Remembering the Prodigy Radio Message Boards

When I got my first computer in late 1994 the Internet was in its infancy.  I signed up for an online service called Prodigy.  Back in those days we had to use a 1200 baud phone modem to go online.  There were several radio message boards on Prodigy.  The gentleman in the photo above with me is Jonathan Binstock whom I met back then on Prodigy.  Since that time I have met him when I have traveled to the Washington, DC area where he lives.  He is a lawyer who has a convention in NYC the second weekend in November.  Luckily, he was free on Saturday afternoon and came to the famous oldies radio meet and greet.

I also met Walter Parker on the Prodigy radio boards.  In addition to being an oldies radio enthusiast Walt is big into horse racing.  I have met him a number of times in NYC and in Philadelphia where he lives.  Even though Walt has not lived in NYC for many years Walt is still interested in New York radio.  When Prodigy faded away Walt transitioned over to AOL where he started the WCBS-FM folder where I first encountered Mary Shaw, Linda Cohen and Al Gordon.  In June 2006 Walt came to the Meet and Greet we had at Ellen's Stardust Diner.

Another big radio enthusiast whom I met on Prodigy is Victor Monachelli.  In July 1995 I visited him at his pet store in Yonkers.  He was such as enthusiast of WCBS-FM that he would close his store to go into Manhattan to see concerts sponsored by the station.  He moved to Florida and is very active on Facebook.

Two other people on the Prodigy boards are Famous Amos (Russ Dibello) and Anita Bonita who are regulars to our gatherings.