Don Edrington's Home Page     Shy Guy from Hollywood High     Brief Bio

Chapter 3   (Page 1)  (Page 2)  (Page 3)  (Page 4)

1945 — Do you recognize this building?   right arrow

KFI (Red)    KECA (Blue)

If you lived in Los Angeles during the 1930s or early 1940s you may remember a time when NBC had two radio networks -
the Red and the Blue—and you may remember seeing this building at 141 N. Vermont Ave.

KFI/KECA Building, 141 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles

(Previous Page)

I remember this building rather vividly because it was directly across the street from Virgil Junior High School, which I attended briefly in 1943.

I was a big radio fan in those days and somewhat familiar with the fact that the National Broadcasting Company had become so preeminent in radio broadcasting that they owned two national networks: the NBC Red Network and the NBC Blue Network.

In Los Angeles, the flagship stations for these networks were KFI-Red and KECA-Blue.

I have no information regarding the origin of the call letters KFI, but I knew that both stations were owned by a local Packard dealer named Earle C. Anthony, and that he used his initials as part of the Blue call letters.

However, the FCC decided that NBC had become too anti-competitive and made them sell off one of the networks. Thus the Blue was sold in 1943 and became ABC (the American Broadcasting Company). Along with this, KECA was renamed KABC.

(Continued in Next Column)

Another thing I remember from those days is that a kid I met at Virgil became a life-long friend.

However, he prefers not to have his name mentioned online, so I'll refer to him here as "Terry." Anyway, Terry and I lost touch in 1957 and only found each other recently via the help of another friend, Barbara Price, who used to live across the street from me in the mid-1940s.

Bobbie Beecher I lost touch with Barbara when she and her mom moved to Riverside in 1946. Imagine my surprise when she sent me an email 55 years later and asked if I was still doing magic tricks.

As a kid, I didn't have a whole lot of friends—my usually divorced mom moved frequently and I rarely stayed very long in one school. But now, a half-century later, to become reacquainted with two of my best friends from junior high school days is exciting and gratifying beyond description.

(Next Page)
More about Bobbie, Terry
& "Barney the Amorous Iceman."

Ch.1 Alameda - Los Angeles 1939-40   Ch.2 Echo Park 1943   Ch.3 Virgil Jr Hi 1944   Ch.4 Le Conte Jr Hi 1945-46   Ch.5 Gower Gulch 1946
Ch.6 Hollywood Hi 1946-47   Ch.7 Drop Out 1948   Ch 8 Norma Jean Salina 1948   Ch 9 Fort Ord 1949   Ch.10 Fort Belvoir 1950
Ch.11 Korea 1951   Ch.12 Back to Civilian Life 1952   Ch.13 Cornet Stores 1953   Ch.14 Puerto Rico 1955   Ch 15 Signs by George 1956
Ch 16 Mexico 1958   Ch.17 Fullerton 1960   Ch.18 Fallbrook 1973   Ch.19 Costa Mesa 2000

Chapter 3   (Page 1)  (Page 2)  (Page 3)  (Page 4)
If you have any comments or questions regarding these pages,
please email me at DonEdringtongmail.com.
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Graphics Disclaimer:
Since I have no personal photos from my youth, I've used pictures found on the Internet to help illustrate some of the stories told on these pages. In a couple of instances I've used photos of people who just happen to closely resemble someone I once knew. However, if it's found that I'm using any images in violation of someone's copyright, please let me know and appropriate action will be taken.
Thank you!