More WMMS booty

Cleveland Buzzard Rock N’ Roll Market another chance for longtime fans of the station to grab this and that

WMMS’ golden era is about to celebrate its golden anniversary.

Next year marks 50 years since then-newly graduated art student David Helton — taking an illustrator job with American Greetings — relocated from Tennessee to Northeast Ohio. One thing led to another, and within months after arriving in Cleveland, the illustrator and cartoonist created WMMS’ iconic Buzzard.

Even though he is back living in the Volunteer State, Helton still has what amounts to a treasure trove of Buzzard memorabilia that he began selling late in the fall with a memorable appearance at the Music & Friends Garage Sale held at The Music Box in Cleveland’s Flats.

“That’s the first time I pulled my personal collection out of the attic,” Helton said. “I decided, ‘I’m going to let the Buzzard fans have it.; I sold hundreds of items. It was overwhelming.

“I’m so glad because I met a lot of wonderful people who normally I wouldn’t meet. They followed WMMS and were big fans for most of their lives.”

While the sale was successful, Helton still had more stuff to sell.

So after the positive Music Box experience, the artist decided to take up a standing offer from Annika’s Event Center in Grafton for a Buzzard show. The

Cleveland Buzzard Rock N’ Roll Market takes place noon to 4 p.m. May 13.

“I have hundreds of pieces, but what I brought in November was just a part of it,” he said. “There’s more of it. The first time I brought things I thought people might like.

“I brought the retail Tshirts that are available to the public, but I also have a big collection of shirts I did that were one-shots — only 100 were made at a time.”

Those promotional shirts may have been advertising events such as “WMMS Nights Out at the Agora.”

“Retail shirts available around Cleveland had 5,000 or 6,000 printed at a time,” he said. “Promo shirts were 1 of 100. People find those interesting.

“Those could sell for $50 to $70. They’re very limited. It’s time to let those samples go.”

The Cleveland Buzzard Rock N’ Roll Market also includes a couple of WMMS legends — former Program Director John Gorman and former “The Buzzard Morning Zoo” co-host Ed “Flash” Ferenc.

“John Gorman said he

“I met a lot of wonderful people who normally I wouldn’t meet. They followed WMMS and were big fans for most of their lives.” — David Helton, on a previous WMMS-related event

has a lot of things in his attic he’s trying to get rid of,” he said. “And Flash is just a friend of mine. He likes to participate in this kind of thing.

“I thought he might enjoy promoting the charity he has with his daughters,” he added, referring to Motivate My Sister, which fights to find a cure for multiple sclerosis. “This will be a good opportunity for that as well. Flash, being who he is, would be a good draw.”

Also attending will famed Cleveland rock photographer Janet Macoska (“All Access: Cleveland”) and author Fran Belkin (“Rock This Town”).

SUBMITTED David Helton, the illustrator and cartoonist who created WMMS’ iconic Buzzard, will sell some station-related memorabilia May 13 at the Cleveland Buzzard Rock N’ Roll Market at Annika’s Event Center in Grafton.