Name: Bill Ayrer
Email: ayrer.b@gmail.com
Home: outside Chicago
Station: WJRB
Years: 1970 - 1971
Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Comments

Hello people, Needless to say, I was thrown into a time warp when I stumbled onto this website. My name is Bill “Mountain” Ayrer and I’m the guy who had the green traffic sign (which I see gracing the entrance to the studio) made when I worked for the city in the summer of 1970. I was amazed to see my picture on the Early 70’s page with Quig. Where did we get the weapons? Who knows? And if we did, we’d never tell. I’m sorry that I didn’t know about the reunion, I would have loved to have been there. I roomed with Long John (Laboranti) Stevens and Doug Stell the year after graduation (1971). Yes, I knew Doug when he had hair. If the site is still active, I’d love to become a member. Thanks for the “blast from the past”.

Been in the Casino business for the past 28 years. Am outside of Chicago for past 3 years. Spent 7 years in Hell (Detroit) and it’s worse than it seems in the movies.

Bill Ayrer And UGLY was the wave of the future.

Please contact me: ayrer.b@gmail.com

Name: john stevens
Email: bubba@wmgk.com
Home: philadelphia, pa
Station: WJRB
Years: 1968-71
Date: Thursday, December 25, 2008

Comments

Who knew ? When I first decended into the basement off W Franklin St, it was merely to meet a beautiful girl, I never thought THIS would happen ! Forty years later I write this while on the air at WMGK in philly. I've been to different markets, but Philly's been home since 1978. I spent 22 of those years at WMMR which ruled to roost for more than a decade, and to think that this all started out in the bowels of the student activities building ! A constant in my talks to aspiring radio types has been to never even think about going to broadcast schools, college radio is without question the way to foster a career. This has enabled me to interview everyone from Buzz Aldrin to Frank Zappa.As I've read through the comments from those who, like me, had the joy to "toil" for WJRB, it was a wonderful time and a wonderful genesis to many a career. Godspeed ya"ll.

Name: John Dalton
Email: john_digeronimo@yahoo.com
Home:
Station: WCVW
Years: 1975-76
Date: Thursday, November 27, 2008

Comments

I'm John Dalton. I was the business manager and a DJ about 1975-76. There when the station changed call letters to WVCW. Co-wrote the Red Cross "I want your Blood" Vampire Commercial with Tim Morey. Painted the ceiling when the station moved upstairs. Glad I found this site, tried to contact the WVCW folks but never got a reply.

Name: Lynn Meadwell Cox
Email: asultrylass@gmail.com
Home: Denver,CO
Station: WJRB
Years: 2
Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Comments

It would take several volumes and more time than any of you could spend reading to detail my life but it has been so rewarding and now to find all these cherished memories here. I love it. Lynn asultrylass@gmail.com

Additional Comments

There has never been any doubt in my mind that WJRB first broadcast sometime between April and September 1967. I have lots of 'memories' on the progression of transmitter installation and will write more tonight when I get home. ;-D

As I said earlier, WJRB didn't exist anywhere except on paper and in overly active engineering imaginations until sometime in 1967. I was in town for Freshman Orientation week that August. Having done local radio in my hometown in high school, I immediately migrated to the basement of what was then the student center. The studio, as in the pix with Fred praying over the board without his tie) was in the small room at the back of the stairs. The large room to the right as we entered was still a laundromat. It was convenient. We could do radio and wash at the same time.

At the time I signed up, the station wasn't broadcasting in many spots. It could be heard upstairs in the student center, of course. And - if I'm not mistaken - there was a transmitter in the Temple dining hall. I remember several weeks after school got underway, a couple of the engineering types providing us a good laugh because some of the girls down the street in the dorm on the corner across from where Rhoads was being built were catching our signal in the elevators but couldn't hear it in their rooms so they were riding up and down waiting for their 'requests'.

During that first week, the equipment from the frame behind me and Jim in the photo was all spread out in the floor. Al Smith would come in, pick up a few things, adjust this and hang it - he'd study it, talk to whoever was there - then take whatever he'd just installed out, replace it on the floor and leave.

I don't even think we had a budget that first semester and I know we had no faculty advisor. There was a lot of hoopla because we wouldn't qualify for the former if we didn't have the latter. Finally - and again I think it was Al Smith but I'm not sure - somebody found a staff member who would stand as our faculty advisor. He came in, those of us who were in at the time met him and he left. I personally never saw him again but his name was taken in vain right much. I also am not sure when/if we got a budget.

