April 6, 2008

Thanks for a terrific BT Memories website. I was at WBTV from 1983 until 1999 as a camera operator, audio and master control tech and satellite truck tech. I've spent the last number of years with CBS News in New York. I count myself fortunate to have worked at JP during what I would consider to be the end of the heyday years. I grew up in Charlotte in the 60's idolizing Fred Kirby and Uncle Jim. How fortunate I am to have been able to go on to work with my childhood idols. 

When my dad passed away in 1985, Jim Patterson wrote me a wonderful heartfelt note of condolence. Who could known that Jim would pass just a few short years later? I still have Jim's note to this day, and I treasure it greatly.  (And by the way, talk about connections... my parents used to tell the story that my dad briefly dated Betty Feezer back in the early 50's, before my parents ever met!)

I drop in on your website from time to time and it saddens me to see the names of the folks I knew and worked with who have passed on. But you do a great service to them and to the memory of One Julian Price Place, back when our business was a much simpler one. Thanks for your work and best wishes to the BT alumni, past and present...

—Frank King
New York City

March 29, 2008

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting my dad's pictures on the BT web site.  He died before several of his grandchildren were grown and I have been able to share this with them.  I am very proud of what he accomplished in his career. We were alway 'Channel 3' people and very proud to be affiliated with Jefferson. On the memorial page, I am sad to see so many people that were a part of my dad's life.  As I may have told you before, I remember as a child being on the Betty Feezor set and meeting Clyde McLean many times. 

Again, thank you so much for what you did for my family.

—Debbie Reynolds Reavis

March 13, 2008

I am looking for a video/dvd of the Betty Feezor show to give my mother as a gift. Is there anything available?

Thank you for your help!

—Debra Reed

February 16, 2008

Thanks for the great website. I grew up watching Fred Kirby, Jim Patterson, Betty Feezor, Cloudy Mclain, Ty Boyd (his brother gave birth to me!) and so many others on WBTV. What a special time that was in my life. I just wish it was still the same. The Mooresville of my youth is long gone.

Thanks again,

—Martin Phillips
Weaverville, NC

February 11, 2008

I recently moved back to the Carolinas after being away for a number of years (graduate school and a teaching appointment in Louisiana). I was surfing and stumbled onto your BT Memories site and man! Memories came flooding back!

I have two questions for you:

1) Has the painting of the WBTV personalities ever been made into a poster, and if so, how would one obtain a copy of it?

2) Are you, or is anyone else, writing the history of WBTV into a book? If not, I would think that would be a worthy project. I know I'd snag a copy up in a heartbeat. Being a history buff myself, even though I'm trained as a biologist, I would think it would be an exciting project for someone.

Thanks,

—Kerry D. Heafner
Biology, Division of Natural Sciences
Limestone College
Gaffney, SC

January 27, 2008

I am a former employee of WBTV.I was close to Jim Patterson and sometimes co-hosted his morning program.I would like to locate some people who used to work there: Tony MacMahan, Blaine Fischer, Jack Dula, Bobby Green, C.J. Underwood, to name just a few. Any help you could give me in this regard would be appreciated.

Thank you,

—Alan Ryan

January 26, 2008

I'm hoping you can help me re-discover some CBS Color TV history I saw first hand displayed 'museum-like' behind glass at WBTV some 23+ years ago.

I visited WBTV in late 1984 to deliver and help set up the first Satellite News Gathering uplink truck. I worked that weekend with Terry Phillips in the inaugural use of the SNG truck to send back a story about an execution at the NC State Prison which was being protested by hundreds of people.

I am Cliff Benham, long time broadcast Engineer, now a member of the Early Television Museum in Hilliard, Ohio. http://www.earlytelevision.org/index.html

The display I'm interested in contains early WBTV Engineering artifacts from 1949 to about 1952, most importantly, original CBS color wheel TV monitors, cameras and support equipment. The CBS color system was only used for a short time in 1950 and 1951 and was incompatible with the NTSC TV system still in use today. Vintage CBS Color Equipment is therefore extremely rare.

I'm interested in knowing if this display of CBS color equipment is still in place at WBTV and if there are photos of the equipment, photos of it in use and if there are newspaper and Jefferson Newsletter articles about this short lived phase of color broadcasting that relate specifically to WBTV.

Finally, if the equipment is still available for viewing would it be possible to visit WBTV and take photos of it for the ETF website?

Thanks for any help you can offer about the history of CBS Color at WBTV.

Regards,

—Cliff Benham

January 25, 2008

I have a signed picture of Grady Cole that might be a nice addition to your website. I frequent auctions & this picture was in a box lot that I purchased. I have had it for many years & until several days ago didn't have any idea who Grady Cole was. I have enjoyed your site & be delighted to donate this to you. If you are interested, please e-mail me back with the address & I will be happy to send it to you.

