Howard Hertzog a.k.a Scott Davis in the WISL Control Room
Howard Hertzog was a very busy guy in the Shamokin Area. During his short life, he managed to pack in as much activity and good will as he could. Howard was an active member of the Jaycees and served on the committee that raised the money needed to purchase a heart monitor for Shamokin State General Hospital. Howard was also the co-chariman for the 1969 Shamokin Area Heart Drive. Remember LAREDO (the Lower Anthracite Regional Economic Development Organization)? He was also chairman for the 1969 Miss Laredo Contest. LAREDO was the organization that helped start the Glen Burn Mine Tour, Howard also served as a tour guide. He was President of the Shamokin Area Amateur Radio Club, and if that wasn’t enough he also worked at the Singer Store and at the Sun Ray Drug Store.
Howard was also a Disc Jockey at WISL using the name Scott Davis. He joined WISL in the late 1960’s and would work there until his untimely death in 1972. According to Hertzog’s daughter Angela, Howard struggled with heart issues his entire life. Scott Davis passed away while doing the night show on WISL on August 5th 1972, leaving behind his wife and two-year old daughter. He was only 33 years old.
We were able to get in touch with Angela last year and learn more about her father Howard. Angela was able to find some pictures of her father and even found a box full of old reel to reel tapes in the attic of her family home. Every time we are able to locate audio of WISL, it is a special thing, however this time the audio meant so much more. When her father passed away, Angela was only 2 years old. In conversation we learned that she had never heard her father’s voice. These tapes offered a very special window into the past and the chance for Angela to “meet” her father again. We were able to get a clean dub of the audio from the tapes she found, and what a treasure. We found radio shows, commercials, outtakes and sports broadcasts all featuring the voice of her father, Scott Davis.
Through the courtesy of Angela Hertzog we present to you Scott Davis!
AUDIO EXHIBITS
Scott Davis aircheck WISL 1971
Scott Davis Show for Scott Berkelson WISL 1971
WISL Saturday Line-Up Promo (Scott Davis Voiceover)
Shamokin Sunoco Stations – Inspection Commercial (Scott Davis Voiceover)
Pickwick Self Service Shoe Mart Commercial (Scott Davis Voiceover)
Alfie’s Boutique Commercial (Scott Davis Voiceover)
WISL Drop “Scott Davis Plays The Heavy Hits”
photo exhibits
Postcard from the Glen Burn Mine Tour – Howard Hertzog as a tour guide
This is how McDonald’s was getting the Big Mac sandwich into the minds of millions of customers in the Mid 1970′s. The original concept, “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions – on a sesame seed bun” began as a simple single word heading designed for college newspapers, but quickly grew into a song, a television advertisement and a promotion that had radio listeners trying to say the ingredients as fast as they could for a chance to win prizes. While many still remember the slogan today, the original campaign was ended in 1976, after a mere year and a half run.
1970’s McDonald’s Bumper Sticker
The local McDonald’s on route 61 in Coal Township caught the fever and called on WISL Radio to create some radio buzz over their signature sandwich. Here we find your favorite WISL DJ’s calling on contestants to say the Big Mac ingredients in three seconds or less for a chance to win their choice of a Big Mac T-Shirt or five Big Mac sandwiches. This was certainly a tall task, something even the DJ’s themselves had a hard time doing. Don’t feel bad though, even if they couldn’t get the words out in time they would still walk away with a coupon for a free Big Mac of their own. Everyone was a winner on WISL Radio!
It was St. Patrick’s Day 1997 and Tom Kutza’s talk program on WISL hosted a very special guest for the holiday. His name was Joseph Shilpetski but on St. Patrick’s Day he called himself Joseph John “The Polish Leprechaun” and he was live and very much in color in the WISL studios at Rock and Sunbury Streets in Shamokin.
According to a 1991 article in the Allentown Morning Call, Shilpetski was born in Centralia, PA and left the area in 1952 when the last of the mines closed. He ended up moving to Lancaster County looking for work, but Centralia remained very much a part of him.
In the article Shilpetski was quoted:
“There are no other people like the people that came from Centralia, they’ll not be matched, I’m proud of them and this occasion (a reunion of former Centralia residents) fills my heart with joy.”
In this rare, uncut interview we are very privileged to get a glimpse into what life was like in Centralia before the mine fire and the relocation. Shilpetski sings a couple of Irish favorites and has a great time talking with Tom and former WISL owner Mick Haggerty.
“I’d like to tell all my friends up on Paxton Street, that I wish they could be my neighbors once more.”
The highlight of this clip features Shilpetski singing a teary-eyed rendition of “Give My Regard To Broadway,” rewritten as “Give My Regards To Centralia,” full of first-hand memories from one of Centralia’s own.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day we present to you Joseph John “The Polish Leprechaun.
AUdio exhibit
Tom Kutza Interviews Joseph John “The Polish Leprechaun” March 17, 1997
There are few names more recognizable in the Shamokin and Mount Carmel areas than Tom Kutza, and even fewer that conjure up such positive and happy memories. Of all the voices heard over the WISL airwaves, Tom’s was there the longest, spending roughly 34 years behind the microphone.
To many, it’s unimaginable to think that Tom worked anywhere else other than WISL, but believe it or not, there was a time that Tom was just a kid trying to break into the business. In radio, you needed to take whatever job or jobs you could get, and Tom’s break into the business occurred at two different radio stations in the late 1950’s, WBRX in Berwick and WPPA in Pottsville. Tom simultaneously worked at both of these stations on a part time basis, mostly as a news reader.
