Earl Freudenberg thought he was getting together with friends for his birthday last week. The group of current and former broadcasters meet regularly to share lies and memories, and I've been lucky enough to attend a few. It's a good group of people who truly care for each other.
That was on display big time last week as this was also a luncheon to honor the longtime broadcaster. I won't name names in this case, but there are several guys among the group who seem to take great pleasure in doing things for others, so they organized the surprise. The birthday provided the excuse, but caring was the reason.
A much larger group called the Veterans of Radio Wars meets for lunch once a year, and what's interesting is that most of them were rivals at one time or another and in many cases, had been fired by the person sitting next to them at these luncheons.
Sitting among guys like Bob Johnson, Johnny Eagle and Darrell Patterson and listening to their stories is a rare experience.
Guests at Freudenberg's luncheon shared stories about how they've known or worked with the man who is a member of the Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame, Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame and Tri State Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame.
Among the attendees were state Sen. Todd Gardenhire and state Rep. Robin Smith. The state Senate cited Freudenberg for his community work in addition to his nearly 55 years in broadcasting.
While in Chattanooga radio, Freudenberg was an announcer, news director, talk-show host and worked in just about every aspect of radio. Freudenberg served on the Armed Forces Week committee and Forgotten Child Fund board for over 30 years.
Also on hand were Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond and Deputy Chief Austin Garrett, who both spoke, citing Freudenberg's work to raise thousands of dollars to help purchase toys for needy children.
They also talked about either being a guest on one of his shows or listening to him while growing up.
Freudenberg started in broadcasting in Chattanooga in 1962 at the old WAPO. He worked for WDOD, WDEF and WDYN. Freudenberg also served at the American Forces Network in Europe in the early '70s.
He was dubbed "Hey Earl" by the late Parker Smith in reference to the many callers he got on his shows who started every conversation with the phrase.
Barry Courter
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.