History of WJLS, Beckley, West Virginia

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Enzo Allessandrini, known today to thousands of listeners to the CBS network programs originating in Chicago, as Larry Alexander. Enzo, too, can be counted among the Raleigh County citizens who have succeeded in other places of this nation for he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley in the spring of 1939. He came to work at WJLS shortly after it went on the air and remained through the summer months of 1939, and then entered West Virginia University. The following summer, he spent a few weeks at WJLS, then worked at WCHS in Charleston. From there he went to Atlanta, Georgia, and just before entering the Naval service in the early days of the war he worked at KDKA in Pittsburgh. After the war, he stopped off in Hollywood, attempting to fulfill his life-time ambition to be an actor. Times were hard, and there was a job at WBBM in Chicago, the CBS station in the Windy City, and he took it in 1947. He's been there ever since as a staff announcer. And more recently, during these summer months, he has been heard on the replacement program "Cloud 9" broadcast on Friday nights. In this program he was a character actor. Today, this product of Beckley is married and has one daughter.

Merv Amols (born about 1921) was hired as the morning announcer in 1946, when he was released from the Army. He came to Beckley from Boston. He was also music librarian. He emceed a half-hour quiz show called People Know Everything, which was produced and written by Benton Boggs. He later lived in Hartford, Conn., where he worked for Capitol Records in the record promotion department. He retired from Capitol Records in 1991 after 41 years. Music producer Stephen Sossin writes, "I can tell you that he is considered Legendary....the longest living, longest career and greatest record promoter known as the 'Hitman.' Sadly, too many publications on the music business don't even mention this great man. This guy MADE some of the greatest Recording Artists...many STILL going strong to this day. Merv has promoted the Music of the following Artists: Glen Campbell, Poison, Motley Crue, Anne Murray, Great White, the Beatles, Heart, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Segar, Al Martino, The Lettermen, Nat King Cole, Blue Swede, Ashford and Simpson, Simple Minds, The Smithereens, Buck Owens, Bobby Gentry, Eric Johnson, Dr. Hook, Peabo Bryson, Roberta Flack, Les Paul, Margaret Whiting, Stan Kenton, Ferlin Husky, M. C. Hammer, Isaac Hayes, Wayne Newton, The Beach Boys, Tina Turner, Buck Owens, Sonny James, Dean Martin, Helen Reddy, Al Martino. When Natalie Cole's career was waning in the late 80's and Capital was seriously thinking of dropping her...it was Merv who suggested she re-do her late father's hits and the rest is history."

Charles R. Armentrout (died, 1996, age 79) was commercial manager and program director for WJLS. He is shown in charge of continuity in the 1939 West Virginia Blue Book and is listed as assistant manager in the 1940 West Virginia Blue Book. After working at WJLS, he joined the Associated Press as a reporter in Charleston in 1942 and later moved to the Baltimore bureau. He was a press aide to Sen. Chapman Revercomb in the late 1940s before returning to West Virginia to become a reporter and columnist for the Charleston Gazette. He was also a public relations executive and a long-time resident of Arlington, Va. He retired in 1981 as manager of the news department and public information programs of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. He was born and raised in Bluefield and attended Bluefield College before beginning his journalism career in 1935 as an announcer. He also worked as a reporter for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

Peter Arnell later went to New York.

Roger Ball (born 1955) was program and sales director of WJLS. He was with the station from 1975 to 1980. He had earlier worked at radio stations WKOY, WLOH/WAEY, WKJC, and WHIS in Bluefield and Princeton. Roger is now a Youth Minister in Vero Beach, Florida. His e-mail address is ballj@irwin.vetrol.com

Bill Barren was in the technical department, went from WJLS to WKWK in Wheeling and later to New York.

William R. Barrett was news and sports director in the 1940s and 1950s. He had been Telegraph Editor at the Beckley Post-Herald before joining WJLS. The 1939 West Virginia Blue Book shows him as a control operator and he is listed as an operator in the 1940 West Virginia Blue Book. He left WJLS to become news director of co-owned UHF station WKNA-TV in Charleston.

Glenn Lee Bellamy was a control room operator.

Donald Blair, an announcer in the early 1950s, came from Wilkes-Barre. Originally from Brooklyn.

Bill Blake was heard on the air on WJLS in the 1970s and later became Vice President and General Manager. He had earlier been heard on WKAZ in Charleston. Blake later was part of the morning team at WXBQ in Bristol.

Benton Boone Boggs Jr. (1912-1984) was promotion manager and editor of the 560 News in 1947. Merv Amols says the magazine was Boggs' idea. In the 1950s he joined the staff of the new WDBJ-TV in Roanoke as promotion director. He retired from WDBJ in the late 1970s. He was born Dec. 7, 1912, in West Virginia.

Omar Bowyer Jr. (1926-1999) was a chief engineer for about five years in the 1950s. He was hired as an engineer for WJLS-FM about 1951, at which time he, his wife Rose Etna Bowyer, and their two-year-old son Ron moved into the transmitter building at Huff's Knob. They lived there for more than nine years. Rose Etna Bowyer recalled in 2001 that they had two more children while living there. When their second child was born in the summer of 1953, the phone was out and she had to yell to the bottom of the hill that she needed help; neighbors took her to the hospital in Beckley. The same neighbors took her to the hospital when their third child was born early Christmas morning in 1955, as Omar and Don Moye were at a Catholic midnight service broadcast. Rose Etna Bowyer recalled in 2001, "Omar was kept very busy working at WJLS AM as Chief Engineer and I was HIRED to run WBKW. I could do that easily since I lived in the transmitter. My function was to get the transmitter on the air, set up and play music. Joe L. Smith loved good music. We played many types of music. But NEVER country. Joe did not like country. They were long playing records and we were able to stack up a pile of them." Omar left WJLS in March 1959 to become a telescope operator at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank. (He later became a technical specialist and purchasing agent there.) His wife continued to operate WBKW until July 1959, when they moved off the mountain. Omar Bowyer was still employed by NRAO at the time of his death on Aug. 17, 1999. He was born in Nuttallburg.

