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Some of the WJG Crew and Their Recollections


NAME JOB YEARS
Russell V. Warner (SK) Founder/Owner 1936-68or9
G. H. Tamble (SK) Owner 1936-51
Lloyd J. Carlson (SK) Founder/Chief Engineer 1936?-1945
Bill Dinniger Chief Engineer 1945-47
Jack Estes Operator/Chief Eng./Gen. Mgr. 1943-1960
Jimmy DeHart Operator 1946-1956
Warren McCoy Operator ?
Gerald Watson Night Shift Operator ?<1956
Paul Copeland Night Shift Operator 1956-58
Carroll Turner Operator ?<1957>?
Evenlyn DeMarrero Operator ?
Mary Ann Blackburn Operator ?
Carl Savage Operator ?
Harold Hopper Operator ?-1956-58-?
Bob Jones Engineer ?-1959-?
Bill Miller (SK) Owner 1965?-??
Jerry L. DeGregory (SK) Operator <1952-?
Jerry L. DeGregory, Jr. Part-time Operator 1962-69
Archie Blanchard - K5ABZ Operator 1962-69
John Barbieri Operator 1958-69
Robert Thorne Operator?/Maintenance ?
Raymond Gartman (SK) Owner 1968or9-71
Mark Gartman "One of the Crew" 1970-76
Terrence B. ("Bill") Miller W4JLA (SK) Owner 1971 -1982 +
Lloyd Roland Operator Early 70s
David Smith Operator Early 70s
James Walton Operator 1970s
Rayburn Bramlett Operator Early 70s
Judy ? Operator Early 70s
Johnny Jones Operator Early 70s
Braxton Eugene Cox Operator Late 70s
Stephen Wixon Operator Late 70s
Richard Patrick “Pat” Walker Operator Late 70s
Charlie Cox Operator Late 70s
David Barnes Operator ?<1982>?
Jon Fulton Operator 1980-87
David Haynes Operator 1984-1985/6
Stanlee Smith Station Manager ?<1992>?
Raymond ?? Operator ?
Dorothy Miller Operator 1980-1995
Judy Willbanks Operator ?
Tonja Evans Operator ?
Sheila Hamblin Operator ?
Kathy Chappel Operator ?
Susan Floyd Operator ?


The names of living crew members will be removed from the listings at their request.


Many thanks to those who have provided information for the listings above. Their willingness to contribute their recollections and/or the names of other crew members helps to give this history site a more personal orientation.   Please let the archivist know of names, or names plus recollections, that should be included here.


In the 1950s, before the Coast Guard had their extensive communications system in place, a call to WJG was often the only way towboaters could call for help. In one incident, two such craft were involved in a collision. Two of the towboats guiding Joseph Chotin's barges exploded, transforming the river into a furnace. Operators at WJG sent fireboats and land-based equipment to the rescue, and as a result, damage was minimal.

On another occasion - Christmas Day, 1952 - DXers listening to WJG could have heard yet another tense drama unfold. In the Gulf of Mexico a ship was foundering in a gale. When the operator at WJG asked the crew if they could do anything for them, they grimly jested, "You can make these seas calm down." WJG operator Jerry DeGregory replied, "I can't do that, skipper, but I know someone who can." Back through the wild night came the tired voice, "Okay, Jerry. Speak a word to Him, will you?" Later that night, the skipper of the ship came back on the air to report, "Okay, Jerry, thanks. I'm all right now."


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