Robert Lyman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>>Syracuse: I knew this was a great station, but I didn't realize it was so
>>unique. ...

And Bernard Chasan replied:

>Here I am in Boston, the Athens of America and the Hub of the Universe and
>nothong here comes close to what those upstate provincials get to listen
>too!!!  Where did we go wrong?

I must now make a confession.  I lived in the 'cuse for 30 years.  Hated
the place.  It is one of those towns where you can be just comfortable
enough to think it's okay--until you get out.  Boston, by the way, is
one of those places where ex'cusers seek haven.

Anyway, Syracuse has a tradition of good classical FM.  Most people here
know who Henry Fogel is--the manager of the Chicago Symphony.  Back in
Sixties, Henry was on the board of the Syracuse Symphony.  (I think that
was his position.  He had a lot of influence.) More than that, he was one
of the owners and main announcer of WONO, the classical station back then.
It was the classic shoe-string operation, starting in Henry's (??--or Steve
Jacobs') bedroom and moving into a real office, but it actually did pretty
well.  And Henry was a tireless promoter of the station and of classical
music in Syracuse.  Admittedly, it all seems to be an anomaly now, but
there it is.  He was also a big admirer of Mahler and Bruckner, not to
mention opera, and he never stopped pushing that either.  He'd write
record guides, all that stuff.

Henry was also the one given credit for "marathons"--all night broadcasts
to raise money for the station.  WCRB, when it was a real classical music
station, was the first to pick up the idea, and I've heard that it spread
from there.

I write this not as a friend of Henry's.  I never really knew him and
haven't seen him in over 30 years, but in my opinion, he, and the people
with him, are the answer to Bernard's question.  I left Syracuse a while
ago, but a lot of the people who worked at WONO stayed active in music
after the station was sold.  One of them, most of you know of:  Jim Svejda.
He worked at WONO for quite a while.  Another, who is a good friend,
Michael Weis (who subbed on air occasionally in the early days), runs an
American music program at the University of Windsor's (Canada) station.
And I should mention Steven Jacobs, who in many ways was a power behind
the throne, handling many of the business aspects of the stations.

The thing is, Henry was a "personality" something hard to find in
classical music in this capacity, and he was tireless.  Many people
try this, but it's usually on air and maybe in a few promotions.  To the
public, Henry was WONO, though as I said, he did not do it alone.  He
pushed hard for the symphony too, and it got a lot better than it had any
right to get.  And, as I said, he had plenty of dedicated help.  And so,
I guess, a tradition was set.  I'm not sure now, but I think some of the
people either at the present station now or in the recent past worked at
WONO.  Someone in the 'cuse will have to verify that, though.  I only go
back for infrequent visits.

This is how I remember it. It was a long time ago, and I invite commentary
if I left anything out or got something wrong.

Roger Hecht