This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of when Beaver County’s first radio station, WBVP, was heard over the airwaves for the the first time on May 25, 1948.  To mark the historical event, each week, another “70th Anniversary Moment” will be showcased on the airwaves and published on the station’s online feeds.​

In 1989, a recent California University Of PA graduate named Carl Anderson was brought aboard to host the afternoon show on  WWKS, or Kiss 106.7 F.M.   WWKS was a sister F.M. radio station to WBVP at that point in time and was operated out of the same building in Beaver Falls.  Anderson grew up in North Huntington Township out in Westmoreland County, PA and for a period of time after being hired on,  he drove the fifty plus mile commute on the Pennsylvania Turnpike daily to and from his job in Beaver Falls.  About a year later, the position of Program Director for WWKS opened up when Mark Razz accepted a position in Boston and moved on from WBVP and WWKS.  Anderson was appointed Program Director and also took the reigns of hosting the morning show. By this point in time,  Anderson had also put roots down in Beaver County and had moved to Chippewa.  Under Anderson’s leadership, the Beaver Falls F.M. radio station enjoyed some of its most successful years as far as popularity and familiarity among area listeners.  The station was constantly out and about appearing at events all over the Western Pennsylvania Area including the Three Rivers Regatta in Pittsburgh, Concerts at Star Lake Ampitheater and other prominent regional locations.  During his tenure as program director, WWKS morphed from a soft adult contemporary music format to a slightly harder “Adult Rock Hits” format.  Later on, another more aggressive change to a hard rock was made with Anderson running the show when the station switched to a cutting edge hard rock presentation and re-branded itself at “The Force” in 1993.

Two things combined in the mid nineties to send Carl Anderson’s career in a different direction.  WWKS, or The Force,  was gaining ground and becoming quite popular especially among younger demographics.  Also going on at that particular time, President Clinton had just signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which deregulated the broadcast industry and allowed the same person, or company to own multiple stations in the same market.  Those two things made acquiring WWKS  not only possible, but an easy decision for Secret Communications, who also owned and operated WDVE in nearby Pittsburgh.  Secret would now have another rock station with a younger audience to compliment its heritage classic rock format on WDVE.  The deal was made, Carl Anderson went to the Secret Communications’ Pittsburgh Offices with the other WWKS employees and began his rise in the radio world.  Lots of changes would happen fast and soon Anderson found himself in charge of launching a new station format on another station now owned by his new bosses, WJJJ, 104.7 F.M. in Pittsburgh as Program Director of the smooth jazz radio station.

Around 1997, Anderson was lured away from Pittsburgh to accepted a position with a cluster of radio stations in Richmond, VA.  This move was yet another step in Anderson’s rise up to the top of the ranks in the radio industry, which eventually saw him serve as a Network Vice President, and Market Manager.  The following recap of Anderson’s Career was recently published in the book, Behind The Microphone, The History Of Radio In Beaver County, PA : “His training in Beaver Falls paid off big time as he became Program Director at a new upstart radio station in Pittsburgh called Smooth Jazz 104.7 in 1996.  After a stops in Richmond , Chicago and Washington, D.C., Carl’s programming and management skills were noticed by ABC radio network executives and he eventually settled in as Executive Vice President of Programming and Affiliate Relations in Dallas, TX. After that, Carl became the Senior Vice President for Programming in the West Region For ABC.  Later on Carl became national News Talk and Brand Manager For Clear Channel before finally landing in Tuscon, AZ as Market President of a six station cluster owned by Clear Channel/iHeart Media in 2016. Carl now serves as Chief Operating Officer of Premiere Auto Group in Tuscon, AZ.”

“70th Anniversary Moments” is presented by  Abbey Carpet and Floor,  Albert’s Heating, Cooling and Plumbing,  Aliquippa Giant Eagle, The Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, Beaver Valley Auto Mall, Beaver Valley Sheet Metal, Castlebrook Development, The Community College Of Beaver County,  Farmers Building and Savings Bank, Freedom United Federal Credit Union, Hank’s Frozen Custard and Mexican food, The Health Huts, Kitchen City, Laughlin Insurance Agency,  Rochester Manor and Villa and Young’s Jewelry and Coins.

This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of when Beaver County’s first radio station, WBVP, was heard over the airwaves for the the first time on May 25, 1948.  To mark the historical event, each week, another “70th Anniversary Moment” will be showcased on the airwaves and published on the station’s online feeds.

