I first encountered Joe Martin back in the 70's when I was in high school. Joe traveled from school to school, moderating a student quiz show, "Scholastic," that was recorded and played back on the weekend. I wasn't involved in the show, but I watched with amazement as Joe set up what looked like archaic and bulky audio taping equipment. I don't remember a word of the quiz or the broadcast. It was the production and the equipment that fascinated me. You know what followed. I started in college radio just a few months after high school and professional radio followed in my college sophomore year.
I know I had my mind made up to become a broadcaster long before Joe Martin brought that stuff in to my school. Watching that morning helped cement my choice.
It was apparent that Joe Martin was the right guy at the right time. He worked in an era when radio was really local. WCDL didn't have a great signal, and back then, it signed off at sundown. It's now a whopping 37 watts at night. WCDL was "THE" radio station of the Carbondale area, the up valley and the mid valley. There was proof every day. It was a good time for home town radio. Local news, that show called "Scholastic," community events, and of course, plenty of sports. WCDL was what a small town radio station was supposed to be. Joe Martin was in the middle of it all.
I never really met Joe Martin. I think I said hello briefly at the school that day. I auditioned for a job at WCDL shortly after starting college. The news director handed me some wire copy to read and record. Joe wasn't around that morning. I didn't get the job. I don't know who made the decision. No hard feelings. I wasn't ready. I wouldn't have hired me, either.
Local radio was better because Joe Martin contributed to it. My sympathy to family, friends, and fans.
