The back of this picture notes that it was taken on December 11, 1956. What is now Mercury Boulevard was only a two lane road. My old buddy Thomas Twine writes:
"Mercury Boulevard was originally Military Highway (not, of course, to be confused with the one in Norfolk). I'm told Dick Kidney was among those leading the charge to re-name it in honor of NASA Langley."
Todds Lane is in the background. A few years later, garages and Quonset huts would be added for offices and extra studios. By the end of the 1960s, the towers would be taken down, after the nighttime directional antenna site was moved to the upper portion of Todds Lane. In 1972, Todd Center was constructed on this site, with new WGH studios and offices built near the area of the tower in the foreground of the photo.
Here's the WGH Sunshine Spreader Spotter Car with George Crawford, Jr. at the wheel, getting ready to spot round, yellow WGH window stickers on autos. It's parked in front of the Showmobile, which contained a complete on-air studio with a Gates Yard Console, turntables, cart machines, etc. On the far left side of the photo, beside the Ford Van, is the truck that was utilized to pull the Showmobile to and from remotes.
It's George Crawford, Sr. in the Conference Room in the old Mercury Boulevard studios, going through contest entries. I believe this had something to do with designing the ultimate doggie rest stop.
Here's George Crawford in the old on-air studio on Mercury Boulevard. The studio wasn't much larger than maybe 9' wide and 10' deep. I believe the Make-Up Room (a recording studio) was on the left side of the photo and the News Room was on the right.
Scroll down for pictures from yesteryear. If you have some you'd like me to include, please email the files to dale@alohanews.com.
Just why is a tribute site for WGH on a Hawaii website? I moved to Maui from New York City in the early 1990s, but I grew up in Newport News, where I listened to WGH and was fortunate to work for the station in the early 1970s (twice). For years, I had airchecks and jingles tapes and pictures and surveys, etc. that I had collected and stored in filing boxes in my attic and basement, as well as my brother Tim's house in Virginia. The Internet has now allowed me to share with you these gems (and other material received from former WGH listeners and employees). I hope you enjoy this site. It was a lot of fun putting it together. If you're ever on Maui, let's get together and trade stories about "WGH in Old Virginia"!
Dale Parsons - Akamai Media LLC
This is JJ Bowman in the old Mercury Boulevard on-air studio. The console is a Gates "Yard", one of my all-time favorites (the tube version...not the solid state unit). Look through the window and you'll see Dick Kidney talking on the phone in the News Room.
John Garry is in the Spotter Car in 1970, parked on Boush Street in Downtown Norfolk in the savings and loan parking lot beside the WTKR-TV (then WTAR) building. Across the street is the old WGH Norfolk office with the flashing neon sign on the roof.
Here's my official Keith James Fan Club membership card. He also sent a bag full of silver ballpoint pens, with a microphone and call letters on the clip and a bunch of autographed publicity photos. Shortly after this, Keith left for CHED in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Here's Keith James! If you look closely, it's autographed.
In front of the studios on Mercury Boulevard. This photo was taken as the city was widening Mercury Boulevard and adding service lanes. Note the highway construction in the background.
Here's another shot of the old Mercury Boulevard studios. Note the building additions since the 1956 photo, including the Sky Studio. The year "1963" is written on the back of the photo.
Ron James filing away his music. A while back, while I was searching on the Internet for Verizon DSL and I came upon a Verizon site with a picture of Ron. He was in charge of public relations for Verizon in West Virginia. He just recently retired.
The Sky Studio was a fixture in front of the old Mercury Boulevard studios for much of the 1960's. I believe it disappeared when the service roads started going in on the highway.
Check out the equipment. The tape decks look like Muzak decks to me. And just behind his right elbow, it looks like an old transmitter remote control (Rust?). It might be the same one used into the 1970s to control the two transmitter sites. It had a telephone dial that you would utilize to dial up each remote control position. I remember one evening when it got out of sync as we were switching from the non-directional site to the directional site and both transmitters were on the air at the same time. That was one awful sound. Thanks, Owen, for a great picture!
Long ago, newspapers ran radio stations' program schedules as a service to their readers. This one ran in the Daily Press on Friday, June 30, 1939. (Courtesy Knowtoniosis)
Rob Wayne in the Military Circle Mall on-air showcase studio. I know the Ampex in the back of the studio was used at least twice, because I used it. Rob's cueing a record (remember that...and those?) on Turntable #2 (There were 3 turntables). Early in the studio's life, the remote starts for the turntables were not connected, so you had to start them with the start buttons on the turntables. One evening, I had my next record cued up on Turntable #3...the one just out of arm's reach as I faced the console. I was reading the weather and needed to start the record under me. As I was reading the forecast, I reached down, pulled off my shoe, leaned back and smacked the start button with my heel. No one listening to their radio noticed, however the twenty people staring at me through the window in the mall applauded. I mentioned the episode to Joe Looper (Chief Engineer) the next day. A few days later, we had remote starts.
Here's another Radio Log, this one from Thursday, April 17, 1941. Note the frequency of "1340 KC." In March of that year, most U.S. radio stations shifted their frequencies to higher positions on the dial. (Courtesy Knowtoniosis)