Charles V. Boyd is listed as a salesman in the 1940 West Virginia Blue Book.

Dallas Boyd was a personality in the early 1950s. He is listed as program director in the 1956 Broadcasting Yearbook.

Bill Bradlow was an announcer in 1952 as "Uncle Bill."

Sarah Graves Braxton, "the blind poetess," had a Sunday morning program for many years until she retired about 1963. She was a native of Abingdon, Va. She died at age 84 in 1968.

Evelyn Long (Eve) Breck (1907-2002) was news director in the late 1960s. She came to WJLS from the Beckley newspapers, where she had begun work as a reporter in 1957. After retiring from the newspaper in 1972, she spent the next 10 years with the City of Beckley as recorder-treasurer and zoning officer. She was born in Appleton, Wis.

Charles B. Bridge is identified as a WJLS announcer in the Charleston Daily Mail of Mar. 30, 1941.

Robert R. Brown (1922-2008) was an announcer, production director, and sales representative in the 1950s. He is listed as commercial manager in the 1956 Broadcasting Yearbook. He and his wife did the morning show from their home at one time. He later became manager of WOAY-TV Oak Hill. More information about him is on the WOAY-TV page.

Bob Brown (of the '70s) was heard on WJLS in the 1970s. He later did the morning show at WOAY-FM when it was a country station, and worked at WTNJ, WWNR, WKOY, and WCLG in West Virginia and several large stations outside the state. In 1989 he founded Brown Spots, Inc., an audio production company, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He now lives in Heber Springs, Arkansas, and reports he has a digital facility based around Digidesign Pro-Tools, a Macintosh HD recording and editing system. His e-mail address is bb@bobbrown.com and his website is at http://www.bobbrown.com

Robert Burns was commercial manager in 1947.

Bessie Callaway was control room operator during World War II.

Mary Cesaratto was a bookkeeper in 1950.

Virginia N. Cooper became manager of WJLS in 1944. She had been with the station since its beginning, as chief bookkeeper. She is listed as general manager in the 1956 Broadcasting Yearbook.

James V. Coste (1914-1996) is listed as an operator in the 1940 West Virginia Blue Book. He was from Hinton and later operated his own radio store in Hinton.

James L. Cox was the first program director. He had formerly worked at WHIS and WLAP, Lexington, Ky. The 1939 Broadcasting Yearbook shows him as program director and commercial manager.

Fred Crews worked as an engineer at WJLS for about a year prior to January 1951 when he was drafted into the service during the Korean War. He worked primarily at the AM transmitter site, but relieved the engineer at the FM transmitter one night a week. He was raised at Crab Orchard and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947 and later United Television and Radio Laboratories in Louisville. Fred is now semi-retired with 40 years at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank. He is very active in the Museum of Radio and Technology in Huntington. His e-mail address is fcrews@nrao.edu

Franklin Delano "Frank" Crum (1937-2001) was heard on WJLS in the early 1960s. He had been with WRON in Ronceverte in 1957, and with WVOW in Logan in 1958. He worked for WJLS from 1960 to late 1964, although he left briefly in 1963 to work for WSLS in Roanoke. After leaving WJLS, he worked for WOVE in Welch and WKCY in Harrisonburg, Va., and from August 1968 until his retirement he worked for WSIG in Mt. Jackson, Va. Frank was born in Mt. Hope. He was living in New Market, Va., until his death on Jan. 1, 2001.

George Dale is listed as the assistant program director in the 1939 West Virginia Blue Book.

Lee Daugherty (1937-2006) was the morning announcer and program director in the mid-1960s. He is from Clarksburg. His first radio position was with WHAR there. He later was employed by WDTV television in Weston. After leaving WJLS he was employed by WCIR and "Mrs. Daugherty's little boy Lee" subsequently WAEY in Princeton until his retirement.

His obituary from the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Feb. 24, 2006:

PRINCETON - Mr. Earnest Lee Daugherty Jr., of Princeton, died Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2006 at the Princeton Community Hospital. Mr. Daugherty was born Feb. 5, 1937 in Clarksburg and was the son of the late Earnest Lee Daugherty Sr. and Florence Etta McCoy Daugherty. Mr. Daugherty was of the Protestant faith. His belief in life was that men should be treated equally, that everyone should be thankful for each new day, and that we should always speak kindly of our fellowman. He always saw the good in everyone and always looked at the positive in each and every situation. Most of all, his desire was to show true love and appreciation for his God, his family and his job. Mr. Daugherty was a veteran of the U.S. Army having served in Paris, France. He was employed briefly as a television newscaster in Weston; this led to his career as a professional radio announcer. He worked at numerous radio stations including ones located in Clarksburg, Beckley, Hurricane, Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Pineville and in Princeton. His many, many listeners knew him as "Mrs. Daugherty's Little Boy Lee". He retired in 1999 from STAR 95 Radio Station in Princeton where he was deeply admired and truly loved by the staff. He is now on his greatest "Remote." Survivors: Wife, Jacqueline Daugherty of Princeton; daughter, Leigh Ann Brown and husband Gary; grandson, Travis Austin Brown; step granddaughter, Jessica Brown all of Baltimore, Md.; brother, Jim Pickens and wife Cathy of Akron, Ohio; sisters, Becky Wood and husband Warren, Stephanie Linton and husband Greg all of Baltimore; many close extended family members, friends, co-workers, and very special and dear friends: Suzan, Barbara, Margie and beloved Pet, Wowzer. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, 2006 from the Burns Wornal Chapel of the Memorial Funeral Directory on the Athens Road in Princeton with the Reverend Paul Hall officiating. Burial will follow in the Roselawn Memorial Gardens on the Courthouse Road in Princeton. Close friends may visit with the family from noon until service time on Saturday or by online condolences at www.memorialfd.com. The family of Lee Daugherty is being served by the Memorial Funeral Directory and Cremation Center on the Athens Road in Princeton.