— Angie Urps
Woodruff, S.C.

Subsequently, Angie mailed us the photo. We scanned it and placed it on this page.

January 23, 2008

Just stumbled across your wonderful website today. Wonderful work and great memories!

I'm poking about for archives of old "hello Henry" shows. I saw your clips, are there more somewhere? I listened nearly every night growing up, as did my brother. It would be a treat to hear more.

Thanks! Great work!

—Melissa Mohlère

January 22, 2008

I have an extremely vague memory of a children’s show featuring a ventriloquist in a naval uniform called Captain Phil. Part of my admittedly disjointed recollection connects the phrase “secret island” with the show.

To go into more detail, my impression is that the show had a science fiction or high adventure theme, complete with eerie music and sound effects, which may have scared the bejeezus out of me because I must have been but only three or four years old at the time. Since then I have come to associate Philip Morris of “Morris Costume” fame with the ventriloquist, perhaps because of the coincidence of the name, or his preference for macabre entertainments (I DO clearly remember him as Dr. Evil) or it may be that I came across a b&w publicity still of Mr. Morris in a naval costume somewhere that triggered an association.

Was this a WBTV program, or I’m I just dreaming?

—Neal Scroggs

January 20, 2008

Hello.

My name is Alan Newcomb. My grandfather worked at WBTV & I just came across your "BT Memories" site. I just wanted to let you know that I think it is wonderful that you are keeping the memories that many people seem to have of that organization alive. I have heard from my dad & grandmother how special the group of people that my grandfather worked with there were, and I too lament the increasing influence that corporate takeovers & acquisitions have the media in our country. But I would also say that your efforts are in the right place with the website; the internet is a purely democratic media. Keep it up, & take care.

—Alan

January 13

My name is Des Flynn. My son, Addam, has been assigned a fourth grade class project to prepare a written and oral report, presented in the first person, about a famous North Carolinian. Addam has chosen Fred Kirby. While researching, we found the wonderful Fred Kirby video collection on the BT Memories Video Center. I see where the videos were provided courtesy of Mike Cline, but can’t find any further contact information.

Can you please tell me if there is any way we can possibly contact Mike Cline and/or get copies on DVD of two of those video clips for Addam to play for his class, i.e., the PM Magazine Feature (Circa 1980) from Fred Kirby’s 80th Birthday Bash (May 19, 1990 on WBTV); and Moments with Fred Kirby – Fred sings with “Uncle Jim” and “Lucky” (time 3:05). Since he has a limited amount of time to present, these two short clips, I think, would greatly help to convey some of Fred’s loving and gentle character (yes, as you can tell, as a native Charlottean, I’m a HUGE Fred Kirby fan myself! I met him as a child at Tweetsie, saw him riding Calico in all of the parades, and never missed his TV shows!!)

Thank you so much for any help or direction you can offer!! Addam will be giving his presentation at school on Friday, February 1, so I’m hoping we can assemble enough “show and tell” memorabilia, including a CD of one of his albums, to allow Addam to pass along a portion of Fred’s abundant legacy and blessing to a generation who will sadly grow up without him.

(FYI - While researching, I learned something about Fred that I never knew… Fred never charged when performing for children with disabilities. This makes this report even more special to me as Addam is affected by autism.)

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

—Des Flynn

December 3, 2007

The photo of Bill Curry and Ty Boyd, with the WBT mobile studio is on the corner of Main Street and Gay Street in Lancaster, SC. I recognise the Goodyear store and the sign across the street says 'Eleanor Shops or 'Eleanor Dress Shops'. They are standing in front of what in 1961 was the Bank of Lancaster. Just above the Eleanor Shop is where Dr. Ira Adams's dentist office was. I am 100% sure of the location, as I was born in Lancaster in 1957, and lived there until 2001. Travis Bell is a second generation photographer from Lancaster. I believe his father would have taken the photo you have. I think the father's shop was called Bell Studios. I believe Travis, at one time, was a photographer for the Lancaster News.

I live in Marshall, Missouri now. Thanks so much for all the sweet memories! I grew up watching WBTV on sunset Drive, just off Grace Avenue in the Lancaster area, actually just a couple miles from Tommy Faile's childhood home.

Thanks,

—Freddy D. Dawley

November 22, 2007

I noticed a question on your "Men at Work" page: "In what town was Travis Bell photography located in 1961?" The answer may be Lancaster, SC. I grew up in Lancaster and remember there being a Bell Studios. So I "Googled" that and found the operation still exists, now a larger multi-city operation and run by the son of the founder. See more at http://travisbellphotographers.com/bio/.

