In late 1974, Joseph J. Alfano bought out his WREB corporate partner, Gregory J. Montalbano. Mr. Alfano was now the sole shareholder of the Algonquin Broadcasting Corporation and had previously been a part-owner since 1965. Concurrent with owning WREB, Mr. Alfano was also an advertising and public relations consultant to shoe and furniture chains and a travel service in eastern Massachusetts.
In the following year, WREB radio broadcast the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day parade from Hampden and Maple Streets. The space was provided by Frank Perratti of Frank’s Arco and Atlantic Station. The station also had a live feed from the Big Country Fair held that year at Mackenzie Stadium.
The station continued its auction fundraisers for the Holyoke Kiwanis and, in conjunction with the firefighters’ “Fill the Boot” campaign, raised money to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Music had departed the weekday programming schedule, except during summer’s later hours, when local disc jockeys, including Chicopee’s Jay Kubik, would play music until the sundown sign-off. Shows of unique interests, including an astrologer and a medium, were added to the schedule.
The station expanded its community programming to include more candidate interviews and to invite special guests to discuss topics impacting the community, such as urban renewal, Model Cities and other pressing issues of the day. Barbara Heisler was the radio station’s very knowledgeable, prepared, and polished interviewer.
In 1977, Edward Perry, the station’s Vice-President, announced the hiring of John T. McRedmond to host a news-and-talk program from 6 AM to 9:30AM. He had radio experience at stations in Utah, California, and New York.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
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