Frank Harden – Legendary Harden and Weaver Show – WMAL AM630

Podcast: Download

Frank Harden on “The Senator’s” ‘Forward March!’ one morning –

“That’s right and I think one of the funny things that happened there was the Senator always gave the forward march command and one day we got a call from a representative who said ‘When the Senator said “Forward March!”, I was stopped at a stoplight! I put the pedal to the metal and took off!'”

A Ockershausen: This is a very special day for Our Town. Frank, we didn’t coin that name, it’s Our Town. That’s the suburbs and everything we grew up with, but it’s so special to see Frank Harden and to have a chance to talk to Frank because I lived through those years and the best years of my life. I want to correct part of what he said in a book. That is about the size of the Harden and Weaver audience. I would tell you, Frank, at one time, Harden and Weaver had one out of every four listeners in the Greater Washington area, that is stupendous! Nobody’s ever come close to that, even the Super Bowl doesn’t do any better than that, one out of every four. Welcome Frank Harden!
Frank Harden: Thank you very much!
A Ockershausen: Yeah. Now, the beauty that I have in my life is when I came to WMAL, Harden and Weaver were here, but they were Frank Harden and Jackson Weaver. They were just guys on the staff and you refreshed my memory by reading what you guys, and how you started. I’m fascinated by how you got into radio and how you got into radio at WMAL.
Frank Harden: Well, I came here in 1947.
A Ockershausen: Right after the war.
Frank Harden: Right after the war and I had been in Denver working at a station out there.
A Ockershausen: KSL, I remember the call airs from your book.
Frank Harden: Oh, do you?
A Ockershausen: Yes.
Frank Harden: Okay!
A Ockershausen: Big powerful radio station, KSL.
Frank Harden: Yeah. You remember more than I do because one of the things that I’ve lost through all of my infirmities is my memory, I can’t remember a lot of things. People say them to me and I say “Are you kidding?”
A Ockershausen: Frank, that’s not unusual. You got so much packed in there after all those years. Let’s listen to a conversation you had with Tim Brant about earlier days in your military and broadcast career.

Frank Harden and Tim Brant on WMAL in 1999 – D-Day Remembrance

Frank Harden: 9:10 here on News Talk 6:30, WMAL on this 50th anniversary of D-Day. 1944 it took place, I can remember exactly want I was doing on D-Day, 1944.
Tim Brant: Can you really? What were you doing?
Frank Harden: I had been out of the Army for four days.
Tim Brant: Is that right?
Frank Harden: That’s right, four days, medical discharge from a general hospital up in Pennsylvania, Deshon General Hospital in Pennsylvania. I more or less predicted D-Day because everybody was expecting “When’s it going to happen? When’s this going to happen?” A lot of us had been in the hospital for a long time with no active therapy of any kind, we were just there, just there in the hospital.
Tim Brant: Just lying around.
Frank Harden: Yeah, a bunch of guys from the North African Campaign, a bunch of guys from the Italian Campaign. We were all there. One day, they started calling off names. “Come down to the Colonel’s office. Go down to the commanding officer’s office.” Went down there and one by one, we were standing in a line out in the hall, I’ll remember that. As each guy would come out, he had been handed his discharge or told that he was being separated from the service. The only thing that we could speculate was that they were cleaning out the hospitals to get ready for D-Day.
Tim Brant: Wow.
Frank Harden: Sure enough, it happened four days later.
Tim Brant: Well, people say too that there was a feeling. For instance in the various plants, they had to step up certain things, construction and that the trains were loaded.

