In my pre-adult life the best part was college. While high school was good and helped me find a place, I was home at Drake .
I chose Drake University for its journalism program and because when the financial aid package was considered it cost the same as University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh. I worked at WCLO/WJVL in Janesville as a junior and senior in high school and set my sights on working at a radio station in Des Moines before freshman year.
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| Goodwin-Kirk Residence Hall Drake University, Des Moines 11/1/2019 dwm photo ------------------------------ |
After several interviews I was hired by KDMI-FM. It was a family-owned Christian station that played a lot of recorded programs with a few hours of music mornings, afternoons and weekends.
Sunday nights we had a live program come at 10 hosted by a local pastor, appropriately named Reverend Humble. I am not joking. He read scripture, introduced peaceful music, finished his hour each week and went home.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Saturday afternoons we played hard and punk Christian rock music (yes, that's a thing). A couple times station employees received tickets for local concerts - I was in the seventh row for Amy Grant when the opening act was Michael W. Smith. Another time I took a date to see the group Second Chapter of Acts.
The most enduring KDMI memory was a station work-day held the week before we hosted a listener open house. One of my jobs was to clean the garbage cans outside the apartment building next door. It seemed like the oddest of jobs to me, but since our owner was a Marine he believed in cleaning the galvanized steel so they gleamed.
I stayed up late and got up early. An extended group of friends, numbering more than 20 at times, hung out in the commons of Goodwin-Kirk Residence Hall freshman year. My roommate Scott and Yasin were my closest friends. Scott and I stayed up past 1 most nights studying and sharing a pizza from either Paul Revere's or the up-start Domino's. One thing I did as Yasin's friend was help him negotiate some American customs, but I fell short when I failed to tell him the pepperoni on the pizza came from pigs.
Before going to 8 o'clock class, six of us walked to Olmstead for breakfast, sometimes singing, "Won't you be my Neighbor?"
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| Olmstead Center was the student union at Drake University. 11/1/2019 dwm photo |
At one point freshman year, either for Homecoming or connected to the Relays, the resident hall had a "Dating Game." I was one of three panelists questioned by a freshman woman and she picked me for her date. That changed not long after she "won," but I can't say I was disappointed either.
Neither Scott or I were into the Greek scene, considering ourselves independent. That never changed, even after I spent the summer living in the Theta Chi House between freshman and sophomore year. That summer I worked full-time for the Registrar, then headed to the radio station for my shift.
On the way home I stopped at Goodrich's Ice Cream for supper where I ordered a large malt with two raw eggs mixed in. The time I told my mom about my diet, she said I was OK since I was getting protein.
I wasn't the only student working in the Registrar's Office and became friends with Melissa (that's all, just friends). KDMI had free tickets to Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun in Kansas City and she came along. It was a platonic weekend as we braved the roller coasters by holding hands then were sunburned in the waterpark so bad I had to drive barefoot.
Sophomore year Scott and I lived in Crawford Hall. It was smaller than Goodwin-Kirk and less chaotic. The group of friends changed that year a little and became involved in more campus activities including taking a small part in Crawford's skit in that year's Bulldog Tales.
Second semester I worked for KWWL. I was "legal" by this time (19 in Iowa), and bought a case of Blatz beer to enjoy after a long day covering politics at the Iowa Capitol. It was an interesting way to go to school, with just one class Monday night and a 40-hour workweek while living in the dorm. I made the missed credits over summer.
It was during the KWWL internship I met Rhonda. We started dating spring semester. I made several road trips to Center Point over the summer and visited Des Moines to stay for a week.
Junior year our college chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists put on "Bulldog Tales." I was in the Society and somehow served as producer of the show featuring students and their organizations. My radio contacts helped me land two disc jockeys to emcee. It was a big job, and I loved it.
Academically, junior year was big as I solidified a triple major thanks to an overlap of required courses for Radio-TV Production, Broadcast News, and Political Science.
At the end of junior year, I moved into my own place, a studio apartment in the building next to KDMI. I wasn't working there anymore, but the apartment was a good fit and a good price for the next six months.
During junior year I worked a couple non-media jobs. One was as a cashier at Tate's grocery store. One evening I sold a six-pack of beer to two guys. As they headed to the door I realized I didn't card them and had visions of police officers coming in to cuff me. It didn't happen, but my heart was beating. A worse was the day falling victim to a quick-change artist.
It was a busy Saturday. I stood behind the register on 8 carpet rectangles wearing the Tate uniform, white dress shirt and tie. There was a long line at my register and a guy handed me a bill asking for change as he bought a pack of gum. I gave him the change. He said he gave me a $20 and I owed him $10. I stared at the drawer, not sure what he gave me. Since the customer is always right, I gave him a 10.
The owner was in the office as a I counted down the drawer and was $10 short. He told me what happened and warned that if it happened again, I wouldn't work there anymore.
A few months I was hired for another job as a "night auditor" at the Holiday Inn on East 14th Street. On day two WHO radio called to offer me a full-time job, so I apologized to the manager, resigned and worked out the week. Those last few days I delivered room service and drove the courtesy van. That ended badly when they asked me to wash it. At the car wash I forgot how tall the van was pushing back a portion of the roof where it didn't fit.
WHO had me run the board for the Larry King show overnight and produce the Morning Farm report. Most nights it was just me and the guy working in the newsroom overnight monitoring the police scanner in case something happened. I lived for my brief moments at the top and bottom of the hour to read the forecast and give a time check. After work I went home to shower, dress, and go to class. The last class was done by 1 when I went to bed.
I couldn't do those hours today - I don't know how I did it then.
WHO kept me on following graduation. When KJJC-FM in Osceola offered me a job as news director in early January 1985, I accepted. I started five days before our wedding day.
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