They say there's no such thing as a Free Lunch.
But, once upon a time, there was.
I was thinking about it this week because it is
one of my memories of the Hotel Sterling!
Just in case you've been in a Bomb Shelter, wait
they don't have those any more, or Tornado Shelter for
the past week or so they're tearing down the old hotel in
Wilkes-Barre.
There was a day when the Sterling was "The" place
to be in that city. Every service club met there. WILK
radio had a direct line into the Ballroom so we could
record the speakers at all the meetings and use bits and
pieces for our newscasts.
The old WBRE Radio had glass enclosed studios
in the place and some very talented people worked there!
I was with one of the smaller stations in my long
list of former employers when I really learned to
appreciate the Sterling.
This will probably come as a shock to many of
you but Radio never paid very well!
My boss at the station, which I will not identify,
couldn't or wouldn't give me any more money so, instead,
he did what we in the industry called a "Trade agreement"
with the restaurant at the hotel. The restaurant got
commercials on our station. But instead of paying for
them we were allowed to get free meals at the place.
At the time the Sterling was offering a Sunday
Smorgasbord....a sort of all you can eat luncheon.
We couldn't eat enough to equal the cost of all
the commercials. They really should have kept the
place up and running for another year or so. That way
maybe we could have balanced the books!
Like many others I hate to see the place go.
But, let's face it, the Sterling they're taking down
isn't the Sterling we remember. That died many years
ago!
Maybe they'll put a nice restaurant on the lot!
But I'll bet there won't be any free lunch!
The Sterling's history is worth remembering
so even if you never checked in, check it out!
Hope all your NEWS is good!
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