From the Jeannette News-Dispatch Wednesday Evening, October 15, 1975 Radio Station Keeps In Touch With River Traffic By MARYANN DEDO For the News-Dispatch Many people have seen the small yellow brick building atop Mockingbird Hill in North Huntingdon, but few know its reason for being. The big tower and the call letters "WCM" identify it as a radio Station, but to those vaguely aware of even that, it's "just a radio station." But it's more than that. The small building houses a ship to shore radio station, one of only four of its kind in the nation. Essentially, the people who work there maintain radio contact with the traffic on the Mississippi River System. Similar stations are operated from Louisville, Ky.; St. Louis, Mo; and Memphis, Tenn. Many of the nation's industries depend on the rivers for the arrival or shipment of raw materials, finished products, coal or oil for fuel, or grain from the midwest. While those commodities are in transport, companies must keep in touch with the vessels so that production schedules can be planned. For three large corporations, that contact is maintained through WCM. They are the Ohio River Company (which also owns WCM) of Cincinnati, Union Mechling Corporation of Pittsburgh, and Ashland Oil of Kentucky. The setup involves a 1,000-watt system, and a teletype that gives coded messages. "A company may have a thousand tons of coal on the' river, and want to know where it is, and when it can be expected," said WCM manager Frank Deedrick of Ridge Road; North Huntingdon. So the company contacts WCM, which keeps tabs on loading and unloading schedules, crew changes, and river and weather conditions encountered. Deedrick has been with WCM since 1964, only days after he received his radio operator's license (he's also licensed to make repairs to the equipment when necessary). The station was built in 1952 by Radiomarine Corporation of America, and first managed by Bill Hayton of New Jersey. Back then, Mockingbird Hill was a wooded farming area with no homes around. WCM is manned 24 hours a day, with three shifts. Employees include Gary Hummell, Bobbins Station Road, North Huntingdon; Don Inks, Guffey Road, North Huntingdon; and Bill Moran and Tim Orman of Elizabeth. On the distaff side, reports, calls and some radio operations are handled by Gloria Miller of Mockingbird Hill, and Betty Nicely of Lincoln Heights. "I got my job here by luck-just being in the right place at the right time," Deedrick quipped. "Gloria got hers by proximity, and Gary got his by osmosis -- he just sort of came by and filtered in." Mrs. Miller explained that she'd lived on Mockingbird Hill many years before learning what WCM was. One day when she was watching the new radio tower being erected, a friend suggested that she apply there for a job. "I didn't even know what they did here" she recalled. Neither did Hummel, whose curiousity got the best of him as he passed the building daily enroute to school. When he was in high school, he began stopping in to watch the operations, and became interested. Finally, he got a radio operator's license so he could become part of the crew. In addition to keeping contact with vessels on the rivers drained by the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers which includes the three rivers of Pittsburgh), WCM personnel communicate with watercraft as far away as the Intercoastal Canal in Houston. A lot of the cargo arrives or departs the Gulf of Mexico, through Houston or New Orleans. On the rivers, coal is one of the biggest cargoes. "Coal moves both ways," Deedrick said. "Coal from Monongahela may go down the river, while West Virginia coal is coming up the river." That, he explained, is because there are different uses for various types of coal. The metallurgical coal is used for making steel, while steam coal fuels power companies along the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, among other places. The cargo is moved by towboats, which push rather than pull. A group of cable- linked barges (called a tow) may move from one area to another without changing the load, while an integrated tow makes a number of stops. That may be to drop off or pick up barges, or to load or unload others. A tow can leave Pittsburgh with 20 barges carrying over 1,000 tons of coal each, and make several stops before reaching its destination. Although a tow may travel up to 15 miles per hour, speed isn't necessarily essential on the river. Besides, if a barge is pushed too fast, it could sink, front end first. There are often waits at locks, through which watercraft must pass to compensate for changes in river depths. The Army Corps of Engineers guarantees river travellers a year-round depth of nine feet, although certain areas may be, much deeper. At WCM, the people record pertinent information that would be of use to the other boats, such as damaged bridges or non-functioning directional lights. Other messages they pass on in the thrice-daily reports to mariners are the river depths(rising and falling) and weather conditions. Those reports are made in cooperation with the United States Coast Guard and, National Weather Service. While most of the communications are with cargo tows, the radio operators at WCM have occasional contact with pleasure craft, or well known vessels such as the Delta Queen. WCM also completes telephone patches to any watercraft, in cooperation with the special marine operators. WCM will become involved in emergencies when the need arises. For instance, flooding conditions may result in barges breaking loose. Such situations require rescue by any boats available. But people at WCM cannot make any rescue attempts themselves. "We just sort of get in the middle of things," Deedrick said. "We can advise the right people that help is needed." For the most part, the radio operators at WCM provide 24-hour communications to and from the river vessels. And for an unassuming little building that isn't even near a river, that's a pretty big job. Photo captions: Clerk-Operator Gloria Miller Frank Deedrick repairs equipment