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 1986, big things were happening at WBVP, and for sister F.M. radio station, WWKS, or KISS 106.7 F.M.  The stations had recently been purchased by Hopewell residents, at the time, Ted and Marilee Ruscitti.  Ted Ruscitti was focused on getting the most out of the 47,000 watt F.M. radio station that he had just acquired, and that meant some radical changes.  The first decision was to do away with the generic, automated soft rock and liven the delivery up a bit.  Then next choice ended up being a no brainer as well, hiring a morning show announcer that would attract lots of listeners.  The search for the new show host didn’t have to go far.  Mark Razz was just a few miles up the road, working at WKST in New castle, and he was a perfect fit.  He was, and still is, a bright, quick witted host with a keen sense of the community and sports world.

Mark Razz, aka Mark Radziewicz,  grew up in Bellville, New Jersey, not far from the bright lights of New York City. It was his college years at nearby Slippery Rock University that brought him out to Western Pennsylvania, and kept him in Beaver County after graduation until 1991.  Razz became a very popular personality on WWKS, KISS 106.7 FM by offering a daily line up of creative skits and dialogue with trusty sidekicks from across the hallway  of the Beaver Falls studios, at the A.M. counterpart of the operation, WBVP.  Often times Steve Granato and Tom O’Neill would join Razz on the show and help out with popular bits like “The Morning Calendar”, “The Dreaded Morning Oldie”,  “Sleezy Tabloid News”, and the “Lou Pappan Happy Birthday Greeting.”

Razz was also a prominent fixture on the other side of the dial, as he did sports play by play on 1230 WBVP.  One of his more famous broadcasts was the first ever football state championship game featuring a  Beaver County team in 1988, when he joined Bob Barrickman in the booth at Hershey Stadium for the Aliquippa-Berwick  class AAA state title game that year.  While it would end in a Quips loss, the game produced a few neat highlights, including the following snippet of Mark Razz calling a Jake Kelchner touchdown pass when Kelchner, who would later on star at West Virginia, played for Berwick High.

After leaving WBVP and WWKS, Razz headed to WAAF in Boston, and then to K-Rock in New York City where he worked with Howard Stern, and even did a stint on satellite radio before settling in as his current roll of Music Director at WXTU in Philadelphia.

“70th Anniversary Moments” is presented by  Albert’s Heating, Cooling and Plumbing, The Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, Beaver Valley Sheet metal, Castlebrook Development, Freedom United Federal Credit Union, Hank’s Frozen Custard and Mexican Food,  Laughlin Insurance Agency and Rochester Manor and Villa.