I'm so glad I stumbled upon your website. I have not lived in the Carolinas since 1991, and I still miss it. On this Thanksgiving night, I was thinking about my childhood and, for some reason, WBTV. I guess we always had the TV on! Anyway, what fun it is to relive memories through your webpage. I remember so much: Doug Mayes, Mike McKay and "Those Were the Years", ACC basketball (maybe one night per week), Jefferson-Pilot ("sail with the pilot, all the way"....) and Carolina Pride commercials, Jim Thacker and Billy Packer, Fred Kirby... I could go on and on.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time and going to the effort to do this. Did you, or do you still work for WBTV? If so, you must have loved it.

—John Harp (age 44)
Vice President for Student Affairs
Cornell College
Mt. Vernon, Iowa

October 21, 2007

Thanks for putting this web site together; it means a lot to those of us who were there when it was a real television station…

My work history at WBTV from 1978 to 1988: filled in (through Kelly Services) as office help for John Edgerton, who then hired me; worked in Personnel for a brief time; worked in Data Services as Program Coordinator, then Commercial Coordinator for Sandra Thomas; then Ron Shuping let me transfer to Production staff, where I learned & worked chyron, floor crew, remote shoots, The Morning Show with our beloved Jim Patterson, Top o’ the Day (where I was eventually associate producer; that was my last assignment), news shows; then upstairs again to Creative Services to be a creative director…as friends often say, those were the golden days/years…

Currently, I am community resource coordinator at Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., in Lenoir, NC

—Pam Hildebran

October 7, 2007

I stumbled on your web site "BT Memories". My father worked at the station for about 30 years. I searched your site and found his name in a story about Grady Cole. I wanted to make sure this was my dad in this story. His name was George K. Reynolds from Gastonia. He worked at the station in Charlotte and I have lots of early childhood memories of visiting the station. I met many local celebrities, such as Betty Feezer, Ty Boyd, Clyde McLean, Jim Patterson. Later in his career, he worked at the Spencer Mountain transmittor tower and eventually took a promotion and went back to Charlotte. I have a collection of black and white pictures that I inherited when he passed away. They are pictures of the station letters and some behind the scenes shots, too. If there is anyone at WBTV that would be interested in the pictures, I would love to share them. Please let me know if this is my dad in this story with Grady Cole. It would mean the world to my family. Thank you for your time.

—Debbie Reavis

September 6, 2007

Just a quick e-mail to let you know how much I enjoy browsing the BT Memories website. My late father, Larry Harding, was a long time employee of BT, so this site brings back wonderful memories.

I can remember going to the office with Dad on Saturday afternoons when he had to catch up on some work. Clyde McClean's weather board, where he used to draw on with a huge marker, and Mr. Crutchfield's office are two of my most vibrant memories.

I am no longer that fat kid who followed his beloved Dad around. Next month will mark my 21st year in law enforcement (Sergeant, Special Operations, Iredell County Sheriff's Office) but it is a joy to relive, however briefly, a great time in my life.

Keep the memories coming and if you see any of the "old timers" around, please tell them hello for me.

—Dave Harding

August 11, 2007

I was program director of WBT radio from 1955-1960. I have been in touch with Doug Bell for some time and he recently gave me some websites, including BT Memories. I have thoroughly enjoyed using this site, also printing stories and pictures of interest to former WBT employees Fuz Walker and Bill Melson. I have some additions to your In Memoriam list which Fuz confirmed with me: Tom Ashcraft, former sales rep for radio; J.B. Clark, formerly in the news department who did some special news shows such as "Profile;" and Wade St. Clair who was in the sales department for radio and who succeeded me as program director for radio. I am not sure about Jeanne Alexander who was the co-host of "Jim and Jeanne" on radio. I think I remember her obituary in the UNC alumni magazine but Fuz doesn't remember anything about what happened to Jeannne. Thanks for your good work. I was at WFMY-TV for 18 years and don't believe they have anything similar.

—Bailey Hobgood

April 11, 2007

Well, now that the cows got loose, they only told me about the barn door at BTMemories.com!

I was commissioned to write about WBT's already rather well-told history for the April 2007 edition of Radio Guide magazine.  In fact, most of that history is well told in the artifacts you have on BT Memories, but I sure wish I had known about them to include a factoid or two here and there.

At this very moment, the Radio Guide publisher, Ray Topp, is laying out the Aprial issue and getting it printed for mailing, April will be a tough month for Ray as it is the month of the BIG annual NAB Convention in Las Vegas, which will take a week and more out of the month for him.

Sometime after all that, he will put the PDF files of the April edition up on the Radio Guide website, which will be the best place to get them to you...once that is done.

For my own personal part, I started a radio and later international telecommunicaitons engineering career in the late 1950s down in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.....where WBT was our Conelrad skywave key station, the one we monitored on an old Hammarlund HQ-129X receiver with a carrier alarm after our local Conelrad key station sighed off at night.  Many's the Sunday night when my curiosity was piqued at hearing the sign-off announcement that said, "This is WBT, Charlotte, with WBT Repeater, Shelby, North Carolina...."  Repeater?  Hardly any AM stations had a repeater?  At the time, not knowing a bit of the WBT story, I wondered why WBT had a repeater. I of course found out more later.

