Radio Marathon Raises $3500

Bill Aydelott, a senior from Waverly, Pa., completed a record 129-hour "Let's Help" marathon broadcast on WDCR shortly after the end of the Yale game, and for the grand finale the student radio station set up an outdoor studio in front of Hopkins Center.

He had been on the air continuously since Monday morning—talking on every show and holding the floor alone during early morning hours—to raise $3500 for the Grafton County Home. The money will be used for a small bus, to take the elderly residents on shopping trips and longer excursions, and for recreational equipment.

Since he doesn't like coffee and rejected pep pills on principle, Ayaelott relied on frequent cold showers, walks around campus during musical num- bers, and orange juice sipped through a straw to keep him going. Occasional emergency measures included dunking his head in ice water and retreating to a nearby studio for a few fast licks on the drums "to get the adrenalin going." One listener requested a drum solo on the air and offered $25 to the fund for it; shortly afterwards, another offered him $25 not to play.

A group of Upper Valley merchants pledged $l200 if Aydelott could stay on the air for 72 hours and added $35 "interest" for every three hours beyond that. Donations from listeners ranged from 25 cents to $lOO. An early morning hook-up Friday with WBZ in Boston brought contributions from as far away as Washington, D. C.

A Senior Fellow and a film major combining his interests in creative writing, music, and dramatics, Aydelott is making a feature-length film as a special project. He has been broadcasting news for WDCR since his freshman year. He also does a daily newscast for WRLH-TV in West Lebanon and films newsworthy events for WCAX-TV in Burlington, Vt., and for WBZ-TV.

Bill Aydelott '72