WOPR went on the air sometime in '74. I joined on around '82, and spent three years as a dj, music director, and finally station manager, because I may have been the only one lucid enough to handle the position. We broadcast sporting events, student council meetings, and featured a varied format of music programming throughout the day. My mom even had a show at one point!

The station was run during those days by Perry Berkley, AKA Larry London, a former station alum and professional disc jockey whose golden voice undoubtedly still graces the airways of some unknown frequency. I remember him picking me up in his super-pimped out '83 Sapporo sports coupe to take me to god-only-knows where back in the day. He did a great job of running the station, and even took me down with him to hang out during his oldies show at WHND "Honey Radio" when he worked there.

I spent my senior year hosting the morning show with Ari Hoptman before school, and then came back at night to host "Nouveau Rock," which was nearly as pretentious as it sounded. Basically an excuse to inflict my record collection on the unassuming public, I had about three loyal listeners, one of them being the school janitor who only feigned interest because he wanted to get me out of the school so he could lock up and go home.

Another loyal listener (I kid you not) was this guy.

In 1982, WOPR received a $10,000 grant from Continental Cablevision, and we got some new records and equipment, although I believe we still kept the tube-powered 10-watt hand-built Heathkit transmitter! WOPR went off the air in 1989, and the space has been altered and now serves as part of the computer lab. It was just as well, because nobody listened to me back then anyhow, but I loved the time I spent there and am thankful to have had the opportunity to pursue an interest that eventally became my career. Love to hear from former station rats with stories, or god forbid even pictures of the old place.

Robbie,

I take exception to the fact that you refer to WOPR mainly as the place where burn-outs hung out. Maybe during your tenure as station manager it was, but not when I ran the place and you were lucky we let your little sophomore ass in the surprisingly heavy, vacuum-sealing fire-door that only Superman could breach on a good day. I told Noel Fein and Sidi Henderson you were trouble from the start. There were quite a few of us who actually took the place seriously, and a lot of WOPR alums have used that amazing springboard to go on to greatness as doctors, lawyers, and even yoga instructors!

And granted, the fetid shag carpeting wasn't exactly the most fashionable, but the orange color gave the studio a nice warm glow late at night (or anytime of day for that matter since it was a windowless concrete-block bunker that made a jail cell seem spacious and airy) and the faux-wood panel walls had a certain 1960's basement rec-room ambiance that couldn't be beat.

I, for one, look fondly back at those days during the Marathon as initiating the insomnia that now often strikes me...allowing me to spend aimless hours late, late at night surfing the internet for clues of what happened to people I haven't seen in decades.

Links and other four-letter words:

Perry Berkley, Amy Kahn, Sidi Henderson, Nita Singh, Sanford Kopnick

Morning Guys sample tracks:

Intro, Best-Loved Melodies, Bum Rap, Outro