How to go
What: “On the Air in Springfield: Looking Back on Local Radio”
Where: Clark County Heritage Center, 117 S. Fountain Ave., Springfield
When: 7:30 p.m. next Thursday, May 29
Cost: $5
More info: 937-324-0657 or go to www.heritagecenter.us
To borrow a famous line from radio’s golden age, return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.
Yesteryear will be 7:30 p.m. next Thursday, May 29, when the Heritage Center of Clark County presents “On the Air in Springfield: Looking Back on Local Radio.”
The event, which will be in the Heritage Center’s first floor, will celebrate Springfield’s place in radio history. A panel of local radio personalities will share memories.
Current WHIO radio personality and Springfield News-Sun writer Darryl Bauer, who worked in local radio, will emcee the event.
“It’s a celebration of the impact of radio in our community,” said Heritage Center education and program director Ardath Dellapina. “There was a time when radio was our community voice, where we turned to for news and school closings before television and the Internet.”
Radio broadcasts in Springfield began in the 1920s, and now many area stations mostly follow a national programming format, the current trend in radio. Springfield had numerous stations including WBLY, WIZE, WEEC and WULM that featured a variety of radio programming, from pop music to oldies, Christian music and talk radio and covered local sports.
One of Springfield’s most famous former residents, the late comedian Jonathan Winters, worked in local radio here early in his career.
Dellapina said audiences can share their memories along with the former radio personalities such as Ann Armstrong-ingoldsby, Dick Hatfield, Dennis Carter and Jack Hamilton among others.
Hatfield was one of the area’s top DJs in the 1960s, while Carter worked in radio for more than 30 years including stops in Anchorage, Alaska and Portland, Ore., in addition to Springfield.
Hamilton was an engineer who worked with Jonathan Winters’ mom, Alice Kilgore, who hosted a local talk program here. Armstrong-ingoldsby hosted several programs and was a news director in the 1970s.
“On the Air in Springfield” will include local radio memorabilia such as vintage radios and archival photos. There will also be a programming schedule showing what programs were offered in local radio’s prime.
Dellapina said attendees will be encouraged to share memories as well.
“It will no doubt jog the memories of those who listened to radio in Springfield,” she said.
Admission is $5.
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