Last week, we profiled George Allen, a WBVP original staff member from 1948 and also one of four station employees through the years who later went on to own their own radio stations.  In this edition, we take a look at another WBVP-WMBA protege who started out and learned the business at one of the Beaver County radio stations and later on would find himself signing payroll checks, Ted Ruscitti.  A native of Hopewell Township, Ruscitti became fascinated with vacuum tubes and transmitters in an era when many of his high high school classmates were more likely to be chasing girls and cruising the local hang outs.   Ruscitti was a whiz kid, and very accomplished around electronics while yet a teenager.  The fact is, he built and put his own pirate radio station on the air headquartered in his parents house while still a student at Hopewell.  Ruscitti’s station was self named “WINO”, and occasionally local residents will recall listening to Ruscitti’s broadcasts, which began after he got home from school in the afternoons during the late 1960’s.

In 1970, John Bride had just bought WMBA from Miner’s Broadcasting Service.  One of the things that was different then was the fact that, by law, radio stations had to have a a staff member on site with a first class radiotelephone operator license at all times.  While the rule went by the way side in the mid 1980’s, back then, it created an opportunity for Ted Ruscitti, who already had a first class license, even though he was barely out of high school.   Bride needed to find and hire someone with the first class designation to fulfill legal requirements, so that made Ruscitti an easy hire.  It turns out that Ruscitti’s possession of a first class license was far from the only asset that he brought to the table.  He hosted a very popular evening music request show on WMBA.  The following is an excerpt about Ruscitti’s  first duties as an announcer at WMBA  from the recently published book, “Behind The Microphone, The History Of Radio In Beaver County, PA”:

“In the early seventies, while working for (General Manager of WMBA, Roy) Angst and (Station Owner, John) Bride at WMBA, Ruscitti hosted an evening music request show on WMBA, from five to six. According to (WMBA staffer during the 1970’s), Bill Fontana, the show was amazingly popular as listeners would regularly call in and sometimes wait on hold for great lengths of time to get an chance to talk to Ruscitti.”

Ruscitti’s technical skills also saw him overseeing engineering duties at WMBA not too long after being hired.  So accomplished was Ruscitti with all aspects of radio, but in particular, his ability to fix and maintain just about any piece of broadcast equipment, that he was recruited and accepted a position at Pittsburgh rock station, WDVE, after only a short while at WMBA.  Ruscitti became Chief Engineer and later on would be named Operations Director at the popular F.M. music radio station.

In 1985, Ted Ruscitti received a call from a  broker that WBVP and its sister F.M. radio station at the time, WWKS or Kiss 107 as it was known then,  were for sale. The notion of owning two radio stations in his hometown area was too hard to resist, so after a quick plane trip to Providence, Rhode Island, and some dialogue  with the owner of WBVP and WWKS at that point in time, Hall Communications,  Ted Ruscitti and his wife, Marilee, formed M.T. Communications, Inc. and bought the two Beaver Falls based radio stations.

Ruscitti would own and operate WBVP and WWKS up through 1990 and made many significant advancements, including the return of live local radio from an automated system on the F.M. radio station, and the introduction of digital music played over the airwaves.  The fact is, WWKS, or Kiss 106.7 F.M., was the first station in the area, and perhaps the nation, to utilize newly available compact discs, or C.D.’s. as they are commonly known, to play the music in the studio, which was ultimately broadcast over the airwaves.

These days, Ted Rusciiti continues to share his knowledge and talents as he is a very highly sought after nationwide consultant in the radio industry.

“70th Anniversary Moments” is presented by  Abbey Carpet and Floor,  Albert’s Heating, Cooling and Plumbing,  Aliquippa Giant Eagle, The Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, Beaver Valley Auto Mall, Beaver Valley Sheet Metal, Castlebrook Development, The Community College Of Beaver County,  Farmers Building and Savings Bank, Freedom United Federal Credit Union, Hank’s Frozen Custard and Mexican food, The Health Huts, Kitchen City, Laughlin Insurance Agency,  Rochester Manor and Villa and Young’s Jewelry and Coins.

This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of when Beaver County’s first radio station, WBVP, was heard over the airwaves for the the first time on May 25, 1948.  To mark the historical event, each week, another “70th Anniversary Moment” will be showcased on the airwaves and published on the station’s online feeds.

Over the years, WBVP has been a starting place for many broadcasters who went on to have big impact in the world of radio.  Some of the people who worked at the Beaver Falls, PA radio station actually went on to won their own radio stations down the line.  Such was the case for George Allen.   Allen was  part of the original line up at WBVP in 1948 and went to to own KLGA in Algona, Iowa.  Allen also served as President for the Iowa Broadcasters Association in the mid seventies.   Joining Allen on the staff in 1948 were Morning Show Host  Arnold Felsher, Newsman and Program Director Jerry Goff, Show Host Gert Trobe, Show Host Chuck Wilson, Show Host Alan Boal and Show Host Don Kennedy, among other staff members.

