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NEW CASTLE NEWS, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1998 13On Lawrence ( ountyWKST's Dale Brenner, front, and Stan Roberts broadcast a high school football game between New Castle and Seneca Valley.Tiffany Wolfe/NEWSBy Judy HruskaNews CorrespondentDespite static in music throughthe years,WKST looksto be a voice of reason asstation marks its60th anniversaryIt started with the big bands, blended in classical music and then picked up the beat of rock ’n’ roll.Although much has changed since WKST first took the air 60 years ago, the local radio station still does its best to keep in tune with the community.“Our personalities are all from the area, so that means we can relate to our listeners. It gives us an edge,” said Gary West, morning show host and music director.On Oct. 23,1938, WKST first entered the airwaves with a program that ran from 1 p.m. to sundown. Charles E. McGrath, then mayor of New Castle, made an address of welcome from the original studio located in the Scottish Rite Cathedral. The American Legion championship band performed and broadcasts from Ellwood City and New Wilmington were also incorporated.At the time of WKST’s inception, Sam Townsend was the owner and Art “Jolly Joe” Graham was the station manager. Commercials were read live, except for a fewthat were pre-recorded on 33*/3 records.A celebration marking WKST’s 60th anniversary was held Oct. 27 at the New Castle Playhouse Annex Theater. Charles McGrath, the former mayor’s son who served as a control board operator after graduating from New Castle High School in 1941, was honored. He was presented with an engravedwatch.McGrath, 75, of Neshannock Township now owns McGrath Electronics.He gave WKST credit for the foundation of his career.“In those days, everybody had a specific job,” he said.“The announcer announced and the control board operator turned the switches and started the records and that sort of thing.”Today, it is common practice for announcers at stations the size of WKST to also be responsible for the control board, McGrath explained. WKST broadcasts with a 5,000-watt signal.Probably the most memorable day in his radio career occurred on Dec. 8,1941, the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese. At the time, WKST was not affiliated with a network, as it is today with ABC News. In 1941, ATT patched the station through telephone lines to pick up the address of president Franklin D. Roosevelt.“I liked it atWKST because“I was sitting on the control board that early afternoon when FDR declared war on Japan,” McGrath said. “We listened to him say, ‘This day will live in infamy,’ referring to Dec. 7.”That announcement was to affect McGrath’s life, as it did other Americans. Shortly afterward, he entered the armed services. Although he never worked in radio again after the war, he credits his experience with WKST for making the war years tolerable for him.Instead of serving in the infantry of the United States Air Force, McGrath was assigned to the American Expeditionary Radio Stations, today known as the Armed Forces Radio Network.For two years he worked the control board for a station that played American music and provided news to United States servicemen. The stations were set up to counteract German attempts to use the airways to persuade American GIs to give up the war and go home, he said.Back at home, WKST was broadcasting both local and national big band acts. Classical music followed and then rock ’n’ roll picked up the beat. Yet through it all, the Kubinski familyishthey paid me $175a week. I remember calling my wife to tell her because that was more than I had been making during the previous two years doing minor league baseball. 1 was thrilled to be on the air and have a job.”tilll»P2kept the “Polish Hour” program, which featured Polis music and culture, alive from 1938 until the 1980s. Stephanie and her husband Zygmunt Kubinski began their broadcast careers on WKBN in Youngstown but joined WKST when it signed onto the airways. Their first broadcast, from the Scottish Rite Cathedral, was on Oct. 23, 1938. They went from live music to records after WKST moved to Savannah Gardner Road.“They would play records and bring in live bands and it was several hours long,” West said. “In the later years, it was condensed to about an hour.”Ray Kolodziej took over the Sunday morning program in 1990. Kolodziej plays polkas and waltzes and provides ethnic community information and dedications.More emphasis was later put on news and sports. Now the focus is on news, sports and community happenings, West said.In 1961, Scott Broadcasting bought WKST and the studio moved from the Cathedral to its current location in Shenango Township. An FM sister station, Star 92.1, was incorporated in 1968.West, 40, began working at WKST in 1976. Three years later he relocated to Ohio. By 1985, he decided to return to his hometown and secured employment with the radio station once more.He said the major changes he has seen in radio over the last 13 years are because of satellite dishes.“In radio we give the more important facts of the most important stories so we can stay concise,” he said. “With satellites, we pick and choose the most pressing information. Radio is always challenging and every day is different,” West added. “That’s why I stay in it.”Over the years, some notable personalities put time in at WKST.Byron McConnell, now deceased, worked at the station for more than 50 years as an announcer, a sports newscaster, general manager and sales person. Herb Morgan became locally famous for news and his “Viewpoint” talk show from 1976 to 1990. According to WKST history, Morgan turned down job offers in bigger markets because he refused to wear a tie.Please Me BEAT, page 16JVrn/wJcT. -■ . ■ V Tt*
Newspaper Details
New Castle News
New Castle, Pennsylvania, US
Fri, Nov 06, 1998
Page 13
Full Page
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USA 10 Jul 2020
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