Jack Davis joined the announcing staff in 1951. He is from Wisconsin and had been program director of WBIZ in Eau Claire. "Cousin" Jack Davis hosted Party Line, and "Cousin's Corner," a feature heard during the last 15 minutes of Party Line in the early 1950s.

John Dellinger worked at WJLS, mainly on weekends, from 1963 to 1965 while he was a student at Woodrow Wilson High School. He used his real name but often called himself Big Bad John. He did not work in radio afterwards, except as a volunteer at WMUL at Marshall University.

Gary Dent (1936-1982) was WJLS program director in the early 1960s. He is listed as sports director in the 1956 Broadcasting Yearbook. He was born in Ronceverte on August 24, 1936. After leaving WJLS he managed several cable TV systems and in 1974 founded Gary A. Dent and Associates, a firm which appraised cable TV systems. He died at age 45 in Texas.

Harold Dew was chief engineer in the early 1960s, having started with WJLS before the war. He was part owner of the Doy Radio Shop in Beckley. He is now retired, having worked 32 years in KSC communications. E-mail: rhdew@juno.com

James Cecil Dickens (1920- ), better known as Little Jimmy Dickens, the Grand Ole Opry performer, started his career singing on Sundays on WJLS, hitchhiking to Beckley from his home at Bolt. The obituary of Josie Mae Fischer (1924-2004) has "A major highlight of her life was a radio program in which she sang with Little Jimmy Dickens when WJLS first opened." Dickens returned to WJLS in 1990 for the ceremony marking the format change in which the country music format was moved from AM to FM.

John Dinter was the WJLS-FM engineer when the FM station signed on in (apparently) early 1947.

Sid Doherty was the WJLS chief announcer in the early 1950s. His first job in radio was with WCFC in Beckley, beginning in 1947. He is from New Rochelle, N. Y., and is a graduate of Blessed Sacrament High School in New Rochelle. A newspaper article from 1947 indicated he was working at WCFC in Beckley at that time. The July 1951 560 News reported he was attending Beckley College while working at WJLS. Doherty later worked in radio and TV in Philadelphia for many years. He was with WPHL-TV channel 17 in Philadelphia from its 1965 sign-on until about 1985. In 2000 he was working for ABC Sports in New York, although he still lived in the Philadelphia area.

Ted Ellis is listed as an announcer in the 1939 West Virginia Blue Book.

Bert “Uncle Berty” Files worked at WJLS before working at WCAW and WCHS in Charleston. He became manager of WCHS in 1962. He was a native of Brooklyn, N. Y., and also worked at WHUC in Hudson, N. Y.

Wade H. Fleshman was in charge of classical programming, according to the 1939 West Virginia Blue Book.

John T. Gelder (1919-1987) started as an announcer at WJLS. The 1940 West Virginia Blue Book lists him as a salesman. He went to WKWK as commercial salesman, then manager of WKNA in Charleston when the station was under construction. In 1948 he became general manager of WCHS in Charleston. He married Elizabeth Stairs of Beckley in 1941. He died in Terre Haute.

Gary George worked as an announcer at WJLS in the late 1960s while he was a student at Woodrow Wilson High School. As a student at Marshall University, he was the student assistant to Sports Information Director Gene Morehouse and also worked at WCMI in Ashland, Ky. Gary was killed in the plane crash that took the lives of the University's football team.

Al J. Ginkel was Chief Engineer of WJLS and the Personality Network in the 1940s. He joined WJLS in 1940 as the second Chief Engineer. Ginkel came to WJLS after several years with the radio division of the State Police. He is listed as chief engineer in the 1956 Broadcasting Yearbook. He was born in Littleton, in Wetzel county, and subsequently his family moved to Fairmont, where he grew up. He was educated at Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh. Prior to working for the state police he was employed by the C & P Telephone Company and at one time was chief engineer for Radio station WMMN in Fairmont.

Jon Goerss (Big Jon Arthur) came to WJLS directly from radio school and his home in Pittsburgh. He married a woman from Prudence in Fayette County. He joined the staff of WJLS two weeks after it signed on the air in 1939. He left Beckley for Ogdensburg, N. Y., then went to the west coast before moving to WSAI in Cincinnati, where he began doing a children's show called Big Jon and Sparkie. In 1950 the ABC radio network began carrying the show daily, and also began carrying a two-hour Saturday show Jon did called No School Today. The Saturday show was heard by 12 million listeners weekly on 275 stations; the daily show was carried on 181 stations. The shows were fed from WSAI. In the 1960s, Goerss was working middays at WKRC in Cincinnati. His life story was featured in an episode of the radio show Unshackled.

