Whatever Happened To

Pete Toomey

The late Pete Toomey, an old friend I knew from my WGIV days in the early 50s, made a tape recording of what he remembered about the history of that station. He stayed in contact with Bill Lineburger, the long time chief engineer of Charlotte's first "independent" station.

On that tape he mentioned a name that I heard many stories about, but never met. Since he was mentioned by so many in the broadcast business, I figured that our paths would cross eventually.

But they never did.

I never forgot his name though...and some of the stories about him.

But since my retirement, almost 2 years ago, I have time to do a lot of things I never found the time to do.  One of which is searching on the Internet.

However, I have come up with NOTHING but dead ends in my search for the legendary...CONRAD PHILLIPS.

All I know is that he was a great football player...for Central High before WW2...fought in that great war, losing both feet in the process, returned to Charlotte and was hired as a DJ for WGIV and attended Charlotte College......

Walter Cronkite and Julian Barber

My friend the late Julian Barber and he were good friends and Julian once told me a story about
Conrad.  

It seems that he and Julian were going somewhere and they came upon a bunch of young boys playing football.  Conrad decided to coach them a little on the finer points of "passing" and "punting" the football.

The kids watched spellbound as he showed them exactly how to grip the football...and how to "lead" a receiver, etc.

They were in complete awe as this ex-football star began explaining the finer points of "punting;" how to grip it with the laces up and arms fully extended....then two steps and drop the ball....and KICK!

As his foot met the ball.....the perfect spiral sailed high in the air.

And so did his prosthetic foot!

Julian said he never saw a bunch of scared kids run home so fast!

So, if any of you know anything about CONRAD PHILLIPS......let me know.

-Ed

Finger Licking Good

KFC Restaurant

"There's no accounting for taste," goes the old expression, but personally, the Kentucky Colonel's "finger licking good" fried chicken is hard to beat.  In my opinion, it's the best since my Aunt Kathryn's   iron skillet fried Sunday dinner special.

( Sunday dinner, of course, was at 12 noon, right after church.)

As modest as I am, truth dictates that I admit that I am somewhat of a celebrity at my local KFC restaurant.  It's all because I mentioned one time that I knew the white haired, goateed old man in the white suit, pictured on the wall of the restaurant.

Not well, BUT I once spent a couple of hours with him when

Colonel Sanders

he was a guest on the TV show I was hosting.  (I only bragg about all the celebrities I knew to people who don't realize that anyone who ever hosted a local TV or radio show probably interviewed  at least a 100 "stars" whose 
PR people regularly booked them on as many stations as possible.)

The Colonel seemed to me to be a very 
nice, modest man...who had a lot to be 

modest about.  His early life was one of 

ups and downs, mostly downs, until his love of cooking finally paid off.

Prior to that he had held a variety of jobs, selling insurance, working for a steamboat ferry company and eventually took a correspondence course that allowed him to earn a law degree. 

However, he ruined his legal career by getting into a fist fight with his client in the courtroom.

Later he opened a restaurant in Corbin Kentucky and found modest success for the first time in his life. 

 But at the time of his 65th birthday the restaurant had ceased being profitable and he had completely used up his savings. 

 He was  dead broke.

Sanders used the money from his first social security check to travel by car, often sleeping in it, calling on restaurants to try his special chicken recipe and invest in its success.  He estimated that he called on 1009 restaurants, often cooking samples for the restaurants, before he got his first "yes" response. 

And, the rest is history.

TRADER VIC

I could also impress the workers at the local "Trader Vics," except for the fact that there is not one anymore close to where I live.

In fact, there are only 4 left in the United States.  But in the 1960's the "Tiki" theme was popular and a self promoter  named Victor Jules Bergeron changed the name and decor of the restaurant he owned in San Francisco, from "Rinky Dinks" to "Trader Vics."  (Rinky Dink was borrowed from he WW1 song, "Rinky Dinky Parley Vous.")

Bergeron told me that until he came along, there was no such

thing as "Polynesian Food."  He said he just made that up. 

He also "invented" himself, falling right in to the persona of a South Pacific trader/pirate.

His wooden leg (lost in a shark attack, he said) fit right in with  his new image with which he was known to entertain customers by sticking an ice pick in it.  Often he would tell people, "Never get one of these...unless you really need it."

I guess that was pretty entertaining after the customers had consumed a couple of Trader Vics other "invention," the Mai Tai.

-Ed

STOP-ped

Remember how telegrams used to end sentences with the word "STOP," instead of a period?

The reason was because Western Union charged for punctuation, but not for words of only 4 letters.

I learned that small fact in an article I read about the 150 year old company sending its last telegram in 2006.

In its time Western Union played a huge part in this country's history.

It was an important part of my family as well. One of my father's first jobs was as a bicycle delivery
boy for Western Union. He later taught himself the Morse Code and worked as a telegrapher for the company.  My mother also worked at Western Union.  She retired from there after 40 years.

I often think of how depressing many of her days were...putting those telegrams together from the War Department during WW2 informing parents of the deaths of their soldier sons and daughters...and then sending them out to be delivered.

As far as I know, Western Union is still around, doing fairly well sending money orders.

But those "glory days" of bringing "earth shattering" news, both happy AND tragic, have STOP -ed.

Ed