During the first semester, the new dining hall on Schafer Court was wired for sound and we were being heard there. Slowly we were inching out. In January - after Christmas break - the annex at Rhoads opened and our group that was living in Meredith House - was relocated to the third floor annex.

As the tower floors became occupied, the fellas decided it was time to put a transmitter there. Here again the story is sketchy but somehow Mark Mueller and Al Smith managed to get locked on the roof of Rhoads. I never ever heard how they got out because people who told the story couldn't stop laughing long enough to finish telling it.

Have a great evening

Lynn

Name: Richard Blount
Email: thethaikid@msn.com
Home: Thailand (but Texas stateside)
Station: WJRB
Years: 1967-1968
Date: Friday, August 29, 2008

Comments

Back in the old days, I did the morning show for about 6-8 months until graduating in June 1968. But before that, a close friend and I did an afternoon program called cleverly enough, "The Rich & Rich Show". On humorous side, I recall the day we were talking behind the scenes and not paying attention to the time. While the record was playing I looked up and noticed we were within seconds of the news! We both panicked. Rich Hillman jumped from his chair grabbing for the news copy as I flipped on the mic. Unfortunately, his zealousness caused him to miss the chair completely when trying to return to his seat. He lost his balance landing on his knees (feeling some pain) in front of the mic. I immediately burst out laughing as he began reading a story of an earthquake in Mexico where hundreds were injured. Laughter being contagious, he couldn't hold back and started laughing uncontrollably as well. When the news cast was finished, we went to a record both embarrassed by what had happen. However, we were comforted by the fact of the low listenership of WJRB, that was until the phone rang. It was an irate listener berating both of us for our callous insensitivity to human tragedy. We tried to explain what had happened and apologized at least a hundred times. It did no good. To her Rich & Rich were the lowest grade scum of the earth. The real tragedy was we may have lost the only listener we had!

Name: Joe Sokohl
Email: joe@sokohl.com
Home:
Station: WVCW
Years: '74, '77, '80, & '84-'85
Date: July 28, 2008

Comments

I was a member of the station twice: from the fall of 1974 (as a freshman) until I dropped out (the first time) in the fall of '77. Then I hung around a little in the spring semester of '80, and finally when I finished my degree from '84-'85. I was a short-lived music director, but I did help buy the vodka & OJ for the celebratory party when we moved from the basement to the penthouse. Of course, this was after I did the Christian rock show Solid Rock on Sunday mornings. In the '80s I did Blues Power, which led me to do Blue Monday for 9 years, first as Henry Wailes Morse's Jazz in General (WRFK-FM/WCVE-FM), then on my own weekly on WCVE-FM. I also worked for WSIM-FM from 77-78 in Chattanooga, TN.

Pictures: In action in the main studio of WJRB, pre-move: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojohand/2712860384/ Me with the Nighthawks in '77 or '78 at WSIM: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojohand/481427489/

Name: Gary Morgan
Email: gmorgan@elmore.rr.com
Home: Montgomery Alabama
Station: WJRB
Years: ~1969 - ~1971
Date: June 14, 2008

Comments

Great to hear from you and sorry I can't make the reunion. I've had no interest in any high school or college reunions but this one I felt really bad about not attending. I really had a tremendous amount of fun at the station, learned a lot, and developed some deep and enduring friendships. After not really being involved in any activities in high school I really enjoyed all the things I did at VCU: student government, WJRB, concert and dance committee. Street View is an astounding new feature; I just learned about it this week and the day after a guy in my office discovered it I wanted to check it out on my new computer at home. I knew just a few cities were imaged and the one place I wanted to visit was Richmond, primarily to go through the Fan and see Monument Avenue. It's amazing to see many buildings that are just as they were 40 years ago while there are totally new ones elsewhere--such is 40 years of progress in a fast-growing city. I've been living in Montgomery Alabama for the past 15 years as the final stop in my Air Force career ten years ago. I retired as a Lt Col after flying the F-4 for 23 years and have been working the past decade as a simulation engineer for the Air and Space Basic Course, the first professional military education school for Second Lieutenants right after they are commissioned (typical age is 22). I work with some of the wargames and simulations we use in the course, maintain their website, and write curriculum. Gary
 

Name: Jono Roberts
Email: jroberts@radiosawa.com
Home:
Station: WVCW
Years: 1976 - 1979
Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Comments

I was with WVCW from 1976 to 1979 I served as News director. Since then I have been a senior producer at the Voice of America. Current I am the Technical Operations Director for the Arab language network RadioSawa.

