It’s not about the songs or the disc jockeys or even the call letters, but when the owner of the 100.5 FM frequency managed to bring it all together the residents of the Upper Ohio Valley reacted with glee.
Yes, glee.
Glee /ɡlē/
- great delight.
It was January 3, 2022 when, bright and early that Monday morning, when the voice of veteran DJ “Johnny O” was heard not on KOOL 105.5 FM but on 100.5 FM instead, and the rest can be described by the tweets and Facebook posts logged by social media members thoruighout the Wheeling area and far beyond.
James Zusack, the chief deputy of the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office, is a self-proclaimed “huge fan” of the recreated WOMP station.
“It’s a lot of fun for me when I’m able to listen because it’s one song after another that was popular when I was back in high school,” he explained. “Those songs bring back a lot of memories about the fun things we used to do back in those days, and it’s also fun to reminisce with my wife because the only songs I danced to were the slow songs.
“The show on Friday and Saturday nights are a lot of fun, too, because it reminds us of when we used to go out to the clubs with our friends,” Zusack said. “Plus, you can make requests and a lot of times you get to hear those songs. Music was a big deal back in those days and it’s great that we can hear them again.”
The ownership of the Ohio Midland Newsgroup made the comeback complete when finally acquiring the former call letters, so when the transaction was final this past summer, WUKL-FM became WOMP-FM.
“WOMP was the most popular radio station in the valley when I was a kid in the 1970-80s so it was fun when it came back,” said Colleen Lee, who, along with her husband Denny, owns the DeFelice Bros. Pizza shops in Bethlehem and Wheeling. “My sisters and I would always listen when we were younger when we were in the car or at home. WOMP was always on the radio.
“When we had the chance, my husband and I decided to sponsor the Friday night house parties a couple of times a month and it’s been great for us,” she said. “A lot of our customers tell us they’ve heard about us on the radio, so it sure seems like a lot of people are listening to these days.”
A lot? Well, according to the most recent “spring” Neilsen ratings released over the summer, WOMP-FM is a huge hit once again.
“It’s a lot of fun since it launched earlier in the year and it’s brought back a lot of memories,” said RJ Smith, a resident of Dallas, W.Va., in Marshall County. “I didn’t grow up in this area, but the music they’re playing now was what we listening to when I was young, so it’s great to hear them again.
“WOMP is one of the favorites I have saved in my truck so I would so I listen pretty often, and singing along is always a thing as long as no one is riding with me,” he said with a smile. “They don’t want to hear me. They want to hear what’s on WOMP.”
