Waters, Vic

Vic Waters - Born September 9, 1918
Died Aug. 19, 2008

“I started in radio in 1938. I was taking a wireless-telegraphy course at Sprott-Shaw School on Robson Street and was asked by an instructor as to whether I could copy Morse code at 35 words per minute and I said yes. I was needed.

My first duty was to go to the transmitter site of CJOR at Sea Island and listen to the Trans-Radio Press circuit and type the copy. The idea was that CJOR wanted to be first with unchallenged accuracy in its reporting of what was going on in the world. The copy was couriered by motorcycle to the Howe Street studios for Dick Diespecker’s 8 o’clock morning news broadcast. Prior to this time, CJOR would get its news from a station CKCD owned by The Vancouver Daily Province. One of the important chores linked to my job was that I first turned the transmitter on at 5:45 am under instruction from Engineer Bud Seabrooke.

I only worked at one station, which is uncommon in the broadcast field. I came through the front door meeting the likes of Dorwin Baird, Diespecker and Ross Mortimer - all were announcers and involved in current affairs.”

He worked with Bernie Braden, Andrew Allen, Charles Hovey, Dal Richards, and Al Jordan. Hector McKay was a named with fondness, well known in the copy writing world. Waters talked a lot about those first two years of 1938-1939 as if they were yesterday telling the story of Laddy Whatkis, the bookkeeper who used that name and others on CJOR including Margaret May, the pianist and Mrs. Fennell.

After WW2 broke out Waters enlisted and served 4 years. He returned to what he knew best. Waters was asked about the Chandler Family – owners of the station and he responded that Art Chandler was the chief engineer and George ran the business side until his death and then his wife, Marie took that role. He said the Chandlers were gentile. He talked fondly about Cardo Smalley and his violin program and the talented blind pianist Ronnie Mathews. He said in those days no recorded music was allowed to be played between 7:30 and 11pm – so the station had entertaining programs through the evening.

Waters says the station built the CJOR Radio Theatre across the street from the Grosvenor Hotel that could handle a 16-piece orchestra and many broadcasts were made from that location including ones transmitted over the Dominion Network of the CBC.

“I held most positions within the production side of radio, studio operator, news editor, engineer, program director, talk show host, and announcer.

Quietly he has a lot of respect for Red Robinson. He hired him first.

I remember once being the operator to Pat Burns who was doing a telephone talk show. This lady caller asked Burns if he had been born on a farm. He said no. She asked was Vic Waters born on a farm. The answer was no again and Burns asked why this particular question. She responded that she had never heard so much bull manure (or words to that effect) in her entire life.” So a delay system had to be invented. It was the birth of modern talk radio.

In 1969 Waters retired. Ownership had changed. His day of doing everything for that one station was over. He had been the glue for nearly thirty years. Vic was a great deal happier when he arrived home to see Thelma.

above written by Jack Bennest

http://www.bcradiohistory.com

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They say "fame is fleeting" and so it is. Some of the giants of radio from bygone days are fading into the mist and this is not right.

One of those who pioneered the art of deejay communication was Vic Waters. He went from wireless operator, to copywriter, to engineer, network announcer, program director and of course deejay.

Vic spent more than 30 years with Vancouver's first real "talk radio" station CJOR starting in 1938. On his evening spot, when radio was king, he brought to his show stars such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Patti Page, The Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers and big band leaders such as Tex Beneke, Woody Herman and Cab Calloway. Vic also introduced radio audiences to newcomers who went on to broadcast fame including Jack Webster, who had been city editor of the Vancouver Sun, Fred Latremouille, Al Jordan and Pat Burns plus a young red-headed rock and roller, yours truly.

When Vic retired he returned the following year by joining the fledgling new Vancouver Cablevision with a mandate to introduce community programming. He was pioneering once again and this time with the world's first cable operation right here in our town.

Vic also served his country in the armed forces in the South Pacific from 1942-1946.

This man could take a word such as "Sky" and turn it into one of the most interesting stories with twists and turns that only a fertile imagination could invent.

He was truly one of the greatest communicators the radio business had ever produced.

above written by Red Robinson - edited

Special to The Vancouver Sun

August 21, 2006

http://www.redrobinson.com

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Former corporal Vic Waters tells of his WW11 career.

Waters, who joined CJOR radio in 1938, says he was one of the charter members of the Royal Canadian Signal Corps. "We started in a little, shabby bungalow in the outskirts of Esquimalt and we set up the first Pacific Coast listening station.

"Our job was to track down enemy subversive operators, operating out of the Hudson River basin in New York and places like Seattle and Portland.''

Vic and other highly trained wireless intercept operators were posted to Darwin in 1945 with a companion group of Canadian Intelligence Service operatives in the last few months of the Second World War.

"The receiving station we built at the very aptly named Cemetery Plains in northern Australia was probably one of the best in the world, akin to Bletchley Park in England. Most people didn't know there was any Canadian corps in the South Pacific because the work was hush-hush,'' says Vic.

A tribute by Red Robinson can be found on his blog at: http://redrobinson.com/blog/?p=79