Connellsville will turn back clock
CONNELLSVILLE – The blue rectangular sign that once hung outside the WCVI radio station is gone. The voices of Bobby Hank, Jack McMullen and Jack Benedict are no longer heard when the radio dial is tuned to 1340. But tonight, the music that was once generated from the WCVI studios and one of the favorite disc jockeys of the ’60s-era will be remembered during an oldies dance being hosted by the city’s Bicentennial Committee.
“We’re stepping back in time,” said Judy Keller, committee member.
Connellsville disc jockey Regis “Just Havin’ Fun” Lowman, who will provide the dance music, has vivid memories of the weeknight broadcasts by WCVI personality Dick Jessen, whose ’50s and ’60s music kept the teens tuned in to the station.
“Every locale had its own disc jockey in those days,” he said. “Uniontown had Leon Sykes; the Mon-Valley had Porky Chadwick; in Pittsburgh there was Charlie Brinkman on WKQV and there was Sir Walter Scott on WEEP and Dunbar had Jim Stefano.
“In Connellsville, it was Dick Jessen. He identified with the teenagers.”
Each night from 7 to 10 p.m., Jessen would play the tunes the listeners requested, said Lowman.
“Sometimes we’d argue with him because he wouldn’t play the country crossover music, like ‘It’s Only Make Believe’ by Conway Twitty or Jack Scott’s ‘My Own True Love,'” he said. “They were big with the kids, but he wouldn’t play them because he didn’t like country music.”
Lowman said that Jessen’s personality and his catchy sayings, such as “Hello there, you little squares, tubes and hexagons, welcome to Corny Corners” and “Indubitably, irrevocably and all that verbal persiflage” made the listeners feel comfortable and ready to spend the next three hours with him.
On Friday nights, teens would gather at various locations, turn on the radio and listen and dance to Jessen’s broadcasts.
“It was the highlight of our week,” said Lowman.
Jessen, too, was always willing to feature local talent during his broadcasts.
“Dick was a good radio person and treated us good,” said Lowman. “You’d see him on the street and he’d talk you or you could stop by the studio when he was on the air and he’d invite you in.”
Former station general manager, news director and sometimes janitor Ralph Prinkey said WCVI was on the air to serve the community.
“That’s why the people tuned in; they wanted to know what was happening in their hometown, and we were there to let them know,” said Prinkey.
According to Prinkey’s recollections, local businessmen Jim Driscoll and Bernard Stern, Fayette County Court of Common Pleas Judge Samuel Braemer and physician Dr. Cam Troilo founded the station in the 1940s. Its first studio location was above the former Hetzel Pharmacy, where the city redevelopment authority now has its office.
The studios later moved to its East Crawford Avenue location.
A popular Connellsville high school cheer that included “C-V-I-L-L-E” was tapped for the station call letters and the music and talk radio station went on the air.
While Prinkey joined the station in 1965 as a part-time weekend broadcaster, his first time behind the microphone was years earlier when as a 5-year-old he sang on the Amy Canton Show.
“It was a great time,” he said of his nearly two-decade tenure with the station.
After graduating from high school in 1967, Prinkey attended the George Heid School of Radio and Television Broadcasting Arts in Pittsburgh but maintained his ties to the local station.
“(Former) general manager Ken McGath gave me my first shot,” said Prinkey. “(The radio station) had a softball team – the Air Dials. While the Pirates were on the air, the guys would play softball games and I ran the board.”
Prinkey said that the close-knit radio family worked hard to maintain its listener base.
“Dr. (Cam) Troilo was very hands-on; he cared about what we sounded like, how the place looked and what we were doing,” he said.
The local station was a springboard for many radio talk show hosts, including George Rudolph, Ron Allen and Henry DaBecco.
“We had some really great talent,” said Prinkey, “and we had some really controversial talk show hosts like Brian McDonald and Skip Brown, who later became Aaron Brown at CNN.
“We had a very loyal audience. When Jack McMullen had (sportswriter) Jim Kriek on the show, the lines would light up because everyone wanted to talk sports with Jim.”
Connellsville resident Kevin Harrison was also popular with the listeners, said Prinkey.
The format was geared to the listening audience.
“We were very much the local radio station with the aspect of our news and sports coverage,” said Prinkey. “With the exception of covering the Pirates, Steelers and Penn State football, the rest of it was all local.
“Connellsville high school sports – football, basketball, wrestling and baseball. We did it all.”
Prinkey said after a daylong shift broadcasting live from the G.C. Murphy store window during his early years with the station, he had traveled back to the office to drop off the equipment and head home. His plans changed when he saw fire trucks with sirens blaring going from Crawford Avenue onto Pittsburgh Street.
“I had to follow them,” he said.
He spent a second shift filtering information back to the station about the fire that destroyed the State Hotel.
“It was not only part of the job, it was part of the fun,” said Prinkey.
Some broadcasters took their shows on the road.
John Murphy, recalled Prinkey, had his personal car outfitted with WCVI decals and would travel through the city stopping drivers and awarding them a prize for having the radio station playing while they traveled.
Sometimes the station would receive assistance from its listeners.
Former Connellsville resident, Dr. David Geary, said he was awarded a transistor radio for once providing the news tip of the week.
“I saw smoke from a fire at Hillcrest from our house on Springfield Pike and called the radio station,” said Geary. “Someone was burning a tire.
“It was a cheap transistor radio worth about a dollar. I picked it up at the station where I found out I was the only person who called in anything all week.”
The radio station also was home to the annual telethon for the Heart Association, said Prinkey.
The station “went dark” in 2000 after subsequent owners suffered legal and financial difficulties. WCVI and its sister station, WPQR, were later sold at auction to Keymarket and air with the “Pickle” format.
The dance, meanwhile, will be held at the Sons of Italy located in Connellsville Township from 8 p.m. until midnight.