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Who would have thought old phone mate message tapes would hold such a treasure?
Carol Kochan was calling to see if Brenda had been born. Brenda was due July 24, so she was 10 days late. Brenda was born 5:27pm on August 3, 1979. Carol Kochan left this message after that. I didn't have a chance to call her yet so she didn't know. Carol Kochan's voice isn't that high-pitched. On those old phone mate message tapes, the beginning of the tape was used over and over and the tape deteriorated. The quality gets better on messages later on the tape.
My wife, Carol left three messages. The first one may have been late on Sunday, August 5, 1979 and the other two the morning of Monday August 6, 1979. She gave the time on her last message. It was 7:00am. Three messages before 7:00am. Do you think she was excited. Again the quality of the tape was not up to par. This was the day we brought Brenda home from the hospital.
Next was my Father-in-law, who Brenda (and later Tracy) lovingly called PapPap. He was calling to see if we got home from the hospital ok. This is the only recording we have of him.
This signature message was from Albert. When I got this message I knew who to call.
Words could never describe how I felt when I found this message of Uncle Frank talking to Carol. To hear his voice again after all those years was like finding a lost treasure. He was calling to see how Brenda was. He called every day about 11:00am to check on her.
Brenda Cooing. How do you get that on a phone mate message tape. In the message, I was put on hold and you can hear her cooing. I digitally cut everything else out and so we have just her.
Just like above, I was on hold and Brenda was talking baby talk, so I cut everything else out of the message.
Every parent especially moms can relate to this next message. You can hear Carol trying to get Brenda to say her ABCs and of course she isn't cooperating. I can't figure out how this was on a phone mate message tape.
I always called my mother Maahhh. These next three messages were another treasure I found on the same tape that Uncle Frank's voice was on. We also have my mother on video cassette tapes although it was when she was sick. Every time she left a message on my answering machine she laughed. Maahhh1, Maahhh2, Maahhh3.
When Uncle Frank left a message he would sing. He used to watch Bob Kuzma on the KDKA noon news. Back then, KDKA was the only newscast at noon and Kuzma was really animated when he gave the weather. He liked Bob Kuzma, and always called him that Pollock. I actually can remember the day of these messages of Uncle Frank and my mother talking to me. I can't remember the exact day, but I do remember it was one hot summer day in 81, 82 or 83, I had a bad stomach ache. On the message, Uncle Frank + Jim, you can hear me groan at the end of the message. Uncle Frank must have told my dad that he was talking to me and that I didn't feel good.
My dad told my mother to call and see how I was doing. This is on the message Maahhh + Jim. I'm guessing she was sitting on Uncle Frank's bed. If you listen real close, when she pauses, you can hear Uncle Frank whistling in the background.
Moving ahead to 1987, This message of my dad talking to me, Daddy + Jim, was from the spring or early summer of 1987. It was when my mother was sick and we took her for a ride every day.
I'm not sure when these messages of my dad were from. On Daddy1 he mentions he's going for lunch with Chris. So, it had to be in 89, 90 or 91. Daddy2 is also from that time period.
Daddy+Tracy is a message from December 6, 1991. Tracy was not quite 8 years old. My dad was very sick then. You can tell from the message, this was one of his better days.
This is one of Uncle Tom's famous sayings, a Beautiful Job. It came from a VCR tape that we took when Jerry, Rizzi, My Dad, and I visited Uncle Tom and Aunt Jean in Florida. It was in May 1988. Cathy was also there. Here is the rest at Uncle Tom and Aunt Jean's in 1988.
Now for some fun.
Trying to find this oldie The Big Knock drove me crazy. I tried oldie record stores in Milvale and McKeesport and couldn't find it. So on the Sunday before Memorial Day on May 30, 1993, I was trying to request it from 3WS Radio. R.D. Summers hosts the oldies diner show every sunday night and still does. I dialed and dialed and dialed and couldn't get through. So Tracy tried and got through. When the producer answered she gave me the phone. The producer wanted to know who that was on the phone and had R.D. mention her with the request.
Here is a song from one of Uncle Frank's 8 track tapes. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. When you listen to songs from an 8 track tape it makes you appreciate the CD quality we have today. Email [email protected] with your guess of who sings this song. Here is a hint. Most of us watched him on TV on Sundays in the 70s.
Who do Pitt fans root for when Pitt plays Notre Dame. Well two Pitt fans always rooted for Notre Dame. Uncle Frank and my dad. They liked the Notre Dame Fight Song.
In 1960 the Pirates won the pennant for the first time in 33 years. They went on to win the World Series on October 13, 1960, for the first time in 35 years. After they won the world series, an album was released, The Impossible Pirates. Aunt Floramae bought the album for $5.00. That was a lot of money in 1960. I do not have the album she bought, but I found these sound clips from that album on the internet. In today's hi-tech world of instant replay and cell phones, it sounds funny to hear Paul Long mention, many of the fans at the ball park have transitor radios. In 1960, they were as innovative as cell phones. Listen to Bob Prince, Paul Long, Chuck Thompson, Rosey Rowswell, Danny Murtaugh, and others. My favorite is Gino Cimoli, in the locker room after winning the 1960 World Series. I remember my dad got a good laugh when he heard Gino. Who played for both the Pirates and the Steelers in 1960? Click here for the answer.
Do you remember the original Steeeler Fight Song? Well it really was a polka. Imagine Franco Harris and Rocky Blier as rookies. It is hard to imagine. In this song Jimmy Pol refers to them as rookies. Listen to Jimmy Pol and the original version of the Steeler Polka. And what about the Immaculate Reception on December 23, 1972. Many Steeler fans believe that play was a result of divine intervention. Hear Jack Fleming, "The Voice" for the Steelers describes the play. For a full description of this remarkable event, Listen to Bob Costas commentary.
If You Want To is another great oldie I went crazy trying to find. A very nice man nicknamed REPO emailed it to me. He has a great oldies site at Repo's Oldies But Goodies - {A GREAT WEB SITE}. Check it out for some great oldies.
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