John Bassett Celebrates 90 Years

John Bassett celebrated his 90th birthday with a party at his home Saturday, although the official day was Friday. He was born July 11, 1924, and has seen a lot.

Mr. Bassett reminisced a little during his party. A veteran of World War II, Mr. Bassett saw the television and radio industry grow in leaps and bounds. He worked on FM and TV towers for years, beginning with WORZ in Orlando, Fla., then he moved to WJHP in Jacksonville. Next he moved to Moultrie where he worked for WMGA, and met his wife, Mary.

In 1951, he moved to Atlanta, working at WAGA, where he stayed for 42 years. The Bassetts lived in downtown Atlanta on North Avenue for three years. They were three blocks from the Varsity and two blocks from the Fox he said. And Mrs. Bassett loved the Fox, he said.

They moved to Decatur in 1955, and lived there until he bought property in Jasper County in 1994. When he began work at WAGA, all the offices, broadcast equipment, everything was downtown on West Peachtree. In 1966, the offices moved to the current headquarters on Briarcliff Road.

He said it was a good station to work for.

He talked about the people he met while he was there, including three or four presidents, as well as a number of entertainers.

Mr. Bassett went to the Institute of Radio and Television in Jacksonville, Fla. on the GI bill. He began at night, working at an auto parts store during the day. Then they closed down the night program, but his employer worked with him so he could go to day school then go to work immediately afterwards.

He talked about the changing in the film industry, going from the 16 mm film, and a time when it took two engineers and one announcer to get a story to the current situation where one person can do it all.

It’s amazing how it’s advanced from black and white to beautiful color, he wondered aloud.

He said it’s amazing to John Bassett, it used to take 13 cabinets for the sound and video, and in 1992, it was reduced to three cabinets. He reiterated about the change in equipment and what they can do with it—it’s amazing.

Mr. Bassett said he entertained people in Atlanta by keeping the equipment working for Channel 5.

One of seven children, he grew up during the Depression, but things weren’t so bad. He said his mother made a lot of soup. And, there was some money. A double dip ice cream cone was five cents, and some Saturdays he could get one, not every Saturday but some. He said most people could make do and were happy.

He talked of making toys, such as using the spool from the thread his mother used for sewing. He also said that they listened to the radio for baseball games and news.

Mr. Bassett served in the U.S. Navy as a Boatsman 2nd class from 1942 until 1947. He served on the USS Wyoming, the USS Zircon, and the USS Purdy.

Mr. Bassett said that in 1938 his family sent him to school in Clio, Ga., which is in Effingham County. He lived with an uncle, and after finishing that year he went to work.

One of his jobs was as a hotel bellhop, and he said he met lots of interesting people. There was a band every month and he met the likes of Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman, among others. He said did you know that a hotel has permanent guests? Some people live there, he said.

He talked about the family get-togethers that were what they did for entertainment. He said his wife’s family and mothers’ families had more get-togethers than his father’s. His dad was from Fairfax, S.C., but went to Jacksonville for work. John was the first of his parent’s children to be born in Jacksonville.

When asked what he remembers most, he said that Lindy hadn’t flown the ocean yet when he was born, and that sliced bread did not come along until 1935.

The largest buildings in Atlanta when he moved there were the Commercial Trust and the Wyncoff Hotel, which burned in 1946.

Mr. Bassett didn’t know the secret to long living. He said the good Lord took care of him, that he did some foolish things through the years. As for health issues, he does not smoke now, but he did for more than 35 years, and said he quit one day when he realized he wasn’t enjoying them.