Dan Wales of KHCB provided the following information on Jon:

Jon Arthur did indeed have a "Big Jon and Sparkie" program on the ABC radio network for many years. The program was first aired on WSAI Cincinnati in 1948, and was picked up by the network in 1949. It's length varied, but for many years it was an hour daily feature offered along with a two hour Saturday show called "No School Today". This gave a record-setting (and unprecedented) 7 hours a week to Jon as an individual performer. And although Jon often played children's records on his program, he acted his parts of the program alone. "Sparkie" was an accelerated recording of Big Jon. All of the other characters in the seeming ensemble cast were played by Jon as well. Some of the other characters include: Mayor Plumpfront, Captain Squinty McGinty, Clyde Pillroller (the town drugstore owner), Widow Dilly, Ukie Butcher, Mr. DaVinci (who ran a paint store), etc. The daily program was later shortened to a 30-minute, then a 15 minute program called "The Adventures of Big Jon and Sparkie.

Jon moved from Cincinnati to New York and later to Korea where he worked with the Armed Forces Radio. On his return to the U.S., Jon floated from city to city before finally settling in San Francisco. At about this time, he decided to put all of his trust in Jesus Christ. This profoundly changed his life. He ended up working for a very minimal salary for Family Radio, a Christian network based in Oakland. At their KEAR facility, he produced many programs, including a new "Big Jon and Sparkie" program, which contained new recordings of about 420 of his old scripts.

Jon died of throat cancer February 24, 1982. Shortly before his death, he sold a full set of his redone program tapes (and the rights to full use of those tapes) to KHCB radio in Houston. Family Radio may still have a set of his tapes, but they no longer air them. KHCB still airs the tapes each weekday at 4:30 central time. They feature 3 songs, a 7-11 minute "Further Adventure of Big Jon and Sparkie" and a 7-12 minute Bible story. The programs were recorded in 1967 and 1968 for the most part. If you are interested, listen to the program (if you have Real Audio) at www.khcb.org where we stream our daily programming.

Dwaine S. ("D. S.") Goodwin came to WJLS directly from broadcasting and engineering school in 1969. He moved on to WWNR where he became program director at the age of 22. While at WWNR D. S. was also the voice of WSWP, Channel 9 television. In 1974 he left broadcasting for a career in the electrical equipment business. He is originally from Herndon in Wyoming County and is a graduate of Herndon High School. He now resides in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Clifford Gorsuch (1917-1997), an engineer, was on the original staff. He was also a personality on the air. Gorsuch ran the musical clock program, actually opening up the station every morning as an announcer and then transferring to the Maxwell Hill transmitter site later in the day to work a shift watching the equipment there. He had previously worked for WWSW, Pittsburgh, and WMBS, Uniontown, Pa.

Don Grantham is listed as an announcer in the 1940 West Virginia Blue Book. After leaving WJLS he worked for a few months at WCHS in early 1947. He later moved to the West Coast where he opened the Grantham School of Electronics, which became a well-known school for broadcast engineers. Ted McKay, who worked at WTIP and WKNA, described Grantham as a great guitar player, and said that the two used to play and sing together. They lived in the same rooming house in Charleston.

Sue Grieg was a continuity writer in 1950.

Joe Gries was a 1950s announcer.

George Haldane was a sales representative in 1950.

Terence M. Harcourt is listed as the program director in the 1945 West Virginia Blue Book.

Mary Ann Harper was continuity writer and women's editor, joined WJLS in 1953.

George Hartrick became program director in 1947. Born in Marlboro, Massachusetts. Started in radio at WTAM Cleveland. Vocalized on network program "A Story in Song." For five years he and Graham McNamee broadcast the annual Soap Box Derby from Akron. He also worked for WCOP in Boston and did play-by-play for the Boston Red Sox and Boston Braves. Before he worked in radio, he had been the Principal of West Monongah High School in Fairmont and Asheville High School in Asheville, N. C.

Lee Hatfield was a control room operator.

A. A. Hill is listed as the custodian in the 1939 and 1940 West Virginia Blue Book.

Charlie Houston was in the technical department, later Chief Engineer for a Lancaster, Ohio station.

Erle Howery came to the WJLS sales department circa 1947-48, following pursuit of a journalism major at Concord College and similar sales employment with the Beckley Newspaper Corporation. Later employed at WLOH (Princeton) and WKOY (Bluefield), he became commercial manager for WYVE (Wytheville, Va.) and general manager of WWYO (Pineville). Returned to military service during the Korean War, he graduated from the Chinese Mandarin division, Army Language School (Monterey, Calif.). After serving as Northern Honshu (Japan) bureau chief for Pacific Stars & Stripes and later moving to the newspaper's main Tokyo office, he became civilian coordinator for Far East news and information publications, U.S. 8th Army Hq., Camp Zama, Japan. He subsequently joined the editorial department of the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, and was editor/publisher of the Fremont (Calif.) Times and Modesto (Calif.) Tribune, respectively. Named public relations director for the California School Employees Association in 1967, he retired from that post in 1983 to establish Erle Enterprises, a San Francisco Bay Area media and publications agency. Now 80, he and wife Margaret have formally retired to Copperopolis, Calif. (in that state's "Gold Country") where writing and photography remain key elements in his active retirement lifestyle.

Harry Hraynham was listed as the custodian in a 560 News from the late 1940s.

Cowboy Jack Hunt, "the one-man jamboree," was an early performer. His real name was Clyde Arnold Morris.

Dolly Ingram was a control room operator during World War II.

Michael Isaacs (Mike Edwards) was born and raised in Beckley. He began at WJLS doing the 11 p.m. to midnight shift in 1960, at age 14. He worked weekends and sports with Gene Morehouse from 1961 to 1963. He then moved to WWNR until May 1964, doing the 6 p.m. to midnight shift, and then to WVOW in Logan. He entered the Air Force in 1965. He later worked at the transmitter site of WCIR and he returned to WJLS in 1967-68. He moved to California in December 1968 and worked at KSFO, KFRC, KYA, KCBS, and KNBR, all in San Francisco. He still does voice-over work and is a college professor in Broadcast and Electronic Media. He is General Manager of KCEA-FM, a high school station in Atherton, California, which can be heard via shoutcast.com.

