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Good
Neighbor Memories
If
you have pictures or memories of earlier WGNS shows,
CLICK HERE and share them with other Good Neighbors.
At
10:00pm on December 31, 1946 a strong "local signal"
silenced the chatter of distant radio stations.
Murfreesboro listeners rang in the New Year with their
first radio station...WGNS! The
call letters still mean Good Neighbor Station.
Sewart Air Force Base in Smyrna attracted top bands
like Ray Anthony, Billy May, the Dorsey Brothers and
more. WGNS broadcast these bands "live" from the Smyrna
military complex. John Hood (below: upper left with
hands in the air holding a script) emceed the "live"
broadcasts over WGNS and the more than 500 other
stations along the Liberty Radio Network. The
Murfreesboro native also conducted "man on the street"
interviews, coverage of the day that General Douglas
MacArthur visited our community and other major
occasions. By the way, the former newscaster is now
State Representative John Hood. He still loves radio,
and is a featured guest on many local talk shows.
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an e-mail
This is how the WGNS studio looked in November, 1947.
It was on the mezzanine of Elrod's French Shop on the
East Side of the Murfreesboro Square. The announcer at
the control board was Bob Holland. He worked at WGNS
while attending David Lipscomb College in Nashville.
The gentleman in the background was a visitor. Do you
know who he is? Let us know.
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an e-mail
Do you
remember riding your bicycle to the Princess theatre
(corner of College and North Maple, now Cavalry Bank)?
You enjoyed the movie for a quarter. The Sugar Baby
that lasted the entire movie cost only 5-cents.
Do you remember Mr. Blue who took-up the tickets?
This is the modernized Princess Theatre of
the early 50s (above). Prior to the renovation, the
old movie house was decorated with brightly
colored orange, green and white tiles on the front
(below). The renovation was brought about as a result
of a fire that began in the projection room.
If
you have pictures or memories of earlier WGNS shows,
CLICK HERE and share them with other Good Neighbors.
In the late 40's motorists were concerned about "gas
mileage". The lettering on the door of the car says
"guess my gas mileage and get a free ticket to the
Princess"! It was about this time that the "Good
Neighbor Station" began broadcasting.
I thought you would get a kick
from seeing this same location about a decade earlier.
This is the corner of West College and North Maple
Street in the early 1930s. The Princess Theatre is
seen on one corner, and across the street was the old
Batey's Service Station. Remember that futuristic
looking wrecker the Batey's used?
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an e-mail
WGNS first broadcast from a small two-story structure
that was about 400-feet away from where our tower is
located (near South Church Street and Broad, in the
Murfree Spring wetlands area). The studio was
there from 1946-1949. It then moved to the
mezzanine of the Elrod French Shoppe on the eastside of
the Murfreesboro square. The Cecil Elrod family
built WGNS and owned the station until 1960. In
1960 the current two-story structure at 306 South Church
Street was constructed and designed to be a radio
station. The studio has been redesigned over the
years to remain up to date with technology. (below
photo, L-R) Cecil Elrod, Jr. talks with WGNS' first
General Manager Bill Pepper from the studios on the
mezzanine of Elrod's French Shoppe. By the way,
that original building became a storage building in the
1960s when a small block building was constructed
immediately below the tower to house the transmitter.
Unfortunately, the original two-story structure burned
to the ground in the mid 70s.
Hear WGNS at FM 100.5
l FM 101.9
l AM 1450
l TV-11
(above photo) Remote broadcasts are still a vital part of WGNS
service to our community. A bright yellow SUV, VW bug
and Corvette are decorated with flames and Talk Radio
lettering, take listeners instantly to local points of
interest. Whether it's Dairy Days, Uncle Dave Macon
Days, the Christmas Parade, high school ballgames or
on-the-scene of local news--WGNS takes you there
"live". Pictured above: Jerry "Pee Wee" Brown holding
microphone. Jerry was a familiar Good Neighbor for
38-years. Jerry was an on-air legend. He is best
remembered as doing Swap'n Shop along with the "Boots,
Boots, Boots" commercial. Neil Lancaster (right side)
was a sales legend at WGNS. He passed away a few years
ago, but people still talk about his helping ways.
