by Marty Forbes
September 18, 2024
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Over the next few weeks I am going to post some ‘from behind the walls at 630 CHED’ memories before the station flips to 880 on the dial. Bob Layton will be joining in with contributions from his two books on the station!
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I started in radio at about the same time that colleges started offering a Broadcast course in Canada – but I didn’t go to NAIT.
I was educated ‘naturally’ by hanging around Dad and the CHED guys at home and I stopped in to the station after school many days and got help and guidance from the likes of Bob McCord, Al Anderson, Don Kay, Phil Johnson, Frank Robertston to name a few.
Stan Ravendahl, specifically, took me under his arms and got me to sit in with each department until I was ready to head to CHNL Kamloops as an eager naive 19 year old in 1970.
At that time CHED had a great news/sports department, and eventually they added Eddie Keen, long known as an Edmonton Journal reporter ‘consumer help guy’ and editorialist – helping the ‘little people’ who were wronged in some manner by their employers and businesses.
He was huge. Highly respected and tough as nails. He chased a story endlessly.
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One day I remember vividly was when Eddie came in to Dad’s office while I was there.
Dad was on his “Mickey Mouse’ phone (true…just imagine that) and
said “Jer we have a problem and I’d like to expose it…are you ok with that?”
“What’s the story Ed?” Dad replied…
“I’ve found 6 Edmonton car dealers about to be busted for rolling back the speedometers on their used cars to resell.”
Dad said..ok…”why do you need my permisson?”
“Well, they’re the big guys in town – several advertise with us – but – I thought you should know because one of them is a good friend of yours.”
Eddie named the guy, and the dealership, and Dad leaned over and said “thats what I hired you for…go do your job!”
And he did – and it ended up being a huge story.
The friend was obvously distraught..phoned Dad…and cancelled his advertising with the station.
Not that long after that he sold the dealership and moved back east.
*I also worked at the dealership in 1968….washing cars. Favorite memory is a mechanic there who proudly stated to me one day “Marty…my kid just learned half a word…’mother!’
Man that was a lesson, obviously, that I never forgot about that important department in a radio station and how you manage a situation like that.
That’s how committed they were to the integrity of the news and supporting Eddie Keen in his position. Edmonton….all in!
I believe Eddie is still with us and living a quiet life at a lake north of town.
Things are sure different these days now aren’t they?
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Finally, it’s important to also note that a young legendary sports guy also got his start in that building on 107th street. His name….Bryan Hall…1954. Bryan too ‘made his mark’…retiring recently after decades in the building after coming back from Toronto (CHUM) and when CJCA closed and Doug Rurtherford hired many of their prime people when the News/Talk format was launched here in 1993.