Willard S. Jackson was an announcer, later sales manager in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He is shown as the general manager of WKNA in Charleston in the 1956 Broadcasting Yearbook.

Ed Jaeger was an announcer in 1947, previously with WGKV Charleston.

Arnold Jeffers was an announcer who joined the staff in the summer of 1950. He had started his radio career at WTIP in Charleston in the fall of 1949, and early in 1950 he joined the staff of WKNA in Charleston. He is a native of Charleston. He graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School and from WVU in 1949.

Judy and Julie (Jones) were early performers. The later appeared on the National Barn Dance at WLS in Chicago.

Art Kellar joined the WJLS staff in 1949. He was from New York and had worked at Fayetteville, N. C., and at WKWK Wheeling and at WRON in Ronceverte before coming to WJLS.

Herbert Kendrick was general manager from 1942 until 1944.

Cordelia (Cordy) King (1929-2002) was the bookkeeper for many years. She joined WJLS in 1963 and spent 38 years working for the station, longer than any other employee.

Jean King was a control room operator during World War II.

Gordon Crawford Kinney was an announcer at WJLS in the summer of 1940, while attending Marshall University. He joined the Office of War Information in Washington in 1942 in the domestic radio bureau. In 1946 he joined the Advertising Council as head of the radio department. He was elected vice president in 1965. He retired in 1988 after 42 years with the Council. He died at age 70 at his home in White Plains, New York. A 1952 article indicated he was from Hinton.

J. C. Kinzer was a control operator in 1947.

Dan Lane was a transmitter operator in 1953.

Bob Larson was an announcer around 1946. He later became program director of WOKY in Milwaukee.

Dean Lilly worked the Sunday night shift at WJLS briefly in 1960. He writes, "I became interested in radio in 1959 while listening to Ralph Emory each night wile running a paper route for the Charleston Gazette. I hung around WWNR where Bud Kurtz and Phil Vogel took an interest in me and let me practice on tape and then they would point out my mistakes and instruct me on how to improve. When Frank Crum left WVOW in Logan and came to WJLS I replaced him at WVOW (Feb., 1960). This was my first radio job. ... I [also] worked Sundays (6 till midnight) at WJLS. I was able to do this because my Sunday shift at WVOW was 6AM till 2PM and Monday was my day off. At WJLS I had nothing to do because everything was programmed on CBS so, I left after a short while and went to WWNR where I could be on the air from 6 till Midnight. ... I later worked with Frank (Crum) at WOVE in Welch. In August of 1966 I moved back to Logan to work for WLOG. I remained there as the sign on man playing Country Music until Nov 30th, 1985. At that time I moved to Statesville, NC and now work for WPIR a gospel station in Claremont NC."

John Louther, who had previously worked for WJAC in Johnstown, Pa., and WGKV in Charleston, joined the announcing staff in 1943.

Bob Mahoney was employed by WJLS from August 1968 to October 1970. He was news and sports director, and succeeded Gene Morehouse as the voice of the Flying Eagles when Morehouse left to become sports information director at Marshall University. Bob earlier had worked for WWNR (in 1965), WNRV, WMON, WLOG, and WVOW. After he left WJLS he went to WCIR, where he was program director when WCIR(AM) switched from country music to an oldies format. He later worked for KPRO in Riverside, California (then owned by Dick Clark), and WSEZ and WMAG/WHSL in Greensboro/High Point/Winston Salem, North Carolina. He has lived in Winston-Salem for 23 years. He was born in Beckley in 1945.

Hildred Mahoney was a continuity writer in the early 1950s. She is shown as the Women's Director in 1952, hosting an interview program called "Interesting People." Earlier she had worked as a reporter for the Raleigh Register.

H. G. Malcouronne is listed as program director in the 1941 West Virginia Blue Book.

Wayne Manning worked on air at WJLS for a brief stint after the Army in 1961 and again in 1963-64. He writes, "I left Beckley in 1964 and went back into the music business, winding up in Nashville in 1967 and spent several years with the Kitty Wells / Johnny Wright show. Currently co-minister with my wife, Janet, of Unity Church of Auburn, in Auburn California." Manning is a 1958 graduate of WWHS. E-mail: wayman@calweb.com

Charlie Marlow has worked for WJLS since September 1981 as Chief Engineer. He is a member of SBE (Society of Broadcast Engineers). He is a holder of FCC General Radio Telephone License and Amateur Radio License WB8CNN (Advanced Class). Charlie started working in radio in 1960. His first radio job was at WCEF in Parkersburg. He also worked as transmitter engineer for WTAP-TV Ch. 15 in Parkersburg for about three years. He worked with Tom T. Hall, the country singer, at WSPZ Radio in Spencer in the early 60s. Tom T. Hall was Charlie's best man at his wedding. Charlie and his wife Amy were married in studio B of WSPZ in Spencer on Oct. 27, 1962. His hobbies are computers, amateur radio, amusement parks, and music. Charlie is a member of the Bethel Free Will Baptist Church at MacArthur. He sings in the church choir and with a church gospel group, the Bethel Gospel Tones. [This entry was taken from the WJLS web site in 2004]

Thomas K. Martin was heard on WJLS in the mid-1960s before joining the staff of WWNR and then becoming manager of WCIR. He died at age 68 in 2002.

Robert McCollum was a control room operator.

Jerry McDevitt was program director in 1946 and 1947. His wife was the bookkeeper for the station.

