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...