virginia Beach, VA, and Bradley T. Meisburg (Betty), an electrical engineer and Director of Technology at Alpharetta First United Methodist Church in Alpharetta, GA. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren; and eight great- grandchildren.

Visitation with the family will be held from 4-7 p.m. Sunday, March 15, 2015 at Highland's Funeral Home, 3331 Taylorsville Rd, Louisville, KY, 40205. A service to celebrate his life will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, March 16, 2015 at Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1101 S 3rd St, Louisville, KY, 40203.

Paul Westpheling writes on April 2, 2006:

"I worked in Louisville in 1970 and 1971 then went to Detroit to work for WCAR for six months. It was a very good rocker. After that, the resume begins to resemble a road map of the United States with jobs in Honolulu and San Jose. I wound up in 1978 at the NBC O&O in San Francisco (KNBR) for three terrific years...moved to New York for a tour at ABC Radio, NBC Radio, The Wall Street Journal radio network and finally with UPI Radio.

"In March, 1988, I stumbled into the offices of the Voice of America here in Washington and have been here ever since, mainly as an international radio broadcaster specializing in business and economics news."

"I first went to WKLO in the summer of 1968. Allen Bryan hired me as the night news guy (6 - midnight). My only experience had been at a tiny station in a tiny town in eastern Kentucky (WIRV in Irvine) and here I was working in a "big city" newsroom (there were nine people on the news staff at the time!), with Lee Gray on the other side of the window!

"This was a part-time job, and I left in the spring of 1969 because I needed fulltime work. I returned in 1972 (from WLAP), hired by Ty Meredith, who was then the News Director. Bill Hennes was PD at the time, and after I finished my first newscast, he strolled into the newsroom and informed me that I 'didn't sound mean enough!' I did afternoon drive news until 1974, when I had the opportunity to start up the news department at WKEE in Huntington, WV.

"A year later, I came back to WKLO a THIRD time, hired by Eileen Douglas, my former co-worker who was now one of the country's first female news directors. When she left to go to WINS, I became News Director, and remained until 1977 when I left (for the last time) and started working in TV news.

"I worked in TV news until 1986, then in TV promotion, then in syndicated program production until 1998. Since then, I have been self-employed in Web development and design, teaching online courses in writing and editing Web content, and doing freelance writing of all kinds. I moved to Nashville in 1993, where I still happily reside.

"Without a doubt, WKLO provided the greatest radio experience of my career. Some extremely talented people worked behind that 'showcase window' at 307 West Walnut Street, and I consider it an honor to have known and worked with many of them."

"When I was in high school (St. X class of '69), I favored WAKY. And a few years later after landing my first on-air gig in Bowling Green, while at Western Kentucky University and once I had gotten the DJ bug, I wanted to come back home to work at my favorite station.

"I was lucky enough to get Johnny Randolph to listen to my aircheck. He told me that I wasn't ready for the big time yet. So that same week, I met with Bill Hennes over at WKLO, and he hired me right then and there on the spot.

"And the rest they say, is history. Less then two years later, I'm in Boston!"