Hot Seat: Media Monday show notes: Tony Taurisano, digital archivist and traffic light collector, shares a 72-year-old radio show hosted by Lou Barile
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Tony Taurisano is a digital media archivist and a collector of traffic lights! On the April 15, 2024, Hot Seat: Media Monday, he will tell us about a project he recently completed: He digitized a rare May 29, 1952 radio broadcast made by Lou Barile counting down that week’s top 10 songs in a program he calls the “Proctor Hit Parade.”
The tape is a time capsule of what people talked about 72 years ago in Utica. On May 29, 1952, President Harry S. Truman “said that food will cost more…and ha[d] asked the Atomic Energy Commission for a 3.9 billion dollar expansion program.” Also, according to Lou Barile, “a lot of big things were happening in the big town of Utica, NY.” Some local headlines, “Eugeno Burline of O’scugnizzo fame was taking credit… for introducing pizza to the Utica area 39 years [earlier].” Burline was charging 10 cents a slice and a dollar for a large pizza, “but Fred Grimaldi [was] taking issue and saying that he was the one who introduced pizza to the Utica area, but he [was] afraid to sell it in his Grimaldi’s Restaurant for fear that it would de-class his establishment.”
In entertainment news, Barile asked listeners if they had gone to the Stanley Theater to see Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly in the “tremendous motion picture,” High Noon. He reported that the buzz was that Gary Cooper might win an Academy Award for his performance [he did.] In sports news, everyone had a “pugilistic look” because of a boxing match that would take place that night in Syracuse between Carmen Basilio, a boxer from Canastota who eventually became a world champion, and Chuck Davey [according to Davey’s obituary in the Los Angeles Times, the match was decided in Basilio’s favor.]
Also, Proctor graduate Ted Lepcio was “playing an outstanding game of baseball for the Boston Red Sox,” and there was an assembly at the high school the following day to congratulate the basketball team for their victory over St. Francis DeSales which kept them in competition for the city championship and the Oneida League championship.
In entertainment news, Barile asked listeners if they had gone to the Stanley Theater to see Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly in the “tremendous motion picture,” High Noon. He reported that the buzz was that Gary Cooper might win an Academy Award for his performance [he did.] In sports news, everyone had a “pugilistic look” because of a boxing match that would take place that night in Syracuse between Carmen Basilio, a boxer from Canastota who eventually became a world champion, and Chuck Davey [according to Davey’s obituary in the Los Angeles Times, the match was decided in Basilio’s favor.]
In business news, Barile asked if people had “been downtown lately” to “take a look at those good deals at J.B. Wells,” where they were having a fabric sale (38 cents per square yard!) Also, it was “announced [that day] that Nick Laino and sons were granted a record award for garbage pick up on the streets of Utica in the amount of $169,380.”
The recording is not only a fascinating glimpse into life seven decades ago but also a testament to the talent and skill of Lou Barile, who expertly mixes news, prerecorded clips by the principal of Proctor High School and one of the coaches, and commentary with the “tune[s] all the Proctor gang [were] just crazy about.”
Taurisano has been passionate about traffic lights his whole life.
“When I was in went to the point school in fourth fourth grade,” he recalled. “The crossing guard used to who live next door used to let me press the button to make the traffic light turn so kids could go across the street. I ended up with those those are the ones on my backyard!”
In addition to his long and successful career in public service, including serving 12 terms as the City of Utica Treasurer, Lou Barile was an English teacher, photographer, and local history buff. Starting in the mid-1940s, he began working in radio at WKAL and WIBX, where he had a daily show. In the tape that Tony digitized, Lou is broadcasting from a radio station he referred to as PROX, describing it as “high above Hilton Avenue in Utica, overlooking scenic and picturesque Starch Factory Creek,” it was likely a student-run radio station.
Tony has been collecting traffic lights for almost 10 years. In our interview he talked about how he acquired his first traffic light as a Christmas gift from an uncle who made it himself.
“I got my first traffic light when I was four,” he told listeners. “The next time I got a traffic light I was 53!”
Follow Tony Taurisano at Instagram.com/trophyguy, Twitter.com/Trophyguy, check out his website at Tonytrafficlight.com, and subscribe to his channel at YouTube.com/@TonyTaurisano.
Ron Klopfanstein is a multimedia investigative journalist, news and features editor, and creative content producer for the Utica Phoenix digital platform and 95.5 FM “The Heat” broadcast and streaming. He also hosts The Hot Seat every Monday at 5 pm, broadcast on 95.5 FM and streaming at 955TheHeat.com. Like him at Facebook.com/ReadRonKlopfanstein, Follow him at Threads.net/@RonKlopfanstein, Instagram.com/RonKlopfanstein, Twitter.com/RonKlopfanstein, Tiktok.com/@ronklopfanstein, and subscribe to his channel at YouTube.com/@RonKlopfanstein. Read all his work at Muckrack.com/ron-klopfanstein.
