Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 26, 1992 TAG: 9202260303
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LISA SWIRSKY and MICHELLE RILEY STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
HEARTBEAT OF WKEY FINALLY SIGNS OFF
Tuesday, the city said goodbye to its favorite radio announcer.\ For years, salespeople in Covington knew to stop business between 11:15 and 11:30 each morning.
They knew their calls likely would be unwelcome or that customers wouldn't bother to even respond to a knock on the door.
That time of day in Covington belonged to John Lee Davis of radio station WKEY.
Davis was the host of "Kitchen Club," a daily community bulletin. He announced church activities, local news and obituaries, ending each show with, "And until tomorrow, this is John Lee Davis saying, `Thanks a whole lot for listening.' "
Nothing he said was extraordinary, but the impact on his listeners was.
Some of those listeners were among the 250 who attended the funeral Tuesday for Davis, 72, who died at his home Sunday.
"He was quiet and unassuming. . . . There was a nice soft tone to his program," said lawyer Bill Wilson, a longtime friend.
A letter read by the Rev. William Harris Jr. summed up Davis' local appeal: "With your warm and pleasant voice, you added class and image to our hometown."
Davis' show was typical of many pre-television programs, which tended to draw the community together. Although most of these shows died and the station became more music-oriented, "Kitchen Club" thrived.
People who worked with Davis recalled his show's popularity.
"It's the only thing that has continued from the '40s," station manager Denny Tincher said. "It's the strongest single feature we have."
Tincher recalled that when the station had its listening audience measured by Arbitron in the early 1980s, the graph jumped when Davis' show began. "It was like a giant heartbeat."
Part of Davis' appeal was his commitment to the show. Throughout his career, he rarely missed a day of work, Tincher said. After he retired from the station in 1981, he continued to do "Kitchen Club" until October 1990.
Even when his health began to fail, Davis remained "Kitchen Club" host. "He was on oxygen at the time, and you could hear the oxygen mask puffing as he did the show," said station engineer Rannie Mason, who now is host of the show.
One of the highlights of Davis' career was a live broadcast with Paul Harvey from the Covington station in 1961. Davis did the public service announcements that came between Harvey's news segments. Although the national exposure was an honor, Mason said, "He didn't talk about it too much."
Others who didn't attend the funeral remembered Davis fondly.
Shirley Wickline, a clerk at Aide's Discount store, said, "The minute you heard his voice, you knew it was him. He just had that certain quality you listened to."
Mary Siple, Wickline's co-worker, agreed. She still enjoys the show with its new host. "He's got a good voice, but John Lee was special."