I joined the staff at WEHR as a freshman in 1974. We were just a hole in the wall in Johnston Commons with a wall of just a few hundred vinyl albums. We had two turn tables and a very small, sound mixing board. I remember Russ, the engineer, maintaining transmitters in several of the East Hall dorms and using the wiring of the building to “broadcast” the station. And it was carried over the PA speakers in the halls of Johnston.
Carol was the president for at least a portion of my time there. Jim had a really good voice and I hope he went on to do professional broadcasting. Even though we have not stayed in touch, I remember the gang at WEHR very fondly. My thing as a DJ was basic Top 40. For some period, I had the first show of the day about 7am. I loved using Chicago’s Colour My World and America’s Miniature (Tin Man) as the first song of the day with a voice over of the intros: “This is WEHR Radio 1600. Broadcasting live from East Halls on the Penn State campus, and this is . . .”
Honestly, I don’t if anyone ever heard me as I said that! After having grown up with a speech impediment, I used this opportunity to learn to speak much more clearly. Since then I’ve done a fair amount of public speaking and I believe that being a DJ at WEHR played key role in developing my public speaking skills.
As a side benefit, being a DJ also helped me impress the girl who would eventually become my wife. I was disappointed to learn that WEHR no longer exists.
Penn State Media Alumni Interest Group 