Norman McDonald became a producer on CBS shows from Hollywood

Marion McDowell (1907-1981) was the first chief engineer of WJLS in 1939. He was from Fairmont, and had previously worked at WMMN. He entered military service when the U. S. entered World War II.

Frank McFoy was listed as a "control-man" in a 560 New from the late 1940s.

Esther T. McManus was listed as program director in the 1944 West Virginia Blue Book.

Gene Morehouse (1922-1970) was station manager of WJLS before becoming Sports Information Director for Marshall University in July 1968. He died in the November 1970 plane crash which killed the entire Marshall University football team. He was a native of Newark, New Jersey, and graduated from high school in New York City. He attended Columbia University from 1940 to 1942, leaving at 20 to join the Army Air Corps. In 1946, while a reporter for the New York Daily Fruit Reporter, he married Genevieve Vivlamore. Morehouse came to Beckley in 1949 when he was hired by WWNR and sports and news director. He left Beckley for two years to become General Manager for Rahall-owned WFEA in Manchester, N. H. In the 1956 Broadcasting Yearbook, Eugene J. Morehouse is listed as commercial manager and sports director of WWNR. He later became manager of WJLS, where he also did play-by-play of the state high school basketball tournaments (with Jack Fleming) in the 1960s. He assisted with he broadcasts of the state high school basketball tournament as early as 1952 (and perhaps earlier), while he was still with WWNR. He was the voice of the Flying Eagles for 16 years. He was named West Virginia's outstanding sportscaster in 1963 and 1965. His son Keith Morehouse became a sports reporter for WOWK-TV in Huntington.

Donald C. Moye (1920-1999) was chief engineer in the 1950s. He was born in Franklin County, N. C., and moved to Beckley at age 7. He was a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School and West Virginia Tech. He was employed by WOAY-TV as chief engineer after working for WJLS.

David Mullens had a poetry program in the early days.

C. H. Murphey Jr. was the first commercial manager. He formerly worked for WHIS.

Barnes Nash (1915-1983) was the first voice heard on WJLS. He was on the original staff as chief announcer and is listed as the program director in the 1939 West Virginia Blue Book. He was later program director of WHIS, Bluefield, later retired in Washington D. C. area. Before joining WJLS, he worked for WHIS and WOPI Bristol. He died in Florida in July 1983.

V. Z. Neal is listed as the bookkeeper in the 1939 West Virginia Blue Book and as auditor in the 1940 West Virginia Blue Book.

Duane Nelson was started his radio career in Beckley. He later became chief announcer at WBBM Chicago and was heard on CBS as Bill Duane. He subsequently had a television program in Chicago.

John Novak was in the technical department, later went to WKNA in Charleston.

Bill O'Brien. The following bio is taken from the WJLS website:

Bill returned to WJLS thirty years ago after beginning his radio career in Huntington. He has held virtually every job (except engineering) from Program Director to Sports Director to Morning Host to Sales Manager. The "Voice Of The Flying Eagles" since 1969, Bill has broadcast games everywhere from New York's Madison Square Garden to The Omni in Atlanta. He has announced football and basketball state tournaments on radio and TV in five different years. He hosts the popular talk show "Out Your Way" and has interviewed over 3000 guests since it began in 1970. Bill is this year's co chair of The United Way Campaign and serves on several civic boards & committees.

Bill served a two year term as President of the West Virginia Broadcasters Association and was honored as the state's Broadcaster Of The Year in 1994.

He and his lovely wife Lynn fulfilled a career dream last year when they purchased WJLS AM & FM. Obviously, Bill has a great fondness for the Big Dawg and its huge audience in southern West Virginia!

Inez O'Brien hosted the WJLS talk show Out Your Way beginning in 1970 and also was continuity director for the station. She began her radio career in the early 1960s hosting The Woman's Angle on WWNR. In 1962 she interviewed Eleanor Roosevelt, who was campaigning in Beckley. She served as executive director of the local chapter of the American Red Cross for 23 years. She died at age 86 in 2007. Her sons, Bill and Steve O'Brien, also are broadcasters in Beckley.

John Eagan O'Reilley worked at WJLS in 1940-1942. He used the name Jay O'Reilly at WJLS. He was later heard as John or Jack O'Reilley on Mutual programs originating at WOR.

Fred Passmore worked on for WJLS-WBKW for six years. He started as part-time announcer on WBKW in 1984, and after one week was full-time in the position of copywriter for both the AM and FM. After about a year of that, he moved by request to the staff of the gospel side, WBKW, as afternoon announcer on the "Sounds of Praise" program. He stayed with WBKW till 1990. During his time there, he served as Production Director and Promotions Director. He also began the idea of the yearly October "Heavenly Harvest" festivals held in conjunction with the local mall during that time. He left in 1990 to accept a position as editor of the "Truths That Transform" radio show by Dr. D. James Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale. In 1996 he accepted a position in his home state of Georgia as the producer for the radio programs of "The Sower," Dr. Michael Guido. In 2007 he was still there after 12 years. He also operates Sheep Laughs Records, a recording studio for Christian comedy, out of his home.

Frank J. "Jack" Pevora (1916-2000) was chief announcer in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born at Maynard, Ohio. He worked at WKWK in Wheeling before joining WJLS in 1943. Merv Amols recalls that Jack was impeccably dressed in a suit every day and had a "network voice." He died Nov. 20, 2000, in Wheeling.

Sam Raborn was a singer and humorist who was heard at 8:45 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily on WJLS in 1952.

Kathryn Reddick is listed as the program director in the 1940 West Virginia Blue Book.

