CHOO Radio Recollections

An on line scrapbook of images & text for former staff and listeners alike

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Much More E Mail!

Hi John... I'm Dave Scott in the ad. [SEE BELOW] I worked at CHOO first part-time, then full-time from roughly May 1980 to May 1983. I was hired (part-time) to cover the weekend all-night shift. I was "temporarily" filling in for a fellow named John, I believe. He had a vision problem which was more than compensated for by his marvelous voice! My first shift was Midnight Friday to 10 am Saturday... 10 hours! I don't think I would have made it were it not for John, the fellow I was covering for, as he called me from his hospital bed several times during the night with helpful tips and suggestions!

As I recall the early 80's was a great time for CHOO radio. They had a solid on-air staff, excellent promotions, were riding the new popularity of country music and it was all beginning to payoff in the ratings! If memory serves me correctly I think we had a total cume all-ages of 272,000 which was incredible! Dave Hughes might be able to verify that.

I may be able to help you fill in some of the personnel blanks... Jim Tice was hired not too long after Joe Frechette came onboard as PD. Both were graduates of the Radio Program at Humber College. Jim was hired as Evening Announcer/Music Director. He was replaced Rick English, who took over the role of evening announcer/ music director after Jim Tice... I replaced Rick on the all night show full-time after he had replaced Cathy who had moved back to Winnipeg with her husband. You may have been around when John Saunders went through CHOO radio as a sportscaster before heading on to CITY TV then ESPN.

Let me think some more.

David

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Thank you "Dave Scott" - and hope to hear more of your memories soon. Meanwhile extra thanks for sending along the following reproduction of a local Ajax newspaper advertisement circa 1982... You gotta love that country sunshine! Great to see so many old familiar names and faces from that era - like morning man Brian Belfry - such a talented, funny guy. Brian could "lift" words off the page (in any accent or character voice imaginable) as well as or better than anyone else in any market, big or small.

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