The voice of experience

With a career that started in 1943, hard work, dedication and a love of people has given Williamstown resident Sally Hille a radio career spanning 20 years. It also earned her a Guinness World Record for being the oldest DJ in the world at 94-years-old.

“I was thinking one day, ‘I wonder who the oldest woman in radio is,'” said Hille, now 95. “I thought, ‘I’m pretty dog-gone old.”

According to Hille, last July, Guinness sent a thick list of requirements, which included a birth certificate and video of her show.

For several years, Hille has worked at WMOA (AM 1490), getting the word out on “News for Seniors,” her radio program that is done from her home, with no help.

“I do things that interest older people,” said Hille. “In Florida last winter, I met a lady who was 107. I’ve been told there’s a lady who’s 108; I’m going to try to get to her, too.”

Hille just recently got a new microphone, which increases clarity of her voice for her program, but encountered some issues installing it.

“The microphone is new, my computer is old,” she said. “I’m really glad I have it; it is much better sound.”

Hille’s career started in 1943 when she was in Dayton, at WING, but then she relocated to Columbus and WCOL, while attending college part-time at The Ohio State University.

“My boss was gone one day, and I said, ‘Let me do the break,'” said Hille. “My boss heard it and came back. He was so mad. He said, ‘Don’t you know women’s voices are not wanted on the radio?’ Now look how far we’ve come.”

Hille was the first woman in radio in the Mid-Ohio Valley, said WMOA owner John Wharff III, president of Jawco, Inc..

“She just has a passion for radio, and also for the people she interviews,” said Wharff. “She just has a way of asking questions and just becoming very familiar with the person she’s interviewing. She’s interviewed Hollywood stars and the person next door and she treats them the same way.”

Some of Hille’s interviews have been with Gene Kelly and even Rock Hudson, when she was with WBRJ-AM 910 in Marietta.

“With Rock Hudson, his secretary said he’s not doing interviews separately,” she said. “To get a question in first, you had to get right up close…He came out with a beautiful smile and I showed him the premier book (of ‘Battle Hymn.’). He looked at it and there was a photo with him and his wife; they had gone through a divorce. He closed it and I thought, Oh, there goes my interview. He said, ‘No, I had a good time in Marietta,’ and gave me an interview.”

In the late 1950s, Sally went to work at WMOA, intending to stay two weeks.

“We got talking about a ladies show and started Sally’s Social Corner,” she said. “I stayed five years.”

She retired from radio in 1979, with the birth of a grandchild, but when she hit 90, she started working at WMOA, for the second time.

“When I hit 90, I realized there’s nothing really out there if you’re older,” she said. “I thought about it and wrote up a resume and sent it to John Wharff. I was going to see him, but I lost my nerve.”

Wharff called Hille and the rest has been history.

Reflection is something that happens often for Hille.

“I’ve met so many interesting people, it’s been wonderful,” she said. “I look back now and I don’t know how I had the nerve enough to do the things I did.”

Hille has also started putting on a show with music once a week, Wharff said.

“As the industry has changed, there’s a lot less of what I would refer to as real radio, meaning there’s a person there spinning records,” said Wharff. “We still do that here and put a lot of emphasis on it.”

Her music is the oldies, music of her generation.

“I’ve got Glen Miller and my favorite is Frank Sinatra,” Hille said. “I think it will be kind of different because you don’t hear that music much anymore; our generation is almost gone.”

Her dedication and love of her work are easy to see, according to Wharff.

“It’s something that truly invigorates her mind; it’s something she really enjoys doing,” he said.

Hille’s love isn’t just about the radio; it’s about the people.

“I’ve enjoyed doing the interviews; I love talking to people,” she said. “It’s the only thing I wanted to do when I discovered the radio…It’s amazing; no matter how tired I feel, when I do a show I’m my old young self.”