Larry Richmond worked as an announcer/board operator at WBKW-FM from 1973-76 ... and again in 1985-86. He also worked in various capacities at WJLS-AM, including board operator, automation coordinator, news, production director, and program director. While at WJLS, he also conceived and developed a fund-raising vehicle for the station called "The Famous 56ers" who played charity basketball games around southern West Virginia to help groups raise money. In 1987, Larry began working at WRJZ-AM in Knoxville, Tennessee, serving as an announcer, board operator, production director, program director, operations manager, and as of 2002, was still there serving in various capacities. You can email Larry at eldeearr@hotmail.com.

Homer W. Riffe was listed as an operator in the 1940 West Virginia Blue Book.

J. Fred Riley was Maintenance Director of WJLS and WBKW in 1966. He earlier was Chief Engineer of co-owned WKNA in Charleston. He is now manager of high-power programs for Continental Electronics Corporation in Dallas. His ham call is W8OY and his e-mail address is jfriley@airmail.net

Henry Robeson was in the technical department, later with WOSU at Ohio State University.

Robert Rush was a continuity writer in 1950.

William Sandefur is listed as general manager of WBKW (the FM call) in the 1961-62 Broadcasting Yearbook.

Hugh Sanders was an announcer in 1947. He earlier had worked for WOR and WNEW in New York and WING in Dayton. He produced "Elsa Maxwell's Party Line" at WOR-Mutual. He was born in E. St. Louis.

Willis Seaman was in the technical department, operated the FM transmitter at Flat Top.

Tom Shafer was an announcer who joined the WJLS staff in August 1950, after having worked in Johnston, Pa. His home town is Greensburg, Pa.

Jim Shott, Jr. is listed as a control operator in the 1939 West Virginia Blue Book.

Side Saddle Sue (real name: Polly Jo McCulloch) was a popular personality in the late 1940s.

James V. Sims was on the original staff as an engineer. He later worked an evening shift as an announcer, doing the first poetry program on the air. Jim was a perfectionist for this; he hand-picked the organ melodies, then turned all the lights out in the studios save one small reading lamp, and read poetry in the last remaining broadcast scheduled each day. Prior to his announcing shift, he pulled a transmitter trick. He had formerly worked for WEW, St. Louis, WCBS Springfield, Ill., and KICA, Clovis, N. M.

Dick Slade was later with WBBM and then a Chicago advertising agency.

Jackson Slygh (1924-1983) was an engineer for WJLS sometime before he joined the staff of WKNA radio and TV in Charleston in 1951. He spent most of his career, however, with WWNR. He was born at Grover Hill, Ohio, on July 13, 1924.

Hulett Carlson Smith (1918- ), brother of WJLS founder Joe L. Smith Jr., was named station manager in 1941 when his brother entered military service. Hulett served in this capacity until 1942 when he entered the Navy. Hulett C. Smith was elected Governor of West Virginia in 1964.

Joe L. Smith, Jr. (1915-1985) was the principal owner until his death, although the licensee at times was Smith, Radio Station WJLS, or Personality Stations Inc. Smith's father, Joe L. Smith Sr. (1880-1962), for whom the station was named, was a Mayor of Beckley and a member of Congress. In 1941, during World War II, Joe L. Smith Jr. was sent to Europe. His brother Hulett, who later became Governor of West Virginia, managed the station until he entered the military the following year. From 1944 to 1957, Virginia Cooper managed the station. Smith also operated UHF TV station WKNA-TV in Charleston WV and WKNA(FM), the first FM stereo station in West Virginia. (This station was a separate station from the earlier WKNA AM/FM/TV.)

The following obituary appeared in the Beckley newspapers of Feb. 27, 1985:

Joe L. Smith, 69, dies

Joe L. Smith Jr., 69, owner of the company which operates the radio station WJLS, died Tuesday after a long illness.

Smith was born in Beckley Aug. 15, 1915, the son of Joe L. and Christine Carlson Smith.

He was the brother of former West Virginia Governor Hulett C. Smith.

He attended Virginia Military Institute and West Virginia University from which he graduated with a degree in political science in 1935.

Smith was the owner of Joe L. Smith Jr., Inc., which also operates WKNA, Charleston and WBKW-FM, Beckley and Biggs Johnston Withrow, a commercial printing firm. He established Beckley's first radio station in 1939.

Smith was vice president and a member of the Board of Beckley National Bank, vice president and secretary of Lewis Chevrolet Co. Inc., president of First Beckley Corporation and vice president of the Home Insurance Agency, all of Beckley.

In World War II Smith was a reserve Lieutenant, Infantry and served more than four years. Much of that time was overseas with Gen. Omar N. Bradley. He was decorated with the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and both the Belgian and French Croiz de Guerre. He held many campaign ribbons.

An active radio enthusiast, Smith held a commercial first class radio telephone operators license and an amateur extra class operators license. He was a member of the Quarter Century Wireless Association, an organization of operators with more than 25 years of licensed experience, and the Armed Forces Communications Electronic Association.

Smith was a Presbyterian, belonged to the American Legion, 12th Army Group Association, Moose, Elks, Black Knight Country Club, Charleston Press Club, Broadcast Pioneers and Sigma Nu.

He served on the board of directors of the Beckley Chamber of Commerce and as Chairman of the Raleigh County Community Chest. He is past West Virginia State Chairman for the "Crusade for Freedom" and twice served as president of the West Virginia Broadcasters Association.

A Democrat, Smith lived in Beckley all his life. He was married to the former Nancy Richards of Beckley. They had one son, Joe III and reside at Glade Springs in Daniels.

Visitation will be at the Melton Mortuary tonight from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The funeral will be Thursday at 11 a.m. in the Beckley Presbyterian Church.

Billie Sowards was a control room operator during World War II.

