Tower and transmitter building demolition ... WCFB FM Florida

[Sam KS2AM]

An unscheduled demolition.


http://star94fm.com/MARKET/shared/weather/tornado2007_star_tower.html

[WA3VJB]

No, Doug, you are to be commended for taking the time to absorb that radio station site and realize the landmark that it is.

I was part of a transmitter rescue a few years ago at a beautiful site in St. Augustine Florida. Palm trees, domesticated peacocks walking around, big freestanding tower right in the wetlands at the mouth of the Metanzas River as it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

It's all gone now, plowed under after the site was bought by a wealthy doctor for her kids, both lawyers.
Well isn't that nice but a piece of radio heritage is lost forever for a bland house and unremarkable landscaping.

When I win the lottery maybe I'll buy back the site, and plow the house under.

At the top of Spa Creek, which feeds Annapolis Harbor, WYRE is about to plow under its freestanding tower and move the site to another location.  Rescued two transmitters from that location over the years.

Stay in touch with the station owners Doug, maybe you can retrieve some treasures for safekeeping at your place or a good home elsewhere, you know ?

Looks like they've got at least some appreciation of their heritage.

[Ralph W3GL]

Hey Doug, I didn't realize you were in the Lewistown area...I grew up there, left the area in '44 to enter the army... Lived at 19 W. Charles St.  during the '37 flood, had 2 feet of water in the second floor. Later my folks built a house out in Vallymount, and I went to High School out at Yeagertown.

Is WKVA the current call of the old WMRF (the first and only BC band station in town back then)?  Had their office and studio in the old Colman House Hotel. I under stand the WMRF call is still active on an FM outlet there.

Ralph, W3GL.

[W3LSN]

Doug,

I was the chief engineer at WMRF AM/FM for a short while in the early 80's, and remember Lewistown and WKVA well. It was my first paying engineering job in broadcasting after I graduated from college. WKVA was our only real competition, and there was a real rivalry. I remember a well kept tower site on the side of a foothill as you describe.

I was the engineer who moved WMRF from studios in the old Pennelec building across the town square to 12 1/2 E. Market Street. I still remember the address. As I recall I replaced a longtime chief engineer who committed suicide after getting sick. I hired on, moved the station, and then moved out of town to another job about 6-months later. I recall living in a bachelor apartment behind a dive bar on Valley Street. WMRF was a Class-IV on 1490 1kw-D/250w-N back then. WMRF-FM was on 95.9 then recently upgraded to a new tower and full Class-A facilities. Thanks for bringing back the Lewistown memories, those were the days. ;-)

73, Jim
WA2AJM/3

[W3LSN]

Doug,

Glad to hear the "new" studios are still where I left them. Frank Troiani was the sole owner when I was there having recently bought out his partners. I lost all connection with MRF and Lewistown after I moved in 1983 and I presumed he had retired after getting the AM facilities upgraded. I believe he sold out to his sales manager Pete "Peewee" Herman who might now still own the station. Most of the other people at WMRF were from out of the area, and have long since moved on, though I remember a local girl named Cindy Knapp who was the production director for quite a while.

The engineer previous to me was named Chip Morgan who is now a well established engineering consultant in the Sacremento CA area. He used to run a nightclub near Lewistown named "Dr. Chips". He shouldn't be confused with the deceased engineer who was named Ken Callaghan, may he R.I.P. Ken had been there for many years prior, developed a terminal illness, retired, then decided he didn't wish to suffer anymore. People told me it was a local news event, and was cause for some gallows humor around the station when I hired on.

Of course I tended the WMRF transmitter site as well up on top of the mountain (to the North?) above Lewistown. The old self supporting AM tower had been replaced with a 300-foot guyed tower so as to bring the FM up to full class-A facilities. I don't remember the specific model of the rigs except that both AM and FM had recently installed new Continental transmitters. This was well before solid state, and I do remember that the 1-kw AM rig used a pair of 5-500's modulating another pair. It was not of the famous AM "Power Rock" line though. The previous transmitter was a Gates BC-1G which Frank sold when the new xmters were installed.  There was also an old, water cooled Western Electric 250-watt rig sitting there which was non-functional. It was the original WMRF transmitter and Frank later gave it away to a collector in the Syracuse area.

I didn't work in the old Pennelec building for very long as my main task was to move the station across the square. I do remember an empty Montgomery Ward store front, and that the Pennelec building was a dank, dark and ancient place. I got to turn out the lights and was the last one to lock the door although I think there was another tenant in there whom I don't remember much of.

Oh well, Lewistown is a fading memory for me now. I was a carpetbaggger broadcast engineer trying to jump start a career, and Frank hired me fresh out of college. I later moved down to the Norfolk, VA area and bounced around several other jobs after that before I settled into TV.  Thanks for jogging my own memory cells.

73, Jim
WA2AJM