The Furhmann & Schmidt Brewing Company was formed in 1906, operating from a facility located at Commerce and Washington Streets in Shamokin. Known as simply F&S, They produced a variety of brews that could be found in tap rooms all over the city. Although the brewery closed in 1975, the memory is still very much alive. If you would like to learn more about the rich history of Furhmann & Schmidt, Larry Deklinski, Staff Writer for the News Item, published an amazing history of F&S.
F&S Premium Half and Half with Sealed Ageing store sign
Business was booming by the 1950’s and F&S began an eight year expansion program, ending in 1954 with a new bottling shop, garage and offices. To promote these enhancements a new advertising campaign was developed touting the “Sealed-Ageing Process”. The commercials presented here are part of that advertising campaign and aired on WISL in 1956. It’s likely that these commercials were written and produced by a large advertising agency and would have been hears on many other stations at the time, not just WISL.
An Assortment of F&S Beer bottles
These particular discs were uncovered in 2005 when Dr. Edward Twiggar, owner of the Lark Building, permitted the WISL team to remove the contents of the former WISL Studios. These original acetate discs were found in the record library in a section labeled “Tom’s Box”. These discs were in pretty rough condition. In order to get the best audio quality to preserve these historic artifacts we had these discs sent to Evergreen Computer Services to have them professionally transferred to digital files.
Below are photos of the labels from the records found in the former studios of WISL.
F&S disc label
F&S disc label
F&S disc label
F&S disc label
What you will hear are two groupings of commercials for this F&S Sealed Ageing campaign. The first set, (cuts #4-11) was intended to target a male or general audience while the second set, (cuts #43-47) are targeted at a female audience. You will also hear some isolated jingles to be used during local commercial production. A full jingle, short open jingle and short closing jingle are included.
In addition to the commercials that were found on these discs, there are few extras included. These were saved by Tom Kutza on a cassette tape, many years ago and feature a different “Sealed Ageing” jingle from the one heard on these discs. You will also hear WISL’s Bernie Sacks on some locally produced commercials, including one that features a “man from Mars”.
So now, let’s go back in time with F&S and WISL!
AUDIO EXHIBITS
F&S #4 (Sealed Ageing – Seals In Goodness) 1956
F&S #5 (Sealed Ageing – Brand New Taste In Beer) 1956
F&S #6 (Sealed Ageing – Flavor & Goodness) 1956
F&S #7 (Sealed Ageing – New Taste) 1956
F&S #8 (Sealed Ageing – Try And You’ll Cheer) 1956
F&S #9 (Sealed Ageing – Taste For Yourself) 1956
F&S #10 (Sealed Ageing – If You Haven’t Tasted) 1956
F&S #11 (Sealed Ageing – More And More People) 1956
F&S #43 (Sealed Ageing – Summer Months) 1956
F&S #44 (Sealed Ageing – With Dinner) 1956
F&S #45 (Sealed Ageing – Buy Your Husband A Case) 1956
F&S #46 (Sealed Ageing – When Friends Drop In) 1956
Carl J. Kanaskie (air name Carl Konner) worked at WISL from June of 1956 to August of 1958. During that time he gathered and read news, did a number of remote broadcasts, including sporting events, and hosted a variety of music programs, most notably the afternoon show “Konner’s Korner” and, every other week, the Saturday evening call-in program “Juke Box Saturday Night”. He also conducted interviews with celebrities of the day, among them crooner Eddie Fisher (by phone) and Rock and Roll legend, Little Richard (in person).
Reed’s Dairy Ribbon from Carl’s WISL days
Carl left WISL in 1958 and served in the U.S. Army for two years as a specialist in information and broadcasting. In addition to writing and gathering news for the post newspaper, he conducted hometown interviews with enlisted men and handled public relations responsibilities. A highlight of his years of service was being chosen for duty at the Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, CA, where he aided German and Japanese broadcasters as they disseminated game results to their homelands.
