Page 108 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

CHAPTER 31 - Connecting with Viewers

In 1966, CBS and Channel 4 changed their programming from black and white to color
television. WJXT had two large General Electric color cameras in the studio. Since
they contained vacuum tubes, they had to be turned on and warmed long enough to
synchronize the red-blue-green components so that a Black and white test pattern
would be viewed as strictly black and white with the color camera. If color components
were not perfectly balanced, the camera would portray the test pattern with a tinge of
color on a color TV.

To enhance our on-air appearance, our Station Manager, Jim Lynagh, arranged for
those of us who appeared on camera to select color ties and shirts at the Ivey’s
Department Store in Regency Square. At the time, the style of neckties suddenly went
from slim and narrow to as wide as five inches. The bright red, orange, purple and
green neckties were worn on top of solid colored dress shirts. People with color TV’s
were dazzled by the vivid colors, but since color TV’s cost near one thousand dollars,
most viewers were still watching on black and white sets.

We had several excellent news reporters that I was privileged to know. Bruce Hall,
Randall Pinkston, and Steve Kroft advanced to CBS News. Wayne Seal was a
promising newscaster who joined WCIV in Charleston, SC but met a tragic death in the
crash of an Eastern Air Line plane approaching the Charlotte, NC airport. Mike Patrick
started at Channel 4 and went on to become one of the best sports announcers on ESPN.
One day Jim Lewis invited me to go a Men’s Hair Stylist, B.J. Combs, in the Universal
Marion Building adjacent to Ivey’s downtown. When I joined WJXT, I changed my
hair from a crew cut to a parted slick “Wildroot Crème Oil” one. After B.J. blow-dried
and razor cut my hair, it made my head look much better for television, especially the
back side when I turned toward the maps while explaining the weather.

While working with the Weather Bureau, I was aware of the concerns of farmers south
of Jacksonville in St. Johns County. There were large farms where cabbage and
potatoes were grown. Cabbage was usually planted in the fall because the plants can
usually withstand the frosts and light freezes of early winter. But potatoes are not
planted in the fall because winter freezes would usually destroy the crop. During the
winter of 1963-64 one potato farmer, Ed Thigpen, gambled on a mild winter and
planted his potatoes in the fall. His plants flourished as temperatures continued mild. In

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