[Hammarlund] Central Illinois TV

[Craig Roberts]

Hi Mike,

I enjoyed your story, too. What a great Grandpa to grow up with.

I'm familiar with your granddad's "baby" WMBD 'cuz I worked for another station "in the neighborhood".  Many, many years ago I was a booth announcer at WCIA-TV over in Champaign. I was a fuzzy-faced kid at the time, a fresh graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and fancied myself as the next Walter Cronkite-in-training.  Well, I did get to broadcast on Channel 3's evening news, all right. I was the guy who said: "And now, the Six O'Clock News -- brought to you by Standard Oil...."

I even got to appear on camera once. The Channel 3 weatherman, an English expatriate named Mr. Roberts (no relation to me) dragged me onto the set one evening to show the viewers the diminuitive little kid from which the grand, deeply resonant announcement "And now the Six O'Clock, etc...." issued.  I was suitably humiliated and joined the Navy soon thereafter.

Oh, in case someone objects to this message being off-topic, please remember that my last name is Roberts (as was the weatherman in my story) and he and I MAY have been related to the Roberts in the short-lived Hammarlund-Roberts partnership. 

73,
Craig
W3CRR