Vault: Saying Goodbye to My First Newsman

[@oliverw.douglas285]

Nice tribute to an old friend & mentor. :)

[@ThomasSpademan]

Excellent tribute, Steve. 46 years is remarkable.

[@chickenwing111]

You are a master story teller.

[@curtiszeitelhack981]

Somewhere, Craig watched your tribute to him and his eyes got moist because you shared your fondness and respect for him with all of us.

[@grahamstretch6863]

A great tribute to a colleague, mentor and friend. 68 is no age these days. Like you there are people in all of our lives that have been friends yet we have lost contact with them, I’ve been fortunate to reconnect with two from the past. The moment I realised just how good friends we had been was when we picked up exactly where we left off and carried on as if we only saw each other a couple of days before.

[@Pepperboy555]

Another excellent Vault video. Thanks for sharing this wonderful story about a wonderful man. RIP Craig 🙏🏼

[@renereyes4999]

You only become aware of your own mortality when your dear and beloved friends start passing away. That was a beautiful tribute to your friend and colleague/mentor. May he rest in peace and live on in the hearts of all his beloved family and friends as in yours.

[@robertlong3561]

I love when you talk about things that you love. Which I suppose is every episode. But when it’s about your fond past and the people therein, your eyes light up. This is a fine eulogy for a man you obviously respected. Thanks for sharing.

[@75Froggie]

That Bad Axe radio station is where you honed your gift for gab. That has undoubtedly carried over into success in your legal career and led you back to broadcasting, now on Internet with an audience that reaches places all over America and the world. Now you have shared with your recently departed long-ago friend and mentor a capstone on his life warm memories of his impact on your life with thousands who never would have known any of the story of his life. Simple kindnesses, thoughtfulness, and the little things people do for each other without expectation of reward or recognition are the real stuff of life.

[@theviking363]

Steve remarkable memory, God Bless Everyone you worked with. Just nice. As we all get older, unfortunately we lose more people that's touched our lives. But may thier memories never fade. That's all folk's!!

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

Steve referring to himself, as the kid. That's what I do now. I moved a couple of years ago, to a small rural community, with a large retired population. I'm 65, but when I go into a store, I often find, that I'm the youngest one in there, by some margin ! Got to pay extra attention on the road, though, because many of those folks, shouldn't be driving. Defensive driving just hit a new level !

[@DeborahFlorian-gy6lw]

Thanks, Steve, for sharing these memories with us. Your friend was a very good person. So are you.

[@stevecorey3399]

You obviously were very blessed to make his acquaintance, especially in your formative years! He sounds like a terrific guy and a perfect person to mentor from. Your words ring true to myself as a young mechanic. I had an older man that I did not get along with it first, but then he became a great friend and I still see his family to this day even though he passed, I will always remember him as a great teacher once I opened my mind….

[@user-no1cares]

RIP Craig.

[@gailwatson4927]

So sorry Steve. Great tribute.

[@n1gak]

Around 1985 Athol, MA still had 5-digit dialing. I think by *that* time, it was permissive; the one prefix for the town was such that you *could* dial seven digits, but you did not have to.

[@stevejette2329]

Went to radio school 1971 in Minneapolis. Some of the most legal fun ever. Then I found out how much money they don't make. Never worked on radio.

[@LouT1501]

I need to visit Bad Axe. Great story of small town America and one person who was invested in it. Thanks, Steve!

[@gkeyman565]

sometimes Being a survivor isn't all it's cracked up to be, everyone else stops, but you keep on going... have a great day

[@sherlockemery]

I miss the old x+xxxx dialing system before the 911 conversion.

[@peteengard9966]

Showing our age. I remember 4 digit phone numbers. We lived on a county border. I could call someone three towns away but calling my backyard neighbors was a toll call. My mom would yell at me for calling my friend down the street because it was an extra $1.30. Nice tribute and an entertaining reminisce.

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

Catalina Island, off the coast of Los Angeles, only required the last 4 digits dialed, well into the 1990s. Then they added the '424' area code overlay, and it jumped from 4 to 11 digits (including that starting '1'). It skipped that 7 digits, that most of us were use to. Today, with cell phones, most of us keep our numbers, with the area code, where we first got that number. So you maybe in Los Angeles, but you have a number with the area code from when you lived in Miami.