Frank’s First Radio Gig – WSAV – Savannah, GA

Frank Harden: Yep. I went home and I’d figure my father was going to get a little tired. He wasn’t too thrilled about I was just lying around the house. I’d better get a job. I remembered back in the days when I used to be a radio stations as a musician. I always noticed that the announcer always sat down, that appealed to me a great deal. I’d never been an radio announcer and I said “I think I’ll be a radio announcer.” I went down to WSAV in Savannah. In those days, you could get a job as a radio announcer if you were warm to the touch. I mean everybody was just in the army, you know? They said “Sure, you can be a radio announcer. Come on in, when can you start?” I said “This afternoon if you want me to,” sure enough. Then on the day that D-Day occurred, June the 6th, I was working the morning shift. I was in there at 6:00 in the morning and all you know what broke loose. Of course, we just carried the network, the network was furnishing all the programming and so on, but it was quite a day.
Tim Brant: How’d that first broadcast sound from Normandy?
Frank Harden: A fellow by the name of George Hicks, who’s no longer with us, was the ABC correspondent in Normandy and he carried the majority of the load. Martin Agronsky was in Washington. Was he in Washington? No, Martin was down in the South Pacific some place. Anyway, a lot of people were on the air and Edward R. Murrow was on CBS, of course, William L. Shirer, a lot of the big time commentators and reporters. There was no television of course and the radio broadcasts were censored by the Army, by the military. Somebody said the other day there were a total of I think 14 or 20 reporters at Normandy where today there must be 5,000.
Tim Brant: Yeah. Can I be so bold as to ask what your first job in radio paid?
Frank Harden: Oh, you can be that bold. It was $17.50 a week! It’s exactly what it paid, I remember it well. Then I decided I’d be a sports announcer. I would do a sportscast every evening at about 6:00, 5:30, 5:40 I think it was.
Tim Brant: Did you get a raise?
Frank Harden: No, I got 50 cents a piece for doing the sports cast. It would come out into a raise, which amounted to a raise, yes.
Tim Brant: That’s about what I make today.
Frank Harden: Then there was wage controls in those days. The owner of the station couldn’t give me a raise because it was frozen, wages were frozen. What we decided on was I would sign for overtime, which I never worked. So it got it up to $25 a week.
Tim Brant: Right, that’s illegal.
Frank Harden: Well, he decided it was illegal so he made me work the overtime.
Tim Brant: I think he works here today. He’s your boss!
Frank Harden: So much for D-Day, 1944. It’s now 9:15 on WMAL.

Frank Harden’s Start at WMAL – Thanks to Charlie Edwards and Hal Stepler

A Ockershausen: The thing that I remember about you, so many things, was you mentioned Charlie Edwards in your book.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: That he was working here and told you there might be a job opening.
Frank Harden: Right.
A Ockershausen: That’s fabulous. I mean, in all those years you guys were friends and Charlie was instrumental. Let me give you a couple of names and you tell me what you can think of. Hal Stepler.
Frank Harden: I can remember that, yes.
A Ockershausen: He was the chief announcer when I came to WMAL.
Frank Harden: Oh, yes he was.
A Ockershausen: He was friendly with all the guys.
Frank Harden: It was funny because the announcer, I had to make a couple of engineering moves when he wanted to talk on the radio. As a consequence, I didn’t know those when I started. Stepler did all that for me, punching buttons here and there and so on. I did the talking!
A Ockershausen: Yeah, you were the voice and he was…
Frank Harden: Yeah, right.
A Ockershausen: People now don’t do it, it doesn’t exist, but announcers did announcements like call letters and time checks and so forth and then they put a show on and then they would stop for a half hour. Well, Harden and Weaver started it, there was no announcers. You all just did the whole show.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: Didn’t you used to go into the booth at the Trans-Lux, and read the news?

Trans-Lux Theater Announcer

Frank Harden: Yes.
A Ockershausen: The Trans-Lux Theater, which showed newsreels.
Frank Harden: It did. It showed newsreels and then they would say “Now, live news from WMAL.” We would read one minute of news.
A Ockershausen: During the break in the movie.
Frank Harden: During the break in the movies, yes.
A Ockershausen: I remember that, going to that separate booth, and you guys would go in there and announce the news.
Frank Harden: Yeah, right.
A Ockershausen: For the people in the theater.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: I remember the first time I met Jackson Weaver. He used to go over to Sam Deans. Remember Sam Deans?
Frank Harden: Oh, yeah.
A Ockershausen: To have breakfast in the morning when the guys … These guys now have their food brought to them. They got it all. In the beginning, you guys were doing all the staff work.
Frank Harden: Yeah.

