2016 Legacy Inductee
Ben Lucas
1921 - 2015
Ben Lucas was born on July 22, 1921 in Chesterfield, South Carolina. His family moved to Augusta. One day in 1934 he moved his family’s radio out onto the porch of their home and hooked up a microphone and promptly blew every tube in the set. His mother told him if he wanted to be in radio, he should go to a real radio station. One of his teachers at Richmond Academy arranged for him to be an intern at WRDW and in 1936 he was hired $3.00 a week to work there three hours a day after school. In 1939, Jim Davenport, Sr., WRDW program Director (father of ‘07 Legacy Inductee Jimmy Davenport), left for WRBL in Columbus and took Ben with him. It was back to WRDW for Lucas in 1942 where he remained until 1945 when Allen Woodall, Sr. called Ben and asked him to come back to Columbus to WDAK. That’s where Ben originated the Talk of the Town Show, which he continued when he moved to Rome to work for 2009 Legacy Inductee Mather Payne at WRGA. The show was originally a request program for teens broadcast live atop Roy’s Sandwich Shop. Lucas stayed at WRGA until 1961 when Charles Doss* offered him part ownership at WROM. In 1970, Lucas left WROM and radio to enter real estate. Rome listeners fondly remember the character “Old Timer” which Ben portrayed on the air and at charitable events. He hosted “Dialing for Dollars” aimed at housewives who were invited to join a fan club of sorts called “The Grapevine”. After leaving radio, Lucas went into real estate in Rome and remained active in community organizations. He died in 2015.
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