With the help of the Frankfurt Radio Club, it's time for Teen Thirty. We served our communities and sometimes let the dependents rock. Joe Ferguson was a member, here's some details:
The Frankfurt American High School started a radio club amongst students who were interested, and we produced and aired a weekly radio program on AFN Frankfurt. I believe the first year was the 1961-62 school year and they would bus us from the school out to the castle in Hochst where the studios were located, and we would record the program. I believe it aired on the weekend. There was music, school activities news and sports news. The first faculty adviser to the radio club was the speech and drama teacher, Catherine Rotter and she was great fun.
In the castle along with the studios, there also were barracks and an AFN club with a bar and pub food. My senior year, 62-63 I was the president of the club.
Imagine the effect on an impressionable teen, interested in learning something about radio. Having the opportunity to go to a real life castle with big gates and real turrets too was an amazing experience. And then, throw in studios just stuffed with all this nifty Grundig and Telefunken broadcast gear and all the AFN pro’s we got to work with. I was hooked!
Little did I know I would never work in another radio station that had its own bar complete with pub food; =) Or one that had a turret either.
Regards,
Joe