WMAL Talent – Early Years

A Ockershausen: Jackson and you and so many guys that I don’t remember their names, I hope you do. Lee Dayton.
Frank Harden: Lee Dayton, yes I remember.
A Ockershausen: The announcer and Dean Luce and some of the characters that we had on staff.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: They were great here. Then, we had an opportunity to Bill Malone. You used to do Jim Gibbons, correct?
Frank Harden: That’s correct.
A Ockershausen: And Morning Man.
Frank Harden: I substituted for him.
A Ockershausen: Yeah, that’s what I mean.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: He paid you. I think the station paid him and he paid you because I worked for Jim when you were there to watch what happened to our company and people will leave and things were changing and Fred Howling came, remember that?
Frank Harden: Yep.

A Ockershausen: That changed things too, but fortunately he was one of the guys that recognized that Harden and Weaver had special talent. Remember the radio show you did for ABC?
Frank Harden: Right.
A Ockershausen: Called “Frank and Jackson.”
Frank Harden: Yeah, right. I remember that, yeah I remember.

Harden and Weaver – Anecdotes

A Ockershausen: That was a great audition and then Fred was very supportive of the fact that giving you guys a shot at the morning show, Harden and Weaver, unheard of in this town. We had an advertising agency that wanted to talk to the audience about Harden and Weaver as a funny show. Frank and Jackson said “No, we’re not funny. You’re funny! You’re the listener. We do funny things, but we’re not funny people. We’re not comics.” Is that true Frank?
Frank Harden: That’s true. We were known as comedians. I don’t know why because we never thought that we were saying anything funny, but for some reason or the other, we got the reputation that we were smart and funny. One time, we were invited to go to New York and appear on a session up there. In fact, they offered us a job on that station. I looked at Jackson and he looked at me and we both shook our heads no and that was the end of it.
A Ockershausen: You flew back to Washington.
Frank Harden: Flew back to Washington.
A Ockershausen: “We ain’t leaving.”
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: That was the best news we ever heard at WMAL, let me tell you.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: Another time Frank, I hope you can recall this, we had a farewell party in New York when we had all the agency people. I mean a big party, big deal, and you and Jack came up just for that day and did a little presentation and so forth. They had a huge cocktail party and you and Jackson left me. What’d you do? You went out and got a cab and said “We’re going home.”
Frank Harden: Yeah, right!
Janice Ockershausen: Studio 54.
A Ockershausen: No, this was different than Studio 54. They left because they got fed up with this. This is New York, nobody knew anybody, right?
Frank Harden: That’s correct.
A Ockershausen: They’re all drinking, everybody’s drunk.
Janice Ockershausen: I remember Jack saying he was walking out backwards so nobody would see that he was leaving.
Frank Harden: Yeah, right!
A Ockershausen: He always had a good word.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: That was great times though, Frank. There was another story in your book that I had forgotten about. I’m not going to do the Harden and Weaver Show because it’s impossible, but we bought airtime on a New York radio station and took a snippet, like 15 minutes of the Harden Weaver Show, and played it in New York. We wrote to all the agencies and advertising people, marketing people in New York, to listen in to the station to hear Harden and Weaver, a Washington talent appearing on a New York radio station. They were the great days, let me tell you that.
Frank Harden: Yeah, they were.
A Ockershausen: Great days, none heard of, Frank.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: Harden and Weaver were so special. Tell me about, what is it, some of the characters, they just happened. Is that correct? You didn’t really rehearse-
Frank Harden: Jackson would come forward with a character. He didn’t do imitations. He did characterizations of certain characters. The Senator –
Janice Ockershausen: Like Pete Moss filling for the aging Phil Dirt.
A Ockershausen: Phil Dirt is filling in for the … Pete Moss is under the weather.
Janice Ockershausen: Right.
Frank Harden: Yeah, right.
A Ockershausen: Janice knew them all and the Senator, of course. The Senator was typical of a bombastic senator, right?
