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."