George Allen and the other announcers of that legendary early line up at WBVP worked their craft in a studio and office set up on the third floor of a building located at 1216 7th Avenue in Beaver falls, PA.  The station reportedly had three studios, with the largest one, “Studio A”, reserved for live on air performances.  “Studio “B” was typically where the news reporters delivered their broadcasts, and “Studio C” was where the daily show hosts, like George Allen,  performed their duties. In the recently published book, Behind Microphone, The History Of Radio in Beaver County, PA,  The following excerpt can be found about George Allen:  “Following Arnold Felsher was the deep,  booming voice of George Allen who would settle in behind the microphone of Studio C.  Allen’s shift was from nine until noon. A few years later, he would move into the morning show slot and host a program entitled “Morning Valley Special” featuring a  the daily signature sign off song of “Sentimental Journey”, according to records kept by Ken Britten. George Allen later went on to own his own radio station in Iowa and reportedly was a  partner in two other radio stations.” 

“70th Anniversary Moments” is presented by  Abbey Carpet and Floor,  Albert’s Heating, Cooling and Plumbing,  Aliquippa Giant Eagle, The Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, Beaver Valley Auto Mall, Beaver Valley Sheet Metal, Castlebrook Development, The Community College Of Beaver County,  Farmers Building and Savings Bank, Freedom United Federal Credit Union, Hank’s Frozen Custard and Mexican food, The Health Huts, Kitchen City, Laughlin Insurance Agency,  Rochester Manor and Villa and Young’s Jewelry and Coins.

This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of when Beaver County’s first radio station, WBVP, was heard over the airwaves for the the first time on May 25, 1948.  To mark the historical event, each week, another “70th Anniversary Moment” will be showcased on the airwaves and published on the station’s online feeds.​

They say that in order for a talk show host to be successful, he or she has to be very well read, and very knowledgeable about issues that affect the listening audience, but most of all, the polished talk show host has to have an opinion, and be willing to defend it live on the airwaves with listeners.  Steve Kalb was such a host in the mid to late 1990’s on WBVP.   Kalb was like a fish out of water.  As a man of Jewish descent originally from the Bronx section of New York City, Kalb was drawn to Western Pennsylvania by young lady that he was courting at the time.  Initially, Kalb would fly in on the weekends to spend time with his lady friend, and would pick up some part time hours while here during the day at a Pittsburgh radio station and then, of course, go out to dinner and spend dome time with his girlfriend in the evening before jetting back home after the weekend.

Eventually, Kalb decided that the western Pennsylvania area was more attractive for many reasons, and moved out here full time in 1996.  While that meant he could spend more time with his female friend, it also meant he had to look for meaningful full time employment.  Dimitri Vassilaros was another Pittsburgh resident who had also worked at WTAE A.M., who had then found full time work out in Beaver County as a talk show host on WBVP.  Vassilaros recommended that Kalb give the local class C A.M. radio station headquartered in Beaver Falls a try.  At the time, the station was looking to hire a replacement for popular show host Steve Simon, also known as Steve Hook in his non-radio life, who had recently moved on to other things.  Though small in stature, Kalb made a massive impression with his quick wit, aggressive personality and smooth sounding voice.  He was an easy hiring decision for WBVP Program Director and morning show host in those years, John Nuzzo.  Kalb settled in to the afternoon time slot and Dimitri Vassilaros was moved to the morning talk show and combined with Nuzzo’s morning show, made up one for one of the more robust, talented line ups ever put together on WBVP.

Steve Kalb was interviewed for the recently published book, Behind The Microphone, The History Of Radio In Beaver County, PA, where the following expert can be found: “As a liberally minded person of Jewish heritage and native of the New York City area , Steve Kalb kept the WBVP audience very entertained and almost always gave them a fresh and new perspective on national or local  issues, Kalb offered this analysis of his show in an April 2018 interview: “I would talk to anybody about anything. I mean my rule has always been,  I don’t care if you’re liberal or conservative, so long as you can think and communicate what you think to the rest of us, I’m happy to have you on the program.” 

These days, Steve Kalb lives in New Haven Connecticut and serves as an instructor in Residence at The University of Connecticut, where, among other courses, he teaches future broadcasters and journalists about the craft that once made him a celebrity on the airwaves of WBVP.

“70th Anniversary Moments” is presented by  Abbey Carpet and Floor,  Albert’s Heating, Cooling and Plumbing,  Aliquippa Giant Eagle, The Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, Beaver Valley Auto Mall, Beaver Valley Sheet Metal, Castlebrook Development, The Community College Of Beaver County,  Farmers Building and Savings Bank, Freedom United Federal Credit Union, Hank’s Frozen Custard and Mexican food, The Health Huts, Kitchen City, Laughlin Insurance Agency,  Rochester Manor and Villa and Young’s Jewelry and Coins.

