Swampy's Florida

Around 1989 I brought along little Amber Thomas to be part of the the National Peanut Butter Festival at the Grosvenor Hotel in Lake Buena Vista. The “world’s largest peanut butter sandwich” was assembled. Their method was to layout dozens of slices of bread side by side and spread peanut butter to each slice. From a bit of distance the appearance was a monster size sandwich. There were peanut butter games and a Mr. Peanut and peanut samples and … it was amazing all the angles found to use peanut butter to entertain the hundreds of chidlren and families at the event.

The big deal for me was meeting Soupy Sales, comedian and television star. He was just off a stint as afternoon radio host in New York on WNBC in between well-known hosts Don Imus and Howard Stern. I recently back from schooling at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon & Graphic Art in New Jersey. While there I got to tune into Soupy’s program where he brought back many of his television characters and Soupy Schtick. I’m tickled to have ben able to get this photograph. Not sure why Amber wasn’t in it. There was a far more going on than I ever imagined and Amber was likely swept up in a mechanical ride or game.

In the mid-late ’80s, over on WNBC, there was another aspect of radio that had been and would return to Central Florida radio – “Captain” Frank Reed. While Soupy was doing afternoons, Captain Frank did the program right after Howard Stern. Stern hated Reed and went after him all he could. Stern had a very big problem with Reed being a Christian. In an odd turn of events, Reed and Stern were both fired from WNBC in 1985.

Reed had already done radio in Jacksonville, and, after WNBC returned , Reed helmed afternoons at pop station WOCL for years. Eventually he settled in more his mindset, working in Christian radio in Texas.
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