July 2003
Thanks to all of you, I've
added a whole bunch of new goodies. A special tip of the FEN cap to all of our
contributors!
Ramble On -- Here's the latest musings from your
webmaster. You can still read my "old" musings here.
560 Strong! -- The FEN Roll Call has been updated. More
than 70 new entries have been added and there are more coming every day. If we
missed you, or if you're a newcomer, drop us an e-mail and we'll get you added.
50th Reunion for Hokkaido FEN -- Tom
Coulter provides a recap of a recent reunion
among Sapporo FENers, including some great "Then and Now" pictures -- be sure
and check it out.
How about the rest of you? Any reunions (past or
present) to tell us about? I'd like to make those a regular feature on the website.
Three new audio items courtesy of Lt.
Jim Lapp of FEN Kyushu. Possibly one of the most interesting shows ever produced for
FEN, hear a program length broadcast from the cockpit of a jet by clicking here. Feeling like dancing?
Well, don't be bashful -- tune in to "Let's Dance." And if that isn't
enough dance band music for you, how about an installment of "Bands of Japan" from Sasebo?
Do you love PAMS jingles? Here are several (in the PAMS 26 "All
American" series) that were "localized" for FEN. Can you
identify the mystery voice at the end? We have Bob Mitchell to thank for this great
addition. While Bob is not an FENer, he is an avid radio person. If you were
ever in the Syracuse New York area you'll like his WOLF 1490
Tribute Site.
Thanks to Bill Baldwin, we now know that this series of
jingles was organized and conducted by Ken Matejka of the FEN recording lab for a special
Solid Gold Weekend celebration commemorating FEN's 25th (silver) anniversary in September
1969. The singers included Jeff Bates, George Day, Gary Griffin, Morris Fertig, Bill
Baldwin and possibly Paul Sherwood and Monty Jones.
But we still don't know who the mystery voice is at the
end of the recording -- can anyone help?
Boy It Looks Cold There! We are
honored and privileged to bring you a collection of pictures, articles, and a program
schedule for FEN Hokkaido circa 1953. Bruce Copeland is our
generous benefactor. You can take a look at these new additions by clicking here.
Patches -- In addition to being a song
by Dickey Lee, many FENers proudly remember their unit patches -- some official, some not
so official. Here's a collection of
images of FEN related insignia. Sorry to say, I have only the images, NOT the actual
patches.
Yes, We Have No Legos -- But we
do have FEN logos. Look here.
An Evening With FEN (TV Chitose)
-- A tip of the webmaster's cap to Bob Hanke for sending along this very interesting piece written by none other
than our own Richard "Dick" Hiner" about a "typical" evening in
TV-land in Chitose.
I Will if Ryukyu -- Never mind, it's
just your webmaster's attempt at a bad pun. Thanks go to Tom McNaghten, now of
Oceanside, California, for this wonderful collection
of FENO pix circa 1953-1954
November 2002
Still Tweaking After All These Years -- Just
when you think you're "done," another great contribution comes along! The
FEN Roll Call now contains 487 entries.
TOO COOL!! -- This is so cool, I
couldn't keep it to myself. Take a listen
Dan, Dan, He's The Man -- Dan Stires
of FEN Iwakuni and Okinawa circa 1971 to 1975 recently donated a large collection of both
sound clips and pictures.
We have some of the pictures from Iwakuni available here. Pictures from Okinawa are here.
For the techies in the crowd (like me) here are some
"glamour shots" of the gear at
FEN Okinawa [grin]
For a collection of TV ID slides (and similar goodies)
check out this page.
Take a listen to FEN Okinawa's midnight sign-on, and a promo for the recreation center BBQ
and Crab Races.
From Iwakuni, here's Dan himself with a tongue in cheek
promo for a TV-73 movie; Hank Carr voices a basketball game promo, and Mike Nash gives us a preview of TV-73 fare for "tomorrow." For
good measure, here's an AFRTS jingle and another
Solid Gold jingle.
