You’re listening to KCVR

Editor: Steve Mann’s mention of the late George Samson and his long years of managing local radio stations, beginning with KCVR in Lodi, reminded me of the short time I spent programming classical music for KCVR while it was still a Christian station before it was sold and became a country western station.

With the help of popular music teacher Bill Pisani, I chose a program theme (I think it was the opening of Richard Strauss’ “The Hero”) and then general structure and contents of a Sunday hour-long show and a half-hour show on weeknights.

I went into the studio and announced the Sunday show myself, and then wrote out the half hour announcements for whomever was working each night.

One of the night announcers was a delightful young man named, I think, Ron Reynolds. He worked with a puppet. Another announcer was named Harry, a really nice person who moved on to Reno after the station was sold.

One of the station’s most memorable staff members was Jack Robinson, the farm reporter, who drove around the area in his little green station wagon gathering news from local farmers and growers. He stayed on, of course, after the sale.

Jack and his wife, Betty, became good friends to my whole family and my children loved to go to their house on Mack Road in Clements. Betty taught them how to play mahjong with a beautiful set of ivory tiles held in a fragrant wood case, an old and valuable set. Some years later, after Jack h died and Betty was moving south to be with her daughter, she gave the set to my children, and my second son has it even now.

I kept in touch with Betty through her daughter for several years until Betty’s death at about age 100.

When KCVR told me my program would no longer be on the air, I was offered no final pay, so I asked for recompense among the classical music recordings the station had bought for my shows, and brought home a beautiful bound and illustrated requiem. Sadly, I can no longer find it, and can’t remember the composer’s name. GWIN MITCHELL PADEN

Lodi

$500 million in aid coming to California?

Editor: You recently published an article headlined "Trump falsely promised California $500M extra for fire prevention."

The article went on to explain how this is not true. No funding is set aside for this, nor has any such funding been put before any branch of the government that deals with this. Apparently no one in Washington knows what Trump is talking about.

It would seem that he is lying, or does not know what he is talking about. Is it possible that some of the other things he said when he was in California also fit into this pattern? Maybe his statements about care and concern are also false.

My suggestion to the folks in this state who are trying to recover from this fire would be to offer Trump the right to build a hotel in the area. It seems that building hotels is his main interest in life. It could be that I am wrong and Trump is correct, and the various department heads in Washington just don't know anything. REUVEN EPSTEIN Galt

Letters invited

The Lodi News-Sentinel welcomes opinions from its readers. Letters must be signed and include the writer’s address and phone number for internal verification purposes. All letters are subject to editing. Letters from local readers dealing with local issues are given priority. Letters from outside the local area are published at the editor’s discretion. Letters longer than 350 words will be cut to fit or returned to their writers. There is a holding period of 30 days between publication of letters by the same person unless no other letters are queued. Send letters to P.O. Box 1360, Lodi, CA 95241-1360; or email to letters@lodinews.com.