UTICA-ROME -- Since we've resumed our "Picture of the Week" feature earlier this month, we're pleased that we've been able to go "around the horn," featuring a photo from each of the markets we cover. Not only does this week's photo take us to Utica-Rome (after last week in Ithaca and the week before in Syracuse), it's also a "blast from the past!"
Sandy Parker sends in this 1967 photo of himself running the controls at 107.3 WUFM, which was located on the top floor of the Hotel Utica. At the time, Parker says, the station was owned by Al Bonapart and Russ Baldwin.
According to Wikipedia, WUFM held those call letters from its launch in 1962 until 1970, when it became WZOW for a few years, then WTLB-FM through the rest of the 70s. In 1981, the station picked up the call letters it was perhaps best known for -- WRCK. Those calls remained in place until 2010, when the station changed to its present-day call sign, WKVU.
This is our third "Picture of the Week" since getting things back up to speed following an extended summer hiatus. Your editor was pleasantly surprised to receive these first three photos (and one more coming next week) without even asking! Readers noticed that we resumed posting news stories, and the photos started coming in. We hope you'll keep the momentum going: if you've got photos of anything related to radio or TV, past or present, in any of the markets we cover... please share! The address is cnyradio@cnyradio.com or you can upload via our handy Contact Form.
It's thanks to reader submissions like this one from Sandy, that we're able to bring you a new Picture of the Week every Monday (yes, we moved it from Fridays to Mondays) morning at 7:00am.
Cuing up a record on one of those incredibly well balanced Gates turntables. takes me back to my old AM radio days (also in 1967).