Dedication of the KCBQ Monument, August 28, 2010

KCBQ Monument Dedicated

On August 28, 2010, Shotgun Tom Kelly addressed a crowd of about 400 former station personalities and fans gathered for the dedication of a monument to legendary Top 40 station KCBQ, San Diego.

“It was an amazing day,” said Shotgun, who organized the event. He believes it is the first time a radio monument exists that pays tribute to those who entertained the local community. “Most of the 400 people who attended were just fans who brought along station albums and surveys with the hopes of getting some autographs,” said Tom. The morning of the event, Shotgun promoted the event every half hour on local TV.

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The monument was built with donations from former air staffers, engineers and the family of former station owner Lee Bartell. Bartell had a vision to operate the station at 50,000 watts. The transmitter moved to Santee in the 1950s and 9416 Mission Gorge Road became the home of six 200-foot towers.

Welcome to the new ReelRadio!

This site is now operated by the North Carolina Broadcast History Museum. 

We want to thank the board of ReelRadio, Inc. for their stewardship since the passing of the founder Richard Irwin in 2018.  It has not been easy and they have maintained the exhibits for future generations to enjoy.

I met Richard Irwin, aka Uncle Ricky, when we were freshmen at East Carolina University.  We both had worked at local stations in our hometowns.  No one was more passionate about radio, especially Top 40 radio, than my friend Richard. 

Our goals with this site are to preserve the exhibits and make them available free of charge for people to enjoy.  Over time, we hope to add some airchecks to the site.  This will not happen immediately.  Time and resources will determine the future of new exhibits. 

Many thanks to the web folks at the Beasley Media Group for countless hours of work.  Again thanks to the board members of ReelRadio, Inc. for their faith in us. 

Richard Irwin’s hope was that his site would live on long after his passing. He said, “I hope REELRADIO will survive as my contribution to the ‘radio business’. The business is allowed to forget me, but the business should never forget the great era of radio that we celebrate here”.

We remember Richard and we thank him. If you enjoy this new site, we would appreciate a contribution. We hope you enjoy the new ReelRadio!

Carl Davis
Trustee
North Carolina Broadcast History Museum