WGH Radio Picture Page

The picture on the left was taken on December 11, 1956. What is now Mercury Boulevard was only a two lane road. Todds Lane is in the background. By the end of the 1960s, the towers were gone and 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. The photo on the right shows the same area today.. The only thing that's recognizable is Lynnhaven Drive (now with trees around the houses) in the upper center of the photograph.

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."

(Left) 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 for remotes.

(Right) 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 WTAR-TV (now WTKR) building. Across the street is the old WGH Norfolk office with a flashing neon sign on the roof.

(Left photo) Here's George Crawford in the Hampton on-air studio in the new wing of studios added to the building in 1963. George joined the station from WTAR and was paired with Jim Stanley on the morning show. For a while he was on the air Thursday-Saturday and Jim was on Monday-Wednesday. George took over the program fulltime when Jim Stanley left for WNOR.

(Right photo) It's George in the Conference Room. I believe this had something to do with designing the ultimate doggie rest stop.

Scroll down for pictures from yesteryear. If you have some you'd like me to include, please email them to me.

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This picture was taken around 1960. Changes from the 1956 photo include filling in the front (where the "Sound of Progress" sign is painted), closing in the windows (where the AM/Muzak/FM sign is painted) and the addition of the buildings/garages on the right side of the picture. (Photo courtesy of Lisbeth Hydrick)

It's around 1960 in the WGH Production Studio. We don't know who the man is, but Bill Walker and Chris Astle have identified the woman as Mary Copes, who would later become Ambert Dail's and Ray Bottom's secretary.

The microphone the man is using is an Altec 639B, which is a newer version of the Western Electric model introduced in 1938. ...It was a great sounding ribbon mic.

Note the recording lathe in the front left of the picture. They were still recording some production on discs. Blank discs ("Audiodiscs") are located on the upper right shelf.

A Spotmaster record cart machine is located to left of the console, just behind the Magnecorder reel-to-reel machine. This cart machine was relatively new, since Spotmasters were introduced the year before this picture was taken. Note the knob on the cart machine to switch it from "Record" to "Play."

The reel-to-reel machine on the right appears to be an Ampex 400, which was a "budget" model manufactured between the Model 300 and 350 units. The on-deck control buttons on the 400 were placed vertically to the right side of the deck. On the 350/351 units, the buttons were situated horizontally below the head stack. This Ampex looks like it's using Model 350 electronics. The transport for the Model 400 wasn't as good as the 350 and 351 transports that followed it.

(Photo courtesy of Lisbeth Hydrick)

The console is an RCA Model 76C. This tube-type console was introduced by RCA in 1939 and quickly became a favorite of stations that employed "combo" operators...announcers who handled the engineering of their programs. These RCA 76 Consoles were also used in the other WGH studios until the new studio wing was built in 1963 and they were replaced by the Gates Yard units. The RCA 76C remained in the production studio until it was replaced by a solid state Harris Yard console around 1970. I always thought the tube RCA console, just like the tube Gates Yard, sounded much better than the solid state Yard.

An RCA Model 76C console was used by Sam Phillips’ Sun Studios in Memphis, which, combined with the Ampex 350 tape decks, produced the warm and unmistakable sound heard on many early rock and roll recordings.

(Left) The WGH sign of Mercury Boulevard was a Peninsula landmark for many years. In the background, you can see the construction of the service lanes on West Mercury Boulevard.

(Right) Here's JJ Bowman in the old Mercury Boulevard on-air studio ready to start a cart in the Spotmaster 5-spot tape cartridge machine. 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. And if you look at the bottom of the picture, you'll notice the photographer's shoe.

(Below) 1965 picture of the WGH Showmobile parked behind the Hampton studio/offices complex. It contained a complete studio, with a Gates Yard Console, turntables and tape cartridge machines. Programs were delivered to the studio either by equalized Telco program lines or by a Marti remote pickup transmitter.

(Below Left) Rob Wayne in Military Circle on-air studio. The window looked into the Mall. Initially, everyone broadcasting in the Military Circle studios was required to wear a tie, but that rule was relaxed after a couple of years. (Below Center) J.J. Bowman in the Todd Center AM on-air studio, looking into the studio from the lobby. The window on the other side of the AM studio looked into the news studio. (Below Right) Joe Lowenthal delivering a newscast from the Military Circle news studio. The window in front of Joe looked into the production studio, which had a Mall window. All three of these pictures were taken in 1972.

