A Love Letter To Lansing Radio
I might have been 11 years old when my dad told me he had purchased a Heathkit Radio Alarm Clock. A Heathkit by the way IS NOT a radio alarm clock made from the delicious pairing of chocolate and toffee. No. A Heathkit is a bag full of all the components and materials one may need to ASSEMBLE it…themselves.
A Heathkit is a father and 11-year-old spending several hours together with a hot soldering iron; therefore, my dad spent most of his time saying “Not that, not that, NOT THAT!”
After a week or so, my dad and I had done it. We’d put together this radio alarm clock and no one suffered any significant injuries. When we turned the dial for the first time and he told me to pick a station, I tuned into WFMK. Honestly, at that age, I would have tuned in to another station, but I wanted my dad to think I had more sophisticated tastes.
Growing up in Brooklyn, MI we listened to the Lansing stations and watched Lansing television. Whether it was WFMK, WVIC, WMMQ, WITL, WJXQ, WJIM The Bear, The Cat or The Edge.
And the hosts! Mark Bayshore, Rich Michaels, Jazz McKay, Deb Hart, Bob Olson, Tim Barron, Banana Don and Stephanie McCoy, Chris Tyler, John Robinson and of course Danny and Monica.
I remember mornings when formats were flipped, morning show hosts left, came back, or moved up or down the dial.
99.1 WFMK was the station we listened to for school closings. WFMK was what my dad would tune into when there was a tornado warning so he could tell us to go in the basement while he stood in the front yard watching for the funnel cloud (as most Mid-Michigan dads do).
Fast forward a couple of decades and I've been able to make a living doing what I love. In total, I've spent 15 years working in radio. The last 9 years were spent doing mornings for Jackson Radio Works and McKibbin Media Group, where I was lucky enough to work with some incredibly talented people. Then the opportunity to be a part of WFMK came.
For over 30 years, WFMK had only two-morning shows: Mark Bayshore and Danny & Monica (technically I know that’s 3 people but 2 shows). Danny Stewart retired as the #1 Morning Show on the #1 station in the market. He went out on a high note. He was a part of your mornings for over 20 years. He was Lansing.
I say all this so that you know it’s not hyperbole for me to say that becoming the host of The Morning Show on 99.1 WFMK is like being told Johnny is handing the Tonight Show over to me.
From one fan of 99.1 WFMK to another: I appreciate you welcoming me into your car, your earbuds, your office speaker, your phone...wherever you're listening. Thank you.
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