In this exhibit we present an aircheck of Courtney Roberts holding down the morning show on “Oldies 95.3” WISL-FM in March of 2000. This is one of the few airchecks that exists from the period of time just before the station was sold to Clear Channel and became Bill 95.
WISL-FM “Oldies 95.3” Courtney Roberts – March 3rd, 2000 – 5:26am-6:15am
Let’s go back in time for another classic WISL aircheck. In this recording we check in with Mikey D who was holding down the Saturday morning shift on 95.3 WISL-FM. At this time WISL had recently shifted from a format of mostly Classic Rock to Oldies and was being branded as “Whistle FM.”
This is a great example of what a full-service Saturday morning at WISL-FM sounded like, complete with weather forecasts, sports updates and even a horoscope rundown.
WISL-FM Aircheck – Mikey D. Saturday, March 18th, 1994
Since the mid 2000’s WISL Radio has broadcast live from Shamokin’s Anthracite Heritage Festival of the Arts on Memorial Day weekend. Each year is a little different, however one thing that remains consistent is WISL Morning Mayor, Tom Kutza is the host of the program.
Every year we have been able to provide some WISL history mixed in with other interviews including political figures, local entertainers and WISL listeners. This year, we decided to take a slightly different approach. In 2021, we unveiled our WISL Studio Museum in the Shamokin Museum located at Bamse Coffee at 150 East Lincoln Street. With this focus on the history of WISL, we felt it would be appropriate to focus our broadcast as a WISL Reunion Show.
The response was incredible and we were able to bring quite a few WISL alums together to reminisce about their time at Shamokin’s hometown station. In this exhibit, we present the entire WISL Reunion Show. Listen as Tom Kutza chats with Bernie Flynn, Courtney Roberts, Al Jeffries, Dave Leonard, Chris Roberts, Bob Woodley, James Wagner, Edward Washuta, Joe Anthony and Mikey D in this incredible reunion.
WISL Reunion Show – Hour 1
WISL Reunion Show – Hour 2
WISL Reunion Show – Hour 3
WISL Reunion Show – Hour 4
Anyone who grew up in Shamokin is sure to remember The Fun Shop. Located in the basement of the old Masonic Building at Eighth and Independence Street, The Fun Shop was a gift shop that offered something for every location. From the friendly staff to the novelties found inside, The Fun Shop was a Shamokin institution for over eighty years. The Fun Shop grew over time and expanded into many of the local malls that opened through the 1970s and 1980s including locations in the Columbia Mall in Buckhorn, The Schuylkill Mall in Frackville and The Lycoming Mall in Montoursville.
In 2016 it was announced that the Fun Shop was closing marking the end of an era and leaving another vacancy on Independence Street. To make matters worse, in the early morning hours of December 14th, 2017, a fire broke out in the building causing a total loss. What was left of the building had to be removed due to the extent of the damage. Today a Dollar General store stands at the former location of the Fun Shop.
In this exhibit, we go back to 1987 for a series of radio advertisements that aired on WISL and other area radio stations promoting the goods and services that so many remember that made The Fun Shop a destination in Shamokin.
The Fun Shop – Over The Hill
The Fun Shop – Penn State National Champions Salute
The Fun Shop – Stuffed Animals
The Fun Shop – Thanksgiving
The Fun Shop – Weddings
Third and Walnut street in Shamokin had been home to a car dealership for many years. In the 1960s it was Ford dealer Dusick and Hoberg. By 1990, the building served as a General Motors dealership selling Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs and Buicks and was operating under the name Courtesy.
In this exhibit, we present a radio commercial for Courtesy Oldsmobile-Pontiac-Buick from September of 1990 with Ron Hughes providing a rundown of the entire staff of the dealership.
In this exhibit we present an unscoped aircheck of WISL-FM “Oldies 95.3” from February 1999. At this time, WISL-FM was utilizing a mostly automated format delivered via satellite from The Westwood One radio network. This recording features disc jockey Robert M. Chenault holding down the overnight shift on WISL-FM.
WISL was in competition for national advertising dollars in the 1950s. One way to get noticed by national advertising buyers was to purchase print ads in various trade publications. Standard Rate & Data Service published a directory of media outlets and their contact details. This directory was distributed to the marketing departments of companies and advertising agencies around the United States. SRDS is still around today serving the advertising buying community in the digital world.
In 1950, WISL radio ran a series of ads in the SRDS directory and provided a testimonial to the effectiveness of this promotion. Here we find a full-page advertisement produced by SRDS featuring this testimonial and published in the August 28th, 1950 edition of Broadcasting Telecasting.
For those that lived in Shamokin from the 1960s through the 1990s it was impossible to thinnk that there would be a world where Tom Kutza would no longer be on the radio. However, that day came on May 22nd, 1998. After thirty-seven and a half years of being on WISL Tom Kutza said his final farewell to his WISL family.
So, Why would Tom Kutza leave WISL after so many years? Times were changing and WISL found itself in a tough position. Shamokin’s economy was not what it once was and owner Mick Haggerty was unable to provide the income and benefits that Kutza needed to continue in his role at the station. It was time to move on.
After leaving WISL, Tom would begin a new chapter in his life as the Tourism Director of Northumberland County. This new role would allow Tom to travel the county sharing the rich history of the area meeting face to face with the the community that he broadcast to for so many years.
For WISL, the post-Kutza years wouldn’t be as happy. After Kutza’s departure, WISL would continue on with a series of syndicated programs. By the fall of 2001, Mick Haggerty’s MJR Media would sell both WISL AM & FM to Clear Channel Communications for $800,000. WISL-AM would be taken dark shortly thereafter and WISL-FM would become WBLJ-FM as a simulcast of WBYL “Bill 95” in Williamsport.
This was not the end of the line for WISL. In 2010, WISL1480.com began broadcasting Tom once again found himself back on the radio, but this time, internet radio. Tom now enjoys his retirement, doing his weekly polka show, Letter’s To Santa, live broadcasts from the annual Anthracite Heritage Festival of the Arts and doing what he loves, connecting to people.
Now, lets go back to 1998 as Tom Kutza says his final goodbye on WISL.
WISL (Shamokin) Tom Kutza Says Goodbye May 22nd, 1998
Denise Coleman, better knowing in Northeast Pennsylvania as DC Day, got her start at WMIM in Mount Carmel when she was only 17 years old. DC was a well known and loved radio personality in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania making stops at radio stations from Williamsport to Allentown. Prior to her death on August 1st, 2017 she worked at WEZX “Rock 107” in Scranton, PA.
Our audio exhibit takes us back to DC’s early days when she simply used her given name, Denise Coleman, on the air. Here we find her at WSPI “Spy 95” in Shamokin sometime in 1984. While this aircheck does not give us much in the way of content from DC, it allows us to not only hear a radio professional learning the ropes as well as an opportunity to get at taste of the sound of “Quad County Radio” in the early 1980s.
WSPI Denise Coleman aircheck – 1984
In 1952, WISL submitted an application to the FCC proposing to add a one-hundred thousand watt television station on channel 65. Radio Anthracite, parent company of WISL would eventually pull their application and WISL-TV would never become a reality. You can learn more about the story of WISL-TV HERE.
In the application process, Radio Anthracite submitted their proposed tower location and through the power of technology, we can pinpoint exactly where the WISL-TV tower would have been constructed.
Here is a Google Maps view of 40ยฐ48’02.0″N 76ยฐ33’26.0″W, the proposed location of the WISL-TV tower.