(Above) Military Circle Mall shoppers peering through the glass at the WGH's Rob Wayne on the air. The Norfolk studios and sales offices were constructed in 1970 and replaced the much smaller facilities at 711 Boush Street across from the WTAR Radio-TV complex in Downtown Norfolk. Nicely designed, acoustically engineered and well equipped, the facility included a main air studio, production studio, news studio, large conference room/studio and a number of sales and administrative offices. A microwave link atop the mall's Sheraton Hotel fed the programming to the Hampton Master Control Room. Also at the top of the Sheraton was a Marti Remote Pickup receiver for receiving remote broadcasts from the Showmobile when it was in Southside Hampton Roads.

(Right) Dale Parsons in the Military Circle studios. From a 1971 newspaper article in the Virginian-Pilot "Action" magazine supplement.

(Left) WGH Chief Engineer Joe Looper with Tom Inman in the WGH Master Control Room in the Todd Center Complex. Behind Joe is a window looking into the News Studio. This picture was taken around 1972.

(Right) Copy paper on which all commercials and continuity instructions were typed.

(Left) Another shot of the AM transmitter building at the Newport News Small Boat Harbor in the late 1930s.

(Right) Control room for the WGH studios located in the Portlock Building in Downtown Norfolk. These studios were constructed in 1940 and used until the early 1950s, when they were moved to the AAA Building at 739 Boush Street in Norfolk.

(Left) Chuck Adams cueing up a selection to play on the air in the WGH-FM Main Studio, Todd Center in Hampton. The overnight automation system can be seen through the window in the adjacent studio.

(Right) Production Manager Herman King in the production control room located next to his office in the Todd Center complex. The window looked into the second AM production studio.

(Above Left) The WGH Sky Studio in front of the studios and offices in Hampton. This picture was apparently taken prior to 1963 because on the right side of the shot you can see the main entrance to the offices with no studio wing, which was built in 1963. Chris Astle writes: "My recollection is that it (the Sky Studio) was abandoned because someone took a shot at it with a rifle. It was there when I came to WGH in Spring of 1964, but it was never used during or after Spring 1964. It was there for at least another year and never used for broadcast before it was torn down. After someone used it for target practice, I doubt you could have gotten any WGH jock to go up there." (Above Center) 1960 photo of Chief Engineer Al Braun in front of the Collins transmitter. (Photo courtesy of Lisbeth Hydrick) (Above Right) Top photo is the WGH transmitter building and self-supporting tower in Newport News near the Small Boat Harbor at the base of Jefferson Avenue. This picture was probably from the late 1930s - early 1940s. The photo below it is the same building in 2004, which now houses only the WGH-FM transmitter. (Both photos courtesy Dave Spriggs and NNHS65 website)

Above, a gathering of the 1960 WGH air staff. From L-R, Jim Stanley, Don Owens, Bob Calvert, Dick Lamb, and Program Director Gene Creasy. (Photo courtesy of Lisbeth Hydrick)

On the right, Dick Lamb signs autographs for a couple of listeners outside of the WGH remote studio in front of Lerner's at Newmarket Shopping Center. It was a pretty modern remote studio for 1960 ... look closely and you can see the tops of two Spotmaster tape cartridge machines inside the booth.

Below, is WGH morning personality Jim Stanley reviewing a song in the music library.

(Photo courtesy Lisbeth Hydrick)

It's still Monday, January 25, 1960. News Director Ed Meyer, on the left, is working with a young Dave Desler in the news studio. Notice the Magnecord reel-to-reel machine on the right. Spotmaster tape cartridge machines appear in all of the studios in these 1960 photos. Spotmasters were introduced only the year before.

Below is WGH news reporter Pete Glazer in News Satellite 12 at the entrance to the WGH Hampton studios and offices. Behind Pete is Military Highway (now Mercury Boulevard). The houses in the distance are still there, but a car dealership is now located on the lot between the homes and the highway. Before he came to WGH, Pete was a reporter for the Portsmouth Star newspaper, which merged with the Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch in 1955 (becoming the Ledger-Star). Pete worked for WGH News until 1970, when he retired and went to work for U.S. Senator William Spong as his press secretary. Pete Glazer died in 1999 in Washington, DC at the age of 83.

