JACK MALONE REMEMBERS

FORMER GENERAL MANAGER OF KQIV QUADRAPHONIC FM 107
REMEMBERS THE GREAT KQIV STAFF

I count myself in nothing else
so happy
As in a soul remem’bring my good
friends.

Shakespeare
 

Old friends are the great blessings
of one’s later years. Half a word
conveys one’s meanings. They have a
memory of the same events, and have
the same mode of thinking.

Horace Walpole
 

(In alphabetical order)

GLEN ADAMS, Disc Jockey: Glen was the morning person (6 a.m. to 10 a.m.) at KQIV when it officially went on the air on September 15, 1972. Although cordial, my relationship with Glen was shallow -- usually a quick "hello" and "good-bye" -- as he was leaving work about the same time I was coming to work. I felt disappointed, however, when Glen soon left KQIV, participating in an exit epidemic that by December, 1972 had infected most of the program department.

BOB ANCHETA, Disc Jockey: In addition to his own shift, Bob also was an important reserve jock. He would often fill in when the regular disc jockeys were unable to work. And he would always do a good job.

ACE ANDERSON, Sales Representative: Ace certainly deserved his nickname because of his outstanding sales record at KQIV. Ace became KQIV’s longest surviving sales representative, mostly because he was able to weather almost every station political and engineering storm "come Walter Kraus or high water." Eventually, however, transmission problems beyond KQIV’s control sadly caused his departure -- as it did the unfortunate departures of many other sales people -- and Ace left KQIV to share his great name and excellent sales ability with a company that was more in control of its destiny.

GARY ANDERSON, Sales Manager: Gary rode into KQIV like the cavalry and led the sales department to safety at a time when it was surrounded by hostile management problems. Although he didn’t work for KQIV very long, Gary successfully accomplished what he set out to do, and then rode off into the sunset like the Lone Ranger. Later, I saw him working with Joe Kraus (Walter Kraus’s son) at Jake’s Famous Crawfish, a popular restaurant in downtown Portland. Both Gary and Joe were truly talented waiters. In fact, I would often take prospective KQIV advertising clients to Jake’s just to impress them with Gary and Joe’s amazing order-taking and food-serving abilities. Even though he was not a KQIV employee when he was working at Jake’s, Gary helped me make a number of good sales with his great comments about KQIV to my prospects during and after their excellent dining experience.

JEFF CLARKE, Disc Jockey: Jeff was the afternoon person (2 p.m. to 6 p.m.) at KQIV when it officially went on the air. When I first met Jeff, I immediately judged him to be a hippie from his head (with long hair and tinted glasses) to his feet (with flared pants and pointed shoes). And then when he extended his hand in greeting and said, "What’s happenin’ man?" I knew he was totally depraved. Boy, was I wrong! Jeff may have looked and sounded like a hippie, but that’s where it all ended; in all other ways, he was a professional in every sense of the word. Whatever he did was usually of the highest quality. And I could always count on Jeff: he would work when others couldn’t (or wouldn’t) and he never complained. As an employee, I considered Jeff one of the four pillars of KQ4. And as a friend, he tried harder than anyone else to keep in touch after I quit KQIV. He even traveled to Longview, WA where I owned an ice cream shop to visit me.

JOE COLLINS, Program Director/Disc Jockey: Joe was called "Deep Throat" by many of his fans and he was proud to wear that label; he liked his name. Like Jeff Clarke and Larry Scott, Joe was one of KQIV’s most popular disc jockeys, and he accepted his well-earned fame with great humility. Whenever I think of KQIV, I often think of Joe and his famous gravelly voice.

FRED DELAHAY, General Manager: Fred was the general manager of KQIV when it officially went on the air. I was put on KQIV’s payroll as Walter Kraus’s administrative assistant about a month before that time and became general manager when Fred and most of his staff walked out in a huff during the first week of December, 1972. Although I didn’t know Fred very well, what little I knew of him I liked. Walter said Fred and his loyalists were "fired," but that’s not the story I heard from them.

NORMAN FLINT, Disc Jockey: Mostly, I remember Norman when he stormed into my office ("Stormin’ Norman" pun intended) and hit me on my right cheek. Being a Christian, I "turned to him my other also" (Matthew 5:39), and he hit me on my left cheek (it was then that I started to seriously question my religion). Although I had to go to the hospital for a couple of stitches, I soon regained my Christian senses, forgave Norman, and tried a lot harder to get along with him. In the meantime, he continued to be one of KQIV’s best disc jockeys.