But. the primary item that piqued me to write to you was the Kurt Webster/Heartaches story.  In 1959, I had gone across town down in St. Petersburg, FL to join in the engineering side of opening a new daytime station that featured a Big Band format. The station manager actually ran out in the hall all excited one day to tell us he'd just hired a great Big Band personality for an afternoon DJ.  The Big Name was Elmo Tanner, the whistler of "Heartaches" for Ted Weems.

Since you mentioned there weren't many famous whistlers, Jack seemed to have a short pang of memory about then, as he apparently recalled Fred Lowery, the blind whistler who had made many records.  Jack said, "Uh-oh....wait a minute!  Did I hire the blind guy?  Can he run his own board?"

Well, it turned out that Elmo was quite [well] sighted and he could run his own board and not destroy the budget of our little local daytimer.  Elmo, in fact, enjoyed quite a long career in St.Petersburg, ultimately retired there, and had a newspaper article written about him every few years, In the final one just before his death, he said he'd lost all his teeth and couldn't whistle any more.

Everywhere Elmo went, people asked him how to whistle. In fact, he'd tell folks openly that he was not a whistler by trade; that Weems hired him as a vocalist and the whistling part only came about in the arrangement for "Heartaches."  It was the only song he ever whistled.

In fact, Elmo could not whislte very loudly.  He said that to do the song live, he'd cup his hands around a microphone and whistle ever so gently across the mike!  He did teach me how to warble softly the way he did. and I got to the point of being able to do a fair rendition myself.

At any rate, I hope there might be something of interest to you in all this, and in the April Radio Guide article when it gets published. We do have a few bits like the Nazis listening to WBT and transatlantic airplane pilots naivgating by it.

—Don Kimberlin   

P. S.  Egads! You even mentioned Rich Pauley!  In the late 50s. he was a mid-day DJ at WTSP in St, Petersburg, FL, whre I was a dewy-eyed Boy Engineer who was thrilled at being permitted to work in the control room. One day, he was gone, and all the other talent was agog, "Rich landed a job at 'BT!"  I listened to them all in wonderment. It was sad to hear a few years later that Rich apparently died of testicular cancer while in the employ of WBT.

March 29, 2007

J. B. Clark was my father's brother and I am trying to locate his son Barry Clark.  So far I haven't been able to.  I have lost touch with that side of the family.  Can anyone help me?

—Gary Clark 
Danville, VA 

March 1, 2007

1. The upcoming book, The WBT Briarhoppers: Eight Decades of a Bluegrass Band Made For Radio (not my title but the one chosen by the publisher) should be out this summer by McFarland Publishing.

2. During this search, the following Briarhoppers were found alive and well...Billie Burton Daniel (the little blonde girl in the old pictures, a member from 1936-1940...Martin Schopp, aka Tex Martin of the Tennessee Ramblers and the Briarhoppers, a member from 1938 to 1942...Eleanor Bryan Fields ( the female yodeler brought in by Claude Casey), a member from 1940-1941.

3. We found the original video tapes from the 1985 "Charlotte Country Music Story," featuring the WBT Briarhoppers, the Johnson Family, Charles Crutchfield, Bill Monroe, Wade Mainer, The Tennessee Ramblers, Snuffy Jenkins and Pappy Sherrill, and others...we are currently getting the tapes transferred from one-inch tape to digital. The tapes belong to WTVI and that is where they will be returned, along with the digital copies.

—Tom Warlick  

February 13, 2007

I have a strange request. Does anyone remember a kids T.V. show called "Easy Street" It was broadcast by Jefferson Pilot on WBTV back in the 1980's. It featured Thomas Keys and was a 30 min. show. It was a show that covered sports to bike safety, magic and other fun things for kids. I was on this show for the two or three seasons it ran and would give almost anything to have video's of these shows to share with my own children. Can anyone help me?

—Robert Blackwelder 

I'm relatively young - 50 - but have some very fond and cherished memories of WBTV.  When I would come to visit my grandmother in Kannapolis - we lived in Burlington - her huge "Magnificent Magnavox" tv/radio/stereo console was tuned to WBTV almost constantly.  She watched Betty Feezor as a lead-in to As The World Turns and Guiding Light every single afternoon.  I would lounge on her sofa in the evenings watching The Lucy Show, Ed Sullivan, or the Jackie Gleason show with her and my grandfather.  On Sundays, it was Fred Kirby after church.  And yes, my baby-boomer friends and I can still do the "high sign"!  We later moved to Charlotte after my parents divorced, and WBTV became a huge part of my life. 

