Other ArticlesMr. Cartoon, Miss Marilyn Back in SpotlightThis article appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on Aug. 4, 2006.by CHERYL CASWELL Before there was Barney, Big Bird or the Wiggles, a generation of area children flocked to their televisions to watch Mr. Cartoon and Romper Room's Miss Marilyn. They are included on a list that reads like a "who's who" in local broadcasting -- 61 television and radio personalities who will be the first inductees into a Broadcasting Hall of Fame. It will be located at the Museum of Radio and Technology in Huntington. "We have all this wonderful equipment in the museum, and we thought it would be good if we could show some of the people who worked with it, and who worked behind the scenes," said Tom Resler, chairman of the committee to develop the hall of fame. Not all of those being honored in a Sept. 16 ceremony at the museum are well known outside the broadcasting community. Many are founders or owners of the first local stations. Others are engineers or others who never appeared on camera, or on the air. "We sent out inquiries for possible inductees, and we came up with quite a few names," Resler said. "The first list is like a catch-up process to get as many as we can. We'll add more next year, and then maybe two or three a year." A plaque will be engraved with the names of those being honored, and displays will be added with their pictures and biographies. "We've done a lot of research to find these people, or their family members, and contacted them," said Resler, a technician for Sodaro's Electric for the past 45 years who also gives tours of the museum in his free time. "A lot of them are deceased," he said. "And for some, we haven't been able to find any family. But most of the ones we have will either attend the ceremony or have a family representative who will." Jule Huffman, who was the well-known Mr. Cartoon and weatherman on WSAZ for decades, will attend the ceremony next month. "I'm remembered for that, and for singing," he said. "I directed, too. I announced. And if they needed the floor swept, I did that." Huffman attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, hoping for a career as a classical singer. But he realized the limitations of the field, and gravitated toward the novelty and excitement of television in its early days. "I went from one station to another, doing anything I could," Huffman said. "I caught on at WCPO (Cincinnati) and did eight jobs a day, all live. And it was fun. Then I worked in Ashland, Ky., and at WSAZ for 41 years." Marilyn Fletcher said she can't walk through Charleston without someone remembering her face from the days when she hosted the popular children's show "Romper Room" on WCHS-TV. "That was the first thing I did in broadcasting," Fletcher said. "I did that for two and a half years and it went off the air. Then they brought it back and I did it again. Fletcher went on to become women's director at WSAZ. She did a 9 a.m. interview show and was a talk show hostess. She is now retired and living in Sun City, S.C., where she is still active in broadcasting and has helped develop local cable channels. Of the hall of fame, she said, "It's a nice idea, especially for honoring the ones who actually started the stations. When I heard the list, I knew a lot of those names." Bos Johnson, whose name is synonymous with broadcasting in West Virginia, also is being inducted into the hall of fame. Johnson has taught broadcasting to many students at Marshall University and was at WSAZ for nearly 25 years as news director and anchor. "West Virginia, a small state by any measure, has had a remarkable impact on broadcasting in news, sports and entertainment and I was privileged to know a lot of those great folks," he said. "Being inducted into the hall of fame is an honor and I'm grateful for it," added Johnson, who got his start at WKOY radio in Bluefield. "And it has stirred a lot of memories." Johnson said that one of his fondest memories is sharing a broadcast booth at a Clarksburg football game in the 1950s with Jim Thacker, Jack Fleming and Jay Randolph -- all legendary broadcasters. Thacker went on to broadcast ACC basketball games. Fleming was the "Voice of the Mountaineers" for more than 40 years. Randolph, the son of Sen. Jennings Randolph, was an NBC broadcaster for pro football games. Shirley Love is known in his Fayette County community for his work in television and radio, and he will be among those inducted into the hall of fame. Love was a deejay in 1954 with a popular WOAY radio show called "Juke Box Review" from 3 to 5 p.m. daily. When the Oak Hill company added a television station shortly after that, Love emceed a program called "West Virginia Bandstand." He said, "It was the era when rock and roll came into existence. I played Elvis, and he was controversial. The bandstand show was a spin- off of ‘American Bandstand' and we had local high school kids come dance in the studio for an hour." Early on, Love's job was to run the boom mike and crank the teleprompter for the show "Friday Night Barndance." When the commercial announcer quit suddenly, he stepped in to read the lines, live, and ended up with the job. Over the years, Love anchored the WOAY news, hosted a popular Saturday night wrestling show, made commercials and sold advertising. He figures he announced more than 1,100 local football and baseball games. "I retired in 1997, but I still do some games," he said. "I do the play-by-play, and the sheriff does the color." Charles Ryan, owner of a public relations firm that bears his name, was a fixture on local television for years. He is also one of the inductees. "I started in my hometown of Keyser, on WKYR radio," Ryan said. "I was 17 and they had a contest for a teenage deejay and I won. Then, I hung around the studio until they hired me. "Having a 5,000-watt radio station at your command does great things to your confidence," he said. Ryan went on to work full time at radio stations in Morgantown while attending West Virginia University. He came to Charleston in 1962 to work for WSAZ and was later news director at WCHS. "Some great talent has evolved in broadcasting in this state," Ryan said. "And I've been privileged to know them." Joe Farris II will attend the hall of fame celebration to represent his late father, Joe Farris, who is known for his 40-year career as a radio personality in Charleston. Farris said his father would have been thrilled to be part of the honorees. "He started as a teenager before World War II," Farris said. "He did a lot of Morris Harvey games and high school sports for WCHS and WGKV. He started as a disc jockey and went into sales and management, but he always kept his finger in sports. "He loved his radio career and the people in it," Farris said. "Ernie Saunders, Al Sahley, John Dickensheets -- the old guard of guys who were in the business." The ceremony will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 16 at the museum, 1640 Florence Avenue in Huntington.
Inductees to the West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame
Huntington Museum of Radio and Technology Announces Second Class of Inductees into The West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of FameLittle Jimmy Dickens of the Grand Ole Opry will attend the event Contact: Tom Resler at tmres@aol.com or at (304)-389-5585 Thirty two radio and television pioneers are to become members of The West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame at the second annual induction ceremony on Saturday, November 3, 2007 from 5:00 till 7:00 p.m. The ceremony takes place at The Museum of Radio and Technology located at 1640 Florence Avenue in Huntington. Little Jimmy Dickens is one of many personalities that will attend the event. Attendance to the event is by invitation only. Tom Resler, committee chairman says the hall of fame truly represents the great legacy West Virginia has in the broadcasting industry. “These inductees have created a rich diversity of programming at radio and TV stations across the state. This year’s class of 32 and last year’s class of 61 inductees represent West Virginians who have been an important part of the lives of viewers and listeners in the region and even across the country.” A portion of the museum was renovated to house the hall of fame with support from the Foundation for the Tri-State Community and the Cabell County Commission. The museum, founded in 1991, features hundreds of radio and TV exhibits and maintains a library of broadcasting history. The museum is open Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. till 4:00 p.m. and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. till 4:00 p.m. The members of the second class of inductees into the West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame are:
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