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For Edmontonians August 21st, 2007 began with "darkling shadows" overhead: it was cool, windy and with a hint of rain in the air.

On the air in his familiar shift at 630 CHED was morning man Gord Whitehead. And just as he was about to sign off his show, at 8:58 a.m. listeners heard the following unsettling annoucement:

"Well a little note here ... I'm going to be taking some time off work and Syd Smith will be in in my stead. The usual cast of thieves will be assembled here weekday mornings at 630 CHED. I will just not be among them for some time."

"I don't want anybody to panic – I'm okay – I'm just taking some time off work – that's all I'm going to say about it."

"We'll talk to you sometime in the future ... I guess maybe would be the best way to put it."

"Thank you very much – have yourselves a great day and try to stay dry over the next few because it looks like rain is headed our way once again."

While longtime listeners and fans of the veteran broadcaster were absorbing the news, Gord sent out an e-mail to his fellow staff at CHED. In it Whitehead suggested his absence would be longer than he indicated on the air.

Hi all;

My first job in radio was at the 360,000 wattt blowtorch known as CKY F.M. in Winnipeg. It was interesting place, beautiful music during the day and then nightly from 10 til 2 in the morning we were a progressive rock station.

For those of you who were present at the final WIC Christmas party a few years ago, and while under hypnosis, witnessed my regression to my long haired youth, this chapter of what we called “NOWflower” perhaps gives an explanation. Every night when we signed off we used to play a Quiksilver Messenger song, (written by Dale Evans of Roy Rogers fame) called “Happy Trails” . The lines goes “Happy trails to you until we meet again” and it seems appropriate today. I'll be away for a while, or perhaps a while longer but you will all be in my thoughts.

Please don't fret for me, I'm okay, just running on fumes. [section deleted] I am looking to get away totally. Thanks for your consideration in this matter, and “Happy trails.”

Whitey

And with that Gord Whitehead left the building, taking the reasons behind his departure with him.

Gord Whitehead grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. After his stint at CKY FM, Whitey bounced around western Canada pulling down shifts at CKCK Regina and at CJOC Lethbridge where he first worked alongside Bill Matheson.

Matheson would later become one of Edmonton's best-loved media personalities, known for his radio talk shows on CJCA and CHED and for his colourful weathercasts on CITV (later Global Edmonton).

Whitey later landed the drive home shift at 930 CJCA where he was teamed up with newsman Glen Yost. The "Gord And Glen Show" was part of a lineup that established talk radio as a winning format in Edmonton.

Under the leadership of station manager Terry Strain and program director Bob Lang, CJCA enjoyed a long run of first-place ratings. During the period the station had Bob Arnold as morning man, Ron Collister as lead talk show host (with George Payne at the controls), and the "Bill and Bill Show" with Matheson paired with Bill Jackson (and Wade Sorochan – the fastest tonearm in the west – manning the board). Shouting out sports news was the hair that roared, Bryan Hall.

On the news side, Joe Meyers was director and CJCA's main reader was Mike Cleaver. Overnight, Edmonton insomniacs heard Larry King on "Tiger Radio" long before he donned large glasses and even larger suspenders.

The "Gord And Glen Show" offered listeners a literate and often loopy look at the world. The team tore down the media facade and dissected news of the day with a gentle amount of skepticism.

But all good things come to an end ... and that end was named Peter Weissbach.

Brought in by new management, program director Weissbach shook the popular station on its head, bringing down ratings and advertising revenue.

By late 1993, CJCA – after broadcasting for nearly 70 years – went silent. But voices from the station were soon heard on longtime rival 630 CHED.

A Top 40 giant in the 1960s, CHED in the early 1990s was a victim of the dominance of FM radio. But an aggressive raid by CHED management brought Gord Whitehead, Bryan Hall, Ron Collister and Bryan Hall to the lower end of the AM dial.

A CKRD TV Red Deer newscast from December 1st, 1993 – highlighting the birth of Edmonton's New Information Superstation – can be viewed at the popular Youtube site. Introducing the story is a young Kevin O'Connell sporting an enviable amount of hair.

For fourteen years a vast radio audience woke up to Whitehead as he took over CHED's morning shift. Teamed with Kris Burkholder and Bryan Hall, the trio dominated local ratings.

In April, 2006 Burkholder joined the Canadian Traffic Network, bringing to CHED Edmonton's first airborne traffic reports since Murray Blakely last flew on board CJCA's "Flying Tiger" in the early 1990s.

Burkholder's departure meant Whitey had to fly his show solo, and his daily three-hour one-man talk show remained a popular fixture while competing stations assaulted waking ears with 'Morning Crews' and 'Breakfast Bunches.'

During his time at CHED, Whitehead was a familiar face at charity events and on the city's golf greens. He could also be seen filling in at the Global Edmonton weather board and appearing in commercials for Salisbury Greenhouses.

In September 2006, Gord's longtime friend and air-mate Bill Matheson died after a long illness.

In a Youtube clip of Global's tribute to the man who put the "Idaho high" on the Alberta map, Whitehead can be seen and heard paying tribute to his chum ... and to the end of a chapter when personality mattered as much as performance in a medium that now favoured appearance over professionalism.

Also evident in the clip is Gord's gift of germaine gab – his ability to speak at length and in eloquent terms not often heard on commercial airwaves.

58-year-old Gord Whitehead's announcement of a "temporary" leave of absence also sounded like the end of an era. While it remains to be seen of his plans, one can't help but feel that another page of Edmonton broadcasting history has been given a first draft.

Whitey's departure leaves a void on the local radio dial. Of the quartet that carried the legacy of Edmonton's first talk show station to new quarters, only Hallsy remains. And when Bryan will call his final touchdown, only he will have that say – and he's not saying.

So Gordo ... it's been great seeing you on the radio. Happy Trails indeed.

Hours after Gord Whitehead publicly announced his sabbatical came word that a family dynasty came to an end at Edmonton's oldest television sation.

Third-generation news director Steve Hogle accepted a corporate public relations position 51 years after his grandfather first joined CFRN TV.

When the Edmonton Sun carried the story of Gord Whitehead's departure, the perils of automated publishing caused most readers to do a double take. It's the sort of thing Gord and Glen would have loved.

On the main news page of the Sun's web site, Graham Hicks' column headline appeared just above the first bullet of his August 22nd piece. The combination offered a glimmer of hope for fans of the announcer.

Turning to the column itself, the irony was repeated ... but the joke referred to dealt with Walmart selling fruit of the grape alongside Fruit of the Looms.

The unusual headline placement was repeated in the print version of the Sun as well.

On September 5th, 2007 a 630 CHED listener offered his assessment of Syd Smith's morning show in the popular Edmonton Journal Venting column.

A week later, another listener offered his opinion of the CHED morning show sans-Whitehead in the Journal's venting column.

Listeners and fans got their 2008 New Year's wish when Whitey returned to the airwaves on January 2nd.

radio - edmonton radio news 2007 - is Gord gone?