[@RationalGaze216]

I know what ya mean, man. One of my favorite teachers died a few years ago at 53, shortly after being promoted to vice principal. He wasn't necessarily the best teacher I'd had, but he was the best person I'd ever had as a teacher. He had been a cop, but had to leave for medical reasons after getting shot. And he always has strange & interesting stories from his police days. I wish I had kept in touch with him, but now it's too late. It's funny - at the time, I thought he was ancient, but he was probably younger then than I am now.

[@joeblow8593]

Some outlying rural radio stations still run swap and shop

[@clayz1]

I lived on Camano Island (near Everett WA) in the 80's. Phone numbers were four digits. Being born and raised i n Seattle where numbers were seven digits, never even heard about this four digit stuff. I felt like I went back in time.

[@scottsomers]

Was able to hear it in oscoda.

[@X-Radio]

Wow the longest I was at one station was three years!

[@Brian-db7ej]

Rip and read news.

[@sarahcallahan5678]

EB Friday 🎉, nice tribute, missed that channel name has become Steve Lehto Second Channel

[@jerryodell1168]

Steve: What years were you in Bad Ax on radio ???? We lived in Melvin south of there. My Brother and His Wife's Family still live there in the area and they have been there for probably as long as it has been settled there. Note: I worked in Indiana State Police and Indiana Toll Road radio in Control on the Indiana Toll Road at KSE608 years ago after leaving Melvin.

[@SteveLehtoVault]

1982 and 1983.

[@kniton2]

Outside of the music the Big 'LEW plays it reminds me of another great AM station...920 AM W-M-P-L Hancock.

[@scottsomers]

So sad.

[@johnthomas3842]

The thing about growing old is, yes, friends and family die. Most of my military friends are gone, I only had a handful of school friends because I was an Army brat and went to 15 different schools. Worked at two different open quarry mines, most of my friends from the first mine are gone, many from the second are gone. I guess the hope is that we live longer than everyone else we know, LOL.

[@Wild_Bill57]

It’s funny how large some people make an impression on you and your life that if people wouldn’t even be noticed.

[@allensanders5535]

did you ever get to meet Tom Griswold of the bob & tom show on Q95 in indianapolis he worked in Petoskey, MI. before moving to indy he's still on the air he's been on Q95 for 41 yrs. now with the bob & tom show, of course bob has been retired for some time now but tom is still carrying on the show.

[@philipaspen7097]

Ben by turbine car. Steve's rhs

[@leifsonoferik]

Bought my first car that way. WPDR Portage, WI, Radio Exchange program 9:00 a.m. 'til !0: p.m. There was a $100 limit on cars sold. I bought a 1970 Charger for $100 in Nov. 1984. I still kick myself a little for selling it.

[@thatjeff7550]

Sounds like a stand up guy. I also have to wonder just how long that radio station will be viable with the way technology is going.

[@rawbsworld6604]

👍 sorry but I couldn’t help but think of WKRP another family owned radio station 🤭 Craig Nessman Doctor Stevie fever girl at the front desk wasn’t named Jennifer by chance? Herb Tarlek hustling up them local business ad’s 🤣🤔1983 no doubt had to make references to wkrp it was still on or just cancel still fresh in the mind ☝️ thanks for sharing them fond memories ✌️🤙

[@DePaul31]

Howard Stern's Sal and Richard call Ladies Line type shows to sell odd widgets

[@scottsomers]

Where is the exic for badax? Bay city, Saginaw, Frankenmuth, pinconing, or Standish?

[@madcap57]

Wait, Steve went to broadcast school? I don't remember hearing that.

[@scottsomers]

Hmm. Corporate radio station sounds familiar. It sucks whnn turned into one

[@AR-ed3xw]

What happened with the channel name change?

[@scottsomers]

Did he goto 96.1?

[@gordonshumway7239]

So Craig covered your day off on the one day there were no news duties. I guess he didn’t take a day off :-) Whenever you mention Bad Axe, at first I hear something else. :-)

[@SteveLehtoVault]

He got Sat and Sun off, so WEDS was not a big deal for him to cover.

[@leonardoavalos1]

Oh wait, you're a natural blonde?