Frank Harden: That’s right and I think one of the funny things that happened there was the Senator always gave the forward march command and one day we got a call from a representative who said “When the Senator said forward march, I was stopped at a stoplight! I put the pedal to the metal and took off!”
A Ockershausen: And ran into somebody in front of him?
Frank Harden: Ran into somebody in front of him!
A Ockershausen: Oh my God! Oh, Frank. Well, the march was so symbolic to what we were and to the music and the hymn. The hymn, that was tradition. We tried to give up the hymn and the audience didn’t like that at all. “No, no. We want that hymn and we want it on the same time every morning because we plan our life around the hymn,” only from Harden and Weaver would that happen.
Frank Harden: That’s right.
A Ockershausen: Happened all the time. About the loss at pets… remember we had to put a stop to it because there so many of them you couldn’t do the show.
Frank Harden: Yeah. Also, we did all of the characters. Jackson did all of the characters, there was no question about that. When we did the characters, they were noted by the newspapers, by all of the print media. We even gave names to automobile dealers. One dealer had a sign that he carried around that “I’m so and so,” whoever Harden and Weaver had named it.
Janice Ockershausen: Was it Rocky Rockmont?
Frank Harden: Yeah, Rocky.
A Ockershausen: Rockmont Chevrolet.
Frank Harden: Yeah. “I’m Rockmont. I’m Rocky.”
A Ockershausen: He was very successful too with the commercials.
Janice Ockershausen: Talk a little bit about your experiences with Tony Adelfio, how you created his business at Bethesda Travel, talk a little bit about your tours because you guys were fabulous.
A Ockershausen: Travel.
Janice Ockershausen: Fabulous travel tips.
Frank Harden: Travel show, yeah that was born. It all of the sudden came up where this travel agent who was little or unknown and we went on the air with the travel show and he’d arranged travels for us all over the world.
A Ockershausen: But he started off very small as I recall.
Frank Harden: Yeah, right.
A Ockershausen: Then it built up to the point where they would sell out almost immediately, as soon as you announced “Harden and Weaver are going to Russia,” it sold out. Tony couldn’t handle it all.
Frank Harden: Right!
A Ockershausen: Frank, that was so special because your relationship with the audience, Harden and Weaver, they were part of the family of the audience, that’s why one in every four people had it on every morning of the week.
Frank Harden: Yeah. One of the reasons for that is that we never characterized the listener, everybody listened.
A Ockershausen: That is correct.
Frank Harden: We could get in a cab with an African-American driver and he listened. We could in and it was a white driver, he listened.
A Ockershausen: Absolutely.
Frank Harden: Everybody listened.
A Ockershausen: One of the great things about being in Washington, you had the hierarchy of the city and of the federal government and of the military were Harden and Weaver listeners.
Frank Harden: That’s right.
A Ockershausen: I’ll never forget the story about General Curtis LeMay. He was head of the Strategic Air Command and he was a listener complaining about something you guys did!
Frank Harden: Yeah, right!
A Ockershausen: It’s incredible, all that magic of having that and then having people call up … What it is it? The Middendorf, they wanted to be on the program, right? He wasn’t admiral, he was secretary of the Navy and he wanted to be on the … The bands, the military bands, some of your anniversary parties were sensational with the military coming up with a combined band.
Frank Harden: That’s right.
A Ockershausen: Oh my God!
Janice Ockershausen: On your 25th anniversary at the Kennedy Center with all its glory with the red carpet, we had the Joint Service bands marching down the aisle of the Kennedy Center and it was fabulous. Do you remember that?
Frank Harden: Yes I do.
Janice Ockershausen: We had Jimmy Dean and we had WJAL TV was broadcasting.
A Ockershausen: That was live! It was live, channel seven was live.
Janice: It was a fantastic broadcast.
A Ockershausen: Right, channel seven used to be WMAL. It used to be Frank Harden doing a show. He did booth announcing, remember that Frank?
Frank Harden: Yes I do.
A Ockershausen: Channel seven.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: The guys would go up to the booth to say “It’s 10:30,” and they’d take over the rest of the evening and they’d give the weather report.