LINDA GINGOLD, Office Manager: Linda was first hired as an assistant to office manager Patti Smith. After Patti left, Linda ended up being the third of three excellent KQIV office managers. Here is a paragraph from a letter I wrote to Linda on April 5, 1974, shortly after I had quit KQIV: "May I take this opportunity to congratulate you on the excellent job I have heard you are doing. It appears that if I can claim any clear-cut fame for my efforts at KQIV, it was in hiring you."

TOM GOHN, Sales Representative: Tom was in Gerhard Meng’s sales force (as was Ace Anderson). He made some nice sales and was well liked by his clients. Becoming good friends with Ace, he and Ace often worked together.

HEATHER, Sales Traffic: I met Heather at a non-KQIV party when I was with another lady and Heather was by herself. We immediately hit it off and I soon found an excuse to take my date home and return to the party to pick up Heather. Within days, I hired her as our "traffic girl." Although Heather did excellent work, her political liberalism often clashed with my political conservatism in station politics; alas, I frequently found her on labor’s side instead of on management’s side when I fully expected her to support me on the latter. Nevertheless, when both of us were on our best behavior, we got along famously. Unfortunately, Heather left KQIV because of several, sad personal problems. Often, I have thought tenderly of her and wished I had helped her more.

ED HEPP, Disc Jockey: Ed was the midday person (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) at KQIV when it officially went on the air. Ed was brilliant -- perhaps too brilliant; he was also very quiet and usually sought the shadows. On rare occasions, however, Ed would suddenly change his normal behavior 180 degrees and really startle all of us. Nevertheless, we all respected his tremendous creative abilities, regardless of his present state of mind.

DICK JENKINS, Musical Director/Program Director/Disc Jockey: Dick was the late-night person (10 p.m. to 2 a.m.) when KQIV officially went on the air. I had the distinct pleasure of working a lot with Dick and was extremely impressed with his comprehensive knowledge of radio in general and of quadraphonic sound in particular. Unfortunately, Dick was part of the "Fred Delahay Purge." His leaving was a major loss for KQIV.

GLORIA JOHNSON, Disc Jockey: Gloria slipped in and out of the station without my seeing very much of her. But I often heard about her and it was always very good. I regretted not getting better acquainted with Gloria.

KIM, Sales Manager. Kim was sales manager at a time when both Walter Kraus and the station’s antenna were causing considerable problems. Although Kim was good at his job, he was bad at adjusting to Walter’s ever-changing temperament -- particularly as it affected his sales territory. Suddenly, one day Kim was gone. I was disappointed but not at all surprised.

WALTER J. M. KRAUS , Owner: However eccentric (to say the least), Walter was still my boss and I respected him for that. Like it or not (and much of the time I didn’t), I always tried to please him. He hired me at a time when he didn’t need additional personnel and was rapidly sinking into debt (I can often remember him saying "he was so deep in debt they were having to pump air to him;" either that or financially, "he was taking a bath"). Like fire, Walter was a faithful friend when he was under control (sober) or a fearful master when he was out of control (intoxicated). Trying to keep him sober became an unusual part of my job. Generally speaking, Walter treated me well until he sold the station and accepted down payments from two different parties at the same time (with each party not being aware of the other) and thereafter, feeling no longer concerned for the integrity of the station’s popular progressive format, filled Saturday mornings’ air time with high school basketball. I strongly protested both of those actions and eventually threatened to quit if high school basketball ever went on the air. The following Saturday morning a high school basketball game aired on KQIV, and I was history. I last read and saw of Walter in a Seattle newspaper where he was identified as a "dentist" and pictured standing by his Rolls-Royce with a vanity license plate on which was embossed "HUMILITY." What a guy!  (For another interesting look at Walter, see "Recycling Isn't Always a Good Idea!" at the bottom of the page.)

JIM LaFAWN, Program Director/Disc Jockey: Written on the front inside cover of one of my favorite books is the following: "Jack, for your kindness and brotherly generosity I can only speak a common word, that’s thanks....for your spiritual help, I will speak and forever feel love." Signed, Jim LaFawn. In a note dated April, 1973, Jim wrote: "Jack, you treated me like a brother....I’ll not forget that." Jim lived with me when he first joined the KQIV staff and we soon became close friends. He was an excellent program director and was liked by everybody. I introduced Jim to the pretty lady who was later to become his wife and said good-bye to him in tears when I quit KQIV after that fateful, Saturday morning basketball game. Before long, I shed tears again when I heard that Jim had died. I still miss Jim; I guess I shall never forget him.