I have a huge love of television history and still feel that it was a travesty when the Wilder Building was demolished.  I hate it that Lincoln Financial is literally splitting up the family.

A quick and funny side note - when I was a very little girl, I was very timid and shy.  The oddest things scared the daylights out of me.  Three of them were directly connected to CBS.  One was the old endcap, in which the eye opened and closed like the shutter of a camera.  I would run screaming from the room, much to my parents' exasperation.  The other was the opening theme and graphics from "The Twilight Zone".  Okay, okay, that one still creeps me out just a little, but back then I'd hide my head under a pillow!  The last was watching Ann Sothern wink during the opening credits of "Private Secretary".  I still haven't figured that one out.

Recently I found a clip of that old endcap online and wondered what in the world could have bothered me so about it - now I get such a kick out of looking at it, along with the old NBC chimes visual. 

Thanks for your BT memories website, and the great memories!

—Susan Walker  

January 26, 2007

Thank you so much for all of your hard work on this.  I have had a wonderful morning looking at all of your hard work.  I worked in WBT-TV sales department as a sales assistant working with Dick Tomlinson and Bud Coggins from 1973 until about 1979 – plus I grew up in Charlotte as a child.  This has been fascinating.

—Carole Laughlin
(Was Carole Elliott in the ‘70s)

January 18, 2007

Thanks for your wonderful website - it certainly brought back some memories for me.

Growing up in the 1970's in the mountains of NC, I fondly recall staying up late on Friday nights to catch "Those Were the Days" on WBTV.  Mike McKay gave the show a fun and gracious touch, introducing classic movie serials and classic television shows from the 1950's and 60's.  It's where I fell in love with "The Twilight Zone", "Route 66" and many other great series.  Whoever programmed it had really good taste, bringing out some of the classic shows and offbeat series that still aren't seen often.  (When's the last time you saw "Love That Bob"?)  It was years ahead of its time, with Nick At Nite bringing back many of these shows in the 1980s and 90s.  And it was fun to see the occasional guest, talent competition or other silliness going on in McKay's segments.

My parents could get stations from all over North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, but we always wound up watching WBTV.  It had a great lineup of shows from CBS, but some wonderful local programming that was a cut above anyone else.  You'd get to know the folks on the station and they were like family in a way.

At the time, it was just the way TV was, but I've grown to appreciate the WBTV I grew up with even more through the years.  With all the competition for advertising dollars and ratings, all the syndicated shows and infomercials and reality television shows, it's easy to forget how good television could be.  Thanks to everyone that worked at BT over the years - you folks seemed like you really cared about your audience and making the station the best in the South.

—Randy Riddle
Mebane, NC

December 8, 2006

Just looked at a few memories.  The trip to Havana to interview Robert Williams brought back a lot of memories.   I got the worst case of the Cuban Fandango ever.  The food was questionable and scanty (embargo, etc).  The crew consisted of Ken Alvord, Cloudy [Clyde McLean], Nat Tucker, and me.  Nat was photographer and I was director.  The show was for programming, not news.  Alan [Newcomb] did a special with the interview.

—Gene Birke   

December 5, 2006

Just wanted to drop you a line to thank you so much for the absolutely fantastic job you've done on the BT Memories web site. I grew up in Catawba County in the 1970's and your site is just a treasure trove of excellent stories and memories. Looking through these photos and stories of people I saw and heard 30+ years ago, I still miss them all. Especially Fred Kirby and Uncle Jim!

One question I have for you regards sign-offs that were done at the station during the 70's. There is one sign-off in particular that has stood out in my mind all these years, but I'm not certain if WBTV broadcast it or if it came from WCCB, WLOS or possibly WHKY (I picked all of these up in Claremont, NC). The sign-off video in question featured the song "Lonely People" by the pop group America. What made this sign-off memorable was that the song was carefully sequenced to, of all things, stock NASA footage from the Apollo moon landings. The last scene of the sign-off, before the transmitter shut down, was of an infant in a crib, with both parents looking on. As the song faded, the camera panned back and the small family stood in a darkened room filled with stars. The shot panned further out until the family disappeared into the night sky.

Now I know that a sign-off from 30 years ago probably won't stir almost anyone's memory, but if you remember this one (or know of someone who might) I'd sure love to know more about it. Better yet, I'd love to see it again some day, but I doubt it even exists.

Anyway, I've stayed up very late reading the tons of great content you have saved for posterity on the BT Memories site. Thanks again for this wonderful resource. It means a lot.

—Michael Cook 
Head of Public Computing
Albert R. Mann Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY

September 15, 2006

My children and I just happened upon this site and were THRILLED to find an old photo of their dad, Ken Alvord, interviewing Robert Williams in Cuba.

As you may know, Ken passed away of cancer in 1990; our son Scott Barnum Alvord is now 25 and our daughter Julie Victoria Alvord is 16.