Carl Konner WCNR Promotional Photo
After the Army, Carl returned to Pennsylvania and was hired by WCNR Radio in Bloomsburg. Carl would stay at WCNR for over 20 years. His tasks included writing and reporting news, hosting record shows and conducting numerous on-air interviews in studio and remotely with celebrities and community and political leaders. He also attended Bloomsburg University while employed at the station, eventually earning his bachelor’s degree in geography and social sciences, and his master’s degree in geography.
Carl grading papers as a graduate student at Bloomsburg University
In 1980, he accepted a position in the public relations office at Millersville University (MU), where he was employed for 24 years in a variety of news- and PR- related management positions, retiring as the institution’s director of communications. His responsibilities included: writing and editing the University’s bi-monthly newsletter; composing news releases/tip-sheets/announcements for regional media and working with them as they covered University activities; and advising faculty, administrators and staff on how to deal with media when confronted with sensitive issues relating to the institution and its students.
Carl Kanaskie Millersville University Photo
In retirement, Carl volunteers with several organizations. He is a trustee of the Millersville Area Historical Society, conducting its publicity and media relations efforts. He is a member of the Lancaster County Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council. He is a member of the Sierra Club-Lancaster Group (and past executive committee member), handling its publicity, media and public relations. He serves on the Marketing Committee of Lancaster’s North Museum of Natural History & Science. And, he has been involved with the MU Mentoring Program over the past seven years.
Carl Today
We were very lucky to have had the chance to meet Carl at the 2013 Anthracite Heritage Festival in Shamokin. Carl and his wife stopped by the WISL display as Tom Kutza was broadcasting. To Carl’s surprise, more than 50 years after he had left WISL radio, Tom immediately recognized his voice and blurted out ”Hey, You’re Carl Konner”.
Carl was kind enough to provide us with the information and images presented in this post.
Many big names in radio had their start at some small market radio station. They learned the ropes by working the late shifts, engineering sporting events and remote broadcasts and running public service and religious programming on Sunday mornings. These jobs certainly weren’t glamorous by any means, but for a young person wanting to get their big break, any chance to get behind the mic was worth it, even if you were only reading the weather.
WSOX “Oldies 96.1” Logo
South Central Pennsylvania radio listeners will recognize the name Bob Rudy from his nine years at Oldies 96.1 (WSOX) as half of the “Mad Dog and Rudy Morning Show”. However, few people know that on Christmas Day in 1980, Bob was starting his radio career at WISL.
Bob Rudy remembers:
“Christmas Day (Dec. 25th) 1980. I drove from Etters (Yocumtown) to Shamokin every Sunday evening to do 6:00 PM till Midnight. Live rip-and-read news, sports and weather at the top and bottom of each hour from that teletype machine down the hall, which I believe, was probably one of the first….probably delivered by Marconi. Music 6-8:00, ran a 12” reel-to-reel tape with “Make believe Ballroom” from 8-10:00, then back to music (45 rpm records) from 10:00-Midnight.
I remember being hired by Bernie Flynn.
I couldn’t get my first break (without experience) in the Harrisburg area, but Carol O’Leary’s husband Jim was a part owner of WISL and suggested I call Bernie. Carol was the General Manager of WTPA-FM 104.
After a few months of doing Sunday evenings at WISL, I got my foot in the door with Ben Barber at WIOO-AM 100 in Carlisle. At this point I started doing sign-on at WIOO (about March 1981) until 12:00 Noon, driving home for about 2-3 hours, then heading up to Shamokin to do 6-Midnight. That summer, I filled in a few times (Saturday nights) at Magic 93 in Mechanicsburg (after the QV93 days). At this point I was doing Saturday night in Mechanicsburg, Sunday morning in Carlisle, and Sunday evening in Shamokin…while working a full-time job (outside of radio) during the week.
Eventually, I gave up all three jobs to go part-time at WTPA-FM 104.“
Bob Rudy at KOOL 94.9 in Harrisburg
Bob would work for over sixteen radio stations over the next three decades, and become one of the most recognized voices in Central Pennsylvania radio.