(Photos courtesy of Lisbeth Hydrick)

The date on the calendar reads Monday, January 25, 1960 and on that day:

The Number One record in the country was "Running Bear" by Johnny Preston.

Senator John F. Kennedy kicked off his campaign for the Presidency with a stop in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Wilt Chamberlain set the record for most points in an NBA game by a rookie, scoring 58 points for the Philadelphia Warriors against the Detroit Pistons. Chamberlain would tie his record a few weeks later, on February 21. The record still stands to this day.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) proposed that radio disc jockeys accepting payment from record labels for broadcasting particular songs would receive a $500 fine and a year in prison. The practice known as "payola" had provoked an investigation by the NAB.

"The Kate Smith Show", a half-hour variety program, premiered on the CBS Television Network at 7:30 p.m., replacing "Masquerade Party" and competing against David Janssen's "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" on NBC and Clint Walker's "Cheyenne" on ABC.

And pictured in the WGH auxiliary air studio is Carl Cunningham. Through the window you can see the News Studio and, beyond that, a hallway and the main WGH-AM air studio. This was part of the old studio complex in the middle of the building. (Photo courtesy of Lisbeth Hydrick)

(Above) 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 the autographed publicity photos seen on the right. Keith left in 1964 for CHED in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Below) A picture Keith sent us in April 2011 from his radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia.

This photo is dated 1963. The new studio wing was added on the left side of the building that year. The studios had been located in the center of the building. There is also another addition on the right side of the building...to the right of the transmitter room. I think the fallout shelter studio was included in this addition. You can also see the Sky Studio close to the highway

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(Above Left) Radio Log from the Newport News Daily Press dated Friday, June 30, 1939. Newspapers used to run radio station schedules as a service to their readers, especially, as was the case with WGH, the schedules of a radio station owned by the newspaper. Note at 8:30 p.m. the listing "Transradio News Review". In the early days of radio, there was little, if any, regular news coverage. Many newspapers prohibited radio stations from using their news stories on the air and forced the major wire services to prohibit radio station or network use of their wire copy. A press-radio war broke out in the early 1930s, which ended with the signing of the 1933 "Biltmore Agreement", so-named because it was successfully negotiated at the Biltmore Hotel in New York City. Under the agreement, newspapers were protected from radio's encroachment on their news turf. The CBS Network closed their news bureau and NBC agreed not to start one. The networks would broadcast only the Press-Radio Bureau's five-minute news summaries twice daily, after 9:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., well after the morning and afternoon newspapers were delivered. Furthermore, the newscasts could not be sponsored. In 1934, the Transradio news service was formed in defiance of the agreement. Many newspaper-owned radio stations became affiliates of Transradio, much to the consternation of many publishers. By the end of the decade, the major wire services lifted their radio ban. (Above Right) A Radio Log from Thursday, April 17, 1941. Note the WGH frequency of "1340 KC." In March of that year, most U.S. radio stations shifted their frequencies to higher positions on the dial. WGH moved from 1310 kc to 1340 kc, returning to 1310 in 1947. (Radio Logs courtesy Knowtoniosis)

(Above left photo) From L-R, Mal Powell, George Jones, Howard Jernigan, Bill Walker, and Ambert Dail. (Above right photo) Jack Whitehead on the left with two unknown men.

(Photos courtesy Lisbeth Hydrick)

(Left photo) Program Director Gene Creasy with unidentified woman. (Above right photo) The WGH Accounting Department. Check out that adding machine! We don't know who the two women on the left are, but Bill Walker says the woman on the right is Betty Verell. Through the window, you can see part of the WGH-AM air studio. (Photos courtesy Lisbeth Hydrick)

(Above left photo) Bill Walker dictating a contract into the Dictaphone. Bill says that Dan Hydrick required all salespeople to dictate their correspondence and contracts, which would then be typed by a secretary. (Above right photo) A meeting of the Community Club Awards (CCA) group. CCA was an alliance of the radio station, sponsors and local non-profit groups and organizations. 4th from right is Carol Edmundson and far right is Mary Copes. (Photos courtesy Lisbeth Hydrick)