Name: Jesse Vaughan
Email: jessevaughan1@mac.com
Home: Los Angeles, CA
Station: WVCW
Years: 1976 - 1980
Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
 

Comments

Jesse Vaughan live in Shaefer Court '78 (jazz show) I started as a DJ in the fall of 1976 and the call letters were WVCW. I worked there until I graduated in 1980 with my Sunday early evening show "Gentle Thoughts: The Best In Jazz Music." Charles "Tuna" Robinson got me going. He was a DJ at the time. I also became Assistant News Director and Sports Director under Station Manager Brian Baker. This whole experience changed my life. It was, still is and will always be the most fun I've ever experienced in my career. It was the defining moment of my life - cherished memories I'll never forget, like when Brian mooned me during a live newscast, smashing his bare hairy pimple laced butt cheeks right against the studio window. Sorry Brian, we saw pimples and there are witnesses :) I laughed so hard we had to go to a commercial break. And then there was the time tennis superstar Bjorn Borg was in town, we got the only exclusive interview with him and all the national networks were pissed. One guy started screaming at me. They asked Bjorn why he gave us that interview and he said it was because we looked like we were 14 years old. How funny is that. I could go on and on, like when Al Jarreau spent about three hours with us giving us an exclusive. He dug our vibe so much he wanted us to go shopping with his wife! We did and it was an incredible moment in our lives. Man on man oh man, I'm getting chills just traveling down memory lane. I love the station, love the place. Thanks for making me remember. It always warms my heart.

Jesse Vaughan '76-'80 WVCW  DJ, Assistant News Director, Sport Director Class of 1980

WTVR, TV-6, Richmond, Va. NBC/WRC-TV4, Washington, DC., NBC Sports, MTV Networks, VH-1, Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, HBO and Fox TV.

Name: Brian Alan Baker
Email: bab@brianalanbaker.com
Home: Pasadena, CA
Station: WJRB
Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008
 

Comments

When I started, WJRB was in the basement. I think we moved two years later (1977). Can’t recall if the name changed before or after the move upstairs, but I believe it was before. I was Station Manager for two years (fall 1977 to fall 1979), and I spent considerable time lobbying the school to apply for a 100 watt FM license. I reserved the frequency with the FCC (89.9) but could not get traction within the administration. Even had a “task force” with students, faculty, and admin, but in hindsight it was DOA by design.

The move upstairs was a mixed blessing. More space, but removed from the street. The Commonwealth Times occupied the second floor, and Reflections in Ink (magazine) shared the first floor with a housing office and a snack/grill shop. The living room was empty, and open to anyone who wanted to use it. All in all, it was a great house to work in, and I basically lived there for four years.

I commissioned several art students to come up with new WVCW logos. My 17 year old daughter wears one of the t-shirts. She goes off to Parsons School of Design (NYC) in August…the exact age I was when I started at WJRB.

I lost touch with most, but would like to catch up with many if possible. C3 (Charles Robinson III) and I are still in touch. He went to anchor the CBS station in Boca Raton, and then weekend anchor BET. Jesse Vaughn is out in LA; he became the director at WRC in DC, directed TV (Living Color last 6 episodes), and is writing screen plays. Don Lee is the CBS pool cameraman at the White House. Johnno Roberts is still broadcasting Farsi at VOA. I went to law school on San Diego, briefly back to DC to practice communications law, and for the past 24 years in LA (Pasadena) as a civil litigator.

I recognize a few of the names on the site. Ed Hazelwood, Henry Morse, and Lennaux Cook. Seems that my time started right about when the list cuts off. I will not be able to make the 40th reunion, but you are welcome to send my regards to any and all. WJRB/WVCW was, without question, the single most memorable part of my college years. I learned more there than in any classroom.

Iwill look for memorabilia to share. Thanks, Brian.

Name: Kevin Connors
Email: netkwaker@optonline.net
Home: Netcong, New Jersey
Station: WJRB
Date: Monday, May 12, 2008
 

Comments

Hey Cliff... I've ID'd another station member for you. In the 10th photo down on the "mid-'70's" page (just below Chuck McGuigan) there's a photo of four people with only Chuck ID'd on the left. The dude at the lower right in this photo is Larry Frankel. kc

Name: Dave the Rave - Dave Ruslander
Email: daverulander@hughes.net
Station: WJRB
Home: Richmond, VA
Date: Friday, May 09, 2008
 

Comments

Hi everybody. It's been such a kick getting back in touch with radio days gone by :) I did a little of everything at JRB; personnel mgr, station mgr. and dj. I hope life has been good to you and that we can remain in touch. OBTW, I'm still a raving lunatic :)