The Pet Guardians Logo
Today, Bob teaches part-time at Elizabethtown College in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He teaches courses on topics that include, International communications, Multicultural Communications, Persuasion and Interpersonal Communication. Bob has also broken into the world of internet broadcasting with his “Pet Guardians Radio” at www.mypetradio.com. They offer an eclectic selection of music and help get the word out about “The Pet Guardians” a great non profit organization that helps find homes for amazing animals. Check out www.petguardians.com to learn more about the great work they are doing.
Yoch’s Bakery Advertisement for Shamokin Centennial in 1964
If you lived in Shamokin prior to 1977 you will certainly remember Yoch’s Bakery. You may even remember the smell of fresh baked bread walking to and from school or work, but do you remember Yoch’s on the radio? WISL aired many commercial over the years for “Yoch’s Dutch Maid Bread” and we are fortunate enough to have a couple of these classic commercials to share.
January of 1998 marked the 50th anniversary of WISL radio. By this time the station was owned by Charles “Mick” Haggerty and was suffering the effects of a faltering local economy. Within a couple of years Morning Man and WISL cornerstone Tom Kutza would leave the station and move on as Northumberland County Tourism Director and the stations (AM and FM) would be sold and the AM taken dark.
While tough times lay ahead, WISL was celebrating 50 years and looking ahead with high hopes. To mark the occasion, News-Item Staff Writer Mark Gilger put together a nice write up of the station for their January 16th issue. We feature this article in today’s post.
WISL Radio Marks 50 Years
BY MARK GILGER STAFF WRITER
SHAMOKIN – WISL Radio in Shamokin, which has delighted thousands of listeners through the years with its wide assortment of programming, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The 24-hour, seven-day-a-week station, which is co-owned by Mick and JoAnne Hagerty of Palmerton, is planning several promotions and live broadcasts from various locations during the up coming year. Mr. and Mrs. Hagerty, who serve as officers for MJR Media Inc., purchased WISL Radio AM and FM stations on Sept. 4, 1997, after leasing both stations since May 1996. The AM station was purchased from Laurel Broadcasting while the FM station was bought from Northeast Broadcasting of Northumberland Inc.
Charles Petrie first station manager
WISL Radio was founded on Jan. 25, 1948, by Henry Lark at its current location at the corner of Rock and Sunbury streets, which is known as the Lark Building. The first station manager was Charles Petrie, Dick Owens succeeded Petrie as station manager. Other managers through the years have included Bernie “Saks” Friedman, Art Sherman and John Berry.
Tom Kutza, popular longtime radio personality, has worked at the station for 37 of the 50 years it has been in existence. The dedicated disc jockey has witnessed a lot of changes in radio through the years and has many fond memories of his radio work “We’ve carried it all through the years including basketball and football games, heart-a-thons, library Christmas tree projects, the Stanley Coveleskie monument project, numerous live remotes from different locations celebrating special events, live broadcasts in the studio using the old boom microphones, religious shows, news talk shows, sports talk shows with Bernie Romanoski Sr. and many other programs,” Kutza said. Kutza, who has interviewed hundreds of celebrities over the years, added, “My favorite program of all time has been the ‘Letters to Santa’ show. I really love that program.” Kutza, 55, whose name has be come synonymous with WISL Radio, started working at the station after graduating from high school. The “station historian” has many photographs and other keepsakes pertaining to the station. The disc jockey, who resides in Elysburg, said the biggest changes in radio today include more talk shows and updated equipment. “I love doing my talk show “ Kutza said. “That’s the highlight for me because I get to meet so many people. I love coming to work and I’m proud to be a part of this station and area. We have the most dedicated listeners in our community. I’m thrilled I’ve been able to work here so long and it’s really amazing for a small station like WISL Radio to be on the air for 50 years.”
Tom Kutza, seated, disc jockey at WISL Radio in Shamokin for 37 years, and station owner Mick Hagerty relax in the control room. WISL Radio is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. (News-Item photo by Mark Gilger)
Mick Hagerty had nothing but praise for the longtime radio personality. “Tom’s is an institution at WISL. When someone thinks of WISL, they immediately associate Tom’s name with the station. His show is a tradition and we plan on maintaining that tradition for as many years as we can.” Hagerty said plans are being made to have Kutza conduct his talk show from his home to make it more convenient for the radio personality, who has endured health problems in recent years.
