Two weeks ago in this column, I ripped Eagle Communications, the parent company of KCOW Radio in Alliance, for the horrible technical issues that plagued the KCOW sports play by play announcers during their fall and winter sports broadcasts.
The issues began in August with football, volleyball and softball broadcasts and spilled over into winter basketball games.
I am very happy to share that the technical issues have been corrected and that the proper training has been received by the on-air talent.
KCOW staff reports that one of their techy gurus from North Platte spent the day in Alliance recently and worked the day correcting the problems.
That investment in time has paid dividends.
The KCOW broadcasts of the Alliance vs. Gordon-Rushville basketball games on January 16 and the Ogallala at Alliance games on January 19 offered pristine audio.
When I was growing up in eastern Nebraska in the 1970s, I thoroughly enjoyed talking long walks with my dog and listening to any live sporting event on the radio. Now, as an adult in the 21st Century, I cherish listening to fortunes and misfortunes of the Bulldogs, Cornhuskers and my Kansas City Chiefs on the radio (or my smartie pants phone) while working in my office or taking my dogs for a ride on miles of Box Butte County roads.
As a listener, all I request is a talented announcer and quality audio that resonates from my radio.
Eagles Communications has achieved that with the KCOW live sporting events.
Now, let us enjoy broadcasts with an increased number of Bulldog victories!
Speaking of KCOW, the station will celebrate its 75th anniversary next month. The station began gracing the airwaves on February 15, 1949. Six weeks earlier, one of the most phenomenal weather events struck Box Butte County and the entire region.
You know it as the Blizzard of ’49.
Countless stories have been shared about an ugly custody trial that took place involving Mother Nature and Old Man Winter.
A bitter Mother Nature was awarded the urbanites and a grouchy Old Man Winter retained everything rural.
We all know how challenging the past two weeks have been with record setting bitter cold temperatures and accompanying wind chills of the past two weeks.
Those 14 or so days and nights were a minor inconvenience compared to what our parents and grandparents endured 75 years ago.
When KCOW celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1999, I interviewed several area residents who shared vivid memories of that incredible storm and the challenges that followed.
The aftermath was labeled: “Operation Snowbound.”
Several interviews were conducted during a live broadcast at the Alliance Senior Center, while many others were recorded at the KCOW studio.
Unfortunately, many of those interviews were recorded on either reel-to-reel tapes or cassette tapes. KCOW’s technical upgrades conducted in 2013 resulted in the removal of those types of broadcast equipment.
Many of the tapes still exist, but there is simply no way to get them on air without the proper equipment.
Memories shared by Bob Watt and Max & Gretchen Garwood top the list of my favorite interviews.
Bob and Max are no longer with us, but Gretchen, now in her mid-90s, resides at Highland Park (formerly Crossroads) Assisted Living. I know Gretchen would love to reminisce with you if you paid her a visit.
KCOW was still in the technicians’ womb during the Blizzard of 1949, but the Alliance Times-Herald had birthed in 1888. Microfilmed archives of the newspaper’s coverage — as well as their bound volumes — of the 1949 blizzard are available for reading at the Knight Museum and Sandhills Center.
Another great resource is the internet. Google “Blizzard of 1949” and several web sites will appear offering incredible photos and stories.
A wonderful book on the blizzard was written in 1991 by Roy V. Allerman. It is still available for purchase from Amazon and other online bookstores.
It’s been said that everyone complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.
Not true.
Today’s media – whether radio, television, newspapers or the internet, offers reporting of predicted inclement weather, live coverage of storms and reporting of how weather has impacted our lives.
Before, during and after, something is done.
It’s called forecast, live, and archived.
The best stories are those of how neighbors assisted neighbors when the weather chips were down.
That’s Nebraska lore.
That’s Nebraska tradition.