Catching Up With The Supe Chief!

  I found myself back in a TV Studio yesterday. Well,
actually, I found myself in the basement of a TV Studio!
  I've been asked to lend a hand with the production of
a special celebrating the anniversary of WYOU-TV. I
jumped at the chance! After all I spent over 30 of my
50 plus years broadcasting career with Channel 22.
   Yesterday we trained the cameras on a man who
spent his many years in television behind the camera
as a news photographer.
    Jim Keenan was the  chief photographer at WYOU.
    We often just called him "Chief" and we often worked
as a team out in the field. I'd say we were a team very
similar to Laurel and Hardy! We did a lot and usually
had some laughs along the way. To me he's always
been a "Superchief" and a super friend as well!
    Jim was standing in front of a lot of old news film
cans in the basement of WBRE/WYOU recalling
some of those times for our special.
    His experiences spending most of 4 days in
helicopters during the Agnes Flood was certainly
worth remembering.
    But we got some chuckles remembering some
of the things that never got on the air too. We
recalled, for instance, how our group of young
adult cameramen and reporters would stand around
editing film while all whistling military theme
songs and watching the clock to try to get the news
footage up to the control room on time.
     We remembered standing around our news car
in Tamaqua one sub zero windy day, taking turns
in the heated car while waiting for a SWAT team
to charge a building where some guy was holed
up with a gun! And think about it. If we could
see the building where he was hiding....he could
have been watching us as well. Of course his
telescopic lens wasn't used for taking pictures!
     We recalled those other blizzard-like days
when we knew the bosses would send us out in
the storm through snow drifts and over slippery
roads so we could get the video and tell you
not to drive that day!
     Sometimes you have to wonder how we
survived!
     In fact, now that I think about it, a nice,
warm basement was a great place to reunite!
No snow drifts, no gunmen, just some time
to share memories and, maybe, whistle a
couple tunes!
     Hope you know a couple too and that all
your NEWS is good!

Jim Keenan
"The Chief"