Remembering...Ron Rhine

While visiting DC recently, word arrived of the passing of Ron Rhine, long-time proprietor of Hyattsville Vacuum Service. Never heard of him? Not surprising, as he had no direct connection with WPGC or radio in general. And yet, he would play a pivotal role in locating the satellite studio and sales office of WPGC in Hyattsville for a brief period in late 1954 - 1956.

How the WPGC Studio & Office Were Found In Hyattsville

Years ago, the late Ed Walker who had worked at WPGC for two years from 1954 - 1956 related a story of how being located on an isolated farm in District Heights just four tenths of a mile from the Morningside border, WPGC was a difficult find for station clients who in that day oftened traveled to the studios at the transmitter site and recorded their commercials there. Likewise, various artists of the day were challenged in finding it when they would perform live at the station.

It was late in 1954 that WPGC owner, Harry Hayman, a former FCC Engineer took on a partner and formed 'WPGC, Inc.' Maxwell Evans Richmond ('Mac') purchased a 50% interest in the station and handled all business affairs from that point forward. Among his first priorities was locating a more desirable place closer to the action of mid 1950's PG County.

He selected office space in a two story building in the then thriving metropolis of Hyattsville overlooking the wye on Route 1. Searching through old issues of Broadcasting Magazine, it was determined the station was located at 5401 Baltimore Ave. Problem was, no such address exists today when a Title Search proved fruitless. Nor could Google Earth or Google Street View find it.

Hyattsville Hardware Store, just beyond the Route 1 wye in the 1940's.

The closest it could come was the former Hyattsville Hardware Store at 5123 Balt. Ave., site today of Franklin's Restaurant. Close, but no cigar! Today, just to the left of the wye on Route 1 when traveling Southbound, is a small park maintained by the City of Hyattsville. Next to the park is the present day location of Hyattsville Vacuum Service, at 5219 Baltimore Ave.

Hyattsville Vacuum Service adjacent to Centennial Memorial Park.

Hoping to find an old-timer in the area who might offer a clue as to WPGC's location, I entered the store and found the owner, Ron Rhine sitting at the front desk. An elderly gentleman, he had just returned that morning from the funeral of a friend where he had seen many of his former acquaintences. Ron had no recollection of a radio station being in the area.

July 16, 2015. The green Hoover above was my great aunt's!

Since he had not worked at the store prior to 1960, he called several of his friends to see if any of them could offer assistance. Only one lead emerged. The wife of someone who had lived in Hyattsville for many years had a vague recollection of a radio station being somewhere in town at one time, but for only a short while. He however was out to lunch and would call back when he returned. I took the opportunity to head down to Franklin's to grab some lunch and told Ron I'd be back in an hour.

Franklin's Restaurant, next door to the Hyattsville Hardware Store.

While at the restaurant, I met Mike Franklin, proprietor of the establishment and told him of my quest. It was he who ran the Title Search which yielded no results. Next door to Franklin's is a general store which at one time had been the Hyattsville Hardware Store, constructed in the early 1900's. As I was wrapping up browsing their goods, in walks Ron Rhine, carrying the local newspaper, the Hyattsville Life & Times. Saying he had found something that might be what I was looking for, I only then learned that Hyattsville had recently celebrated its 125th Anniversary a month before.

Hyattsville Centennial Memorail Park, next to the Route 1 wye.

Inside the paper was a centerfold with historic photos of the town over the years, including a shot looking down Route 1 to the South. Barely visible on the left was the forerunner of Hyattsville Vacuum Service. Adjacent to it where the park stands today, was a two story building with an advertisement painted on the side of it promoting 'BPS' (Best Paint Sold) for sale at the hardware store down the block. Both Ron and Mike agreed that must have been the building I was looking for.

Looking Southward on Route 1 in Hyattsville in 1936. Click for enlargement.

It was suggested I go to see the City Clerk to verify that information which I did. The clerk brought out a book detailing the history of Hyattsville, decade by decade. In it was a higher resolution shot as in the newspaper, along with another one looking Northward along Route 1 in which both the vacuum store and the building WPGC had been in were barely visible.

Looking Northward on Route 1 in Hyattsville in 1937. Click for enlargement.

Asking him if that book was available for checkout at the library, he promptly gave me the book, saying it had been printed up by the hundreds 25 years earlier on Hyattsville's 100th Anniversary, distributed to all the residents and that he still had a box of them in the back he was trying to get rid of. Thanking him profusely, I took it back to the vacuum store and the restaurant where both proprietors confirmed the building had been found!

But wait, there's more! Just as I was leaving the restaurant, I noticed a historical marker outside Franklin's. It was a photo from August, 1955 showing the aftermath of two hurricanes which ripped through the town in the course of only five days with cars strewn all over the roadway. The signage was facing to the North. But clearly, the photo had been taken looking in a Southerly direction along Route 1. Although it had been taken at elevation, it was not an aerial shot. Nor had it been taken at street level.

August, 1955. From inside the WPGC studio above the Route 1 wye below.
The aftermath in Hyattsville of Hurricanes Connie & Diane just 5 days apart!
Click for enlargement.

Recognizing which side of the road it must have been taken on, I quickly surmised the only two story building on that side of the street was the one WPGC had been in at the time. Bingo! The photo had been taken inside WPGC looking down at the intersection at the wye. It is highly likely that building and others in the area along Route 1 were built at or about the same time as the Hyattsville Hardware Store had been (a sign on their wall indicated the date was about 1910).

Hyattsville Centennial Memorail Park, next to the vacuum store.

When Ron first started working in the area around 1960, the lot where the park now stands had been a Texaco service station. By the early '60's, it was gone. And so was the building WPGC had been in. Thus, a building constructed approximately 100 years ago and was torn down approximately 50 years later had at long last been found!

A boarding house once sat where the three 'H's now stand.

The three photos in question verified the location where the station resided from December, 1954 until WPGC acquired the studios and offices of the former WBUZ-FM in Coral Hills above the Washington, Marlboro & Annapolis (WM&A) bus repair facility early in 1956, at which time the station also moved off of the farm in Morningside.

Location of WPGC's Studio & Sales Office, 5401 Baltimore Ave., late 1954 - early 1956.

Of all the WPGC studios and office locations as well as the transmitter and tower sites, this was the most difficult one to find. And without the help of the three individuals mentioned herein, it may never have been found! Had Ron Rhine not walked in the general store with the local newspaper, none of the above would have been possible.

1940 map indicating where the building WPGC would be in was. Click for enlargement.

In subsequent years, I visited Ron each time I returned to DC, taking him out to lunch at Franklin's each time and stopping by to say hello to Mike Franklin as well. Ron passed away of complications from old age, in April 2025. Ron Rhine resided in nearby College Park, was a true friend of the WPGC Tribute Site and encouraged its growth through the years.

October 11, 2011 at Hyattsville Vacuum Service.

He is greatly missed by all who knew him. And now, you do too!

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