Radio Hall of Fame will grow. (Radio History).

(Editor's note: Information for this article was provided by the St. Louis Media Archives at the St. Louis Public Library.)

People who are members of the Baby Boom generation can look back on their years as teen-agers and conjure up a name or two of their favorite disc jockeys. That's because radio was important to us back then, and the deejays were talented, intelligent people who seemed to understand and care about their listeners.

It was out of a desire to spotlight the accomplishments of some of these St. Louis radio pioneers that the St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame was founded.

There are 37 members in the hall's inaugural "class," each of them honored for a contribution to radio in our city. There were 75 people nominated by the board of directors, and voters chose from that list. Five new members per year will be added in the future.

Who was the first lady of St. Louis radio? That would be Virginia Jones, who was known on the air as "Miss Jones," and later, "V.A.L. Jones." She was at KSD when the St. Louis Post-Dispatch station signed on in 1922. Serving as an announcer, scheduler and program director, Miss Jones was admired for her deep, resonant voice and her outstanding organizational abilities. Gracy, meanwhile, was the first black lady of St. Louis radio, beginning her announcing career on KATZ in the late 1950s.

Who can be credited with giving birth to "Real Rock Radio?" In 1962, Ed Ceries and his wife Leona signed the station on from the basement of their home in Crestwood. Ed's vision was of a station that would play classical music, and he dubbed it "KSHE-- The Lady of FM." When it was obvious his format wouldn't be a financial success, Ceries sold the station, and the new owners eventually found the rock format in the late '60s.

Some of those elected to the hall of fame are still on the air, giving listeners the chance to hear a part of history: Lou "Fatha" Thimes, Gabriel, Buddy Moreno, Leo Chears and Paul Harvey--yes, that Paul Harvey. Using his given name, Paul Aurandt, he was a newsman at KXOK when it signed on in 1938.

The names of other members may not be familiar, but each of them contributed to St. Louis radio. Bud Connell is the man credited with creating KXOK in the 1960s, turning it into a nationally known Top 40 powerhouse. Lester Arthur Benson built the market's earliest radio transmitters, putting KSD on the air and later building his own station, WEB, which became WIL.

Nellie Booth was the first president of the St. Louis chapter of AFRA, the American Federation of Radio Artists. She served the union here until the 1960s. Harry Eidelman put KCFM on the air in the early 50s and spent many long nights with his engineers keeping the equipment operating.

Some members who have passed away are remembered for what they did on the air. Robert BQ, Spider Burks and Dave Dixon were pioneers on the. "race radio" scene here. Harry Fender, John McCormick, Jack Carney, France Laux, Rex Davis, Bob Hardy and Bob Osborne had long runs on KMOX.

There were the news voices of Gene Hirsch, John Roedel, Bob Shea, Robert R. Lynn and Sterling Harkins; and sports voices of Buddy Blattner, Jack Buck and Harry Caray. Gil Newsome wowed the teens on KWK in the early 50s and later broadcast on KSD.

Bernie Hayes is still around, sharing his broadcast experiences with Webster University students. Ed Wilson was the man who could sell anything with his folksy approach to announcing.

Roy Queen is still around, sharing memories of that day in 1929 when he auditioned on the air at KMOX. His hillbilly singing act was a hit, though he was only 16 at the time. Jim White has memories of thousands of late night shifts on the 50,000 watt powerhouse that was KMOX.

Don Pietromonaco is listed in the hall, but his loyal listeners remember him as Johnny Rabbitt on KXOK. And Robert Hyland is also there. Anyone who knows anything about radio history here needs no introduction to him.

But while it may appear that the St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame is all about the past, it's also about the future. Radio's future employees-- management and talent--should take time to learn from the leaders of the past.

Frank Absher is a St. Louis radio consultant.