Children’s Hospital

Janice Ockershausen: One of the beauties about Harden and Weaver also, was the relationship that you had with the community and the charity aspect of it, Children’s Hospital.
A Ockershausen: That’s why it’s so special to Our Town because it was all part of our town. The Children’s Hospital story is great and we know it Janice. They never asked for a nickel. Harden and Weaver never asked anybody to give anything.
Frank Harden: That’s right.
A Ockershausen: It just happened. They would announce that “So and so is going to a Christmas party and they’re going to give the money to Children’s Hospital.” What a nice thing to do!
Janice Ockershausen: Frank you used to say “We have a stack of checks so big a show dog couldn’t jump over it!” Some of the funniest lines.
A Ockershausen: They worked at it. Frank, as I recall, maybe it changed because of your travel, but you and Jack had two separate lives, which really helped the show, helped both of you because you went your own way when the show ended. It was not Harden and Weaver 24/7.
Frank Harden: That’s right and I must tell you that Jackson had a religion and he never once hit me with the religion, never once, even though his religion called for spreading the news of the religion. He never once hit me.
A Ockershausen: He didn’t try to recruit you.
Frank Harden: No, never.
A Ockershausen: Yeah, I know.
Frank Harden: Never once.
A Ockershausen: That’s because you guys lived in two different worlds and kept it that way in all those years. Remember your golf world, you and Charlie Edwards would play golf and hide the bottle a bourbon.
Frank Harden: Yeah!
A Ockershausen: It made all those early golf trips worth it! That was before Harden and Weaver, actually.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: I think about Bill Malone. You know, he died in that automobile accident on 95. We had so many good talented people and Felix, of course. Remember when we hired Bill Mahue.
Frank Harden: Yes I do.
A Ockershausen: He said “I don’t think I can do this all the time.” I said “Start out with the all night show and see what happens.” 30 years later, he’s still the all night.
Frank Harden: Yeah, still doing the all night show, right.
A Ockershausen: He loved it. He just flipped his life. Most people spend their time in a certain regimented way, but he didn’t. He could play golf and then go home or not go home. He was amazing. Frank, we were always taking Harden and Weaver on remote. On this particular day, we were in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware on our annual Memorial Day trek at the Henlopen Hotel. Let’s listen.
Jackson Weaver: I guess that’s what counts. What’s our march this morning?
Frank Harden: Stars and Stripes Forever because it’s Memorial Day and we are marching in honor of all of the fallen in all of the wars that the United States has been engaged in.
Jackson Weaver: Well then, let’s start it off here.
Frank Harden: Folks in the room, stand back. The Senator’s about to start the march.
Jackson Weaver: Forward!
A Ockershausen: Absolutely incredible to have Frank Harden here live and in color. We’ll be right back and don’t turn your podcast off.
[Commercial] Mike Collins: Are you retired or soon will be? Is your will up to date? You don’t want to leave a mess for your family to clean up. I’m attorney Mike Collins, the guy who sends you those invitations to my estate planning seminar. I’ll teach you how to save taxes, avoid probate, protect your heirs from lawsuits, bankruptcy, even the divorce court. Keep your money and your family with our innovative reservoir trust. Watch the mail for your invitation. Tuition is free when you register online at mikecollins.com, that’s mikecollins.com.[End Commercial]
[Commercial] Tony: Hi, Tony Cibel here to tell everybody about our wonderful restaurants at Washington Harbor. Tony and Joe’s, the best seafood in the city. Nick’s Riverside Grill, wonderful chops and steaks, wonderful views of the Kennedy Center, Roosevelt Island, Rosslyn Skyline, spectacular. Two bars outside, right on the water, fabulous food. For dinner reservations call 202-944-4545. It’s really a great experience. We’ll see you down at Tony and Joe’s or Nick’s Riverside Grill. [End Commercial]
Announcer: You’re listening to Our Town with Andy Ockershausen brought to you by Best Bark Communications.