Ray Spencer was in the technical department, came to WJLS from Parkersburg, later moved to Morgantown. The 1939 West Virginia Blue Book lists Ray S. Spence as a transmitting operator.

Mike Stein was on the WJLS news staff in 1955-56. In 1972 he became news manager for the ABC Network's American Entertainment Radio Network.

Alan Stone was listed as news director in the 1961-62 Broadcasting Yearbook.

Dave Teague was an announcer in the late 1940s. He was from New York and later worked for Bell Sound Studios producing commercials.

Alphon Tedder did a gospel music show, the Gospel Train, while a student at Woodrow Wilson High School, in 1952.

Dave Teig is pictured at the microphone in the November 1949 560 News and described as "the youngest member of the announcing staff."

Robert Louis Thompson was listed as a continuity writer in a 560 News from the late 1940s. He was born in Huntington on Dec. 30, 1920, and attended public schools in Richmond, Va., and was a graduate of Marshall College.

Frank Thornton, an announcer, joined WJLS in 1952, formerly a dance band musician.

Esther Tiller (or Tiler) is listed as stenographer in the 1939 West Virginia Blue Book.

Santa Tipane was traffic manager in 1950.

Gemala May Underwood was a control room operator during World War II.

Phil Vogel (1916-1975) joined the staff as program director in 1943. The following appeared in a Charleston newspaper in 1953:

When George Gray moved to WKNA-TV, Phil Vogel, program director for WGKV for the past ten years, was selected to be the new manager of WKNA-radio. Vogel was born in Huntington and attended schools in Ohio and West Virginia. After graduating from Greenbrier high school in Ronceverte, Vogel attended Concord college, Athens, on a music scholarship. While in college Vogel played in the college band an symphony and a popular dance band. Phil entered radio in Charleston in 1940 as a staff announcer for WGKV. From there he spent a period of time in Cincinnati working for two stations there, WCPO and WKRC. He was program director for WJLS in Beckley in early 1943 and from there moved to WGKV where he remained until July this year when he was appointed manager of WKNA-radio. Phil Vogel still maintains his popular noon hour newscast over WKNA. This popular noontime feature has been associated with Phil for the past ten years. Phil is married and has two children, a boy 7 and a girl 4.

His obituary from the Charleston Gazette, Nov. 20, 1975:

Charles Phillip Vogel, Jr., 59, of Beckley, died Wednesday in the University of Virginia hospital in Charlottesville, Va., after a short illness. He was production manager and news director of radio station WWNR where he was employed 22 years. Mr. Vogel was a member of the Masonic Lodge and was a charter member of St. Luke Lutheran Church where he was a lay reader. He was active in Little League baseball for many years. Surviving: wife, Dorothy Vogel; son, Phillip Steven of Columbia, S. C.; daughter, Miss Martha Hope Vogel of Charleston. The body will be cremated. Memorial service will be 2 p.m. Sunday in St. Luke Lutheran Church in Beckley with the Rev. Walter C. Koehler officiating. The family asks that donations be made to St. Luke Lutheran Church in Beckley. There will be no visitation. Keyser-Bryant funeral Home, Beckley, is in charge of arrangements.

According to information supplied by his son, Phil worked for WRON in Ronceverte, where his parents then lived, before he went to work for WWNR. He joined WWNR in January 1955, according to a WWNR advertisement in 1971. C. P. Vogel Jr. is listed as news director of WWNR in the 1956 Broadcasting Yearbook. He was with WWNR until his death.

Lyle O. Weagel (1936- ) was employed as a salesman by WJLS for three years. He was born in Montana and came to Beckley in 1960 and worked for a short period as a cameraman at WOAY television. He then went to WJLS, and subsequently was with WWNR for nine and a half years, including seven years as sales manager. After leaving WWNR, he became sales manager at Tyler Mountain Memorial Gardens near St. Albans.

Jack Welch is listed as an announcer in the 1940 West Virginia Blue Book.

Joe Weidensal was heard on WJLS in the mid-60s, using the air name Slim Jim.

Greg White worked at WJLS from 1988 until 1997. Greg started as the midnight-6am announcer on WJLS AM, which at that time was a country format. He worked in all areas of the building over his 9 year career, including copywriting, news, on-air shifts (everything from morning drive to evenings and everything in between). Worked as color commentator and later play-by-play announcer for Shady Spring High School sports. Greg served in the Air National Guard, and in 1997 went to work for them full time, yet continued to serve as the play-by-play announcer for Shady Spring until 2003. Greg currently still works for the Air National Guard full time, and works part time as a play by play announcer for high school sports for WCHS in Charleston. He also returns to the WJLS airwaves annually during the broadcasts of the Mountain State Coal Classic Basketball Tournament.

Estel H. Wills (1915-1990) was a control operator. Joined WJLS in 1940. Later Chief Engineer of WWNR, Beckley. He was born Jan. 4, 1915, in Raleigh County, the son of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Wills of Beckley. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1933. He died on Dec. 13, 1990. [A 1997 obituary of a woman describes her husband as William Willse, “a radio announcer at WJLS and WWNR from 1946 to 1948.” This is presumably the same person, with perhaps an incorrect spelling.]

George Yazell (1920-2001) was Chief Engineer of WJLS before leaving to become a Field Service Engineer for Gates Radio Co. Yazell started his radio career in 1939 at WBTH in Williamson and shortly thereafter became engineer of WBRW in Welch. In 1946, he became Chief Engineer of WCFC, Beckley's first FM station, when it signed on the air. A 1956 directory shows he was General Manager of WHAW in Weston. In the 1980s, while working as a consulting engineer in Florida, he developed a technique which he claimed would allow radio stations in the AM band to broadcast with quality comparable to FM stations. He was born in Maysville, Kentucky.