I worked there while in high school. It was a daylight only station and they needed extra people to fill-in during the longer daylight hours (evenings). Wish I had stayed longer.
Just wanted to say that we would stop at WISR before we went to JR high school and watch a western group play live at the station. No DJ or anything else just the group playing before the "mike" When the on air sign was lit we knew to be quiet. This was in the early nineteen forties. That group stayed out off of the Herman Road (not too far from Butler)
WISR....Margo Pitts (how well she could transition from whoever she was interviewing to the commercial spot)...Joel R....Dave Malarky.... Bill Lehnerd playing LP's of stage musicals and telling the story on Sunday afternoon.Loved going there. Loved the cork room.
The late Bob Kaufman set a standard for local news reporting that is hard to match. Also remember the professionalism of Warren Ihlenfelt, Margo Pitts, Don Oesterling, and Joel Rosenbloom. Butler's other stations WBUT AM & FM were originally located in the Willard Hotel.Remember Earl Sadlon, Gus Gour, Dick Qutan (sp?) Later came Larry Berg, Guy Travaglio, Bob Natili, and Bob Brandon. Dave Malarkey spans both generations (WISR).
Far from Butler, here I am in glorious Florida. WISR founders Dave and Georgia Rosenblum began broadcasting and sold announcements for a dollar apiece while 13-year-old Joel "ran" the board and got to dig every single commercial record sent for air-play. Mom's original show "News through the eyes of a woman" preceded Margo Pitts' program. Running a radio station meant you got to be the good guys, helping folks find their pets, beating the competition with news reports and publishing a daily newsheet, Dave's original idea.
I sure appreciate "Inside Butler County" web site as we travel away gfrom home. It's a great way to keep up with local news. The Butler Eagle web site also provides news on their web site.
Still enjoy local radio. Coffee with Kate in morning with the Kate Steiner and Dave Malarkey is great local radio on WISR. So much of local radio across the country has disappeared.
That's right! Margo could easily go from intereviewing you to sliding right into the commercials. Margo was such a professional.Our true feminist....and she was lovely lady. I miss her still.
Bill L. playing through a musical explaining it...loved it. That got me into buying the albums (at Trader's)and then being involved with the shows.God Bless him. It was always a treat to go there to be interviewed for a show. Also loved the cork room and seeing the 45's and Lp's all stacked up. I once got to record some sound effects there for a show at BLT.
I wanted to add that my brother,Bill, and I would also stop and enjoy watching the group perform. Oh my, what memories. The group did stay out in Vogeyville just above the Herman Road not far from Butler. We were as quiet as church mice when the "on air" sign was lit. We stayed until the very last minute and then raced to school. This was probably about 1944 and 1945.
All radio stations east of the Mississippi start with "W"; those west of the Mississippi start with "K"....except KDKA in Pittsburg which claims to be the first station to broadcast in the U.S. This is disputed and a good discussion of the subject can be found at http://jeff560.tripod.com/first.html
WISR has special memories for me, but the building didn't look like this when I knew it. I played piano there for a weekly high school variety show in the middle 1950s hosted by Judy Claypool, and I got to know some of the announcers: Warren Ihlenfeld, Bob Kaufman, Michael Saloman, Joel Rosenblumm, Margo Pitts.
When the death announcements were made, the intro music was always "The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saens, which was subtly perfect; every time I hear that song it reminds me of WISR.
I believe KDKA was the first commercial station to get on the air. Owned by Westinghouse. I remember their morning show, "Cordac and Company". As a kid I loved listening to their comedy sketches. Two gremlins that ran the streetcars up the side of the Gulf Oil building. Great sound effects. In the age before TV I can remember walking down Pearl St. and everyones Dad would be sitting on the front porch listening to Bob Prince doing the Pirate games. In fact, when Dale Long was setting the consecutive home run record, everyone listened to the Pirates. I remember both WISR and WBUT but seldom listened.
I happened to find this website and was so pleased to read the kind comments. Thank you, on behalf of my mother, Margo Pitts. I "grew up" at WISR. I was, in part, named after one of her radio programs, Polly's Playhouse, which was held after school so kids could attend the show live. She has been gone since 1999, but I tend to think more of her as April 29th approaches, the date of her passing. You've brought back many happy memories to me.
i was in a play at the butler little theatre with margo pitts in 1959 my three angels..milton carless a teacher from evans city high school was the director ..i may still have the program some where
I was a senior in high school (1956) when Joel Rosenblum called me in to his office and offered me a career in radio! I decline because I (foolishly, perhaps) intended to go to college and become an engineer. I did begin working as an announcer and disc jockey beginning in the spring and throughout the summer. Bob Kaufmann was the station manager and Warren Ihlenfeld was the Program Director who I worked for. Later, I worked there on my holidays when home from college. I remember one Christmas when I subbed for Don Oesterling as Farm Editor for the week and had to get up very early each morning to turn the station on.
WISR
19 comments:
Ahhhh, Margo Pitts. She's the reason I do what I do today. I loved going to WISR and watching her work the board.
Never knew what WISR stood for. Interesting. Thanks Charles.