Harden and Weaver Charity Golf Tournament

A Ockershausen: This is a very special Our Town to talk to the man who made Our Town so special and that’s Frank Harden of Harden and Weaver. What they did for the community with the golf tournament, Frank, will never be equaled and it started at a luncheon, right, with you guys?
Frank Harden: That’s right and Charlie Kettler.
A Ockershausen: You probably had a few cocktails.
Frank Harden: Yeah, right!
A Ockershausen: I guess in those days people did cocktails at lunch, right?
Frank Harden: Right.
A Ockershausen: And had the idea we should have a charity golf tournament.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: And you did it! Wasn’t the first one at Kenwood?
Frank Harden: The first was, no … The first one was at Montgomery Village.
A Ockershausen: Yeah and that’s where it stayed all those years.
Frank Harden: Yeah, right.
A Ockershausen: The golf tournament was secondary to the festivities of Harden and Weaver and they had the hunting horn in the morning, right?
Frank Harden: Yeah!
A Ockershausen: Oh, that was so special. Who did the horn? Do you remember? The Simonelli family.
Frank Harden: Yeah, Simonelli.
A Ockershausen: They’d play that hunting horn and the guys would tee off, that was special. Then, the cocktail party afterwards was always spectacular with the awards ceremony.
Frank Harden: Oh, yes!
A Ockershausen: They had the elite of Montgomery County and Maryland … What do you call it Frank? Business community. I mean, this is a little Mickey Mouse golf course and this is not the US Open, but the Harden and Weaver Tournament. These guys wouldn’t miss it! They would wait a whole year to get their foursome together. It was a huge money maker and the awards ceremony was special, but that was Harden and Weaver. Nobody does that anymore and nobody can do it. They have golf tournaments and they’re all the same.
Frank Harden: Our focus was on entertainment. The focus today seems to be controversy. I think the most controversial thing Harden and Weaver ever said was “Good morning!” That’s true!

Time and Weather Announcements – A Real Service to Listeners

A Ockershausen: Well, the other thing you guys did … Sometimes it was redundant, but you always gave the time. Did you ever not give the time coming out of commercial and the weather? You did it fifty times. Now, they advertise … We got time every ten minutes or something. Harden and Weaver did it every 30 seconds. Time and temperature, when the weather was bad, you gave it constantly. You didn’t have to say “I’m waiting for the weather.” It was right there. Is that right, producer? You saw to that.
What else? You got a nice time with the Saints and Sinners one time I remember.
Frank Harden: That’s right.
A Ockershausen: Is that group, I wonder if it’s still in business.
Frank Harden: I have no idea whether they’re still in business or not.
A Ockershausen: They were designed to have fun, those luncheons and people. Those were fun and Harden and Weaver were always invited. They’d take me to a few of them, I remember that. Frank, can you remember and tell us that story about your trip to meet the Queen of England?

Meeting the Queen of England at the British Embassy and Invitations to the White House

Frank Harden: The Queen of England. We were invited to everything, including when the Queen was here. We were invited by the-
A Ockershausen: British ambassador.
Frank Harden: British ambassador to the British Embassy to meet the Queen and we did! One time when Gerry Ford was president, we were invited to the White House. He was responsible for our attending number of things. As a matter of fact, we were invited to almost everything that happened in Washington.
A Ockershausen: Absolutely.
Frank Harden: The minute that we went off the air, wham! The door was closed… to everything. I’m not kidding you, we were invited to everything from the White House on down, but when we went off the air, it ended.
A Ockershausen: Because you were so special and special to the market, but I know that Gerry Ford story because when he was a Congressman he listened to Harden and Weaver.
Frank Harden: Yeah, right.
A Ockershausen: That’s the way he got his timing to get to the office. He would talk about that. Then there was a great story. Didn’t Jackson have a dialog with the Queen, something about radio?
Frank Harden: Yes.
A Ockershausen: That’s so special. It could only happen in Washington. She made it a point to talk to you guys about “What is it you do in radio?”
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: She thought it was very interesting and ignored the rest of the crowd, right?
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: Made a b-line for Harden and Weaver.
Frank Harden: When we were introduced by the British Ambassador to the Queen, she said “Oh, these are those two cracker jacks you mentioned! Those are the two cracker jacks!”
A Ockershausen: That’s great! Handsome cracker jack!
Now, the thing I usually get you guys to go to so many luncheons and so many times you’d be the emcee and I must have heard the story a hundred times because I went to a hundred luncheons, the story about the lady didn’t know how to introduce you. Was it a lady’s club, something in Bethesda?
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: Can you recall what she said?
Frank Harden: No I don’t.
A Ockershausen: That “I wake up in bed with these two guys every morning!” She didn’t know what to say! She’s talking about Harden and Weaver, that’s a great story.
Frank, you had a boat at one time. When Jackson left, he went to his boat, right?
Frank Harden: Right.
A Ockershausen: Almost everyday and you didn’t.
Frank Harden: No.
A Ockershausen: That’s also the difference you guys had. You had a boat over the Pentagon lagoon.
Frank Harden: That’s right.
A Ockershausen: Many years ago, that’s 60, 70 years ago.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: Now, I don’t know if you’ve been over there lately, but they’ve changed. Remember that bridge they couldn’t get under? Now they’ve raised that bridge up and it’s a mess. You’ve seen the traffic, Frank, in all your years. Traffic is so bad.
Frank Harden: Oh, yes.