Enjoy -- and thanks to Dan!
Stripes and WXLH -- On January 25,
1950, the Ryuku Edition of the Pacific Stars and Stripes carried a great article
on FEN/WXLH. Read the full text and see pictures here.
Also, be sure and check out our other pictures of
the station from this time period. New photos have been added recently as well as a program schedule from the period. If you're
interested, here's my favorite new picture!
A Magical Land -- Join us on a visit
to Sleepy Hollow, a magical land for pint-sized FEN
listeners circa 1970 and 1971. It's the brainchild of James Hilbrink of FEN along
with a cast of characters that would do anyone proud.
Rambling On -- I've started a new
tradition. From time to time I'll be posting the "webmaster's log."
You can read the first edition by clicking here.
New Studio Info -- Check out the new information on the Nagoya FEN facility and a feature on FEN Sendai courtesy of the Pacific Stars and Stripes
issue of March 15, 1953.
Bump on a Log -- Here's a blast from
the past, take a look at this recreation of an actual FEN
log/schedule dated Sunday, January 6, 1952. You'll need the free Adobe Acrobat reader to look at this one. Our thanks
again to loyal supporter Merwin Smith for this addition to the collection.
HA! -- Looking for a laugh?
Check out this Stars & Stripes cartoon that's sure to
leave you with a smile on your face.
Misawa Goodies -- Thanks to Tom
Korzeniowski, the Misawa page is off to a good start.
Check it out!
Old Okis -- Were you around in
1950? If you had connections to FEN Okinawa/Ryuku, you'll definitely want to check
out this collection. Even if you recently checked out
this page -- check it again -- new photos have been added.
Classics and Youngsters -- Also note
that some additions have been made to the Tokyo Calling
exhibit and the Teen Programming page. Thanks to Dave
Robertson for providing several additional audio files for our archives of teen related
programming including a rare recording indeed of Radio T-E-E-N's very own Bill McCain.
NEW SOUNDS! Thanks to Dr. Jim Nellen,
a radiologist who was stationed at the Itazuke hospital circa 1959 to 1961, we have added
an additional Tokyo Calling program
from July 10 1960.
Can you help us identify the host of
this new Tokyo Calling show? It appears the name (spelled phonetically) is either
Tyson or Heissen -- I can find nothing close in our registered users.
Also, can you help in identifying the
version of Kojo No Tsuki used as the opening theme for Tokyo Calling?
The title is translated in various ways, but loosely it means "The Moon is a
Red Castle," or "Moonlight on a Ruined Castle." It is a traditional
Japanese song about "moon watching" that was obviously "jazzed up" for
the Tokyo Calling theme. I suspect the version used on the show carried an
"Americanized" name.
Let's Enjoy... "Enjoy Japan" --
Thanks to Jim Nellen, we are also able to share several episodes of contribution of
an Enjoy Japan with Walt Sheldon and Hiroko Kubota.
Where's The Bib? -- Are you doing
research on FEN/AFRS or just curious where we come up with some of this stuff? Check
out the new bibliography we've recently compiled.
What Joy!! -- Remember "The Joy Boys?" You surely know
who Willard Scott is! Check out their FEN/AFRS connection at their home page.
While you're at it, check out several new links, on the links page,
of course :-)
Did M*A*S*H Listen? -- AFKN --
FEN? When this site was originally conceived, the intent was to provide a place for
folks from FEN to gather and share memories. While many of us think of FEN as
primarily Japan, other areas have been a part of the FEN family over the years. And
so it is with great pleasure that we offer our initial exhibit for
AFKN courtesy of several stories in the 1953 issues of the Pacific Stars &
Stripes. If you'd like to see more coverage on AFKN (or other FEN outlets not
already included here) just let us know!
New Feature -- Have a picture or other
item related to FEN and you can't quite place the name that goes with the picture? or the
place? or the time? Submit it to the webmaster and
we'll include it in our new "lost and found"
section.