FAITH LANDRETH, Disc Jockey: I liked Faith from the moment I interviewed her and I fought hard (mostly with Walter Kraus) to get her a job as a disc jockey. Faith soon exceeded everybody’s wildest expectations and became a very popular member of the KQIV family. She and her husband also treated me as "family." I was often invited to their home for dinner where I enjoyed seeing their lovely daughter, Eve, whom I suspect grew up to be as attractive and talented as her also Bible-named mother.

BEN MARSH, News Director/Program Director/Disc Jockey: Although I liked Ben, for some reason, he didn’t like me. One evening when Ben and I were at Faith Landreth’s home for dinner, Ben asked me not to refer to him as "my friend" anymore. That was hard for me to do: I slipped up several times and was quickly rebuked by Ben; but eventually, I learned how to get along with him -- as I did with Norman Flint -- and we at least tolerated each other when we had to work together.

BOB McCLANATHAN, Consulting Engineer: When we experienced a technical problem that Joel Miller couldn’t fix, Joel called Bob. An engineer of engineers, Bob almost always got us back on the air. I slept much better during rating times when I knew Bob was as close as Joel’s telephone.

GERHARD MENG, Sales Manager: Gerhard’s many talents often extended far beyond his position as sales manager. In fact, if I could have suggested a person from within KQIV to be general manager when I quit, I would have suggested Gerhard. We did many promotional events together and became very good friends. In fact, after both of us had left KQIV, we seriously considered going into the travel business together. Had I been single, as Gerhard was at the time (I had just gotten married), I would have gladly joined him and led bicycle tours for good money all over Europe.

JOEL MILLER, Chief Engineer/Disc Jockey: Joel was my closest friend at KQIV. I frequently saw him after working hours because we lived in the same apartment complex and enjoyed many of the same social activities; I saw him less frequently during working hours because he was usually at our transmitter site trying to get us back on the air. I considered Joel one of the four pillars of KQ4. After he left KQIV and joined the staff of KATU Television, I eagerly looked forward to watching KATU’s Christmas promos just to see if I could spot my old radio buddy among all the KATU television stars. Eventually, Joel’s annual television appearances became my last human link -- however weak -- to my fond memories of KQIV.

STEVE O’SHEA, Disc Jockey: Steve came in like a whirlwind and went out about the same. In the short time between his coming and going, he did a good job and was liked by almost everybody.

JIM ROBINSON, Disc Jockey: Jim was a nice guy who did a nice job. I often heard Jim LaFawn speak highly of him.

SUSAN ROSS, Office Manager: Susan was the first of three excellent KQIV office managers. She held that position when KQIV officially went on the air. Susan was helpful to everybody; she was our "Girl Friday." Often, Susan and I competed to see who could get Walter Kraus to do something we knew he didn’t want to do; alas, Susan usually won. I give her great credit for KQIV’s initial success. She was certainly much more than a very pretty face.

MIKE SAKELLARIDES, Production Manager/Disc Jockey: In August, 1994, I was surprised and thrilled by a chance encounter with Mike, his beautiful wife, Barbara, and their handsome son, Adam, at a Mount St. Helen’s visitor center of which I was part owner. Although Irish, I played the part of a "Greek bearing gifts" without the "beware," and loaded Mike up with Mount St. Helens cards, ash, and a Harry Truman album which I had produced with the help of the managers of two old, but famous, rock groups. In subsequent correspondence, both Mike and I agreed that our favorite lyric in the twelve songs on the album was Cyril Kittelson’s "If the way you live ain’t worth dying for, then your living ain’t so good." That kind of thinking is a perfect example of why I considered Mike one of the four pillars of KQ4. He put his whole being into every commercial he ever produced for KQIV. And although nothing was ever perfect to him, almost everything was perfect to his many satisfied clients. The nature of his job made Mike the bridge between KQIV’s sound and sales....its expenses and income....and in the end, its success or failure. And being so connected with sales, Mike often agonized with all the KQIV sales representatives who, because of transmission problems beyond their control, couldn’t sell advertising to clients (even as close as several miles from the station) who couldn’t hear KQIV -- let alone his outstanding commercials -- on their own store’s radio.