Berit Harden

A Ockershausen: Right. Now tell me about Sweden, do you still go to Sweden every year?
Frank Harden: I still go to Sweden every year. My wife is Swedish.
A Ockershausen: Well, we knew that.
Frank Harden: I’m the luckiest guy in the world that I have her as a wife.
A Ockershausen: You’re second. I’m the luckiest, but your second. I remember, Berit worked at WMAL. I know that! Somebody mentioned to me yesterday his uncle named Maloy, Jimmy Maloy, and his wife. You may remember the name Berit, was named Macy, Macy worked at WMAL as a traffic or something when we were at the transmitter. That had to be in the 60s. The transmitter was an experience. It was away from things, but it also had its advantages did it not?
Frank Harden: Yes it certainly did. There was one guy who turned out to be a professional golfer who practiced on the field over there. I’ve forgotten his name now.

WMAL Transmitter – AM Signal

A Ockershausen: I’ll tell you his name. He asked for permission to build a tee. His name was Deane Beman.
Frank Harden: That’s right.
A Ockershausen: He won the US Amateur twice and he won the British Amateur. He used the WMAL field right there were you guys were to practice and he built a practice tee and hit golf balls and had some kids go shag them.
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: He’d come in the place where you guys and get water, go to the toilet or whatever. Something’s happened today that really disturbed me and it hurts, but it’s a part of life. Today is the day they’re beginning to demolish the WMAL transmitter building. What has happened. The owners of the frequency have sold the land and they’re demolishing the transmitter. I would imagine they’re going to make a fortune selling the steel out of the towers because they don’t need the towers anymore. Are you aware of that, that there will be no more AM?
Frank Harden: No, I did not.
A Ockershausen: It’s all going to be on FM now unless somebody buys that AM. Have we heard anything about that, about what they’re going to do with the AM? Also Frank, there’s a lot of copper in the ground there. Remember all the copper wires that did all our signal? I can’t imagine 630 being sold. It’s such a great frequency. Nobody ever had any trouble listening to Harden and Weaver, you could get them anywhere, get them in your teeth and it was worth it! Frank, it’s so great to see you and great to see Berit and to think about the days. The best days of our lives are now, you understand that don’t you?
Frank Harden: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: You’re mobile, you got a way to get around. You got a beautiful young wife. I have one of those too, Frank! A dime a dozen. It’s so great to see you and anything that you can think of that Harden and Weaver would have said or would wanted to say? Jackson would have said “Help me out of this chair!” I remember that.
Frank Harden: Yeah, right.
Janice Ockershausen: He would’ve said “I am standing up!”
A Ockershausen: I know. Frank would do that all the time with him. Frank would stand and Jack-
Frank Harden: I would get up, except it would take me at least a day and a half.
A Ockershausen: I know! Yeah, but you can get up Frank.
Frank Harden: Yeah!
A Ockershausen: You look great. Berit, the secret is “Get up, get dressed, get out.” Even if you go and sit on the porch, get dressed! Frank, thank you so much. Our Town is so grateful for you.
Frank Harden: Thank you.
A Ockershausen: All you did for me and my life. My meal ticket was Harden and Weaver for a long long time, like 30 years. My second meal ticket was discovering Janice as your producer and now she’s in charge. I work for her, Frank. She’s the boss, you know that don’t you?
Frank Harden: Yeah, right.
A Ockershausen: She always was the boss! We love you.
Frank Harden: My wife is the boss.
A Ockershausen: I know! Berit used to take care of things at the transmitter I remember that.
Frank Harden: Yeah.

