When I started working as the doorman and head usher at the RKO Orpheum Theatre in Davenport in 1965 Ernie was on my pass list as a VIP and we saw each other every so often as he and his wife would come to see the movies and shows that my boss Milton 'Uncle Miltie' Troehler, (A nick name he picked up as a straight man once for Milton Berle in Chicago when he was the assistant manager of the Palace theatre.) would bring into town with G. La Verne Flambo through their GMT Productions which was the top theatrical and concert promotion company at the time in the region between Chicago and Omaha. They would exchange pleasantries about Ernie's days at one of Mr. Flambo's radio stations, WQUA in Moline. (Flambo was the Executive Vice President of the Small Broadcasting Group owned by the Small family in Moline. He oversaw 5 radio stations for them mostly in Illinois I believe.)
Later after I returned from Vietnam in 1971 while I was attending the Palmer Colleges in Davenport I would often see and talk with Ernie at WOC events like the annual Christmas Parties and summer outings that Dr. David D. Palmer would throw for his employees. Dr. Dave as he was known to many looked upon his employees at the radio/TV stations and college like an extended family and knew each person that worked for him and would often joke with people in particular about their years at the station.
After Dr. Dave Palmer passed away in 1978 I started working at WOC TV as a production assistant helping out in the public affairs programming area and doing the live remote broadcasts that were starting to take place during the noon news broadcasts. I can well remember after 'Skip' Jacobson left PM Magazine Ernie taking over the host duties along with Paula Sands in 1982. I thought it was a great idea since every baby boomer in the market like me knew Ernie from his earlier jobs as Uncle and then Captain Ernie. On top of that Ernie's looks had not changed much since I first knew him in the 1960's which was a plus since Paula was just starting her career and was and is still quite good looking. They made a great team.
I was by this time the Director of Community Relations for the WOC Stations and was producing 'Keeping Pace' a public affairs production of the TV station and one of the first programs of its kind locally that went 'on location' to do its shows rather than being done in the studio with 'talking heads.' I also produced many of the stations promotional efforts in the community like 'Family Festival' and the 'Draught House Reunions' which were hugely successful at the time and raised money for the renovation of the old RKO into the new Adler Theatre as well as other charities and non profits.
I left the stations in 1986 when Signal Hill Communications was started and moved into the location that WOC now occupies on Kimberly Ridge Road. In 1989 I started to work in the motion picture business with the Avati brothers as their local production manager and have been involved in the development, promotion and production of motion pictures and special events ever since including 10 motion pictures some of which have been 'in competition' at Cannes and Venice.
The last time that I saw and spoke with Ernie was for the 50th Anniversary of TV6 at the Adler Theatre in 2000. I attended the event with my friends David and Paula Sands. It was great to see and talk with Ernie. He was one of the people that made working at the old broadcasting company such a blast and gave me the basis of my understanding of the media in general that has put me in the position that I am in today.
Keep up the good work of assuring that our broadcasting history is kept alive through such endeavors as the site that you maintain now. The Quad Cities broadcasting community was and is lucky to have a guy like Ernie as part of its heritage.
Best regards, Doug Miller