LARRY SCOTT, Musical Director/Disc Jockey: One of the nicest things ever said about me as general manager of KQIV was said by Larry Scott in his column in "Walrus: The Progressive Music Newsletter" dated September 26, 1973. Stating that there were two people in particular who stood out as KQIV mainstays in its first year of operation, Larry said: "Our GM, Jack Malone. A Prince. The man who held it all together." Well, Larry, if I was "A Prince," you were "The King," for I couldn’t have done it without your noble effort and royal support. Your help, my friend, (don’t let Ben Marsh hear me say "my friend") -- freely given "ABSOLUTELY LIVE, 24 HOURS A DAY" -- was the reason why I considered you one of the four pillars of KQ4. Maybe I "held it all together" then, but look who’s holding it all together now. Thank you, dear Larry (and Joel Miller if you are listening in), for making this terrific KQIV website homecoming possible. Both of you have made a lot of old and tired radio folk -- if only for a few, almost sacred minutes -- feel young and full of life again.

STEVE SHANNON, Program Director/Disc Jockey: Steve was the evening person (6 p.m. to 10 p.m.) at KQIV when it officially went on the air. I liked Steve and thought he did a nice job. I was sorry to see him leave.

PATTI SMITH, Office Manager: Patti was the second of three excellent KQIV office managers. I thought of her as "Mother Superior" because she was always so concerned about everybody’s health and welfare. She was particularly concerned over the sales department: she correctly knew the secret to KQIV’s success was sales and the increasing scarcity thereof would eventually threaten the station’s continued existence. Not one to mince words, Patti was quick in telling me my thinking didn’t measure up to her standards of fair play and common sense; in many ways, she was my KQIV conscience. Patti seemed more unhappy than anyone else over my sudden departure from KQIV, and her effort to keep in touch after I left was second only to Jeff Clarke’s.

MICHAEL STROUFE, Disc Jockey: Michael worked from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. when KQIV officially went on the air. I saw very little of Michael. Quite possibly, that was because he worked when I slept and I slept when he worked.

BOB TURNER, Sales Manager: Bob was one of several sales managers who gave it his best shot but eventually got discouraged over KQIV’s transmission problems and its effect on his and his sales force’s commissions. While hanging on as long as possible, he was of great help to me in promotional events. I enjoyed Bob; we had a lot of good times together.

JOHN WALLACE, Sales Manager: John was sales manager at KQIV when it officially went on the air. Other than Walter Kraus, John was my first friend at KQIV and he treated me like we had been friends all our lives. John introduced me to the radio business in general and to KQIV in particular; he became my mentor. And, in that capacity, he sacrificed many hours of his sales time to "teach me the ropes." Fortunately, John’s concern for me didn’t stop at KQIV. He spent valuable hours of his off-time helping me find a suitable place to live and suitable ladies to date. Let’s face it, lining up a friend with a blind date can be a good way to lose that friend; however, to John’s eternal credit, he came out smelling like a rose....time and time again.

As general manager, I spent a lot of time either trying to inflate deflated egos of our long-haired, "no neck" disc jockeys who Walter Kraus nearly daily insulted by calling them "mental midgets," or trying to deflate inflated prejudices of the short-haired, "red neck" "Elks" (remember, KQIV was located in the Lake Oswego Elks Lodge) who considered anyone with long hair a "dirty hippie" to say the best or a "communist" to say the worst.

In between arbitration sessions, with the great ideas of many of the KQIV staff and with the help of an excellent designer, Darryl Ware; an outstanding photographer, Jim Felt; a quality printer, Frank Jackson; my old electric typewriter; and a cheap clip-art book, I produced many of the advertising and promotional pieces illustrated on this website. No, "CHILDERN" as in "ALL QUAD’S CHILDERN LISTEN" was not misspelled on purpose; rather, it was a printing error I failed to catch in my proofreading of the advertising campaign of the same name, and it gives graphic meaning to the old adage that "haste makes waste." I just about died when I first saw the error on a billboard in downtown Portland. Believe it or not, I’m still embarrassed about it.

Being as old as I am (I was born in 1940), I have received thousands of birthday cards. Interestingly, one card stands out from all the others. It was given to me by Patti Smith shortly before I quit KQIV and I have used its touching poetic message countless times in my custom-made birthday cards to my own family and friends. Since I consider all of the KQIV staff as my "other" family and friends, I want to sign off by sharing Patti’s poem with you -- not as a "birthday wish" for which it was originally intended -- but, rather, as a "friendship wish" to each and every one of you.

I do not wish you joy without a sorrow ~
Nor endless day without the healing dark ~
Nor brilliant sun without the restful shadow ~
Nor tides that never turn against your bark.
I wish you love,
and strength,
and faith,
and wisdom,
goods,
gold enough to help some needy one.
I wish you songs, but also blessed silence...
And God's sweet peace when every day is done.

Dorothy Nell McDonald

Where's Jack now?