Rick Minerd - Life Is A Jukebox

From time to time I've written about some of the brightest guys in radio and any regular reader of this journal can understand that I admired several of them, and learned something from all of them.

When I went to work for WRFD I was hired by Dave Winters. A laid back guy who never interfered with what was going on in the studios.

I remember showing up about 5:00 Am on a Saturday so he could train me on the equipment and show me how to take transmitter readings and all of the new adventures of learning  policies and procedures, and Dave had the studio monitor on mute and had WCOL-FM cranked up. How he could listen to one station while operating another was amazing.

Stereo Rock 92 as it was known played hard rock music. We were easy listening. Dave told me my biggest challenge was to stay awake. His advise was to keep 'COL-FM  on to help do that.

I only saw him 2 or 3 times during my stint with the station. and I never received a negative memo or heard anyone say anything negative about him. He was invisible.

This helped make working there an absolute panacea.

WRFD was located on a picturesque piece of land at Rote 23 and Powell Road, back before they turned all of Delaware County into a zoo. That corner was actually rural and peaceful. Today it's more like Polaris Parkway on steroids.

We had a lake outside of our studio window to gaze at as we played and listened to smooth music, and for the most part, any song we wanted. Dave didn't care. Our play list was almost whatever we wanted it to be. Provided our selections came from what ever records were in the studio. Records, round things with grooves made out of vinyl.

There was something serene about WRFD.  The sales staff was laid back, the engineers were forgiving,  our news staff was friendly and the jocks all liked each other. I didn't know it then but that was a once in a lifetime combination.

And the fact that Spook Beckman was there only added to the good Karma.

Spook was like our grandfather. All of us grew up watching him on television and hearing him on the radio. I was fortunate to work with him twice. As I mentioned several pages ago we hooked up again at WCOL in the early '80s.

After Winters left and went out into the world he was replaced by Jim Keyes. And that too was a good thing. Jim was another guy who liked bending traditional radio rules and allowed us to be creative.

If WRFD was considered the the Rural Farm Delivery station for Columbus radio, that was okay. Because we were relaxed. Without the stress that came with the more powerful ratings leaders.

For me working there was an opportunity to stop and smell the radio roses.  

Rick

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