Rewind: Vintage 1980 NewsCenter 8 WOTV Newscast

[TeleCine]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu7Lcdd3qLo&t=2321s

[MWmetalhead]

Smith-Groen Lumber at 2850 S. Division was known as Erb Lumber during my youth.

That stretch of S. Division is loaded with Latino businesses these days, including that very same property. Plenty of taco stands to be had (literally). Are there still used car lots galore, or are those largely gone now? I know Al & Bob's Outdoors moved away years ago and is now kaput altogether. 28th St is a total shit hole thru that area.

Wyoming is best described as two parts Tijuana and one part Hillbilly Heaven, save for the SW part of the city, which remains nice (and is located within the very good Grandville school district).

That's a damn good newscast from 1980. With the exceptions of Warren Reynolds, Dick Evans and Henry Erb, I believe all the folks featured were gone by the time Newscenter 8 became News 8. I am unsure if they were fired, left on their own, or a combination thereof.

There is also a Newscenter 8 newscast from 1981 available online (an 11 PM show), and I was underwhelmed by that production.

At what time did the NBC Nightly News air during this period? 7PM?

[48125er]

Smith-Groen Lumber at 2850 S. Division was known as Erb Lumber during my youth.

That stretch of S. Division is loaded with Latino businesses these days, including that very same property. Plenty of taco stands to be had (literally). Are there still used car lots galore, or are those largely gone now? I know Al & Bob's Outdoors moved away years ago and is now kaput altogether. 28th St is a total shit hole thru that area.

Wyoming is best described as two parts Tijuana and one part Hillbilly Heaven, save for the SW part of the city, which remains nice (and is located within the very good Grandville school district).

That's a damn good newscast from 1980. With the exceptions of Warren Reynolds, Dick Evans and Henry Erb, I believe all the folks featured were gone by the time Newscenter 8 became News 8. I am unsure if they were fired, left on their own, or a combination thereof.

There is also a Newscenter 8 newscast from 1981 available online (an 11 PM show), and I was underwhelmed by that production.

At what time did the NBC Nightly News air during this period? 7PM?

That stretch of Division still has a lot of Car places, Division ave there looks so much like Van Dyke south of 696. 28th st from Woodland mall to Byron center reminds me a lot to Ford Rd between Inkster and Newburgh thru Garden City/Westland.

Plainfield Ave is an increasingly shitty stretch of road, That reminds me of Wayne Rd thru Wayne/Westland.

[Trophyhead]

Henry Erb and Warren Reynolds were the only ones I recall in this report from my first exposure to WOTV a year later, as they were the other NBC affiliate on East Lansing's cable box.
I like that the still from the YouTube video display deals with a fire, my recollection was that fires were big news in GR, when I would watch their casts. Taking in the first 10 minutes, it seems Strike-O-Rama was going on as interest rates were spiking in real time and gas was rolling up to $1.60 a gallon. Thanks for posting this!

[Doktor No]

$1.60 a gallon for gas in October 1980 would be $5.89 today according to the CPI inflation calculator.

[Trophyhead]

If the Iran-Israel flap gets rolling we may wind up where you describe!

[ftballfan]

Smith-Groen Lumber at 2850 S. Division was known as Erb Lumber during my youth.

That stretch of S. Division is loaded with Latino businesses these days, including that very same property. Plenty of taco stands to be had (literally). Are there still used car lots galore, or are those largely gone now? I know Al & Bob's Outdoors moved away years ago and is now kaput altogether. 28th St is a total shit hole thru that area.

Wyoming is best described as two parts Tijuana and one part Hillbilly Heaven, save for the SW part of the city, which remains nice (and is located within the very good Grandville school district).

That's a damn good newscast from 1980. With the exceptions of Warren Reynolds, Dick Evans and Henry Erb, I believe all the folks featured were gone by the time Newscenter 8 became News 8. I am unsure if they were fired, left on their own, or a combination thereof.

There is also a Newscenter 8 newscast from 1981 available online (an 11 PM show), and I was underwhelmed by that production.

At what time did the NBC Nightly News air during this period? 7PM?

1. The SW corner of Wyoming is de facto Grandville as it is in Grandville school district and a lot of that area has a Grandville mailing address (zip code 49418).

2. 28th St has really gone downhill in recent years. Just in the last year or so, the Applebee's on 28th in Wyoming closed, as well as the Walgreens on 28th and Division (the Walgreens at 44th and Division, as well as 28th and Kalamazoo, are still kicking)

[MWmetalhead]

That Walgreens was nasty; not surprised at all it closed. The sleazy motels and hotels along 28th St are a major detriment.

[Big-D]

That's a damn good newscast from 1980. With the exceptions of Warren Reynolds, Dick Evans and Henry Erb, I believe all the folks featured were gone by the time Newscenter 8 became News 8. I am unsure if they were fired, left on their own, or a combination thereof.

I think Cary Berglund stuck around for the News 8 era briefly. Bill Freeman was definitely around because I worked with him from 1989-1991.

[MWmetalhead]

You are absolutely right; I forgot that there was a story from Bill Freeman. I remember the "Freeman File" on News 8 in the late 80s.

[ftballfan]

That Walgreens was nasty; not surprised at all it closed. The sleazy motels and hotels along 28th St are a major detriment.

I was in it once and it was nasty. I've never been in the ones at 44th and Division and 28th and Kalamazoo, but those look nicer from the outside (especially 28th and Kalamazoo since it's across the street from the closest Meijer to EGR)

[MWmetalhead]

Any folks from EGR who shop at Meijer are much more likely to shop at the Knapps Corner or Cascade stores.

A lot of the inner city crowd shops at 28th and Kalamazoo.

[dwp49423]

You are absolutely right; I forgot that there was a story from Bill Freeman. I remember the "Freeman File" on News 8 in the late 80s.

If I remember right, Bill would often try to get under Suzanne Geha's skin during the Freeman File segments.

[MWmetalhead]

Yup. They were designed to be light hearted and humorous, generally speaking. I enjoyed that feature.