SCRANTON, Pa. — For communities in and surrounding Scranton, the lighting of the radio tower on top of the Times building has been a fixture this time of year for decades.
This Wednesday, the crew at WEJL Radio plans to keep it that way.
"Well, the Times Tower lighting is a community event that is just iconic, much like the building that's here. The radio stations and outdoor companies are still owned by the Lynett families. We still want to continue the tradition of what's going on with the tower lighting," said Terry Deitz, General Manager of Shamrock Communications.
Since The Scranton Times-Tribune was sold back in September, the once joint Christmas display between the paper and radio will now bear the name WEJL Tower Lighting.
A fitting title station general manager Terry Deitz says goes back to when the tower was first lit in the 1960s.
"They used to do it just as a fun thing to do. It's kind of just the radio station people got together and said let's put some lights on the tower and make it festive. Then it just kind of evolved where everyone just looked forward to seeing those lights," said Deitz.
With maintenance of the 480 lights covering the 296-foot tower complete, Deitz says the historic landmark is ready to help welcome the holiday season to Northeastern Pennsylvania, "You have the Christmas parade, then you have the times tower lighting, and that's the way it's always been."
A tradition Deitz says employees at the station look to keep alive for years to come, "It's just one of those things that we believe we will do forever and ever, and ever as long as we own that tower."
The radio stations will continue to occupy the top floors of the downtown building, even after the newspaper staff moves out.