I worked there while in high school. It was a daylight only station and they needed extra people to fill-in during the longer daylight hours (evenings). Wish I had stayed longer.
Take a look at
http://www.PAgood.com/Butler
for Butler, PA T-shirts
Just wanted to say that we would stop at WISR before we went to JR high school and watch a western group play live at the station. No DJ or anything else just the group playing before the "mike" When the on air sign was lit we knew to be quiet. This was in the early nineteen forties. That group stayed out off of the Herman Road (not too far from Butler)
WISR....Margo Pitts (how well she could transition from whoever she was interviewing to the commercial spot)...Joel R....Dave Malarky....
Bill Lehnerd playing LP's of stage musicals and telling the story on Sunday afternoon.Loved going there. Loved the cork room.
The late Bob Kaufman set a standard for local news reporting that is hard to match. Also remember the professionalism of Warren Ihlenfelt, Margo Pitts, Don Oesterling, and Joel Rosenbloom.
Butler's other stations WBUT AM & FM were originally located in the Willard Hotel.Remember Earl Sadlon, Gus Gour, Dick Qutan (sp?)
Later came Larry Berg, Guy Travaglio, Bob Natili, and Bob Brandon. Dave Malarkey spans both generations (WISR).
Far from Butler, here I am in glorious Florida. WISR founders Dave and Georgia Rosenblum began broadcasting and sold announcements for a dollar apiece while 13-year-old Joel "ran" the board and got to dig every single commercial record sent for air-play. Mom's original show "News through the eyes of a woman" preceded Margo Pitts' program. Running a radio station meant you got to be the good guys, helping folks find their pets, beating the competition with news reports and publishing a daily newsheet, Dave's original idea.
Joel
jrosenb357@aol.com
I sure appreciate "Inside Butler County" web site as we travel away
gfrom home. It's a great way to keep up with local news. The Butler Eagle web site also provides
news on their web site.
Still enjoy local radio. Coffee with Kate in morning with the Kate Steiner and Dave Malarkey is great local radio on WISR. So much of local radio across the country has disappeared.
That's right! Margo could easily go from intereviewing you to sliding right into the commercials.
Margo was such a professional.Our true feminist....and she was lovely lady. I miss her still.
Bill L. playing through a musical explaining it...loved it. That got me into buying the albums (at Trader's)and then being involved with the shows.God Bless him.
It was always a treat to go there to be interviewed for a show. Also loved the cork room and seeing the 45's and Lp's all stacked up.
I once got to record some sound effects there for a show at BLT.
I wanted to add that my brother,Bill, and I would also stop and enjoy watching the group perform. Oh my, what memories. The group did stay out in Vogeyville just above the Herman Road not far from Butler. We were as quiet as church mice when the "on air" sign was lit. We stayed until the very last minute and then raced to school. This was probably about 1944 and 1945.
All radio stations east of the Mississippi start with "W"; those west of the Mississippi start with "K"....except KDKA in Pittsburg which claims to be the first station to broadcast in the U.S. This is disputed and a good discussion of the subject can be found at http://jeff560.tripod.com/first.html
WISR has special memories for me, but the building didn't look like this when I knew it. I played piano there for a weekly high school variety show in the middle 1950s hosted by Judy Claypool, and I got to know some of the announcers: Warren Ihlenfeld, Bob Kaufman, Michael Saloman, Joel Rosenblumm, Margo Pitts.
When the death announcements were made, the intro music was always "The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saens, which was subtly perfect; every time I hear that song it reminds me of WISR.
I believe KDKA was the first commercial station to get on the air. Owned by Westinghouse. I remember their morning show, "Cordac and Company". As a kid I loved listening to their comedy sketches. Two gremlins that ran the streetcars up the side of the Gulf Oil building. Great sound effects. In the age before TV I can remember walking down Pearl St. and everyones Dad would be sitting on the front porch listening to Bob Prince doing the Pirate games. In fact, when Dale Long was setting the consecutive home run record, everyone listened to the Pirates. I remember both WISR and WBUT but seldom listened.
Remeber the "Morning After Gang"
and Guy Travaglio's "Pepsi Top 10 Show"?
I happened to find this website and was so pleased to read the kind comments. Thank you, on behalf of my mother, Margo Pitts. I "grew up" at WISR. I was, in part, named after one of her radio programs, Polly's Playhouse, which was held after school so kids could attend the show live. She has been gone since 1999, but I tend to think more of her as April 29th approaches, the date of her passing. You've brought back many happy memories to me.
i was in a play at the butler little theatre with margo pitts in 1959 my three angels..milton carless a teacher from evans city high school was the director ..i may still have the program some where
I was a senior in high school (1956) when Joel Rosenblum called me in to his office and offered me a career in radio! I decline because I (foolishly, perhaps) intended to go to college and become an engineer. I did begin working as an announcer and disc jockey beginning in the spring and throughout the summer. Bob Kaufmann was the station manager and Warren Ihlenfeld was the Program Director who I worked for. Later, I worked there on my holidays when home from college. I remember one Christmas when I subbed for Don Oesterling as Farm Editor for the week and had to get up very early each morning to turn the station on.
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