The Death of a Radio Station: So Long, CHSC...

Although I usually concentrate on the arts and other cultural endeavours, the radio industry is never far from my thoughts, as I have been in the broadcasting field for over 35 years now. And this week, I am reporting on two sad events that happened in St. Catharines over the past week or so.

The first is the passing of Ed Eldred, the long-time news director of radio station CHSC in St. Catharines, and more recently a community activist with Aids Niagara, among other groups. It was truly a shock to hear of his death earlier this month of natural causes in his apartment. No cause of death has been listed, but he was only 58 years old, so this was totally unexpected. Anyone who worked with or knew Ed knew how warm and friendly he was, and how professional he was in all his career endeavours. I used to attend openings at the Shaw Festival and always talked with Ed at intermission; more recently I chatted with him while he was doing contract work with the St. Catharines and Area Arts Council. After that he went to work for Sitel in St. Catharines.

There will be a public memorial for Ed on July 22nd at Stella's Restaurant in downtown St. Catharines to celebrate his life and many of his achievements. The date is a fitting one, as it would have been his 59th birthday. Organizers also hope to announce plans for a lasting memorial to Ed that evening, which gets underway at 7 pm. If you knew Ed or used to listen to him during his years delivering the news at CHSC, I hope you'll find some time to raise a glass in his honour at Stellas next Tuesday evening. He will be missed.

The second event is the closure of CHSC Radio itself. The rocky road of AM Radio has not been kind to CHSC for many years now, as it struggled to maintain its market position in the face of growing debt and reduced listenership. The beginning of the end came, apparently, in May when bailiffs locked the doors due to failure to pay rent and taxes on the property on Queenston Street. Since then, the station has still been operating, apparently out of the present owner's basement studio in Woodbridge, Ontario. How long that will last is anyone's guess.

The public auction of station assets was this past Monday, as former employees of the once-proud station and other curious bargain hunters walked the halls bidding on everything from office furniture to studio equipment to paper and pens and all sorts of other leftover material. I was there for part of the auction and the scene was not a pretty one: radio consoles that once housed working equipment now sat empty and practically useless. There were very old radio station turntables I worked with in the 70s and 80s, as well as other equipment long discarded by most other radio stations years ago. It was almost like walking back in time and visiting a station circa 1975. The set of WKRP in Cincinnati was not far from what this operation looked like before being gutted by bargain hunters this week.

I came away with nothing, and that is fine. I went mainly to see the remains of a once-proud institution I once applied for a job at when I was planning to move to St Catharines from Belleville over a quarter-century ago. At the time, I remember the station being a formidable opponent for CKTB Radio, where I have worked since 1981. Now, though, only a dead carcass of a radio station remains. How sad it is.

What will become of the building has yet to be determined; will a buyer be found for it and if so, what will they do with the building? Time will tell. But one thing is clear: it will never again house the station that once proudly proclaimed it was "All About This Town".

Goodbye, CHSC. And thanks for the memories.

July 16th, 2008.