Tom Kutza Live before his days at WISL
To many, it’s unimaginable to think that Tom worked anywhere else other than WISL, but believe it or not, there was a time that Tom was just a kid trying to break into the business. In radio, you needed to take whatever job or jobs you could get, and Tom’s break into the business occurred at two different radio stations in the late 1950’s, WBRX in Berwick and WPPA in Pottsville. Tom simultaneously worked at both of these stations on a part time basis, mostly as a news reader.
In 1960 Tom would be offered a job at a station much closer to his hometown of Mount Carmel. Tom joined WISL in October 1960 covering the night shift and a program they called “Moonlight Serenade.” He would work his way up the WISL ladder, moving next to afternoon drive and finally getting a shot at the “big time” and the morning show in 1964. Generations of Shamokin residents would wake up to the Tom Kutza Morning Show, dubbing him “Shamokin’s Morning Mayor” over the years. Tom kept everyone up to date on, local news, weather, sports, school cancellations and yes even the school lunch menus.
Tom Kutza at WISL circa 1960
Tom Kutza as “Captain Action”
Tom’s position as the morning disc jockey gave him great community visibility, and Tom was everywhere. He was the MC at local proms, the DJ at sock hops, dances and weddings, the live host at your favorite store and even the color commentator on the WISL sports broadcasts. Tom even had the chance to play super hero to his legions of adoring fans as “Captain Action” for an appearance at the Big N Department Store in Coal Township.
Tom’s position as the morning disc jockey gave him great community visibility, and Tom was everywhere. He was the MC at local proms, the DJ at sock hops, dances and weddings, the live host at your favorite store and even the color commentator on the WISL sports broadcasts. Tom even had the chance to play super hero to his legions of adoring fans as “Captain Action” for an appearance at the Big N Department Store in Coal Township.
Tom’s on air legacy included his years hosting the “Welker’s Furniture Polka Show” on Sundays. Tom recalled in a News Item interview…
“I remember one summer day walking from Springfield to my former home on Race Street (in Shamokin); I heard the polka show on every radio between those two points.”
Christmas was a special time of year in Shamokin and a favorite for Kutza as well. The popular “Letters to Santa” program actually dates back to the 1950’s and WISL newsman Jim Reilly. Reilly would gather letter written to Santa by children in the listening area and read them on the air. Years later, Kutza would ask if he could read the letters in the role of Santa Claus himself, a tradition that Kutza would continue even after leaving the station.
Tom Kutza Business Card 1980’s
Over the years, Tom welcomed many people to the WISL microphone. There were celebrities such as singer Frankie Laine, music groups such as the 1910 Fruit Gum Company, sports figure Stanley Covaleski, and almost anyone else that would have a chat with Tom. Kutza remembers…
“I really enjoyed doing the talk show over the years. We would get on the air and our guests would ask what we were going to talk about, and I would just say ‘I don’t know, we’ll just see how it goes”
Following their interview, guests would remark that Tom made it so easy. Tom had a way to always put his guests at ease, creating a fun and free atmosphere.
Tom’s days at WISL made him a part of the family for many in the Shamokin and Mount Carmel areas. People woke-up every morning to his program, listened to him at work and during their lunch hour, shook his hand on the street and did the polka with him on the weekend. Parents recorded his program and sent it to their children serving in Vietnam, in a way sending them a piece of “home.” Tom’s legacy in Shamokin continues to this day.
Tom Kutza, Master of Ceremonies at the Mount Carmel High School Prom in 1962
Tom’s stay at WISL ended in 1998, victim of a combination of Shamokin’s deteriorating economy and poor station management. However, Tom would take everything he learned in his 34 years on the radio and embark on a new career, becoming the Tourism Director of Northumberland County. His job now was to travel the county creating awareness of the many great thing that Northumberland County had to offer. Tom talked to children about history and the amazing stories of the past. He visited the senior centers to bring back memories of younger days and helped let others know all that Northumberland County has to offer. Tom would retire from the county a decade later.
While Tom may be retired he is far from finished. Tom is still keeping the memory of WISL alive, now online at www.WISL1480.com, Tom has revived the traditional “Sunday Afternoon Polka Program” every Sunday afternoon at 2pm. Every Christmas Tom teams up with the News Item to present his “Letters to Santa” program. The News Item still receives hundred of letters each year from children hoping to get Jolly Old St. Nick to read their letter.
Tom is also now a national personality, taking his Coal Region Christmas memories to a whole new audience with “Christmas Eve with Tom Kutza,” a five hour Christmas music and memories program. Originally broadcast on WBLJ (formerly WISL-FM) in Shamokin in 2005, in recent years the program has been carried on stations as far away as North Dakota and Florida. Tom has also relived the memories of WISL, being on hand at the WISL display at Shamokin’s Anthracite Heritage Festival meeting old friends and reliving great memories. In his spare time Tom enjoys life with his incredible and growing family.
AUDIO EXHIBITS
A typical Tom Kutza Morning Show open, Tom begins with a polka, then it’s Big Red to wake up Shamokin!
Tom’s trademark program close: “… put that lunch on…”
A Vintage Tom Kutza Program Liner
Commercial for Tony’s Store and Garage from May 13th 1994 voiced by Tom Kutza
