The Cape’s Weatherman for 35 Years

DaveReadStudioThe Cape Countdown 

with Dave Read

 

 

 

 

6)     How long have you been in your current career?

My first paid job in broadcasting was doing voiceovers for a public TV station in Maine in 1971. The “studio” literally was a coat closet with a bare bulb above two chairs, one of which held a big tape deck. I sat in there for an hour each day and  was paid $15 a week. But back then, while still at Bates College, I could walk down to the Blue Goose Tavern and buy a loaded hot dog for 25 cents and wash it down with a 25 cent draft beer. Do the math and say “Hot dog!”

I volunteered at the Bates College radio station beginning in 1970 and got my first paid radio job in 1972 as the summer fill-in man at WLAM, a top-40 station. It was trial by fire after the very relaxed style of college radio!

When I arrived at WQRC in 1979, I met the sports guy, Jim Sherman, who I learned used to room with one of my WLAM co-workers. They lived in our old apartment in Lewiston, Maine!

​That’s not all. One of the boys my wife used to babysit for in Lewiston, Andy Smith, is now an orthopedic surgeon at Cape Cod Hospital!

5)      What do you like most about it?

It’s a lot more fun and creative on a daily basis than most other jobs. Getting up at 3:45 a.m. sounds hard but it really is a beautiful time to see the stars, the sunrise and Cape Cod at its most peaceful. Some mornings, I see more coyotes than cars!

4)      What are the biggest challenges?

Keeping it fresh and interesting, especially on less sleep than I end up getting some nights. However when our daughter, Hillary, was growing up, it was wonderful to have my afternoons free to spend time with her, taking her to piano, flute and ballet lessons. She still plays and sings for 2 churches in the Boston area each weekend, so all that driving around has paid off.

3)      What do you like most about living and working on Cape Cod?

It’s beautiful. I love being close to nature in all the ways you can here… more variety than many other parts of the country. Lots of history, too. Since my wife and I enjoy photography, Cape Cod is a natural.

2)      What’s your favorite hobby?

Two: Photographing the Cape and helping friends with their Mac computers.

1)      What is something that people might not know about you?

I spend a lot of my free time building websites to help local non-profit groups such as Champ House (a homeless shelter in Hyannis) and A Baby Center in Hyannis (distributes free diapers and baby items to needy families) and volunteering at Cape Cod Hospital, where I bring Holy Communion to Catholics every other Monday. I was on the board of directors for the Hyannis Public Library for 12 years.



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