After originally planning to shut down Soft Oldies “Bob’s Memories Station” 750 WJTO/105.3 W287DD Bath ME in April before changing course, the estate of Bob Bittner will shut off that station on Sunday, July 27.
Unlike the originally planned shutdown in April, the group will continue to operate 1470 WLAM/97.3 W247DK Lewiston and plans to resume operations on 870 WLVP/105.1 W286DR Gorham/Portland. Engineer/programmer Bob Perry wrote, “You can still hear Bob and the great music on Bob Bittener’s Memory Station online, which we have no plan to end. You can find out how to listen on our Websites bobsmemorystation.com and Facebook page. With a smart phone, most regular car radios now will let you listen just as if you are listening to the radio. The Stream is also available on Alexa and Siri!””
Update 4/11: After previously announcing that Soft Oldies “Bob’s Memories Station” 750 WJTO/105.3 W287DD Bath and 1470 WLAM/97.3 W247DK Lewiston ME would shut down on Sunday, April 13 at 11:59pm, the stations will now continue operating.
Operator/Programmer Bob Perry said, “We have some good news. We will NOT be signing off for WJTO and WLAM this Sunday at 11:59PM as previously announced. We are in talks with possible buyers and it is better for us to keep them on the air for the immediate future. This is good news for now.”
Original Report 4/4: The Estate of Bob Bittner will shut down Soft Oldies “Bob’s Memories Station” 750 WJTO/105.3 W287DD Bath and 1470 WLAM/97.3 W247DK Lewiston ME on Sunday, April 13 at 11:59pm.
Those two stations and 870 WLVP/105.1 W286DR Gorham/Portland, which went silent last October (although no STA is on file at the FCC) had continued the listener supported programming that Bittner previously ran on a network in Massachusetts and Maine. The current programming will also keep streaming and be heard on 102.3 WGTX-HD3 Truro/106.5 W293DW-HD3 West Yarmouth MA on Cape Cod. A similarly programmed format continues on 720 WJIB/101.3 W267CE Cambridge/Boston under John Garabedian, who purchased WJIB from Bittner’s estate last year.
Operator/Programmer Bob Perry wrote, “On Sunday April 13th at 11:59PM ,WJTO AM 750/FM 105.3 and WLAM 1470/FM 97.3 will be signing off permanently. We have tried to keep the stations going, but the cost of operating and maintaining the stations has just become too much, and more than the generous donations can cover! It was a very hard and emotional decision to make and wasn’t made lightly. We do want to thank all of you who have donated and kept us going this far. We have been holding the recent checks we have received. If you would like them returned please contact Bob Perry. If you would like us to divert your donation to the Streaming Service, that would be very much appreciated.”
