John "Jack" Myers
1935 - 2017
My dad started there back in about 1959.
He started off on the 6 to 12 PM shift which included middle of the road music from the likes of Sinatra, peppered with jazz which he loved so well, and then he had a late evening show that had more subdued instrumental pieces. I used to lay in bed with my mother and listen to his show and wait for him to come home at 12:30. Thus explaining my nocturnal preference. When I would go to work with him at 11 o'clock we would go out and check all of the weather instruments and make the official records in the weather logs.
The radio station actually had a studio with a piano and quite a bit of room where they used to produce radio shows of the old-time variety with live music and skits and the like, ala Prairie Home Companion.
Next he worked the afternoon shift which included the collection of news each morning from the police station. Sometimes I would get up early and go with him and go down to the police station to see what happened overnight.
When he started there the general manager was a gentleman named Dick Jackson. I remember well Ray Olson, Vic Tanguy, Lee Walker, Jim Buck Bender, Martha Lou Baker, Sandy Saunders, Bill McTaggart, a guy named Harry Ridgely who was a patient at the Logansport State Hospital but had previously worked on the CBS radio network in New York. He was pretty good on the air but not very good in an emergency.
I would also on occasion go with my dad to do Purdue games in West Lafayette with Jim Bender. This always included a nice meal at Sarge Biltz restaurant and access to the Press Room at Mackey Arena which included all the soft drinks one could stomach.
If I had to guess I would say he did the late night shift from 1959 to 1965 and then the afternoon shift and news from 1965 to 1976. I'm sure there are a lot of other little assignments in there from time to time. I know he met with the likes of Senator Vance Hartke and Senator Birch Bayh and he played a pretty good foil to the antics of Captain Stubby.
Every summer the radio station would do the 4-H Fair and would have a trailer there from which the broadcast took place and it was always kind of cool hanging out there. Dad knew Dick Rusk pretty well and always enjoyed covering the fair.
He used to do a lot of so-called "remotes" from various locations generally associated with an Advertiser and he would set up a little makeshift radio station right there in the middle of Kesling Drugs. And speaking of Keslings, for years he was Santa Claus at Keslings Drug store and would have a radio show every afternoon where he would sit kids on his knee and talk to them about what they wanted for Christmas. Sort of like Art Linkletter. Consequently I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew he slept with my mother. My kindergarten teacher pulled me out into the hall and told me I had to stop telling telling my classmates that Santa Claus was my dad because most of them believe in Santa Claus. Then I wised up and realized I could charge my friends a nickel to see Santa when he was making his way to Keslings, after visiting my mom.
Jon M. Myers
Attorney at Law
Obituary
John "Jack" G. Myers Passed away Tuesday morning at 7:35 AM at the age of 82 He was born in Gary, Indiana on January 4 1953 to Jack and Theora (Fox) Myers. He graduated from Logansport High School in 1953 and enlisted in the United States Army, being honorably discharged in 1957. He then graduated from the Northwestern School of Broadcasting, Chicago, in 1957. He was a radio personality at WSAL Logansport and was later the Information Director at the Logansport State Hospital. During his final years he was a Residence Manager for Wabash Center in Lafayette.
He was married to Cynthia Price on June 19, 1987. She survives. He is also survived by his five children, Jon (Beth) Myers of Logansport, Laura Myers of Fort Wayne, Greg (Pam) Myers of Auburn, Sarah (Chad) Bowers of Denver, Colorado, and Karla (Greg) Piercy of Lafayette. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Samuel Myers of Auburn, Zoe, Sophia, and Rose Bowers of Denver, Colorado, and Ethan, Adrienne, and Wyatt Piercy of Lafayette. His brother, Ronald Myers preceded him in death.
He was a thespian of the first order, and performed on several stages for more than 20 years. His most notable theatrical roles were as Capt. Von Trapp in "The Sound of Music", Fagen in "Oliver", and Tevya in "The Fiddler on the Roof" No doubt he's performing as you read this, hopefully as the protagonist. Break a leg. He enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren, especially watching the grandchildren play in their sports endeavors. He was also an avid reader, especially with James Patterson novels.
Visitation will be 5-8 PM Friday, January 13, 2017 and the funeral will be Saturday at 11:00 AM all at the Soller-Baker Lafayette Chapel, 400 Twyckenham Blvd. Lafayette, IN 47909. Burial will follow the service at Meadow View Cemetery in Lafayette. Memorial contributions can be made to the Logansport Civic Players, PO Box 31, Logansport, IN 46947 or Wabash Center, 200 Greenbush St, Lafayette, IN 47904.
