Blizzard of 78 Radio Coverage on 1470 WOHO with Ken R Deutsch

While the blizzard was stranding everyone in the area, the radio DJs and staff were likewise stranded. Ken R Deutsch, then radio DJ and talk show host on WOHO, took a snowmobile into the radio station and stayed on the air to help with local logistics. People continually called into the station looking for help or offering help in a variety of ways. This is something that seemingly wouldn't be present with today's radio. The efforts to help the community were magnificent.
Thank you to Ken R Deutsch for letting me have this and many more broadcasts and history with the WOHO radio station.

[@johnday6434]

The good ole days of AM radio when they kept you informed in times of need. Here in Richmond VA. we had a 50,000 watt AM WRVA 1140 station that always kept you informed .

[@sphexes]

It was different times for AM radio back then. Far more local and organic and not with corporate control.

[@Tomovox_PAMS_Radio_JIngles]

Ken R. is such a Class Act of the first order. I got to know of him through his online radio jingle CD site some years ago. He was a fantastic person to talk to about radio and jingles, wrote a couple of excellent books. This is a rare treat, getting to hear him on the radio in his DJ days! Thank you for posting this!

[@sphexes]

Thank you. The audio from this was given to me by Ken R. I love his huge collection of jingles. Yes he was and probably still is a class act. My father, known as Saint Giffo met Ken from working at WOHO back in the late 80s when he hosted The RAP Show for the late night spot. It was fun to go to the radio studio and see how all the magic was done. I got to go on the radio with Giffo a couple times as a kid. Very exciting.

[@chocloditelensman]

CB radio. When all other communication fails. I remember people of all walks of the earth working together and helping each other.

[@Number4lead]

And now we have got complacent and are totally reliant on cell towers which are very susceptible to natural disasters.

[@Doug41160]

I can't believe I survived that damn blizzard! WOHO was a great rocker. Miss that station and the great oldies.

[@triple6758]

I technically survived this blizzard. I was 3 months old.

[@tommiehicks612]

I was stranded at WVRC in Spencer WV for five days in 78. I was sucking catsup and mustard out of packs. On day three some lady came over wearing snowshoes and brought me a dozen sandwiches.

[@sphexes]

A crazy time for sure. I'm glad you made it out alive with great stories to tell about it.

[@po2313]

The power of local radio...

[@homegrownroots5431]

That was a crazy time. People working together saved a lot of lives. No selfishness was seen other than some business owners price gouging and they got taken care of after the clean up was done.

[@islandgurl4927]

I will never forget the Blizzard of '78. I remember even after Spring came the plowed snow was still frozen around the shopping center light poles in June. My brother-in-law was in the National Guard then They flew in helicopters getting people stuck on the highways. #memories

[@johnnyelectron]

Real radio; service to East Toledo, Oregon and beyond for decades, 1470, WO-HO Radio, WOHO, Toledo. Ken was the real deal too. Jimmy Dean stopped in one day and Ken R put him in his place!

[@Tomovox_PAMS_Radio_JIngles]

I'd love to hear that story!

[@tomshiba51]

I've listened to many radio broadcasts from Boston on this storm that hit them days after this. This is the first Toledo station that I've heard about the storm that initially hit the northwest Ohio area. I too survived this storm in the south end of Toledo. Thanks for posting this.

[@JanetOConnor-tl4bb]

Many parts of not just NW Ohio but even in SW Ohio were affected by this blizzard we ended up with about 24 inches of snow which took months for those huge snow melted. My mom fell and broke her ankle on the ice. Many other states were affected MI IN and Boston just gets the most attention since they lost 100 people but CON Vermont were also affected VT get the most.

[@jameshuffman835]

Southern Henry County! We were buried, took 5 days for the national guard to open up our road!

[@murkrow2316]

Lake Twp… Lived Across from the Cemetery. My father worked as a caretaker there. 1977-78… 🤘

[@wiillthebarbertv9415]

Wow this channel is a gem!

[@rf396]

This could have easily been a station in Boston at that time. It sounds exactly the same. Radio people actually WORKING the storm not trying to become the news. No end of the world what ever shall we do nonsense. People helping people with no hesitation. It was maybe our last great moment as a nation in terms of coming together. I miss the adults being in charge.

[@phillipstankey8881]

Crazy days...so much wind and snow. Because it started as rain...the first couple of inches of snow turned into slush and froze into ice on the roads that didn't get plowed early enough

[@virginiaputman4676]

Thanks for posting. Lived through it...wow.

[@michaelosborn1793]

Nicely done Scott! So many memories of that storm.

[@sphexes]

Is this W8OZZ? Thank you either way.

[@greggi47]

I remember the event clearly but don't recall listening to ny radio or TV coverage. We hunkered down on a short street just off Monroe street and drank tea and cocoa. I know it was a great hardship for many people in many ways. However, some of my recollection is colored by the memory of the following year. I noticed that there were many more 4WD vehicles with snowplows on the road. apparently, a crowd thought that there was some likelihood of a repeat blizzard soon. they wanted to be ready to cash in on that. a couple of years on, I wondeedr how many regretted the debts they incurred because of greediness.

[@christopherbubb2890]

You'd never hear this kind of coverage on a popular music station these days, or if you did it would probably be simulcast from a TV newscast. In fact, you'd never hear this kind of coverage on radio period unless you're lucky enough to have an all-news station like WWJ or WBBM in your market. Impressive stuff. I hope that little girl's dog survived (not likely though). Judging from the music played, it seems WOHO had subdued into an Adult Contemporary approach by this time. I know CKLW was always formidable competition for them, and yet WOHO survived as a Top 40 a lot longer than the other local AM rockers and kept going as an AC/talk station well into the '80s. I wonder if their sister station (WXEZ, which would later morph into 3WM) was doing AOR yet at this time? I wasn't born until April 1980 and have lived in suburban Detroit all my life, but I've heard stories about this blizzard. My mom was a young newlywed living in the Mount Clemens area and had to rush to pick up my then six-year-old cousin from in front of her house, since my aunt and uncle were both at work and the school district decided to send the students home early so my cousin had nowhere else to go. Fortunately my mom heard about this on the radio or my cousin might really have been in trouble.

[@kimwood9119]

Does anyone know MIKE COOK, who worked on "Rap" with Ken R., in some capacity, in the early-mid 1970s? MIKE, also, was the on-air voice of "Ed Mitchell", on a Country A.M. station, around the same time.

[@sphexes]

I don't know Mike. Maybe somebody here does.

[@Number4lead]

CB radio may save the day again, or GMRS, FRS and Ham radio. If cell towers arent physically down because of a particular disaster, the overcrowding and mass demand by panicked users on the system will make trying to call out nearly impossible. And don't forget that government and emergency agancies can commandeer cell tower service for their own needs in times of major trouble.

[@sphexes]

I agree. I'm into all forms of radio communication. I'm a ham radio operator and enjoy it a lot.

[@Number4lead]

​@@sphexeswow that's awesome. 73s from kc7yhf

[@CountryCritter]

Whatever happened to Ken R? Anyone know?

[@sphexes]

He's living the good life down in Florida somewhere

[@sphexes]

He has tons of jingles to listen to online. Ken R jingles. Free and downloadable