Robert Lilley's Adventures at WKAZ

I graduated from South Charleston High School in the Spring of 1959, but not before some wonderful times at Charleston, WV radio stations WGKV-AM, WHMS-AM and finally WKAZ AM/FM. The move from WHMS was not out of dissatisfaction, as I remember it now. Rather I saw interesting people, equipment and a TV opportunity down the street at WKAZ, since the Charleston studios of Huntington's WSAZ-TV were co-located with WKAZ. I actually did a tiny bit of TV floor-manager duty, and learned a bit about video production and camera work, but it was mostly radio.

After graduation, it was off to the University of Illinois, where I parlayed all this experience into a position with the campus closed-circuit station WPGU, and later attempted to start a similar operation at Ohio University in Athens, but ran into campus committee opposition. More learning...but that's a whole other story. (The Ohio University dormitory radio system was later created by others, and it became quite successful.)

Your website picture of the Capitol Street building that housed WKNA brought back another radio-daze memory. Two of us from South Charleston's high school band and its associated dance bands came to those studios -- then WTIP -- about 1958 to provide backup for a singing group in their recording session. I played piano, and a drummer, Don Carpenter was there also.

I remember being impressed with the engineering. Their technical guy had built all the electronics, and even modified the turntables for solenoid-controlled cueing.  A plunger held the record carrier still until you selected that turntable channel, then released it. All the tapes were recorded and played from a remote location, as I remember it.

We recorded with the singing group -- their theme song was "Pour the Corn", which I never heard before or since. The drummer and I recorded an instrumental version of "Spring is Here" a'la George Shearing.  I think I still have the tape...

From the outside, I remember that turret window that faced Capitol Street. I think it was closed off from the inside, but there was a dress form with an old purple dress in that window for years!  Inside, the place was really dark; very dark painted walls and acoustic tile...

A side note:  I believe WTIP's tech guy also built the console for the glass booth at the original Parkette on Patrick Street next to the bowling alley. I remember visiting Bob Pappas from WTIP there once.

So, except for a lot of memories of those first jobs, and those good friends, that was the end of the radio career. It was on to electrical engineering and other pursuits. But, I remember a number of people who took a chance on a "green" kid and in the process enriched his growing-up process significantly.

Thanks, guys (and ladies !) ...

Robert W. Lilley, Ph. D., VP and Chief Engineer
Illgen Simulation Technologies, Inc.
Santa Barbara, California

bob@bemorehealthy.com

Robert's WKAZ Web Page:  Click HERE

submitted July 3, 2001