Half-century later, "Double E" still at the mike

Thousands of athletes have come and gone at Coudersport Area High School, but one thing remains the same: the man behind the microphone for Radio Station WFRM.

The 81-year-old Ed Easton is still at it in this, his 51st year as a play-by-play sportscaster.

"It all began in the pouring rain during a football game at Smethport's "McCoy Stadium," Easton said. "I never would have imagined that, more than 50 years later, I'd still be at it. The eyes aren't what they used to be, which can be frustrating, but we're hanging in there."

In the early days of his career, Easton taped his broadcast on a reel-to-reel unit and, later, on a cassette recorder, since WFRM's broadcast day concluded at dusk.

Once WFRM extended its hours and added an FM station (96.7) to complement AM600, the coverage went live.

Sportscasting was an extension of Easton's duties as news director and principal on-air personality at WFRM. For many years, he dashed from the 6:00 a.m. shift at WFRM to his other full-time job, as a justice of the peace -- later changed to district justice -- and topped off a typical day by broadcasting a Little League baseball or high school basketball game at night.

Ed Easton has served as a mentor to many aspiring broadcasters over the years. Here, he shows young Justin Cannon the ropes prior to a basketball playoff game at Clarion University's Waldo Tippin Gymnasium. Early in his career, Easton had several offers to move to a larger radio station in a more populous area, but he remained loyal to his hometown, a decision he has never regretted.

Easton, known to many of his listeners as "Double E," stepped down at WFRM as Pennsylvania revised its minor judiciary system, so that he could spend more time in the district justice office.

He continued with the sportscasts, assisted by Henry Fuller, Francis X. Sculley and others. In 1976, Easton brought aboard long-time sidekick and color commentator, Paul Heimel. Three decades later, their genuine friendship and natural chemistry are evident in each broadcast.

Statistician and spotter Paul Gaines joined the crew in the mid-1980s and those three have been at it ever since.

"He's an amazing man and a great friend," says Paul Gaines.

During a nostalgic moment, veteran sports caster Ed Easton took the microphone to introduce the Coudersport High School varsity football when the Falcons visited the Sweden Valley Manor to life the spirits of the residents there.

"Ed is the consummate professional," adds Heimel, who has an anecdote that speaks volumes about Easton:

"WFRM took a couple years off from broadcasting local sports and, when we were told it w o u l d resume, Ed w a s concerned that he might have lost his edge. I went to a pre-season basketball game, and there was Ed up in a corner of the gym, calling the game into a little cassette recorder so he could listen to himself and critique his own performance."

Long before that wet day in Smethport in 1956, Easton

spent a great deal

of time twisting

the dial on his

AM radio,

listening to the top

sportscasters in

the business

delivering play-byplay

of football,

baseball and basketball.

He blended their styles with his own quick mind and excellent diction to become

"the voice of the Falcons."

Due to his family's economic strife and the early death of his father, Easton spent much of his early childhood in a boys' home at Pittsburgh. He returned to Coudersport in 1943 and worked for a time at the Damascus Tannery before landing at WFRM in 1956.

He and his wife of nearly 50 years, Caroline, have raised three

children: John, Annette and Timothy. John and family have lived for many years in North Carolina. Annette now occupies the District Judge seat that her father held.

Tim Easton, a cheerful and popular boy, was a victim of muscular dystrophy and passed away in 1983, just before he was to graduate from high school.

The loss of a child is an experience from which a parent never fully recovers, but Ed and Caroline Easton are embraced as family members themselves by virtually everyone in Coudersport.

They enjoy traveling to polka parties and socializing with friends. Ed's main hobby in recent years has been feeding the deer, bears and turkeys that descend the hill behind the couple's East Second Street home and often cause Rt. 6 motorists to do a double-take.

He also exercises every day and faithfully makes his rounds in the community and at local assisted living facilities.

"I've been blessed," Easton says. "Coudersport is a great town and, even though it's had its ups and downs, the people here always pull together."