(Above left photo) WGH General Manager Dan Hydrick dictating correspondence in his office in 1960. (Above right photo) 1960 meeting of WGH department heads. From L-R, Betty Verell, Dan Hydrick, (Standing) Al Braun, Gene Creasy, Jim Stanley, Unknown, (Sitting) Ambert Dail, Ed Meyer, Bill Walker. (Photos courtesy Lisbeth Hydrick)

(Above left photo) Some of the WGH Engineering Control Room racks. The reel-to-reel machines were for Muzak. At the bottom of the middle rack was the CONELRAD receiver used in the event of enemy attack. The rack on the right side of the photo contained antenna monitoring equipment for the directional array. (Above right photo) Traffic Director Carol Edmundson preparing the Program Logs. (Photos courtesy Lisbeth Hydrick)

WGH stood for "World's Greatest Harbor" as well as "Walton Graham Hunter" who worked for the station as an engineer from 1958 until his death in 1962. The pictures above left and right show him changing tapes and working on equipment. His son, Owen, explained the middle picture: "I found an old promotional photo in which my father was wearing a cowboy hat with a button that said WGH for President. The proposed stunt was because his name was Walton Graham Hunter. I guess it was never published because, frankly, my father's looks simply did not have the type of image WGH wanted to present." (Left and Center photos courtesy Owen Hunter; Right photo courtesy Lisbeth Hydrick)

(Above left) Ron James filing away his music. Ron came to WGH in 1969 from WNOR and worked on and off for the station until the mid-1970s. (Above right) Rob Wayne in the Military Circle Mall on-air showcase studio. Despite the note on the photo, I know the Ampex in the back of the studio was used at least twice, because I used it. Rob's cueing a record (do you 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 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 chief engineer Joe Looper the next day. Soon after that we had remote starts.

Here's a great picture of Bob "Ol' Boob" Calvert. The date on the calendar is Tuesday, January 21, 1964. This was taken in the WGH-AM on-air studio in the new studio wing that was constructed in 1963. Gates Yard consoles had replaced the RCA 76C Consoles. The window on the right looked into the News Studio.

This photo came from Raymond Bottom, Jr., who noted, "...Bob Calvert, probably the best production man in all of Tidewater...hard to control, slightly outrageous, but very popular."

Bob Calvert was the best production voice and producer I ever worked with or knew of in the business. His "Baron Bebop" character was the inspiration for Robert Smith's "Wolfman Jack" when Smith was working for WYOU-AM in Newport News in the early 1960s.

Bob left WGH in in early 1960s and for a short time worked for WNOR. WGH hired him back and gave him his own studio, located in the station's fallout shelter deep below the studio/office complex.

Bob left WGH for good in 1970 and after a stop in Charlotte at WIST-AM settled down at WFOG-FM in Norfolk.

Bob Calvert died in 1992 at the age of 68.

(Above upper left) Glenn "The Turtle" Lewis in the main AM studio. The calendar is from March 1966. (Above lower left) Phil Brown in an early WGH-FM studio. Note the WGH-FM mic flag and the mono Gates "Yard" console. This studio was in the new wing of the Military Highway (West Mercury Boulevard) studios built in 1963. The album cover in the background is "Immortal Serenades" by Frank Chacksfield. You can also see the remote control for an Ampex 351 reel-to-reel machine. Calvert told me that most of the Ampex machines in the building were part of a barter deal for airing celebrity gossip Jimmie Fidler's Hollywood reports in the 1950s and early 1960s. (Above right) Newsman Ira Hull in the WGH news studio. In the background is Glenn "The Turtle" Lewis cueing up a record in the main AM on-air studio. The picture was taken in March 1966. (All photos courtesy Raymond Bottom, Jr.)

(Above) Carlton Shrieves reports live from the scene in WGH News Satellite 2. (Below left) Carlton in the news studio at the old Hampton studios and offices. This picture shows the back of the AM Air Studio through the window on the right. The FM Air Studio was located behind the News Studio. (Below right) Carlton anchoring a live newscast from the news studio at the Todd Center complex built in 1971. This picture was taken from the AM Air Studio. The door on the right in the back of the news studio opened to the hallway. Production studios were located on that hall. The door on the left side of the photo opened into the teletype room. It was soundproofed and contained a microphone used to pick up the teletype sounds that were mixed under the newscasts. Master Control was located in front of the teletype room. (All photos courtesy of Carlton Shrieves)