It means a lot to us all to have Ken remembered both personally and professionally.

—Lynn Flaster (Alvord) Paul  
Westport, CT                        

September 15, 2006

I would like for BTers to know that Tex Martin (aka Martin Schoff, Marty Roberts) is alive and well in Illinois. I interviewed him for the Briarhopper Book. He came to WBT in 1938 and left in 1943 when he was drafted. In the 1950s, he had a hit in rock-a-billy called "Baby" and was a world-class DJ. He is 87 years old now. He is the last link with the Tennessee Ramblers who were a part of the Briarhoppers. Now, the only remaining Briarhoppers are Roy "Whitey" Grant, Eleanor Bryan Fields, and Tex Martin. Celebrate, please.

—Tom Warlick  

March 29, 2006

I can't thank you enough for the BT Memories website, although I'm afraid it has created an itch that can't be scratched enough. Growing up in Charlotte in the 80's and 90's, my dad's radio was always locked in at 1110 AM. Whether we were having breakfast in the kitchen, or riding in the car, there were the voices of Don Russell and James K. Flynn, John Hancock, "Jeff Pilot," Moira Quinn, Mike Collins, Henry Boggan, and many other hosts and news anchors and reporters.

Behind the voices there was the unmistakable "WBT sound." The Skyview traffic sounders, the jingles, and at the top of every hour, Mike Collins letting us know that we were listening to "the Carolinas broadcasting leader since 1922.. this is the flagship station of Jefferson-Pilot Communications. First in the Southeast, and still leading the way!"

My obsession with WBT began on September 22, 1989, when Hurricane Hugo pummeled the Queen City. That happened to be my seventh birthday. There I was huddled with my mom, dad, and sister in the hallway of our home. I asked my dad if there was a tornado outside. He told me to grab my little Fisher-Price Radio out of my room. We turned it on, and there was Don Russell and James K. Flynn, filling us in on the storm outside our home.

I was hooked. I became a WBT listener at the ripe old age of seven. Whenever my dad would call in to one of the shows, I would make a racket in the background. Then, about seven seconds later, I could hear my noise, ever so softly, going out over the airwaves, followed by my dad staring at me, the signal to knock it off. At Skyshow, while everyone would be awed by the fireworks, I would be scanning the nighttime sky, looking for "Jeff Pilot."

As for TV, it was blasphemy to suggest watching any newscast other than WBTV's.

So you can imagine how humbled I was that in the spring of 2002, I was hired to work in the WBT newsroom. Now I am working with some of the people I grew up listening to.

However, that was the WBT and WBTV of my childhood. Things have changed, some for the better, not so much for others. But the fondness for those days lives on, especially among the people behind the microphone today.

—Chris Miller
News Anchor
1110 WBT-AM

December 13, 2005

Hello Reno!

I am the young guy that inherited your desk at WBTV when you transfered to JP in April of 1972!

You, at that time, and then I shared the cubical with Vivian Harris. Yes, I am Dennis Phillips.

I worked at BTV from April of '72 until September of '75. Maybe you recall the Kid's Show I created named Whistlestop? George Booker and Eddie Wade made the Whistlestop set that Rick Frye and I designed.

Notable highlights of my years at WBTV are: I wrote and produced the Carowinds opening day show. I still have the script! I also wrote and produced the WBTV 25th Anniversary Show that may exist somewhere in their archives. It has probably long been transferred from 2-inch quad.

For the finale of that show, Dave Clanton laid on the hood of my '74 Hornet Sportabout as Jim Patterson drove it up the winding road at the old Spencer Mountain transmitter site. Clanton was rolling 16mm on the Arri . In the background was an audio montage of past news and programs. We then closed the program with Jim standing in the transmitter building looking out at the distant (and small) Charlotte skyline reading the final monologue and using the then current slogan "Part of your Life!"

Other things stand out, like helping Russ Ford on the air at WBT Radio News cover the Eastern Airline Crash in September 1974. I also used to often sit in with Jim Patterson from 5AM to 6AM when he did that hour on WBT. I helped with the remote telecast when President Gerald Ford visited Freedom Park and gave a speech in 1975 where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. There were also countless hours of the Boys Town Auction.

I know that you have purged from your mind one of the funniest bits ever done on any local television show. You and Vivian Harris (I think—maybe it was Fuzzy Prevatte) appeared as "guests" on the Morning Scene and Jim Patterson interviewed you. You were dressed in a bowling jacket and wore sunglasses and the gag was that you and your "wife" were a team trying to set a Guinness record by going coast to coast on roller skates while yo-yoing. She was dressed as a bimbo and was chewing a mouthful of bubble gum! Jim Patterson played the bit with all seriousness while all of us off camera were laughing hysterically.

