It started 46 years ago this weekend with a forecast of some snow in the area. Back then weather forecasting was a more inexact science than it is today. After the 11 PM newscast that Friday night, some of us were sitting around in the Master Control Room up on the second floor of WIS-TV speculating on whether or not we would actually see some of the white puffy flakes or was our Weather Man’s on-air snow dance in vain. There was some excitement in the air, at least on my part because having been raised in Florida; I had not seen any real snow. I’ve seen a few inches now and then but nothing really “Real!”
In the anticipation that I might need it I had thrown a shovel into the back seat of my bright red 1971 Volkswagen “Karmann-Ghia.” I thought that if something actually happened, I could get anywhere I needed to be with that shovel and the rear engine design of my car. I had it parked in my place in the lot behind the station and next door to “The Palace” restaurant where I ate all those juicy hamburgers they made there. I was ready for anything.
My normal shift at WIS-TV was covering “Prime Time” between 4 PM and the 1 AM sign off of the station. Yes, we played the National Anthem and went off the air until 6:45 the next morning when we started with the farm report by Bob Bailey, the Clemson Agricultural Agent for the county. But the month of February 1973 we were in a period of major rewiring of the station in preparation for the construction later that year of the new studio complex on Bull Street. Studio A was built in what was a small parking lot at the front of the station to the left of the Main entrance. During the overnight period, I was splicing new patch panels and laying the foundation for the new control room. It would be housed in the old news room and the old WIS Radio control room just off the lobby. Since this rewiring meant replacing the cabling that connected everything to the old control boards with some brand new distribution amplifiers, I would have to temporarily disconnect a piece of equipment that was used daily, wire in the new stuff and reconnect it, it was necessary to do the work while we were off the air. It took all of the 5 hours and 45 minutes to do the work and test each piece of equipment every night.
As I was finishing the work, and anticipating the weekend, I noticed that the morning crew was a little late arriving, so I fired off the color cameras to warm them up and went downstairs to light up the studio. I ran into Bob Bailey as he tumbled through the big double oak doors into the lobby. “Boy it’s really coming down!” he exclaimed as he shook the snow off his coat. “Really”, I said as I stuck my nose out to see a vision of a winter wonderland that I had not experienced before. My concern was mitigated by the thought of that shovel in the rear of my car out back. In the cockiness of youth I thought that I could get home easily.
I wound up directing the Bob Bailey show that morning with only one floor crew person running the sole camera down in the studio. About the time I switched to NBC for the Today Show and Frank Blair started reading the news from New York, the day crew began trickling in and I was free to head home.
My first challenge was to get my car doors open under all the snow that had fallen overnight. With a little work, I was in, with the little four cylinder engine purring and heat coming out of the vents into my cold car. Getting out of the parking lot was somewhat of a challenge and I had to get out of the car and dig my way onto Gervais Street. Likewise, I had to get out and dig every time I came to a full stop at a red light. By the time I reached Millwood I had learned to time the lights to keep moving. So I would slowly approach the light, moving at a mile per hour or two until it turned green and I could go through. It was a good thing that there was almost zero traffic; I saw only two other cars the entire trip home.
And this is where the story gets interesting.
I was approaching the intersection of Millwood Avenue, Adger Road, Ott Street and Devine Street, a five point configuration in front of Dreher High School. This was a long light and I was wondering if I could time it right so I wouldn’t have to stop. Alas, I realized that there was no way I would not have to stop. Geesh!
As I neared the intersection, I could see the afore-mentioned two cars. In the falling snow barely visible in the gloom, there was a cop struggling to free a vehicle that had gotten stuck because of a red light. He and the driver were out behind the car which was on one of the cross streets, trying to get it to a clear spot near the intersection, but they had a long way to go. The intersection was still open for me, but there was no clear space between me and the crossing to stop and wait for the light to change. “Freezy Skid Stuff” AKA black ice was everywhere. If I stopped, the cop would have to help dig me out too.
On the other hand, back in the day, the police had a reputation for strict enforcement of traffic laws.
The light was red for me. It was just me, the cop, the other driver, the stuck car and the glaring red light. I locked eyes with the cop as I made the decision to run the light. He slowly turned as I crept past him. I will never forget the expression on his face as he raised his arms... And cheered!
And that my friends, is how I ran a red light right in front of a cop and actually got away with it. Oh MY!
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