Our Town With Host Andy Ockershausen - Homegrown History

Rick "Doc" Walker on motivation - "My philosophy is that you have to learn how to push your own button. . . if I teach you how to hit the reset button, then you can reestablish yourself. Because I’m not going to be there to hold your hand. . . People have power within themselves, they just need help getting there." Our Town host Andy Ockershausen and Guest Rick "Doc" Walker Andy Ockershausen: This is Andy Ockershausen, and this is Our Town. I've known our next guest, I don't even call him a guest, our next friend almost 40 years. That's a long time. He's a giantin his profession. He was the UCLA Lineman of the Year Honorary, a Rose Bowl Champion when he explained to me that he beat Ohio State, that ain't easy. The AP named him an All-American. Then he played starting tight-end for Coach Gibbs in the Championship game of 1983 Superbowl of the '82 champions. If you remember Doc, that was a strike year. That was then and now is now. Doc, where does he not work? He's the Redskins' pre-game show for Fox 5. He'

Female sports - Growing Up in the 60s and 70s Christine Brennan - Our Town Season OneChristine Brennan: Yeah. I still own the family home where we grew up in Ottawa Hills. A Ockershausen: Is that right? Oh wow. Christine Brennan: Yep. I go back for Thanksgiving, Christmas. When I’m doing some speeches. I do a lot of charity work. A Ockershausen: You’re in a hotbed of sports right there in Toledo. Christine Brennan: Exactly. This is in the ’60s and into the early ’70s. I graduated high school in ’76, when girls were not encouraged to love or play sports. Yet, I had a dad, I’m the oldest of four kids, and my dad, who had been a football player in high school in Chicago, and then went to Drake and played football for a year in Des Moines, then went into the army at the end of World War II, my dad was saying, “Hey, my daughter wants to play sports? Play sports.” My mom jokes I was born size 6X and kept right on growing. I was really tall. I’m the tallest kid in the neighborhood. I’m taller than the boys. They wan

Chris Broullire on what he and his wife should have done when they saw changes in his mother-in-law - "What we should have done at that time and we didn't know, we didn't know enough is we have a terrific website, ALZ.org. Anything you want to know about Alzheimer's or dementia is available on ALZ.org" Andy Ockershausen and Chris Broullire A Ockershausen: This is Our Town. It's Andy Ockershausen. I am delighted with our ... I don't call him a guest. He's too much of a friend and so close to him over the years, a local guy, a prominent fundraiser, extraordinary salesman. I guess you have to be to raise the kind of money that he's used to raising. Chris Broullire: Is it fundraiser or fund raiser? A Ockershausen: Well, it's both. Why not have fun when you’re raising funds? Chris Broullire: Okay, that sounds good. A Ockershausen: He is currently the chapter president and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association. I met him at least three decades ago. He's going to say longer, but I’ve known him in the radio business

Tommy McFly on what teachers should do with kids who talk non-stop in the classroom - "The kid in the class who the teacher always says, "Stop talking." They need to be in speech and debate, because you get to channel your argument. You get to channel your ability to stand in front of the crowd where they actually encourage you to be in front of the crowd in a classroom making a ruckus." Tommy McFly - Radio Host 94.7 Fresh FM - Weekdays 6 - 10 A.M. A Ockershausen: I'm so delighted to have a very special, young guest. We haven't had many, Tommy. Thank God for you. The Washington Post says our next guest is a “local Ryan Seacrest”. That's quite a tribute when the paper says that. Janice says he is cute, sweet, very high energy, and by all accounts the future of modern radio. I applaud that. Doing it the old fashioned way, making list as a member of his radio family, one at a time, Tommy McFly is doing it right. Tommy, welcome to Our Town, and welcome back to your old home at WMAL Q107 Studios. Tommy McFly: A

Harden and Weaver on remote on Memorial Day at The Henlopen Hotel, Rehobeth Beach, Delaware. The Senator calls for the March which is Stars and Stripes Forever in honor of all United States fallen troops. On The Radio with Harden and Weaver, by Frank HardenA Ockershausen: Frank, we were always taking Harden and Weaver on remote. On this particular day, we were in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware on our annual Memorial Day trek at the Henlopen Hotel. Let's listen. Jackson Weaver: I guess that's what counts. What's our march this morning? Frank Harden: Stars and Stripes Forever because it's Memorial Day and we are marching in honor of all of the fallen in all of the wars that the United States has been engaged in. Jackson Weaver: Well then, let's start it off here. Frank Harden: Folks in the room, stand back. The Senator's about to start the march. Jackson Weaver: Forward! A Ockershausen: Absolutely incredible to have Frank Harden here live and in color. We'll be right back and don't turn your

