Memories of Radio Station WFIG, Sumter SC

Friday, October 14, 2005

From the time WFIG took to the airwaves at 1340 Khz in 1940, until it was sold in the late 1960's, it was a most unique Radio Station. Anyone who worked there became a "family member" and only a few did not understand or appreciate the benefits that came with that relationship.

This Web Log has been established for the purpose of giving those family members still living, an opportunity to record their memories of co-workers and all of the interactions that others would find interesting. Feel free to join in and share your memories, but remember that it is not our purpose to slander the memories of any individual, so please use the same care that you wish others to use. (As the Moderator, I shall delete or modify writings that I don't think meet the purpose of our BLOG.)

I am sad to say that it took the passing of a dear friend and fellow WFIG Alumni to bring this BLOG alive.

John Sherman Hoar
1917-2005

John Sherman Hoar, 88, widower of Julia Warren Hoar, died Saturday, October 8, 2005 at the Tuomey Regional Medical Center. Born in Delta, Colorado, he was the son of the late Crosby Arthur Hoar and the late Margaret Newman Hendricks Hoar.
Mr. Hoar was a member of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter where he served in the choir and as a kitchen volunteer.
He received a B.A. degree from the University of Massachusetts and a law degree from the University of South Carolina.
He came to Sumter in 1939 and signed Radio Station WFIG, Sumter’s first station on the air. He was a former radio announcer for WFIG in Sumter and WCOS in Columbia. He volunteered in the U. S. Army in 1941 and served as a first lieutenant in the Signal Corps. He was former president of the Sumter County Bar Association, former president of the Crosswell Drive Elementary PTA, former president of the South Carolina Mental Health Association, former board member of the National Mental Health Association, former president and active member of the Sumter Little Theater. He was active in the American Red Cross and the Sumter Chorale Group. He was active in the United Way fund-raising campaigns and a longtime member of The Sumter Fellowship Club and The Fortnightly Club. He was a former Commander of the American Legion Post #15 and was currently the oldest practicing attorney in Sumter County. He served on the board of the Community Residential Care Facility.
He was preceded in death by Julia, his lobing wife of 62 years.
Surviving are two sons, Stephen Warren Hoar of Raleigh, N.C., Rob Crosby Hoar, and wife Pamela Phillips Hoar of Nashville, Tenn.; one daughter, Nan Hoar Cannarella, and husband Joseph Cannarella of Sumter; one sister, Nancy Hendricks Hoar of Sumter; three grandchildren, Lisa Cannarella Dubay, Anne Marie Cannarella Crowe, and Matthew Crosby Hoar; five great-grandchildren; and numerous dearly loved nieces and nephews.
Memorial services will be held at 11 A.M. Saturday at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter with the Rev. Dr. John Barr officiating.
The family will receive friends at the home, from 7 to 8:30 P.M. Friday and also following the memorial service in the Parish Life Center of the Church of the Holy Comforter.Private burial will be held in the Sumter Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Santee-Wateree Mental Health Center, 215 N. Magnolia Street, Sumter, SC 29150. On-line condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com.Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and Crematory, 221 Broad Street, Sumter is in charge of the arrangements.