Highlights of the Harden and Weaver Show

A Ockershausen: Frank, before we finish up, let’s listen to some of the highlights of the Harden and Weaver Show.
Jingle: Harden and Weaver in the morning, WMAL!
Jackson Weaver: Forward!
Donna: Good morning!
Frank Harden: Good morning, Donna.
Jackson Weaver: Good morning to you Donna.
Frank Harden: She’s dressed like a little farm girl.
Jackson Weaver: Are you a milkmaid, Donna?
Frank Harden: Look, she’s going out to pick up the eggs as soon as we lay them on the Harden and Weaver Show.
Jackson Weaver: And that won’t be long now.
Frank Harden: She’ll have a whole basket full.
Sit down, make yourself at home.
A red and green suspender, what were-
Jackson Weaver: Yeah, port and starboard. It’s wonderful!
Willard Scott: This wasn’t just his quick mind and great wit and did have a fabulous sense of humor, people really loved him because he was so full of love and that is what I think came through more than anything else.
Jackson Weaver: I can’t talk now, I’ve got to meet Smokey at the Lookout Town!
The Senator: Here is America, a beauty of the world. Her force reaches proudly to salute her flags…
Frank Harden: Ah yes, there’s the old Bolivia Fig Newton Johnson scene, that song there.
Jackson Weaver: No, you murdered her name.
She says that Elvis called on the phone last week. He said to Hubert “Son, you’re not going to believe me, but this is Elvis Presley.” Hubert almost fainted.
Frank Harden: I’ll bet he did. I mean in view of the fact that Elvis died in 1977 and this is 1988.
Jackson Weaver: I don’t believe it!
Frank Harden: You don’t believe this is 1988?
Jackson Weaver: No!
Paul Harvey: I’ve always thought our whole country is still a little more fortunate for having its leaders go to work in the morning with a smile, that much me owe to you, but you owe the rest of us so much that I guess-
Jackson Weaver: That’s very sweet of you.
The federal government’s closed! The district government’s closed and all the major school systems are closed, most all the rinky-dinky day schools are closed.
Mark Russell: Incidentally Senator, I did want to congratulate you on… Well, I didn’t congratulate you yet, but I did want to congratulate you on your pay raise.
Jackson Weaver: Well, thank you.
Frank Harden: I think that’s wonderful.
Jackson Weaver: You know the thing that bothers me is the peasantry doesn’t seem to realize how valuable we are!
Frank Harden: Don’t you think peasantry is a little strong?
Jackson Weaver: Well, are we on the air?
Well, you’ve got dogs over at your house.
Frank Harden: Oh yeah, I have a dog.
Jackson Weaver: You’ve got a Lhasa Apso
Frank Harden: A yes a Lhasa Apso
Jackson Weaver: Looks like a mop that came apart.
Let me tell you about the whale!
Frank Harden: All right.
Jackson Weaver: It was wearing a tee-shirt. It said “Save the humans!”
Paul HarveyI think it’s time somebody set the record straight. There is no Harden and Weaver and never was!
Frank Harden: All right.
Jackson Weaver: What you all have been listening to all these mornings is a very clever ventriloquist whose real name is Spiro Agnew and now you know the rest of the story.
Frank Harden: Oh no!
Jackson Weaver: Forward March!
Jingle: Harden and Weaver!
A Ockershausen: Frank and Jack will always be remembered by people in our town.
Jingle: WMAL.
Frank Harden: Thank you.
A Ockershausen: Thank you, Frank.
Frank Harden: Thank you very much.
Announcer: You’ve been listening to Our Town Season one with your host Andy Ockershausen. New Our Town podcast episodes are released each Tuesday and Thursday. We welcome your comments and suggestions on how you like the show or who you’d like to hear from next. Catch us on Facebook at Our Town DC or visit our website at ourtowndc.com. Our special thanks to WMAL radio in Washington DC for hosting our podcasts.