radiofan wrote:Not many old radio station buildings become a Blockbuster store then a Salvation Army Thrift Store ..
That's what has become of the old FUN House at 4th and Cypress in Vancouver ..
Like Neumann, I have very vivid memories of my 5 years of working in that building, the fantastic talent, the colourful personalities, the laughs, surviving the excesses, and the accomplishments in the marketplace as we transitioned from being CKVN to "14 C-FUN."
When I decided to add to this thread, there are three instances which come to mind, all involve waiting at the front door of the station.
The first was when Chuck McCoy let me leave the organization to chase my dream of becoming a Commercial Pilot. The wonderful staff had given me a great going-away party, I was lets say "tipsy," and was standing at the front door waiting for a cab to take me to the airport to fly away to the city where Pave and I first met 6 or 7 years previously. It was raining, and as I stood there, I was full of emotion, but above all was the question "Am I doing the right thing?" The cab came, I got in, watched 1900 West 4th, until I couldn't see it any more, as if I were leaving the most intense love of my life. Then I was off to another phase living.
About 18 months later, I was back at C-FUN with my licence, and various ratings including an Instructor rating and roughly 700 hours flying time. I'd been very busy. Chuck had been good to his promise to take me back as soon as I was able to manage it, and I had worked out a schedule where I was going to work at C-FUN in the morning til just after lunch, then go to Vancouver International and work as a Flight Instructor until sunset, augmented by teaching Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot Groundschool in the classroom three times a week in the evenings. Often, I'd be flying on the weekends too. It was a pretty gruelling schedule to be working 2 full-time jobs .... but both were super-exciting, and I was young and healthy. That was a time of my life where I had the world by the tail. Life was not just good, it was superb.
The next story about the front door of that building is very similar to the first. As my flying schedule became more physically gruelling, I became fatigued and whipped by the 2 full-time jobs schedule. Even the positive reinforcement of working with people like Neumann, Hagopian, Brother Benson, Tom Lucas, Darryl B, John Rhode, etc wasn't enough to compenate for 18 months of 18 hour days. I had been offerred a job in Victoria, flying on floats in the harbour to harbour scheduled service on a four day on, four day off schedule. I was "to the bone" tired, and that four days off each week seemed highly attractive.
So after much discussion with my trusted friends and the advice of Chuck McCoy who once again told me I could come back and he'd be delighted to have me return, I gave my official notice, managed to convince the staff to throw another going-away party for me, and after it was over, had called a cab. That was another rainy afternoon. Its funny how some memories can be so vivid .... as I stood there in the doorway watching for the taxi, I clearly recalled the last time I'd done the same thing, and concluded I'd finally reached an answer to my question in time number one .... "Did I do the right thing by leaving for my Commercial Pilot Licence?" ....answer ... "Yes, I had." The cab arrived, I ran out to minimize the number of seconds in the rain, and hopped into the hack to take me to my full-time work as a pilot. Little was I to know at the time, there was a very good reason for four days off .... in that crummy west coast weather, pilots needed the break to avoid going off the deep end. Frankly, it was highly dangerous, and I'm fortunate to have survived that job.
In Brentwood Bay, I split a house with a radio friend .... John Gryde, who was working at CKDA, while hoping something would open up in Vancouver. So after I got rested up, PD Bob Morris offerred me part-time at CKDA. I took it because I can't resist a control room with a microphone. I also couldn't resist the knock-out gorgeous blonde copywriter Charmaine Cooper, and we became "an item." When we moved back to Vancouver, she would work at CFUN as Creative Director. So once again, I was often seen wandering the halls of 1900 West 4th and in close touch with all of "the folks." Then came the job offer to work in the Yukon for a few months of summer contract flying ... I took it. That short term became almost 3 years. Char joined me, taking a job at CKRW in news to be with me. Of course, I couldn't stay away from being on-air any more than a chronic alcoholic can resist the offer of a free beer. I did Saturday night 6 to midnight, and had a ball doing and playing anything I pleased. It was a throwback to my early days of radio with total freedom to drag in a stack of records and put together a radio show.
Jump into the time machine and now skip to roughly 1980 something. By now, after quite a few years of mastering diverse areas of aviation, including being General Manager of a small 15 airplane airline, I was working for the Federal Govt as a Dept of Transport Civil Aviation Inspector with a specialty in multi-engine instrument flying, and I was one of the eight to ten pilots in the working group that set pilot performance standards for the country. I was in Vancouver for a conference, and of course made contact with the staff at CFUN because I just can't stay away from radio and radio people. I'm one of the terminally afflicted.
I was invited to the station to "hang out" .... so I spent the entire day wandering the halls, talking to people .... I specifically recall spending quite a bit of time that day with Neumann, sitting in during his shift. That afternoon I was offerred the opportunity to come back to CFUN once again ... on a part-time basis. If I could transfer to the Vancouver office of Transport Canada, I could come back and do anything I wanted to whatever depth of involvement I wanted. I was highly flattered, and on top of the world to hear that I was still welcomed into the CHUM organization whenever I wanted to return. It was like dangling a jam buster in front of a hungry man. I wanted it, .... really, really badly. But another voice in my head said, "No, that's another time and place."
After a great afternoon with buddies, in a building I knew every nook and cranny, it came time to leave. I called a cab, stood at the door, and strangely enough, it was raining again. Then it was a moment of strong and vivid recollection. I thought of the first time I'd left, and it had been the right decision, the second time I'd left, and it too was the correct decision. Now, as I stood there in a nice suit, conservative-looking gray overcoat, with a stable well paying job of considerable professional importance, I decided it was the right decision to decline the offer to return. The cab came, I hopped in, and this time didn't look back.
There would be another phase to my radio ventures though, a big one. I'll save that for another time.
I sure miss it though..... there is still a lot of life left, and who knows what siren call will entice me into the deep?
All the best to my friends and colleauges at "14 C-FUN." I remember you fondly.
Now, I'm known as just "Anotherwpgguy"