The Radio Tower

We were at the Sayville Public Library on Nov. 10th commemorating World War I and its effect on radio history. You'll hear from documentary film maker Joe Sikorski on his latest project chronicling the Telefunken site in Sayville. Built, owned and operated as a German radio station, Telefunken played a pivitol role in the United State's entry into the war.

We also talk with LIRTVHS board member John Vuolo on a unique piece of radio equipment we recently added to our collection. Radio was one of the cutting edge technologies being adapted by the military in World War One, even to the point of bolting receivers into biplanes.

We were invited to the Sayville Library for a community breakfast to help kick off The Great Give Back 2018. It was a great opportunity to share what LIRTVHS but also to get to know and appreciate all the other organizations doing so much for Sayville and the community.

So we did some on-the-spot recording with some of our co-attendees, asking them to explain their mission and how it impacts the community. See below for ways to get in touch with them. And we also couldn't resist getting some of their memories of radio on Long Island and beyond.

Thanks to Sayville Library director Jen Fowler for puting this great community event together and for everyone who talked with us!

• The Great Give Back
• Sayville Public Library
• Sayville Historical Society
• Sayville Cabinet for the Sick
• Boy Scouts of America Suffolk County Council, Trailblazer Director
• The Rollstone Foundation
• Art Without Walls

Daniell Campbell shares a look back at how she got started in the business - from behind the scenes at WGSM's FM station to WNBC during the Howard Stern era to 1010 WINS, Channel 55 and more.

This is a special cross-over episode with the Long Island History Project #75. Hear Danielle and Margo Arceri of Tri-Spy Tours on the true tales of Anna Strong and the Culper Spy Ring.

Dive in to the wild world of ham radio operators with John Smale, one of the founders of the Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club. He's at call sign K2IZ.

Connie Currie grew up in Hicksville where her father, Roland Gibson, was the radio/TV repair man at Spiro’s Department Store. She earned her amateur radio Novice License KN2RBM in 1956 but not without some resistance.

Arne Fogel, host of The Bing Shift on Jazz88 FM as well as a student and devotee of all things Crosby, relates Bing's career in radio. We talk about how Bing helped define the medium, how he rose to be a multimedia star, his role in changing recording technology, and more.

This episode was recorded at The Booth, the new podcast recording studio at the Sachem Public Library. We thank them as well as this week's guest co-host, Chris DeCristofaro.

Further Research

• Crosby Internet Radio
• The Bing Shift on Jazz88
• Sachem Public Library The Studio
• Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams (find in a library)

LIRTVHS board member Richard Hawkins of Eastport on his time as a radioman in the Navy.

LIRTVHS treasurer Ed Taylor remembers growing up in the Bronx and the role radio played in is life.

Al Bernstein has been teaching television and radio production at Suffolk County Community College since 1974.

On this, our inaugural episode, he relates his long career as teacher and also as a producer in the field. He's worked everything from the Breeder's Cup to the Olympics and Islanders' hockey games. Not bad for a kid from Flushing, Queens.

Welcome to the zero episode of The Radio Tower, the podcast of the Long Island Radio & Television Historical Society. We'll be bringing you interviews and stories of 20th century radio history: the men, women, myths and machines that made Long Island an early cradle of radio.

You can find out more about the Society at lirtvhs.org.