Mick Hagerty said various promotions are being planned throughout the year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the station. He said remote broadcasts will be done from different places including the historical Victoria Theatre in downtown Shamokin. Memorabilia trinkets pertaining to the 50th anniversary will be made available during the next several months. The station owner commented, “We plan to upgrade our equipment and hire more sales people and disc jockeys. We want to in crease our power on both stations (1480 AM and 95.3 FM). We also are looking into setting up a booth at Knoebels Amusement Resort so we can do live remotes from the park”
Hagerty said the format for the FM station, which features “oldies” music, will remain the same while the programming on the AM station will be upgraded.
“WISL Radio Marks 50 Years” From The News Item January 16th 1998
Presented are a series of classic radio commercials for the Sun Ray Drug Store in Shamokin. Recorded in the early 1970′s, these feature some familiar voices from the WISL airwaves including Dave Leonard, Dennis Edwards, Tom Kutza and more. These spots not only highlight the creative talent at WISL but also the good humor and lighthearted nature of Dave Donmoyer from Sun Ray. Thanks to Dave Leonard (Dave Horjnacki) for digging out these hilarious commercials.
What was the cost of advertising on WISL in the 1970s? This rate card was used to determine how much airtime on WISL cost for specific dayparts and durations.
During this period WISL was still owned by Radio Anthracite (Henry W. Lark). There are a couple of important things to note on this rate card:
First, WISL AM & FM are listed and each station has its own branding; WISL-AM as “The Voice of Information” and WISL-FM as “The Sound of Entertainment”.
Second, this rate card not only show the rates for local advertising, but also national advertising rates. While it is uncommon today, national advertising buyers would look to a small market station such as WISL for national advertising buys. The national slogan used was “A Quality Station in a Quality Market”.
Third, both WISL-AM and FM had a broadcast day that began at 6am and ended at midnight. While both stations were authorized for both day and night service, they elected to sign-off during the overnight hours.
What was the cost of advertising on WISL in the late 1980s and early 1990s? This rate card was used to determine how much airtime on WISL cost for specific dayparts and durations.
During this period, WISL was owned by Laurel Broadcasting and was a standalone station. WISL-FM 95.3 was operating as WSPI “Spy 95.3”.
In August of 1964. WISL radio and Shamokin were catching their piece of the national spotlight, (at least on some level), in the pages of a well known teen magazine. That summer Teen Life Magazine brought their traveling record hop parade to town, just in time for Shamokin’s Centennial celebration. Teen Life Magazine had their own DJ, “cleverly” named T.J who’s job was to travel from town to town across the United States and host record hops, many times bringing a music start or two with him.
from left to right: Doug Moody, Tom Kutza, Kenny Dino, T.J. and Diane Christian
This time, it was Shamokin’s turn. Along with SMASH Records A&R man Doug Moody, T.J. met T.K, (better known as Tom Kutza) and Bernie Flynn of WISL radio. According to Tom, quite a crowd showed up for the even which included live performances from Kenny Dino, a singer who was trying to build a career for himself at the time. Dino’s only chart record was a 1961 release entitled “Your Ma Said You Cried In Your Sleep Last Night”, which peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot-100. Dino’s career included a list of strike-outs which included turning down a chance to duet with a young singer named Paul Simon, as well as having his record company refuse to allow him to record the song “Suspicion” which would become a huge hit for Terry Stafford.
Also in Shamokin that night was Diane Christian. Diane was in a number of vocal groups in the early 1960s including The Rosettes, Diane & The Darlings and the Chic-Lets. By early 1964 she was pushing a solo record on SMASH called “Has Anybody Seen My Boyfriend” which did not receive any national attention.
from left to right: Ron Schreffler, Vinny D, Bernie Flynn, Jake Berkheiser, Tom Berkheiser and an unidentified record hop attendee
The local music attraction that night was a group called the Tremelos, not to be confused with the English group, The Tremeloes who had a string of hits in the 1960s including “Silence Is Golden” and “Here Comes My Baby”. This Tremelos group consisted of some local boys; Ron Schreffler and brothers Jake and Tom Berkheiser. Schreffler would later join the group D’Kool & The Kasuals, a band of coal region guys who were signed to and recorded for the Cameo/Parkway label in Philadelphia. The band toured all across the region promoting their biggest hit “She’s Good To Me”.
