SEQUIM — Radio announcer “Classy” Bob Massey celebrated his 90th birthday with resolutions from not only the Sequim City Council, but also the state Legislature and Gov. Jay Inslee.
About 150 listeners, radio station volunteers and staff members, as well as members of Massey’s family attended Monday’s reception and a birthday awards ceremony at the KSQM broadcast studio, 577 W. Washington St.
“I’m honored. I’m speechless,” Massey said of the turnout and recognition.
“It’s so wonderful to get together with all of the wonderful volunteers and listeners,” he said.
Massey, a 23-year resident of Sequim, has been in radio since he was assigned to Armed Forces Radio in Germany in 1945.
He is thought to be the oldest active on-air radio announcer in the U.S.
His current radio show, “The Best Music Ever Made” runs from 9 a.m. to noon, Mondays through Fridays on Sequim-based KSQM FM 91.5, streaming live on www.KSQMFM.com.
Massey selects music from the “golden age of radio,” with hits and lesser known music from the 1940s through the ’60s.
On Monday, his show was followed by a birthday celebration and a station open house at 2 p.m. at the studio.
The awards ceremony was broadcast live by Ed Evans, news director of KSQM.
“I am blown away. I knew a lot of people would come, but I had no idea we would get this size of a crowd,” Evans said of the tightly packed radio station headquarters.
“It’s humbling to know people care this much about Bob,” he said.
Sequim Mayor Candace Pratt presented a council resolution recognizing Massey’s accomplishments and dedication to his craft.
He also received resolutions of honor from the Washington Secretary of State, and from state Legislature members.
State Sen. James Hargrove introduced state Senate Resolution 8634, which was expected to be voted on soon, to congratulate Massey for his “years of entertaining legions of listeners and keeping the spirit of old-time radio alive through several generations.”
Hargrove, a Democrat from Hoquiam, and fellow representatives of the 24th Legislative District — fellow Democrats Kevin Van De Wege and Steve Tharinger of Sequim — sent Massey a letter of congratulation along with a state flag that had been flown over the Capitol building in Olympia.
Mark Schildknecht, state Sergeant at Arms for the Marine Corps League and a fellow KSQM broadcaster, presented the flag to Massey on Monday.
There are no known active broadcasters older than Massey currently on the air in the U.S., according to Bruce DuMont, founder and president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications and Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago.
Massey was born in Rutherford, Tenn., on March 9, 1925, and raised in raised in Nashville, Tenn.
He is a World War II veteran, who was assigned to General George S. Patton’s Third Army in Germany after he was drafted into the Army following his 1943 graduation from high school.
After he was sent to Marseilles, France, he successfully applied for a transfer to Armed Forces Radio and provided radio entertainment to post-war troops stationed in Frankfurt, Germany.
It was the beginning of a long career in radio that so far has spanned 70 years.
In 1947, Massey completed his enlistment, departed Armed Forces Radio and was hired by WJNO in Palm Beach, Fla.
He spent seven years in Florida at five radio stations before moving to Anchorage, Alaska to work for KHAR Radio in 1963.
He was on the air on March 27, 1964, when the city was hit by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, a 9.2 magnitude “megathrust” temblor that destroyed much of the city.
The radio station was knocked off the air by the quake. It was about a day before power was restored and the station could begin broadcasting notices to area residents, he said.
In 1970, the Massey family moved to Yakima where he worked at KIT Radio, and then on to Tacoma, where he worked at KBRD.
Massey retired to Sequim in 1992 to care for his wife, Margaret Massey, during a long illness.
After her death in 2006, he went back to radio.
His was the first voice to open the KSQM microphone on the afternoon of Dec. 7, 2008.
For more information about KSQM, phone 360-681-0000 or see http://ksqmfm.com.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
