My friend Garry is from Cincinnati, Ohio, and GAWD can he tell you some stories! His father and his grandfather were both "tube men" and despite the fact that they were German, they supplied Cincinnati with all her tubes, big and small, during both world wars.
Garry grew up with WLW, not only because they bought most of his family's tubes, but because station owner Mr. Crosley, below, did everything in a big way.
As a small tyke, there was nothing Garry liked more than the canals, and he required no adult supervision to enjoy them.
Always industrious, the made his first money blowing up balloons for the indigent.
To make his journey to school easier, Garry took the railroad down from his home.
He was sent to the best German school in Cincinnati, and classes were held in the topmost portico.
He learned to drive a Crosley at a young age.
By the time he was a teenager, Garry played the banjo in intimate settings.
To earn spending money, he lettered cue cards for Ruth Lyons at WLW-T.
It was about that time he met Rod Serling and gave him most of his story ideas, except for the lousy ones.
For being a nice guy, Garry was given the coveted "ball and chain award" from WLW-T entertainer, Paul Dixon. It seemed as if the fun would never end.
However, in the late 1960's, Garry's family decided to move to Atlanta, Georgia so that Garry could receive the sort of theatrical training that was simply not available in Ohio. Garry went ahead of them via auto-gyro.
And so Garry bid a fond adieu to the city he called home.
October 2023