In the early 1920s your great-grandparents may have listened to WBT on a rig like this. Radio was still a hobby mainly for the curious and technically adept.

One of a Kind | Marc Hamilton Painting

There is a painting that, as far as we know, still hangs in the Jefferson-Pilot Broadcasting's conference room. It was created by Marc Hamilton, a very talented illustrator and cartoonist who worked in WBTV's art department from 1965 to 1967, along with Jim Scancarelli and Larry Broderson. In the 1970s, long after Marc had left the company, he was commissioned by Wally Jorgensen to do the painting to hang in the Jefferson suite. Marc continues the story:

"That was the last time I had seen the art. I realized this year that I had no copies of the painting to show my grandchildren. So I called Rick Jackson and asked if the painting was still in the Jefferson Suite. He said that actually it had been moved to the conference room just off the lobby, and that I was welcome to come take pictures of it. I took my daughter and two grandchildren along so they could see it 'in person.' Rick also gave us a tour of the studios and prop area where Jim and I spent almost every lunch break, watching 'Noon Report,' Jim used to draw cartoons on Clyde McLean’s weather map for the noon broadcast. It really brought back some memories of my first job out of college…great memories. I know you know what I’m talking about. That’s why you’ve created the BT Memories site."

Marc contributed this photo of the painting.

What does the chicken in the upper left represent? Tradition. For years in the Pine Terrace, the stations' cafeteria, there sat a ceramic chicken beneath a large mural depicting the early days of WBT. Perhaps someone can remember the chicken's significance. It was likely a favored object of Mrs. Crutchfield, or perhaps a private joke between her and "the boss."

Postscript: We are informed by Jim Scancarelli that the chicken is emblematic of Mr. Coddington's hen house where, in the early 1920's, WBT's blessings began to flow.

About Marc Among his many other successes, Marc is the guiding force of the Monday through Saturday editions of the comic strip Dennis The Menace. Recently he's been designing pages for the new official Dennis The Menace Web site. Marc lives in Mint Hill, North Carolina, near Charlotte.