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."
WJG
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