In 1975 the handwriting was on the wall that the glory days of local TV production were coming to an end, due to cable TV, satellite and home video systems. I left the Whistlestop show to Jim Strader and moved to Orlando, Florida. Today, my wife and I own a costume business, Allied Costumes. (http://www.alliedcostumes.com) I am a college professor in the theater department at a local University and I still find time to do a bit of radio.

Thank you for the memories! ...All were from the best days of my life!

If you would like some photos and information from my collection, I will be happy to add to your collection.

—Dennis Phillips
Orlando, Florida

Full disclosure: The bit on the Morning Show was on an April Fool's day. Jeanette Garner (who worked in the program department) and your editor appeared as "Buster & Yolanda," an itinerant husband and wife act. Buster was a yo-yo artist; Yolanda a tap dancer. Their simultaneous performance was a flurry of dazzling and daring dexterity, a veritable blizzard of terpsichorean and yoyo-ean excitement. They/we were yo-tapping our way across America, with the ultimate goal of being booked on the Ed Sullivan Show. Perfectly costumed, of course, Yolanda had on something shiny, short and tight-fitting, tap shoes a-clacking. I was outfitted not unlike a conga drummer in the Xavier Cugat orchestra, wearing black tuxedo pants, an outlandish puffy-sleeved shirt and a colorful cummerbund, all topped off with a fake mustache and a cheesy-looking hairpiece I had borrowed from a toupee salesman. We leapt into a frenzy of yo'ing and tapping, all the while being interviewed by the hosts, Dick Taylor and Jim Patterson. Somewhere in the performance/interview they happened to mention that Ed Sullivan had gone off the air several months before. It was in all the papers, they said. We were deflated. In fact, our crests were fallen. What'll we do now? Were our yo-dancing careers over? The hosts were suitably sympathetic and did their best to comfort us.

Although the bit concluded with a full screen card that said "April Fool!", some elderly viewer immediately called in, so distraught over our predicament that she offered to let us come live with her. I'm sure that producer Michael Nabicht, a mischievous co-conspirator in all this nonsense, encouraged us to do just that.

December 9, 2005

Thanks so much for compiling so many great memories of a truly great radio and television station. I have the honor of telling friends and family that my first radio job was actually at WBT in 1976. I filled in for regular Sunday morning board-op Tom Brock (who is still with WBTV to this day) playing WBT's regular Sunday lineup, including Casey Kasem's Top Forty. I probably did that all of twice, but simply sitting in the main studio in the same chair as legends Bob Lacey and H.A. Thompson was inspiration for me. I have now been "in the bizzness" for 29 years....the last five with The Performance Racing Network.

Ty Boyd, Jim Patterson, Fred Kirby, Doug Mayes, Clyde McClean; they were more than broadcasters, they were family when I was growning up in the 60s. It's a pity that in all of the "advances" in broadcasting, no engineer or consultant has been able to preserve the feeling of family on the airwaves. It is truly a lost art. I often tell my 13-year old daughter about those wonderful days when we could only receive five channels, but amazingly, there was always something on we wanted to see. Now, we have 500 and I would rather read.

Please keep the memories coming. Somewhere in my vast collection of video, I have a 1987 special produced by WBTV following the death of Clyde McClean. If you ever decide to add video to the site, I would be happy to donate a DVD copy.

Thanks again.

— Kent Bernhardt, PRN

To our readers: We hope to get Kent's DVD and make the Clyde McLean memorial special the site's first video. Any chance the powers that be at WBTV would object?

December 6, 2005

I noticed this web page while I was searching the Internet for some information regarding the Rangers Quartet, a favorite of my father and uncle in the field of gospel quartet. I have recently acquired two newly remastered digitalized CDs of the Rangers Quartet. The Rangers were sensational in the 1940s. On this photo, from a link below on your website, I noticed the Rangers Quartet at the far right of the photo. I have a question for you. At the bottom of the webpage is a statement, "A project by and for former employees of WBT/WBTV Charlotte, North Carolina." Since my father has been asking me if there was any way to find any possibly existing video of the Rangers Quartet, was the Rangers Quartet ever on your television station, WBTV? Thank You,

—Jonathan Hunt

December 6, 2005

I just wanted to say how much I am enjoying your website. WBT has such a rich well- documented broadcast history.  I thought I had seen it all until I saw your website!

I worked at WBT from 1985-1990 part-time first on the overnight oldies show "After Hours," then when Larry King came in I did weekends and vacation fill. It was one of the high points of my career. On Sunday nights WBT did a program called "The Sunday Show" which featured the music of the '40's and '50's of course I played "Heartaches" with a sense of pride and awe as I repeated the famous story behind the music.

Gathering up my courage one day I asked Jim Patterson if he would be a guest on the show. To my surprise he not only consented but he was obviously pleased that I had invited him. He did the first two hours together from 10 till midnight (the show ran until 1am) despite the fact Jim had to do the morning show on WBTV the next morning. We had a great time, I let Jim play anything he wanted and we talked and the stories came. I only wish I had recorded it because it was not long after this that he passed away. I was on the air the day Jim died in that accident. The sadness throughout the entire building was like nothing I had ever experienced. Everyone loved him.