Jim Vance on Washington football back in the day - "I used to walk to the games, RFK. I can't tell you how many times I've walked home and it's a one way street going west. People would stop their cars at 11th and C and get out. And the people would come out of their houses. . . everybody was having a party in the streets of DC because we beat Dallas. We beat the Cardinals." Jim Vance - Legendary News Anchor News4 Washington DC A Ockershausen: Welcome back to Our Town. This is Part Two with Jim Vance. This is Andy Ockershausen. Jim, the thing that we always see in my mind, was Channel Four was Vance, the sports shows, what you would do with George ... It was just incredible. Your chemistry with Michael was unbelievable. And he was not an easy person to get along ... Another Philadelphia guy. George Michael Jim Vance: George could be a major pain in the butt. A Ockershausen: That's right. Perfectionist. Jim Vance: But, part of what people sometimes found so grating about George was what I figured out

Jim Vance on the proper way to learn the language - "What’s it called? Diagramming. Remember we had to learn how to diagram a sentence? That’s how you learn the language by diagramming. When you know where every word goes and why it’s there. And what its point is. What its value is. I keep from hearing from all these kids I see today. Nobody ever taught them diagramming. They don’t even teach it anymore." Our Town host Andy Ockershausen and Legendary News Anchor Jim Vance, News4 A Ockershausen: And this is Our Town. We're so delighted, and honored frankly, that our next guest is a regular in our house. He probably doesn't know it, but we used to see him twice a night, now we only see you once. Jim Vance: But I like your house, man. I like the way you've done it. Janice Ockershausen:Thank you. Jim Vance: Janice, it's gorgeous in here. A Ockershausen: Jim Vance started out as a teacher. We'll find out what he was teaching. He's been a hostage negotiator, he's been Washingtonian of the Year. The two are not re

People have done so much for our community, Kurt Erickson with an alcohol program, Jim Dinegar, President of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, Catherine Meloy, Goodwill Services, Irene Pollin, Abe’s wife, has written a beautiful book, and Lyles Carr of the McCormick company. Announcer: GEICO presents Our Town, Season Two. A 30 minute podcast produced by Best Bark Communications, a small but fierce client-centered marketing company powered by decades of experience and well-established business networks. GEICO, 15 minutes can save you 15 percent or more on car insurance. Now, here's your host, Andy Ockershausen. Andy Ockershausen, Our Town Podcast HostAndy Ockershausen: This is Andy Ockershausen and you're listening to Our Town. Season one of Our Town was a complete success. We interviewed over 50 guests, including some of our favorite people like Sonny, I don't have to say Sonny who, you know, Chip Akridge, Frank Harden, Frank Herzog, Regardie, I don't even have to say his first name, Catherine Meloy,

Andy Ockershausen on Season Two Our Town - "Well I just heard this morning from Gordon Peterson. He agreed to be on the show. If you don't remember Gordon Peterson, you haven't lived in Our Town because he was Mr Channel 9. Those kind of people are coming back to us, and they want to be on." Andy and Janice Ockershausen, Season One Ender and Looking Forward to Season Two Announcer: GEICO presents Our Town, Season Two. A 30 minute podcast produced by Best Bark Communications, a small but fierce client-centered marketing company powered by decades of experience and well-established business networks. GEICO. 15 minutes will save you 15 percent or more on car insurance. Now, here’s your host, Andy Ockershausen. Janice Ockershausen: Hi, this is Janice Ockershausen, the executive producer of Our Town, and we wanted to look at Season One. This is a transition piece, and we wanted to let people know that we are finishing Season One and starting Season Two. Andy Ockershausen: We had 53 guests in our first seaso

Frank Harden on "The Senator's" 'Forward March!' one morning - "That’s right and I think one of the funny things that happened there was the Senator always gave the forward march command and one day we got a call from a representative who said 'When the Senator said "Forward March!", I was stopped at a stoplight! I put the pedal to the metal and took off!'" Frank Harden, Legendary Harden and Weaver Show, WMAL AM 630 A Ockershausen: This is a very special day for Our Town. Frank, we didn't coin that name, it's Our Town. That's the suburbs and everything we grew up with, but it's so special to see Frank Harden and to have a chance to talk to Frank because I lived through those years and the best years of my life. I want to correct part of what he said in a book. That is about the size of the Harden and Weaver audience. I would tell you, Frank, at one time, Harden and Weaver had one out of every four listeners in the Greater Washington area, that is stupendous! Nobody's ever come close to that, even the S

