1970 - 1978

Minneapolis 1970- Dick went back to Brown Institute to obtain his 1st Class FCC license for radio and the newly married couple rented an apartment on Hennepin Avenue near downtown Minneapolis. Their private bath was down the hall and shampoo and toothpaste kept disappearing. Oh well, it could only get better?..

Sheldon, Iowa - KIWA Radio 1970-72 The only radio-broadcasting offer (everyone wanted someone with experience) came from KIWA in northwestern Iowa. So in December, Dick and Norma loaded all their worldly possessions into a 4x8 U-Haul trailer and headed for Iowa. Dick was hired as an engineer, announcer, account executive (salesman) for the huge sum of $100 a week. Norma was very lucky to find a job with John Cain, a CPA in Sheldon who was much more than a boss, and provided a lot of free advice to the newlyweds. After six months, KIWA moved to a new building and FM was added to the AM broadcasting and Dick started a "rock show" on FM. It was a huge hit with the young people and the "mystery spins" were a real biggie. Because of all the extra responsibility, Dick was given a 10% pay raise to $110 per week. WOW!! It was apparent that Dick could get "famous" but certainly not "rich" in Sheldon, so he tested the waters and 18 months after arriving in Sheldon, Dick and Norma loaded all of their possessions in a 4x8 U-Haul trailer and moved their 12x60 mobile home to the Quad Cities.

The Quad Cities - WMDR Radio 1972-1973 Dick's new job was as the morning announcer at WMDR, a "beautiful music" FM station located in Orion, Illinois, just outside Moline. Dick fired the station up at 5:30 and did the morning show and recorded commercials and PSA's. Norma landed a job at the Blackhawk Hotel in downtown Davenport, working for Hynes and Howes. After several months, Norma found a better job working for John Greenwalt, a CPA in Davenport. Dick also expanded his responsibilities by selling radio advertising in the afternoon following his morning shift, and station revenues increased 40%.

Janesville Wisconsin - Rock Valley Communications 1973-4 Dick and Norma returned to Janesville for periodic visits and during one of the visits heard about a new radio station that was being started in Janesville. Dick made some phone calls and was offered a job as the Sales Manager for the new station. The couple had also made the decision to start a family and the move to Janesville in October 1973, was made when Norma was seven months pregnant. Timing is everything and in November of 1973, along came Daina Marie Dawdy.

The Quad Cities

WMDR Radio 1974 East Moline Camper Sales 1974-75 Sunshine Camper Sales 1975-76 Blackhawk College, 1976-1978