The Beaver County Genealogy & History Center

is hosting the free lecture:

“Edward Dempster Merrick & The Merrick

Art Gallery, New Brighton,”

on Tuesday, June 26 at  7pm.

The Center is located at 250 East End Avenue in Beaver.

The lecture is presented by director of TheMerrick,

Cynthia Kundar,

This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of when Beaver County’s first radio station, WBVP, was heard over the airwaves for the the first time on May 25, 1948.  To mark the historical event, each week, another “70th Anniversary Moment” will be showcased on the airwaves and published on the station’s online feeds.

One of the most influential people in the radio industry to come through the hallways of WBVP during the first 70 years of operation is Bill Kelly.  After growing up in the Cleveland Area, Kelly got his first taste of western Pennsylvania when he enrolled at Robert Morris College in Moon Township.  He must have liked the area, because he stayed close to his alma mater right about the same time as commencement when he was hired on at WBVP in 1971.  At the time, WBVP was located in the basement of a bank building located at the corner of 7th Avenue and 14th Street in Beaver Falls.  Walt Broadhurst was the General Manager of the radio station at the time.  Initially, Kelly was hired by Broadhurst to help set up remote broadcasts, do some technical work and help out in the news department.  Kelly eventually found his way behind the microphone and began to host the popular “Teleforum” talk show, a duty that he would continue throughout the remainder of his time at WBVP, up until 1977.

By all Accounts, Bill Kelly was a very popular talk show host.  Kelly’s skills with entertaining Beaver County listeners were talked about in the recently published book, “Behind The Microphone – The History Of Radio In Beaver County”.

“Carleen McKee these days owns Co-Hill Fashions, but in 1975, was fresh out of college school teacher with the Western Beaver School District who lived in her native Beaver Falls.  Like many many people, listening to WBVP was part of the daily routine. In March of 2018, McKee recalled being a winner in a weekly contest aired on WBVP.  “It was a contest that WBVP ran where you would call in and answer a question. and be the tenth caller. . . . and I called in. I kept calling, and I kept getting the the busy signal and finally I got through and Bill Kelly answered.   He said you’re the tenth caller, and I won a hundred dollars . . . I just know that particular Day I was listening and I liked Bill Kelly.”.  According to McKee, Kelly also did another on air gimmick that was funny and got listeners involved with the program.  Kelly reportedly would ask listeners to call in and give a list of things. Kelly then inserted the words that the listener provided into a pre prepared short two or three sentence story, that was, of course, unbeknownst to the caller beforehand, at the appropriate times and read back the passage complete with list of people and things that the listener gave to Kelly on the air. “He would ask you to name different  things. Name a sport. . . . Name a relative . . .  Name an animal at the zoo . . . and then he would read the story and he would use your answers.  Like ‘I saw the Zebra at church. My uncle Jerry was riding it’. It was always comical.”      

 By the end of his tenure in Beaver Falls, Bill Kelly  was an on air show host and serving as Operations Director.  Kelly moved on to WKBN radio in Youngstown in 1977  and further developed the broadcasting skills that had been imparted to him by the Team at WBVP.  In 1981, Kelly was promoted to Vice President at WKBN.  In 1996, things changed radically  in the radio industry when then President Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications act of 1996, which deregulated many parts of the broadcast industry, including removing the restrictions on how many radio stations a company could own and operate.  That meant new bosses for Kelly in Youngstown when big corporations came to town and bought the Youngstown radio radio station off of the Williams famil .  First Jacor, and then Clear Channel, which is now known as iHeart media.  It wasn’t long before the executives in the home office noticed Kelly’s talents, as he was named Market Manager for Clear Channel in Youngstown in 1997.  Entually Kelly would work his way up to Vice President at Clear Channel/iHeart Media, until leaving to take on a similar position with cross town rival, Cumulus Broadcasting in Youngstown, OH, where he continues to work in the radio industry today. In his nearly five decade career, Kelly has gone on to manage and develop hundreds of employees, running clusters of radio stations in big markets.

“70th Anniversary Moments” is presented by  Abbey Carpet and Floor,  Albert’s Heating, Cooling and Plumbing,  Aliquippa Giant Eagle, The Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, Beaver Valley Auto Mall, Beaver Valley Sheet Metal, Castlebrook Development, The Community College Of Beaver County,  Farmers Building and Savings Bank, Freedom United Federal Credit Union, Hank’s Frozen Custard and Mexican food, The Health Huts, Kitchen City, Laughlin Insurance Agency,  Rochester Manor and Villa and Young’s Jewelry and Coins.