SMASH records logo
Tom Kutza remembered the “slimy” record promoter who went by the name Vinny D. (pictured along with Bernie Flynn and The Tremelos). Tom recalled that he wore a gold ring on his finger with the letters “V” and “D” embossed on it. According to Kutza, they were staying at a local hotel in Shamokin and surprise everyone in the morning by skipping town without paying their hotel bill.
Regardless of the moral deficiencies of the Teen Life Magazine entourage, Tom said that everyone had a great time at the hop. Tom and Bernie even got their pictures in the August edition of Teen Life, turning the tow young DJs into national celebrities of sorts. Tom told us that after the magazine was published he started receiving “fan” mail from the young female readers, wanting to know more about the “DJ that digs the Big Beat”. Tom was happily married by that time and wanted to stay that way, so those letters only live on in legend.
Here is the original Shamokin portion of the write-up from the August 1964 edition of Teel Life Magazine. We hope you enjoy the 1960s teen speak.
WINNERS IN SHAMOKIN: Shamokin, Pennsylvania is celebrating its 100th birthday come the end of June. Shamokin has also something extra-special to celebrate – their own prize-winning DJs, TOM KUTZA and BERNIE FLYNN, who melt the hot wax as they spin the winners over WISL. Tom and Bernie dig the Big Beat. I can testify to that. The boys had me stomping up a storm when I invaded their territory, together with DOUG MOODY, that curly-headed, blue-eyed A & R Promo Sales Chief for SMASH records. It was a SMASH NITE at the TEEN LIFE Record Hop, emceed by Tom. Bernie and Yours Truly. Doug supplied the SMASH records. For days before the TL hop, Tom and Bernie blasted away over WISL warning one and all not to miss the TL-SMASH Hop… obviously all of Shamokin heard the warning and came to our Hop. It was a wonderful kind of madness. Between dance sets we had LIVE entertainment. KENNY DINO was greeted as though her was a BEATLE, or something. Anyway, Doug and I will be back in the Shamokin-Mt. Carmel area soon. Keep tuned to WISL for dates.
EXHIBIT
This is a PDF of the original “Dialing The DJs with T.J.” Teen Life Magazine spread.
A couple months ago we were introduced to Tom Kollins and had the pleasure of spending some time on the phone reminiscing about his days at WISL. Tom provided a wealth of knowledge, some fascinating recordings and just plain good conversation. We are honored to present to you the Tom Kalinowski story. Thomas Kalinowski’s involvement with WISL radio goes back farther than anyone we have been able to interview for the WISL Hall of Fame. He was only 12 years old in 1948 when he auditioned with the Kelly Bogetti Orchestra for a live music spot at the station. Tom says that Kelly Bogetti billed him as the “youngest accomplished Hawaiian guitarist in the Anthracite area.” Although they didn’t get the job, this would not be the last time Tom would climb the stairs at Rock and Sunbury Streets.
By 1952 Tom was entering his senior year at St. Edward’s High School. For career day that year, St. Edwards students took over WISL. With some assistance from the staff, they read commercials and did the station breaks for the day. Through this audition, Tom impressed the management and was asked to join the station. His first role was night announcer. The shift began at 6pm and Tom would head to the station each night after school was out. His duties consisted of various station breaks, and reading news, sports and other announcements between the Mutual Radio Network programs the station aired in the evening. Tom said he would sign the station off by playing a transcription of the “Star Spangled Banner” around 11 or 12 at night.
WISL Schedule Tuesday, September 8th 1953
In June of 1953 Tom graduated high school, and about that same time John Persico, who was the morning disc jockey at WISL had a blow out fight with Charlie Petrie, the station manager. Petrie subsequently fired Persico and Tom was asked to take the morning spot. The morning program was called “Wislin’ Time” and was a typical DJ show. Tom says they would play records, do interviews, and give the news, sports and weather. This was local radio and Tom was a one-man-band. He said “you needed a lot of energy to run that kind of a program.”
