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Local Radio Pioneer Signs Off
Innovative Engineer Also Introduced Patsy Cline to the Airwaves By: Stephanie M. Mangino The Winchester Star Any radio listener has heard his or her favorite air personality broadcasting from an exciting location, like the site of breaking news, a festival, or a concert. A man working in Winchester helped create the technology that made the first remote broadcasts possible. Philip B. Whitney of Stephens City, a broadcasting innovator who received state and national awards for his work, died March 10 at the age of 90.
Whitney was general manager of WINC at the time, and whenever Hensley — who became Patsy Cline — returned to the studio, she would always speak to Whitney and bring him her records, said Whitney’s widow, Jane. Jane Whitney wasn’t in Winchester during Cline’s lifetime, but she knows of the period from her husband’s recollections. “He enjoyed her [company] very much,” said Jane, who was Philip’s college sweetheart in their New Hampshire hometown. The two split as Whitney followed his interest in broadcast engineering. They met up again after his wife of 52 years — Lillian Gatewood Whitney — died. Lillian and Philip Whitney married in 1941 — the year that brought Whitney to Winchester. Whitney was hired on at WINC Radio by station owner Richard F. Lewis, who asked Whitney to be the godfather of his son, John, who owns the station today with brothers David and Howard Lewis. Whitney started out as an engineer who also worked as an announcer, and even offered daily editorials over the airwaves, John Lewis said. Later, he became the station’s general manager. In doing so, he performed in three areas — engineering, on-air, and sales — that do not often overlap in today’s radio world, John Lewis said. Whitney was a rarity in that he was both a good engineer and announcer, said former WINC announcer Roy Nester, who was deeply impressed by Whitney’s engineering skill. “He could get a radio signal out of two sticks and a stone,” Nester said. Early on at WINC, Whitney developed a sophisticated way to remotely control distant transmitter equipment from the station’s city studios, John Lewis said. He also created an early automation system and figured out ways to modify former military equipment to create remote broadcast equipment, John Lewis said.
Poole began his radio career as a teen and eventually became WFTR’s engineer in the 1950s. He viewed the older Whitney as a mentor who was always willing to answer his questions or work with him on a problem late into the night. “He was just a happy, smiling guy who was willing to help,” Poole said. Whitney’s word was widely respected, he added. “He was a consultant to a lot of people.” Poole moved on to spend 43 years in Fredericksburg as The Free Lance-Star’s general manager of radio operations. While being very smart and innovative, Whitney wasn’t the type to brag about his accomplishments, so Poole said he’s fairly certain local residents don’t know a broadcast pioneer was living in their midst. “You wouldn’t have known it,” John Lewis agreed. “He was not one of those promoters.” Aside from working at WINC and assisting fellow engineers, Whitney also wrote a host of national articles about engineering. “He was always writing articles for magazines,” John Lewis said. In addition, he authored a book on Virginia’s radio history, and three books about his retirement passion of clock-making. Jane Whitney said her husband built about 380 clocks in their home workshop. Whitney retired from WINC in 1980, but he stayed on part-time to do certain technical inspections through 1998, John Lewis said. It almost seems like an understatement when John Lewis calls Whitney “a vivacious person who was interested in many different things.” And his peers noticed the effort. In 1970, the National Association of Broadcasters gave Whitney its annual engineering award for his work on the remote control of broadcast transmitters. Five years later, the Virginia Association of Broadcasters bestowed him with its highest honor, the C.T. Lucy Award. Whitney served as president of the VAB in 1969. During his long life, Whitney was also president of the Winchester Rotary Club and the Winchester-Frederick County Chamber of Commerce; chairman of the Virginia Industry Advisory Committee to the FCC; and a member of the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival and the Shenandoah Valley Folklore Society — and that’s just a small snapshot of his community involvement. And with all that, Phil Whitney was also a very nice guy. “I think everyone liked him,” John Lewis said. “He was a gentle man and a gentleman,” his wife said. A whole era swept further into the history books with the passing of Whitney — a man who recalled seeing the World War I armistice celebration at age 4, and who started his radio career in the days before tape recordings existed. But he will continue to influence the future through his inventiveness and his vision, particularly in allowing one young girl on the air. And people will continue to hear his voice. When Patsy Cline fan tours come by the WINC studios on North Pleasant Valley Road, “They play [a recording of] Phil Whitney’s reminiscence of Patsy Cline,” John Lewis said. In addition to his wife, Whitney is survived by a brother, two daughters, two granddaughters, and three great-grandsons. |
Originally Published In The Winchester Star On March 21, 2005
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