John, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts

When I was a kid in the early 1960s Salty broadcast a cartoon show called Salty's Shack or something like that on Channel 12 in Providence. He was the host of the show and would introduce the cartoons: Popeye and the like. Channel 12's signal boomed into Massachusetts in those pre-cable days. He was a great announcer and personality. In fact, I have a picture of me and Salty at the now defunct Edaville Railroad Museum, taken around 1959 when I was six.

The thing I remember most about Salty's TV show was that it came on around 5pm every day when I would be starving. The show was sponsored by Hostess Cupcakes and Salty made a big deal out of opening the cupcakes, Twinkies, etcetera, in front of the camera and oohing and aahing about how good they were!

In the 1970s I was an announcer in Providence on All News 79 WEAN. Many of my fellow announcers fondly remembered Salty as being a great guy. His newsman was a big-voiced guy named Bud Thaves, who legend has it, continually was offerred news jobs at the Big 68 WRKO in Boston, but always turned them down! Not too many people turned down Bill Drake in those days.

Posted in rec.radio.broadcasting on Usenet, May 20, 1995. Used with permission.