The History Of Radio Randy

Dave Weinfeld   Back in Rushford we settled in to living with my mom and dad which was great. Erin was getting some quality time with her grandparents while Vicky and I pondered our future without worrying about death threats. Then the call came. A call that in fact would change our lives forever. Hi, this is Dave Weinfeld, and I liked your tape and resume and I’d like to talk to you about a PD job. David was part owner and General Manager of WECQ in Geneva NY. Vicky and I drove to Geneva to meet with David on a Sunday. I tuned into CQ-102 as we drove into town. I was very impressed with the station.  CQ was a small market station to be sure, but sounded like it belonged in a much larger market. The PD at the time was Pat Gillen. We didn't meet Pat that day, but eventually we crossed paths and got to know each other over the years. People who worked for David formed sort of a brotherhood. Over the years I met many folks who came thru Geneva on the way up in their radio careers...

  Me, my brother Dennis and my Folks, Lois and Don The two owners, William Allan and William Hugh sat in my WWXL office listening as I repeated what I had told them on the phone. This note was on my car this morning. Wouldn’t it be too bad if something happened to that new baby     It was a threat on the life of Erin, our newborn. William Allen stood up and handed me a leather pouch. In it was a .32 Caliber pistol and a clip- on holster. You might need this he said. I was taken aback for a minute. I mean I was very familiar with guns, having grown up on a farm. Plus, I had carried a side arm everyday at work in the USAF as a cop. I checked the gun to see if it was loaded and put it in the holster and clipped it onto my belt. My, or rather our, new reality, I guess. Both owners seemed largely unconcerned. Which pissed me off a little bit. But to be honest violence and shootings were fairly common in Clay County and lots of folks carried guns, including most of the women Vi...

  My two biggest fans. My mom and Vicky   The challenges of living in rural, mountain country in Kentucky were many. Manchester was isolated. And while both Vicky and I grew up in a very small town in Western NY, Manchester was nothing like that. The people were nice, for the most part and some were accepting of us, but most remained suspicious of the “outsiders”. Of course, the Stevie Sizemore incident didn’t help to create that warm and fuzzy feeling about Manchester. Vicky was also getting quite an education from some of the women she was getting to know. Often at gatherings over coffee or whatever, the ladies would take their handguns out of their purses to compare them. Vicky was little dumbfounded as one of the women asked to see her gun. Vicky said, I don’t have a gun. She was informed that she needed one, because in Kentucky, it was ok to shoot your husband if you found out he was cheating. Happily, I can say that Vicky never got a gun, nor has she needed one. In any e...

  Headed for Kentucky. Opal, the receptionist at WWXL buzzed my office with a chilling message: Mr. Bliss, Mr. Sizemore is on the line for you. Uh, THAT Mr. Sizemore I asked? Yes, she said and he is pissed. OK, put him thru I said. I picked up the phone and said hello and he only said one sentence to me, and it was: If I hear any more stories on your station about a change of venue for my trial, I will fire- bomb your radio station. Who was Mr. Sizemore? Read the account: On December 18, 1980, local independent coal truck drivers in Clay County, Kentucky met near the Big K Coal Company's processing plant to protest the company's hiring of out-of-state truck drivers to transport coal from the plant. Petitioner Sizemore, who owned an interest in the company, drove toward the plant, where he encountered ten to twelve truckers congregated on a roadway. Sizemore stepped from his truck, armed with a pistol. Willard Morris, a manager of Big K Coal Company, was also present and a...

  Our temporary studio in the Cornfield. As I write this, during the worldwide pandemic, approaching Christmas 2020 , I have been reflecting on this next chapter a great deal. My time at WIVQ had been extremely rewarding and I learned a lot. Almost everything by trial and error and I had a boss who let me do that which I have always been grateful for. That was Ben Granger, who was only a couple of years older than me but had already accumulated quite of bit of radio experience. We became partners really, with a goal of making the station better. Ben let me take the lead and backed me up often when it came to making changes and I have always appreciated that. It gave me confidence. Even though I was just a first time PD Ben treated me like I was an expert in programming which of course I was not. He was the first of many GM’s I worked for over the next 40 years and he was certainly one of the best.   As it turned out, he would be the first of many radio people who I would...

  WIVQ Lasalle-Peru Illinois  T he voice on the phone said, how would you like to be our program director? Uh, you do know that I have never been a PD before, right? I was talking with Ben Granger, the General Manager of WIVQ in Peru Illinois. He said, that is not a problem, we really liked your air-check tape and the commercials you included. Plus, we like your Air Force Service and think you will be right for the job, when can you start? Right away I said, how much does it pay? 110 dollars a week, Ben said. OK I said I will be there in a few days. I hung up, told my folks I had my first full time job in radio and that I was moving to Peru Illinois. I loaded everything I owned into my Ford Torino and headed west. It would be the first of many moves in my radio career, but the only one I made by myself. Vicky and I had been dating for several years and had gotten engaged while I was in the Air Force. The plan was for me to go to Illinois, get settled and then get married ...