Carol Ross Joynt recalls advice she received early on in her career from Merriman Smith - I remember to this day some advice he gave me that has always served me well. He said, "When you cover Washington, you're going to get invited to a lot of parties. At the parties are going to be the people you're covering. Just remember they're not your friends." He said, "You're better off not going to the parties, but always remember the ... people you're covering are not your friends." Carol Ross Joynt, Author, TV Interviewer , and Producer A Ockershausen: This Andy Ockershausen. This is Our Town. I am so delighted today to introduce you to a person new to my show, new to WMAL, as far as I know. This is still WMAL. Carol Joynt, welcome. Carol is the author, producer, and Emmy winning producer of Innocent Spouse, a story about her own life experience, guest wrangler, Janice added that, producer at MSNBC and Hardball, host of the Q&A Café, magazine writer, ex-saloon owner, proud mom. This is a great thing, a breast

Chuck Conconi on how his Playgirl Magazine article about Sally Quinn landed him a gig at The Washington Post - "I wrote a piece for Playgirl Magazine and in it I basically said ... When The Washington Post proud profaned Sally Quinn died each morning on the ABC television news, it was seen in Washington . . .that God and divine retribution did indeed exist. Ironically, she liked it so I had had lunch with her and, all of a sudden, I get a call from The Post." Chuck Conconi, Legendary Our Town Journalist and Theatre Critic A Ockershausen: This is Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town and we're talking with and going to talk with a very, very good friend of many years and a legend in journalism in Washington, D.C., Mr. Chuck Conconi. Thank you for being with us, Chuck. Chuck Conconi: Andy, thank you. I hate for you to say many, many years. I always worry about being known as a legend because legends are great stories but not often true. A Ockershausen: So many people know the name Conconi and know you bu

Roger Cossack on the most exciting legal moment of his life - "I had my voice, and I had my moment. I lost six to three. Nevertheless, it was . . . my one and only time before the United States Supreme Court, but it was probably the most exciting legal moment of my life. My mother was there, and my son was there and my wife was there." Roger Cossack, ESPN Sports Legal Analyst and Law Professor A Ockershausen: This is Our Town. This is Andy Ockershausen, and we're talking and going to talk to Roger Cossack, the 1999 Vanity Fair one of the movers and shakers of Washington radio, TV and broadcast. 1999, do you remember that year, Rog? Roger Cossack: I was going to say that must be another Roger Cossack. A Ockershausen: Vanity Fair of all mag. What happened to Broadcasting and USA Today and so forth? Roger Cossack: No, they never recognized me. A Ockershausen: Sports Illustrated. Roger, tell us now. You are from the West Coast. You're a West Coast guy, but you grace our town and have for many y

On lack of transportation at Washington DC Women Shelters - Right now we don't have laundry services. The women have to walk over to SOMEs from where we are at 1st and O, take a van over to Adams Place NE to do laundry and then the van doesn't come pick them ... there's not good bus transportation there. Our Town Special Guest, Advocating for Homeless from the Inside A Ockershausen: This is Our Town and this is Andy Ockershausen. I have a great, great sense of something important here today for our show and Our Town, and that's to meet with someone that I'd never thought I'd meet with in the show, a homeless person, who I think is very important to this city and to Our Town. Thank you for being here. We got a lot to talk about, so I want to get started. She has a great laugh, very smart in math, she's a smart woman and she lives in a shelter. Our Town Special Guest That's right. A Ockershausen: How long have you been in a shelter? Our Town Special Guest A little over three years. Early Years a

Johnny Holliday on Howard Cosell - "He takes my headset, puts it on, "Angel, let's go. Let's go." He goes, "3, 2, 1. Hello, everyone. Howard Cosell, the Sports Arena in Los Angeles. Time to talk about the American ... Back in a moment." Takes a break, comes back, does the second half. Now we're going to do the show for National. Does the same thing, takes his headset off, throws it down in front of me, picks up the cigar, looks at me and says, "That's how you do a show" and walks away. He had no stopwatch. He was right on time." Johnny Holliday, TV and Radio Sportscaster, Actor and Former Top 40 Disc Jockey A Ockershausen: This is Andy Ockershausen. This is Our Town. I was just singing the song about, "Oh, Johnny, oh, Johnny." I don't know. It's an old song but I'm an old song too. Johnny Holliday is one of the most favorite, favorite wonderful people in the world and a very dear friend of mine and of WMAL. I followed his career even before he didn't even know it because he hopped around the country. J