 Jerry
Brown (right on photo), who is now 80 (January, 2007),
reminisces with Bart about his 38+ year on the Good
Neighbor Station. Jerry is also picture
40-years earlier in the photo ABOVE. He is in the
center holding the microphone. Jerry was one of
the first people on WGNS. In fact, he sang with a local
musical group the night the radio station went
on-the-air on December 31, 1946. In the years that
followed, Jerry became the most remembered voice on the
station. He also did advertising sales over that time
with the station. Jerry created the most memorable
commercial on the station. Listeners still recall
"Boots, Boots, Boots" that told about sales at the Hub
Store. This general merchandise retailer was on the
west side of the public square.
If
you have pictures or memories of earlier WGNS shows,
CLICK HERE and share them with other Good Neighbors.
(above photo) Paul
Howell was the Chief Engineer and an announcer at WGNS
during the 50's. He had a very popular afternoon
country music show on the Good Neighbor Station. In
fact, he was named the "Disk Jockey of the Month" by
the Grand Ole Opry. Paul worked with late Cecil Elrod,
Ray Duffey, Hal Christiansen and Carl Tipton. He was
also at WGNS when Jerry (Pee Wee) Brown and John Hood,
now a State Representative, were on-the-air.
 The
two-story building with the arched roofline was Elrod's
French Shoppe. WGNS was located in the mezzanine
of this building in the 1950s. There were no
windows at the radio station. One of our current
community leaders remembers their teenage years of
putting water all over them and visiting the DJ at WGNS.
They told him that the hot sunny summer day had suddenly
black storm clouds covered the area with a torrential
storm. The DJ shared the story of the sudden
change in weather with listeners. The phone
started ringing with news that it was very sunny
outside. This photo shows part of the northeast
side of the square. The French Shoppe was razed
and the Guidance Center is located there today.
The F. W. Woolworth dime store to the right is now the
home of Bluesboro. Notice the parking meters?
(Below photo)
Murfreesboro businesses would join together with Greater
Value Days promotions. In addition to savings, the
celebration included many special activities. One
of those was a small parade in the downtown business
area. This 1948 parade shows WGNS' entry that was
on a small trailer. Several bales of hay with some
Good Neighbor musicians playing favorites heard on the
city's first radio station.
(L-R above photo
ID) Karen Elrod, well-known local musician Carl Tipton
and long-time WGNS announcer Jerry Brown (often called
Pee Wee, and remembered for his Hub's commercial "Boots,
Boots, Boots"), Eugene Leonard, Floyd Leonard (on
bass), Susan Elrod, and WGNS advertising legend Neil
Lancaster.
(Below photo L-R)
John Hood was a popular WGNS announcer. In this
1950s memory Hood interviews Gary Maddox.
Did you realize
the Murfreesboro had city bus service from 1945 to 1953. Nelson Smotherman came across this bus
schedule and picture. There were four buses,
however in this photo one was out making a run.
These three were at the transfer station (next to A. L.
Smith Drugstore, see sign on wall). The
Murfreesboro Coach Lines was owned by E. L. Baskin.
Its drivers were F. R. Goodwin, Jesse Harrell and Ramon
Harrell
The route
changing point was the A. L. Smith Drugstore
on the corner of E. Main Street and the Eastside of the
Historic Murfreesboro square. Oh yes, it was the
Smith
family who owned and operated these early city buses.
In addition to the A. L. Smith
Drugstore sign, you can also see where Andrews Cafe was,
A.N. Miller Insurance; we can't make out what was on the
next sign. It had the Coca Cola logo and above
that it looks like W. C. something? Do you know?
Look to the top of the utility pole on right side of
photo...that's the top of the James K. Polk Hotel you
see in the background. E-mail comments to
MEMORIES@wgnsradio.com
The 1913
tornado devastated many areas of Murfreesboro. This
photograph shows the East side of the town square. Even
back then business diversity must have been important.
Notice the combination furniture store and undertaker.
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an e-mail
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