old-timers luncheon

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

I don't know if I mentioned it, but several weeks ago, Len Zola and a 
committee of dedicated volunteers sponsored an old-timers luncheon, which 
was attended by over 120 former Boston and suburban radio veterans.  Jordan 
Rich did a wonderful job of being master of ceremonies, and it was great to 
see some of the folks who worked at such places as the old WHDH, WCOP, 
WVDA, WEEI, WBZ and elsewhere.  It was also an honour to see and thank 
Arnie Ginsburg (who looks great!), who influenced my own decision to go 
into broadcasting, as well as to talk with former sales people, newspaper 
columnists, record promoters (Sal Ingeme and Arthur Katz, to name two), 
announcers, and managers.  One especially moving moment was when Jordan 
Rich went to each table and introduced the attendees-- when he got to Bob 
Clayton, everyone rose and gave the man a standing ovation.  I was so glad 
that this event took place-- as we have remarked on this list before, our 
industry is famous for throwing away memorabilia and forgetting the people 
who made such a difference in our lives when we were growing up.  I hope 
this event will become a regular occurrence and maybe we can even create an 
exhibit to honour local broadcasting-- I'm not sure where it would go, but 
with so many wonderful memories, there ought to be a way to capture them 
for future generations so that those people will know there was a time when 
radio was not all voice tracking and automation!