According to Tom, you needed to be a jack-of-all-trades to work in local radio at that time. While at WISL Tom was a Disc Jockey, play-by-play announcer for both football and basketball, did remote broadcasts and even tried his hand at advertising sales, “because every station wanted you to hit the streets and try to sell.” Some remotes that stood out in Tom’s mind include broadcasting live from a horse show held at a riding ring on Trevorton Road and broadcasting live from the American Legion when Ralph Marteri’s band came to play.
Jolly Jack Robel
Tom remembered Jolly Jack Robel, an accomplished Polka band leader from Shenandoah, who would come to WISL once a week for an hour long Polka show. Tom said that they would have a great time doing the program, but would have an even better time hitting up a local saloon after the show was over. Other memorable programs included The Little Giant’s Sunday program. The Little Giant owned a meat market at the east end of Independence Street. Legend has it that during the war, his was the only shop in town with meat, leading to questions of the quality and source of his stock. Nevertheless, in the post-war years, The Little Giant’s program on Sunday mornings was very popular. So popular in fact, that many would catch the early mass on Sunday to be sure they wouldn’t miss the program. In addition to the meat market and radio show, Tom also remembered The Little Giant having a zoo of sorts, located at the entrance to Irish Valley, where kids could see and pet deer, goats and the like.
WCBG Logo from Matchbook Cover circa 1956
Tom’s time at WISL would come to an end in 1956 when he auditioned for and won a job as the morning man at a brand new radio station in Chambersburg, PA; WCBG. With this move also came a name change, he now began going by the name Tom Kollins, a name that would stay through the rest of his radio career.
Shortly after joining the staff at WCBG, Tom was approached by the local competition, WCHA, to come work for them. Tom agreed and found himself back in Central Pennsylvania working for another station owned by WCHA in Milton, WMLP. Tom recalled that one of the new hire rituals at WMLP was to send the new guy to the Buoy Hardware store, located across the street from the station, to try to sell advertising time. Tom says that the joke was that “old man Buoy was like Ebenezer Scrooge, was grumpy, would keep all the lights out in the store except where he knew you would be, and would never buy advertising.” That is until Tom went in. He said that either Mr. Buoy was trying to play a trick on the station or he was just simply ready to advertise, because when Tom went in, he bought some spots. When Tom returned to the station with the spot order, no one could believe it.
WCAR Detroit Publicity Photo circa 1962
Tom’s time at WMLP didn’t last long, as soon as contractual obligations were concluded with WCBG, Tom was brought back to Chambersburg and began working at WCHA. At WCHA Tom hosted a music program and did play-by-play for various sports. You can hear Tom at WCHA in the audio exhibits section of this post. These recordings were found by Tom on reel-to-reel tapes in his home and have not been heard for many years.
By 1960 Tom would find himself moving halfway across the country, thanks to a major market disc jockey who was traveling the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Tom says this disc jockey caught his program and told his boss in Detroit about this guy he heard in Pennsylvania. Tom was offered a job with WCAR in Detroit where he would finish his radio career.
Tom Kollins at the Detroit Athletic Club circa 1973
In 1965, Tom decided to make a career change, following a passion he had for Billiards and began playing pool professionally. Tom was a very accomplished pool player winning the Michigan Straight Pool Championship twice. From 1968 to 1973 he was the Billiard room manager at the prestigious Detroit Athletic Club. By 1977 Tom had found a new passion, one for the game of Snooker. This passion would find Tom traveling the world playing the game and holding the United States National Snooker Championship title five times. CLICK HERE to learn more about Tom’s fascinating Snooker career.
Tom Kollins on the Golf Course
Today, Tom enjoys retirement with his family and lived in the Detroit area. We are very fortunate to have had the opportunity to share in Tom’s interesting history, we sincerely thank him for allowing us to make another WISL friend.
*** UPDATE ***
We are sad to report that Tom passed away on June 22nd 2020 at the age of 84.
