Edwin Anderson, former WIFR Anchor/Reporter

"Edwin Bailey Anderson Jr., age 56, of Florence, passed away Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

He is survived by his mother, Mildred Anderson; beloved son, Bailey Lee Anderson; two sisters, Patricia Chesnut and husband, Ron, Elizabeth Medaris and husband, Jere; former wife and dearest friend, Snow Anderson; nieces and nephews, Alex and Amy Chesnut, Sophia McArthur, Matthew, Jeremy and Joshua Medaris; special friends, David Cassady, Sybil Abrams and Katie Lawrence.
Edwin was preceded in death by his father, Bailey Anderson Sr., grandparents, Betty and John Ballinger, Ruby Anderson and so many pets.
Mr. Anderson was an artist, a graduate of Coffee High School and earned his BS from the University of Arizona. He was a member of Living Spirit Church in Florence. He enjoyed motorcycles, sculpting, painting and caring for animals.
Edwin always wanted to do the right and compassionate thing for all people and animals. We love him dearly."

Edwin was the ex-husband of former WIFR reporter Snow Anderson. Edwin reportedly took his own life after battling depression.

...Thanks to Pete Barrett for the story.

Roger Radant, former Film Dept, Puppeteer

ROGER W. RADANT, 55 MACHESNEY PARK - Roger W. Radant, 55, ofMachesney Park passed away at 2:50 p.m. Thursday, May 1, 2008, in hishome. Born Dec. 6, 1952, in Rockford, the son of Kenneth W. and Mary(Wirtanen) Radant. Married Lisa Kirkpatrick on Sept. 16, 1991, inRockford. Employed by Barcol Door for 25 years. Roger was an avid Harleyenthusiast, Chicago Bears fan and loved spending time with his family athome. Survivors include wife, Lisa; daughter, Niki Wheat; mother, MaryRadant, all of Machesney Park; sisters, Diane (Jim) Thomas of Aurora andPat (Milt) Schwanke of Machesney Park; and brothers, Larry (Helen) ofRoscoe, Kenneth of Rockford and Doug (Judy) Radant of Lindenhurst.Predeceased by father.

From Dave A.

Paul Masquelier's Goodbye to WIFR

Kinda bittersweet, given he is no longer with us. He sure had a good time at WIFR, as I recall. I also recall a roomful of guys crowding into my Nap Room (also known as the announce booth) to record the "Happy Trails" whistling and horse clip-clops.

Pete's Near Miss

ALL I wanted to do was test out the new Ikegami HL-77 Camera the station had just bought. Unfortunately I chose to do so during a thunderstorm; I think I was trying to impress Sue!

The "NEW" Action News -1977?

I inherited this since it was before my time. It's in pretty poor shape, but you should enjoy.

I believe it marks Sue Mroz's first appearance on WIFR. I barely knew Kerry Donovan and Mark Ovenden (since I was weekend prompter op at that time) and never met Ken Staaf. I did enjoy Chuck Faber.

Rockford Commercials 1980

I stripped these out of a Rick Moore-anchored newscast from March of 1980. Mark DeSantis does the voice track for "Knight's Armor" (a men's clothing store); Sally Kolkmeyer hosts a Lou Bachrodt Chevrolet commercial, Bill Walters voices a commercial, and many other interesting tidbits are contained herein!

WIFR 1983 Christmas Show

For some reason someone sent this to me (Walt, probably, since his troubling mug is all over this show) and although I am not IN it, I hung onto it for 25 years! Enjoy! - Pete Barrett

October, 1980 Newscast

Snow got the lead...a thrilling school board story!

Christmas tape 1982

Yet another fine offering from Pete.

Lookin Good!

Another fun video. Look for perky Sally in the background...!