Name: sher weston stec
Email: sher8@comcast.net
Home: Long Valley, NJ
Station: WJRB
 

Comments

HI there, I was a DJ on WJRB in the early 70's, like '71 and '72. I seem to remember Rick Ward, Bill Byrd, KC Connors, VD Phillips. There was also a guy named Chuck McGuiggian (spelling?). I graduated in 1974 with a BFA in Interior Design. I usually did a late night shift and remember the "format clock" we had to use for the albums in the A, B ,C category's. If you send me an email address I can try and send some pics. cheers
sher weston stec

*originally submitted 1/5/2008

Name: Charles Robinson
Email: crobinson@mail.mpt.org
Station: WJRB
Home:
 

Comments

WJRB Lives....I was a member of the Station from 1974 -1979. During my tenure I served as the Production Direction(one of the few paid staff positions - all of $25 minus taxes). I like the UGLY name. My on air name was Charles the Third of C3. It was the begining of the disco era and yes it survive along side punk, new wave, jazz, blues, r and b, blue grass, and fusion (And yall thought you had problems). We tried to format the station for all listeners. We also had innovation...there was a live radio drama series, nightly newscasts, and we had a guy who would come in over night and read letters from Hustler, Playboy, and OUI. This innovation was rewarded. We were named by Billboard Magazine as the most innovative College Campus Radio Station in nation in 1979. I remember vividly the battles with the administration over the name change from WJRB. Those of us who resided in the basement were happy to get out (the mice and no bathrooms) and move to the Penthouse (the top floor). Yes I still have a couple of air checks and damn they still sound good.

Charles Robinson

*originally submitted 1/4/2008

Name: Fred Whiting, APR
Email: whtngfrd@msn.com
Home: Northern Virginia
Station: WJRB
Date: Thursday, February 7, 2008
 

Comments

Greetings! I just happened to find a reference to myself on the [Late 60's] page. It brought back a lot of memories (most of which I can't repeat for public consumption!). I found WJRB after I registered at RPI in 1967 as a drama student because I learned that they didn't offer any courses in radio. The student radio station was my only outlet. I ended up spending most of my spare time in the basement of the Student Center when I wasn't working on student plays. WJRB gave me the opportunity to pursue a career in broadcasting at WLEE-AM, WTVR-TV and WXEX-TV from 1970-77. Because so much news happened on the RPI campus, I called in my news stories to WLEE and got hired to work as an "ambulance chaser" (street reporter) in my senior year and went full time as a newscaster and reporter after graduation. I will always have fond memories of my studio audition, when one of the staff set fire to my copy as I was recording it.  I recognize Jerry Williams (who bugged me for years to contribute to the alumni fund until he finally gave up), Jim Atkinson, Frank Minor and Barry Fitzgerald. Does anyone still have contact with them? I don't remember posing for those photos, but as they say, if you can remember the '60s, you probably weren't there! Thanks for the mammaries-uh, memories. If there are any WJRB alumni who want to contact me, feel free to send me an e-mail at whtngfrd@msn.com.

Cheers, Fred Former News Director and Station Manager WJRB
-Fred Whiting, APR Communications Consultant Society of Toxicology

*[ Fred submitted this while the Check In section was being constructed. He has since started a new job in March 2008 at Booz Allen Hamilton as an associate in strategic communications in Reston, VA. ]

Name: Cliff Sleeman
Email: webmaster@wjrb.org
Home: Richmond, VA
Station: WJRB
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
 

Comments

Hey Gang!

We finally got the Web site up with the help of several folks. Thanks for all of the submissions. We are still accepting artifacts that you may dig up so send them along so we can see if there's a way we can post them (including audio clips - more are coming).

There was a flurry of emails starting back in October '07 when folks started getting re-connected and contacts quickly swelled as we discovered other former JRB members through the Web. There has been talk of a reunion (after all it is the 40th anniversary of VCU this summer) so this may be one likely place for us to start throwing around some ideas for discussion.

I did my time at WTVR-AM/FM during school weekends and actually stayed on at WJRB for an extra year after graduation as sales manager (thanks to Al Smith for the idea of taking  classes to qualify as a student). Although I didn't head into radio after school, I did head into television and was in charge of the VCU campus television studio (in the basement of Cabell Library) for several years and earned a Masters before leaving VCU in 1978. I also taught photography part-time for 10 years (one semester was at VCU). For the next 20 years I worked at a local hospital doing audio-visual production and even got to do some voice-over work. Since 1998 I've been consulting, designing, marketing and managing Web sites. You may run into me at a Rams home basketball game.