A subsidery of the broadcasting company was created in the 1960s to produce programs and commercials, and to provide mobile production facilities to producers all over the country. Here are photos from JP's early days (and some more recent) provided by Ken Helms and Jim Rogers.

Take a look >>

Also see a couple of new Pictures Worth 1,000 Words, both part of JP's "heritage."

Over the years WBTV produced an impressive number of local kids shows. There was "Tiny Town," "3-Ring Circus," "Castle in the Clouds," "Whistle Stop" and many more. We've found photos of some of them. If you have fond memories of one or more, or can think of any we've failed to mention, we'd like to hear from you.

Remember these? >>

Remember these names? Mayes, Thacker, McLean, Depaulis, Wilson, Taylor, Schorr, Hemrick, Piller, Hollifield, Moore? Just a handful of the 50-or-so professionals on the news department roster of the '70s. Here are some 30-year-old photos that will take you back.

News Pics >>

Back in the '70s, former WBTV graphic artist Marc Hamilton was commissioned to paint a montage of some of the personalities who had worked and performed on the two stations over the years. The painting hung in the Jefferson Suite for over a decade, and now, we understand, it is in a conference room off the company's main lobby.

Take a look >>

Many of the WBT/WBTV staff massed in the parking lot for this rooftop shot soon after moving into the new building on West Morehead Street. Some remained inside keeping the ship on course; most of the night shift had not arrived. Though many are gone, you'll see some familiar faces.

Staff Pic >>

A stunning aerial view of the BT "campus" and the city of Charlotte in the early '80s.

Aerial View >>

Sometimes you just have to fake it. On an early-'50s WBT show there were two characters played by the same person, so how did they handle it in the promotion stills?

Stand In >>

Photos of the six-person radio news team taken in May 1981. They had just won recognition for their extraordinary efforts in the previous year.

News Team >>

On July 26, 2004 a bunch of the old gang got together for lunch. In order to document how old we all have gotten, many photos were made. See the incriminating evidence.

Reunion >>

He worked many years as an engineer at the WBTV transmitter and studios. George's daughter Debbie Reavis has shared a batch of her late father's photos from the 1970s.

View them >>

In early 1954, when Jefferson Standard was less than a decade old, work began on a site out on West Morehead Street for a grand new broadcast center. Persuading the parent company, a conservative insurance company, to finance such an undertaking was one of Crutchfield's finest achievements.

Site photos >>

Every so often a photo emerges that just flat says it all. Whenever our discerning eye spots one we'll add it to our growing list of exceptional pictures. Sometimes they may be worth only, oh, 875 words, but you can't always have everything. Check this little gallery often to see if there's something new.

Extraordinary Pics >>

Every three months or so, a bunch of oldtimers get together to have lunch and a good time at a steak house in northwest Charlotte. Recently they did it again, and your vigilant webmaster, always alert for material for the BT memories site, took his camera along, and caught most of the attendees in various stages of nostalgia. Here's the incriminating evidence, which requires Flash Player 7 or 8—I forget which. (If you aren't fully Flash equipped, download it from this link. It's free.)

Mug Shots >>

Through the years a whole host of musical entertainers passed through the doors of WBT and WBTV. Sadly the days of local entertainment shows are long gone. Let's get reacquainted with just a few of those troubadours and music makers of yesterday.

Pickers 'n' Singers >>

We found an old dusty shoebox full of those slides that were used during station breaks to promote shows and events on WBTV. We chose over 100 of them, in several categories, to take you back to the '60s and '70s. We've also included a list of some of the graphic artists who created the slides. (Requires Flash Player 7.)

Slide Show >>

We pored over three years worth of old Jeffcasters and found a lot of faces we had temporarily forgotten. Not everyone is here, just 130 of you who had birthdays, anniversaries or did something notable over that period, causing you to "make" the newsletter. You won't be forgotten again. (Just think: If you were 25 then, you're about 50 now. Try hard not to weep.)

Faces >>

As a photographer he took our "pitchers"; as a Briarhopper he entertained us as a clown and fiddle player. Was there another side of him we didn't know about?

Hank >>

A child star visiting our studios was mystified by a strange yet somehow familiar spector. Had Halloween come early? Had her doll, Mrs. Beasley, come alive? Could she have a severe case of jet lag?

Find out >>

Our stations' personalities frequently traveled around the viewing areas, making friends and speading good will. We tried hard to be involved in the many communities whose citizens watched and listened.

On the street >>

They dressed and lit the sets, gathered and arranged the props, operated the cameras and—with their initiative, expertise and good taste, not to mention hustle— made the talent and the show look good. A sequence of eight entertaining photos with illuminating text takes you back to the crews of the '50s and '60s.

Crew Pics >>

A remote is a special broadcast outside the studio--from a remote location. It was commonplace in the early days to cover events like presidential visits, rallies, ball games and parades. Keep checking this page, we'll add more "remote" photos as time goes by.

Remote Pics >>

Another "Singing Cowboys" treat. WBT's Tennessee Ramblers went to Hollywood in '37 to back up the biggest name in westerns. They brought back memories to last a lifetime...and this nifty promotion piece.

Autry Picture >>

In 1967, WBT commemorated its 45th anniversary with a large party on the Pine Terrace. Most of the attendees (the entire staff and invited guests) dressed in "Roaring '20s" attire. Legend has it that there was real gin in the bathtub.

Big blast >>

They came from out of the west: west Charlotte, west Spartanburg, and other points west, to pick and sing on WBT.

Cowboys >>

He showed up at WBT well before most of us were born, and stayed long enough to entertain our grand kids. Fred was one of a kind.

Fred >>

He was WBT's legend of the southern airwaves from the '30s through the '50s. Not until 1961 did Grady Cole become known as the predecessor of Ty Boyd.

Grady >>