Luncheon to honor Tommy Cowan. Talks about the early day of WNYC.

See also: CD 1600 - 2199 2136 3661

Tommy Cowan is introduced. (It sounds like Ben Grauer from NBC). "Tommy is that great New York. That New York of culture, tradition, and history. That New York of music, parks, museums, people. Not the New York of staggering deficits, tremendous traffic complications and all the tensions of modern life. But the New York of human values."

Seymour N. Siegel presents Cowan is presented with a watch as a token of the love and affection of everybody present.

Cowan speaks. Get back to the spiritual values in life. You don't need a direct word of God to be kind to people. People are very kind and they are very wonderful. And that's the only way you can look at it. We spend the best 8 waking hours of our days here, why not make it pleasant? Reminisces about an incident in 1924-5 when WNYC was only about a year old in Central Park. It's the enthusiasm and desire to make good on something you've undertaken to do. That has been the spirit of WNYC. Talks about his days at WJZ. Had a lot of technical difficulties because of all the tall buildings. Seymour Siegel has done more with little than anyone I ever knew. Honor of the city and the honor of their own work went first. It's the enthusiasm to live that keeps us alive. We have to look at the horizon, we have to gaze at it and study it and get what we want out of it, and you'll be surpised how it responds.

Music director Herman Neuman, who started the station with Tommy, speaks. Reminisces about Tommy's sign offs. Gave the pontifical blessing to the audience while he played a sentimental tidbit on the piano.

Rev. Bill Pitkin is acknowledged and takes a bow.

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection

WNYC archives id: 8388
Municipal archives id: T35