>
> I started my day with a cup of coffee, watching WEEI on the
> television. John Dennis suddenly broke into an incredulous
> expression of befuddlement over why anybody would object to a Patriot
> football player having his picture taken with a porn star. Dennis,
> half of the Dennis and Callahan radio and tv morning sports show,
> stunned me with his honesty. I felt he truly could not understand
> why anyone would object!
> The radio program was on the radio when I got in my car a few minutes
> later and Dennis was still on his rant. I felt prompted to call in
> and just observe that he truly did not get it. I called the radio
> program and said to the screener that I did not think I should be on
> the air but I had written an article about Pornography which was
> published in a Catholic newspaper and Mr. Dennis' discussion
> demonstrated he did not understand the offense the Kraft family and
> his listeners would have to his mindless promotion of this offensive
> act. The next thing I knew, I was on the air with my complaint.
>
> I bring this anecdote up because I watched a program on the life and
> times of Bob Steele on CPTV this evening. I just happened to be
> scanning the program as the World Series was starting and I remembered
> Bob Steele and thought I might watch.
>
> CPTV and the Bear Family Foundation and the Chase Family Foundation
> deserve a round of applause. These foundations brought back to life
> a special era in morning radio!
>
> The portrait provided of Bob Steele tells something of a man who was
> born in Kansas, went to work at a young age, found himself loving
> Indian Motorcycles, got a break in LA writing a column, and then took
> a job in Hartford in 1936 that paid something like $36 a week. When
> the job was finished, he killed time before taking a bus back to LA
> and found himself with an audition for a morning personality on the
> radio on a fledgling station, WTIC - radio which was operated by the
> Travelers Insurance company.
>
> They hired him for a great salary of 1800 a month which was big money
> in those days.
>
> But story was a great opportunity to listen to the personalities many
> people have known for years in local radio. Arnold Dean, Brad
> Davis, Dick Robinson, and Gary Craig all shared their memories of the
> influence Bob Steele had in their careers and lives. Several of Bob
> Steele's four sons were interviewed to help us get acquainted with his
> life as a devoted husband and loving father. (Being one of 4 boys to
> a Dad who provided us with much love, this was pretty good part of the
> segment for me)
>
> But the parts of the program which brought back so many good memories
> were Bob Steele's morning radio program. I lived in Hartford from
> 1979-1988 and like many people would tune in WTIC in the morning.
> Bob Steele started his program with his distinctive voice by waking us
> up like your Dad might have gotten you up in the morning. One of his
> proteges said Steele taught him to speak into the microphone like the
> microphone was another person. And the program provided outtakes from
> his regular features, the word of the day.... Steele had a great big
> dictionary in his office and he had a marvelous practice of making
> words come alive as he described their meaning... He would do outtakes
> from the news of the day... Tiddly Winks was a segment we remember for
> his corny humorous look at life as he scanned the local papers for the
> nonsensical and offbeat... Bob Steele had a corny sense of humor and
> CPTV brought to life many of his corniest jokes...... Clearly, he was
> having fun with his listeners. He was remembered by his peers as being
> like a good friend to his listeners.
>
> Dick Robinson recalled Bob had a great way of appealing to the theater
> of the mind as he would imagine his listener walking, sleepy eyed into
> the kitchen in the morning and then, humorously, Steele would say,
> oops, you just dropped an egg, and he would segway into another
> delightful and whimsical reference.
>
> Steele became involved with Close Up on Sports and for a town which
> was midway between Boston and New York with all the glamorous and
> heavily reported sporting events in these two towns, Steele was a
> program which brought his audience introductions to stars like Babe
> Ruth, Rocky Marciano, Ted Williams and Muhammed Ali.
>
> But Bob Steele in the Morning was also a great draw for the local
> folk. Steele took in a market share of 36% and raised more the 7-% of
> the revenue for the station. He got to know the people and their
> companies when they advertised on his program and Mr. Steele's folksy
> voice and whimsical way of drawing the audience's interest became a
> sought after support by many businesses which were happy their
> customers would identify with him.
>
> Bob Steele recognized his job on the radio was not Bob Steele's
> opinion on politics. His peers said people never knew his position on
> any political news. And for 10 years from 1957-1967, he worked 13
> hours a day. He was part of the initial broadcasts of Channel 3 in
> Hartford in 1957 and the initial broadcast of Channel 61 in Hartford
> in 1981.
>
> His son said Steele bonded so well with the people of Connecticut and
> he never went to bed at night without thanking God for what He did for
> him.
>
> He would be answering mail from the volumes of mail from his listeners
> on his special postcards during breaks on his radio program and he had
> the delightful common touch of laughing at himself. When he was
> honored in 1986 for 50 years in radio and television, he said he
> wished his father had been there to hear the nice things people were
> saying and he wished his mother would be there to hear the nice things
> but, he added, she would have believed them.
>
> Bob Steele had a special effect on the radio... He would announce the
> time frequently to keep people on track as they prepared for work in
> Hartford and surrounding times and he had a special chime he would
> hold up to the radio.
>
> He would say, "At the sound of the chime, the time is...." And he
> would strike the time and announce the time for the listener.
>
> I think I want to complete this reflection by saying at the sound of
> the chime, the time is upon us for the John Dennis' of the world to
> start studying the work of the masters, like Bob Steele, and recognize
> the respect and esteem Mr Steele had for his audiences...
>
> And say a prayer of thanksgiving for the privilege you and your
> contemporaries have to serve the well being of your audiences...
>
>
> "Chime"
>
> "Pip" "Pip" "Cheerio", Bob Steele !
>
> Slante!
>
--
David E. Dowd
40 Broadway North
Westbrook, Ct 06498
www.poetrybydavidedowd.com
860-664-4511
Yahoo ID daviddowd91
"The culture of death will not be defeated until there is repentance
from contraception."
-- Brian Murphy
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