I played a small part at WBT. Some of the talented professionals I worked with include James K. Flynn, Don Russell, H.A. Thompson, Henry Boggan, Dave Bishop (PD), Mike Collins, Bill Jennings, Tony Renaud, and Bob Simpson.  In engineering there was Sam Robertson, Karen?, Bob White, Bob Denny was Chief Engineer.

Also there was Rockin' Ray, David Appleford, Andy Bickel (PD), Lee Melvin and Scott White (in news), Kate McKinna (in programming) and engineer Bill Booth in the list of really great people I worked with.

That's just a few of the very talented people on the staff. I came to Charlotte in 1981 to work at WSOC-AM and was there till 1985 doing afternoons and music director duties. Comparing the two stations I would have to say the radio and TV staffs at WBT/WBTV were closer and worked together more than the staffs at WSOC.

Well, enough rambling! It was a happy experience to say the least. Thanks for a really fine website.

— Mike Miranda (aka Mike Sheridan) 

December 7, 2005

I just discovered your INCREDIBLE website, and have just spent two hours exploring and enjoying it.

I grew up in Statesville (1950-1971), and WBTV was, of course, the flagship station at my house. I appeared on the Little Rascals Club once, and attended tapings of Championship Wrestling during the mid 60s.

Stayed up many Friday nights to watch HORROR THEATRE with DR. EVIL PHIL MORRIS.

I remember Big Bill's Clubhouse with Bill Ward, Three Ring Circus, Castle in the Clouds, Romper Room, Let's Talk TV, Pastors Face Your Questions, and a local kids show on Saturday Mornings featuring pirates (Phil Morris was one). Treasure Cove or Treasure Isle or something like that.

I remember the day that Alan Newcomb died (my 11th grade English teacher announced it to our class). Plus Betty Feezor, Pat Lee, Gil Stamper, Big Bill Ward, "Cloudy" McClain, Uncle Jim Patterson, THE AMOS 'n' ANDY SHOW weeknights at 6:00 p.m.

"How we love The Little Rascals..."

THE BEST OF HOLLYWOOD, CINEMA THREE, THE MILLION DOLLAR MOVIE...

Ty Phoid, I mean Ty Boyd, used to babysit a group of us as elementary school students in the school library during the monthly P.T.A. meetings. Ty's mother was my fourth grade teacher and school principal for my six years in elementary school.

Great stuff...great days...great memories. TV was REALLY something in those days. Today, well, never mind.

Thank you for providing the internet with so many great memories.

I have two friends currently at the station...David Whisnant and Tom Brock.

—Mike Cline, Salisbury, N.C.   

October 10, 2005

There's no doubt about it. Today (October 10th, 2005) may be the end of an era for both broadcasting and for the city of Charlotte.

The sale of Jefferson Pilot (along with the company's TV and radio units, including WBT and WBTV) to Lincoln Financial could bring many major changes, since Lincoln intends to keep the broadcasting division.

Let us hope that Lincoln will keep the senior management of Jefferson-Pilot Communications, and that the broadcasting division remains known as Jefferson-Pilot. With new ownership that, as far as I know has no experience in broadcasting, the potential is there to ruin what for over eight decades has been one of America's great radio stations and what for nearly six decades has been one of America's great television stations. I hope I'm wrong; I would love to read on BT Memories ten years from now how Lincoln Financial's ownership helped WBT and WBTV (plus Jefferson-Pilot Communications as a whole) reach new heights of excellence, public service, and success.

Even though WBT and WBTV may not be the stations they were twenty, thirty, forty or fifty years ago, they are still better (based on what little I know about today's WBT and WBTV) than most other stations in markets Charlotte's size.

Lastly, kudos for BT Memories! It's one of the best broadcasting history web sites around.

—Joseph Gallant, Norwood, MA   

October 4, 2005

What a great site! I am so glad that you have taken the time and have the passion to build a site that acknowledges the history of, and those involved with, The Great Colossus of the South, WBT. So many of the people found in these pages have been supportive of me in my time at WBT, and it is because of the people on this site that makes being a part of the history of WBT such an honor.

There is not a day goes by that I don’t think of Charles Crutchfield. Mr. Crutchfield made it a point to be my friend, and I will always be thankful to have known him. I can only hope that someone, someday, will still have the passion and love for ‘The Blowtorch’ that they will honor those who work today to uphold it’s legacy, and are honored, as I am, to be a part of this station’s rich and honorable history.

To all represented on the site, THANK YOU … It is indeed a different time, but there are still some who love radio for what it was, and is some cases can still be today.

— John Hancock