Henry Sacks on his song writing - "I'll tell you right now, to be honest about it, everything write, I I make fun of people. But I do it with a smile on my face, and a smile in my heart. I don't try to hurt nobody, and people don't get mad at me." Henry Sacks - Homegrown Songwriter and Ukulele Maestro A Ockershausen: Hi. It's Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town. We're speaking with one of the great bonafide local characters of all time. A man I have known intimately for over 75 years. Henry, this goes back to the playgrounds. Sherwood for you and Rosedale for me in Northeast Washington, D.C. Henry Sacks, who most of the guys we grew up with called you Dave Sacks. How did this happen? Henry Sacks: Middle name. A Ockershausen: What middle name, Henry? Henry Sacks: David. A Ockershausen: Oh. I never knew that. Why are we all calling you Dave? Henry Sacks: Damn if I know. I never figured that out either. A Ockershausen: Why didn't you say something, Henry? What'd they say when you went

Pat Malone on promoting Washington DC at MLB Expansion meeting - "I just took my whole script and I chucked it . . . I gave my pitch from a passionate fan's point of view of why Washington should have baseball back in DC. When the meeting was over, George Steinbrenner, he comes up to me and says, 'Pat, I got to tell you something. When you took that script and you whipped it in the trash, I looked around the table, and everybody is now watching what you were saying and they were listening to what you were saying.'" Pat Malone, Mr. Baseball, Washington DC A Ockershausen: This is Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town. We have a special guest today that I attribute the idea, and you can live with it, audience, or not. This man is more responsible than anybody I know to bring baseball back to Washington. When I first met this young man, he was a Sergeant in the United States Air Force. I said, "He ought to be defending us instead of promoting baseball," but there he was. That's Pat Malone. Pat, welcome to

Mel Krupin on building his first restaurant - "The funny thing is, he says to me, 'They’re beveled mirrors.' I came home to my wife and I said, 'What’s a beveled mirror?' She said, 'It’s a mirror that . . .The edge, they’ve got a little thing on the edge.' I thought 'a mirror’s a mirror. I shave every morning. I don’t see no edge.' Anyway, we built the restaurant." Mel Krupin, The Tummler - Legendary DC Restaurateur A Ockershausen: This is Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town. We have a delightful guest today, a man who is so respected in the city of Washington. I wish he still had his own joint. Mel, you don't mind me saying that. Mel Krupin is a relic from a time when what made a restaurant big in D.C. wasn't its celebrity chef or its food; it was the big man who ran the joint, "The Tummler”, who knew where to see Caspar Weinberger or Jack Kent Cooke or Mo Siegel or who else and he could kibitz with the customers. Tummler, a person who makes things happen. That's our Mel Krupin. Welcome to Our Town,

Christine Brennan on choosing a career - I've never worked a day in my life. I am doing what I love, and for the young people out there, boys and girls, men and women, whatever, who are thinking about life and what they'd like to do, if you do what you love, as you know, Andy, Janice, you know, you never work a day in your life." Christine Brennan, Sports Columnist and TV Commentator A Ockershausen: Hi, this is Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town, and we are delighted to have a very, very favorite person, someone who I've known for almost 30 years who's a bulwark of sports writing in America, a very dear friend, Christine Brennan. Christine Brennan: Andy, it is great to be with you and Janice, who we'll hear from at some point, right? Janice. A Ockershausen: It's her show. I'm here as an interviewer. It's her show. Christine Brennan: Of course. You're just the arm candy. Yes, it's great to be with you both. Thanks for having me. Really appreciate it. "It's a Girl" A Ockershausen: We we

Lyles Carr on community service - "I get much more credit than I’m due. To me, it’s the almost irrationally committed leaders and staff of the community service organizations in this Region and their supporters that really deserve the applause. They’re the ones that do the real work. We just try to support them." Lyles Carr, Senior Vice President The McCormick Group - Leadership Greater Washington A Ockershausen: This is Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town and we have the pleasure, a distinct personal pleasure to me to talk with a very dear friend who's made a great impact on the city of Washington. A name most of you don't know but you should is Lyles Carr is with The McCormick Group. Lyles, welcome to Our Town. Lyles Carr: Andy, I'm pleased to be here although I figure you needed some comic relief at some point so that's how you got me. The Early Years A Ockershausen: Until we talked, I had no idea you were a suburban guy. I always thought of you for whatever reason as Northern Virginia and