In memory of radio legend Harry West, WVIA airs ‘WARMLand’ documentary Oct. 3-4
From a press release:
VIA Public Media in Pittston will be airing a special rebroadcast of the WVIA original documentary “WARMLand Remembered” in remembrance of longtime WARM “The Mighty 590” radio personality Harry West, who passed away last Friday, Sept. 27 at the age of 89.
The documentary will air this Thursday, Oct. 3 at 9 p.m. and will repeat on Friday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. on WVIA-TV.
Published today, West’s obituary reads:
Harry West passed in his sleep on Friday, Sept. 27 in Bridgeville, Pa. He was born in Reading in 1930 and pursued his passion for radio since his youth. He joined WARM in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre region in 1959, left for Pittsburgh in 1969, and returned to WARM from 1973 through 1992. He was the familiar morning voice throughout WARMland, the Mighty 590, for many years.
He is survived by his sister in Harleysville; two sons and a daughter in Pittsburgh; a son in Bellingham, Wash.; one grandson; and four nephews and nieces. Donations can be made in his name to the Pilgrimage Hospice.
More than 40 years ago, Northeastern Pennsylvanians discovered a shocking new sound on their radios and, within weeks, more than half of the people here were calling the area WARMland. The radio station was WARM: 5,000 watts at 590 AM, delivered by “five towers of power.” The “Mighty 590” became NEPA’s No. 1 station practically overnight, and it stayed on top for decades.
WARMland Remembered, a VIA Original Documentary Film produced in 2003, is a trip back in time to when AM radio was king, told through the memories of the people who made WARM the Mighty 590 and the No. 1 station for over 12 years. The story takes place between the years of 1958 and 1972 and is told by listeners and DJs of that time. This documentary takes locals back to WARM’s glory days with historic photos, memorabilia, and several of the personalities once known as WARM’s Sensational Seven.
VIA Public Media, the PBS and NPR affiliate for Northeastern Pennsylvania, educates, inspires, entertains, and fosters citizenship, diverse cultures, and perspectives to nurture community.
