Hartford Courant articles on Bob Steele

[mwaters@wesleyan.edu (Martin J. Waters)]

        A group of articles and many photos are at www.ctnow.com. Jim Shea
captured it perfectly in the first paragraph of the main article,
especially for us locals. We know that one of Steele's daily features was
"word for the day," when we would be instructed on the correct
pronunciation of an often-mispronounced word. And we know that he always
signed off his program by saying goodbye in about six languages.

                        A Voice For The Ages
                           Connecticut Radio Legend Bob Steele Dies At 91

                         December 7, 2002
                         By JIM SHEA, Courant Staff Writer

                         The word for the day is adieu. Bob Steele, the
voice that
                         coaxed Connecticut from slumber for 66 years, closed a
                         thousand schools, whistled a million tunes, told a
zillion
                         corny jokes and did more for proper pronunciation and
                         grammar than an army of English teachers, died
Friday at
                         the age of 91.

       I was lucky enough to have heard the end of what turned out to be
his last program on the first Saturday of November. I knew he took the
winter months off and I wondered that day whether he would come back in
March or not. I knew he was around 90 years old now.

    One of my thoughts was that it would be just like him to announce after
the fact that he had done his last show, to avoid all the attention that
would ensue if he announced it in advance. And, according to the Courant,
he had told his family that he was not going to do the program anymore.

   I didn't hear that mentioned in all the many hours of discussion about
him that WTIC (AM) broadcast since yesterday afternoon. Maybe they just
didn't know yet.

   With 20-20 hindsight, though, the recording  of his last sign-off gives
a hint. When he got done with adieu and all the other foreign languages, he
paused a little and the last thing he said was, "What I'm trying to say is,
goodbye." My recollection is now that that was different.