Welcome friends, grab yourself a ‘Cup of Joe’, pull up a chair and let’s chat about Lynn Martin of AM800.

In my last blog I chatted with you about the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit Canada Tunnel as being two uniquely Windsor assets that locals sometimes take for granted. When you grow up around something and see it practically every day, its easy to overlook the significance of it. Yet, because its always there for us day after day, people in this area sometimes overlook its importance including the importance of such on air personalities like Lynn Martin.

Since its inception in 1936, Windsor radio station CKLW has long occupied a prominent and important presence in the Windsor Essex County community. Many consider it another one of our region’s great icons – especially given its dominance back in the 60s and 70s as a top 40 station in North America. Today it is still an important staple for this region and Michigan.

Over the years CKLW has spawned many big-name personalities in the radio industry. For an interesting insight into some of these radio stars as well as the importance of AM 800 in the 60’s and 70’s, check out the Markham Street Films independent documentary film, Radio Revolution: The Rise and the Fall the Big 8. (By the way, this award winning film was co-written and produced by my old grade school classmate, Michael McNamara).

Lynn Martin of AM800
Lynn taking calls during the Lynn Martin Show. Photo courtesy AM800

Of all the radio personalities who have been part of the AM 800 family, it is Lynn Martin – the current host of the Lynn Martin show – that holds the record for being the longest, continuous voice on CKLW.

Lynn Martin is, a graduate of St. Clair College and a lifelong resident of the greater Windsor area. And ranking in highest importance for her is family and the fact that she is the proud mother of two beautiful grown daughters.

I invited Lynn over to my house the other day for a luncheon of grilled chicken Panini’s and salad, and to chat with her about her long and distinguished tenure with CKLW.

My association with Lynn actually goes back, indirectly, to the late 1970s when I lived in Belle River for a year and made the acquaintance of her parents, LaVaughn and Vic Martin. At the time I wasn’t aware that one of their daughters was living in Windsor and had just started a radio career in 1977 that would see her span nearly 39 years, spending 35 of those years as an on air radio personality.

Lynn’s mother is one of the kindest and most welcoming persons I’ve met in my lifetime. Lynn’s father, Vic, was quite a character and quickly became my insurance agent.  He was also an accomplished pilot and I recall the time he took me for a ride in his refurbished yellow World War II Tiger Moth biplane which he flew from a homemade airstrip on the family property on the Belle River Road.

Under the pretense of giving me a tour of Essex County, Vic used the occasion to entertain me with some of his aeronautical maneuvers – such as an engine stall – that today still has me white knuckled with the fear, terror and sheer exhilaration at the memory of that ride.

Lynn broke into radio at the age of 21, never wanting or intending to be an on-air personality. She studied advertising at St. Clair College and was hired by AM 580, a station privately owned by Geoff Stirling that would be eventually bought out by CHUM radio. Lynn’s intention was to work behind the scenes of talk radio and started off as producer until her station manager one day informed her that she was going to start to do morning traffic reports as part of the Morning (music) Show.

At that time the station stood high above the city from the top of the Viscount Hotel in the 1100 block of Ouellette Avenue. And, aside from a few years where she did the news, worked with Cam Gardiner on the Morning Show and also hosted a “Sex and Relationship” talk format show, Lynn Martin has owned the coveted Monday to Friday 9 a.m to 12 noon time slot.

As the host of a call-in talk show, Lynn describes herself as one who reports the factual news, but also has an opinion on it. She is like the op-ed writers that one finds in their local newspaper. Most of the topics that she discusses are ideas that are suggested by her listeners. Lynn is admiitedly not the biggest fan of politicians and political issues, although these topics are dealt with from time to time. Lynn is more concerned with the day-to-day matters that affect the lives and quality of life for residents of the Windsor Essex region.

Sometimes tragic occurrences are front and center on her show. The Lynn Martin show provides people a forum to grieve, to deal with loss, and to help make sense of the tragedies of our lives.

Recently we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the passing of Windsor Police Office, John Atkinson who was murdered in the line of duty. The death of an active duty police officer is not something that Windsorites have experienced before and through their calls to Lynn many residents had an opportunity to talk about the senseless tragedy. Oftentimes an event of this nature will be discussed on consecutive shows, offering real therapeutic help to its participants. Lynn’s talk show format allows residents a necessary connection with one another to share their grief and sorrow.

Lynn recalls another local incident involving the unexpected death of Windsor Spitfire’s Captain, Mickey Renaud. People broke down on live radio when they phoned in expressing their sorrow at his passing. But by doing so, it allowed the healing process to begin for many people who might otherwise not have an inner circle of friends with whom they could share their feelings.

The most significant event for Lynn in terms of dealing with community fear and uncertainty was 9/11. Lynn recalls sitting with her colleagues, Cam Gardiner and Lisa Williams, watching the events unfold on live TV just before going live with her own show. 9/11 was not just a US event; it had a connectivity with the entire world.

Throughout her show, Lynn continued with updated news reports as events unfolded and fielded calls from distraught and terrified residents. As she dealt with these events live on air, Lynn herself had family members visiting in the United States and she had to deal with her own feelings, worries and concerns, all the while being the calming presence on air for residents to share their thoughts and feelings.

Other poignant moments in her memory archives are the kind of shows where a woman would call in and admit for the first time in her life to having been abused or beaten by her husband. What solace a woman could find with Lynn and guests such as Donna Miller and Hiatus House. Or there were the shows in the early 1980’s when Lynn would have someone in studio with Aids, when the disease was in its infancy and very little was known about it, causing untold fear, despair and paranoia. These and other social issues were very much embraced by Lynn throughout her career and had a powerful impact on her listeners.

Lynn had quite the chuckle over my observation that I see her as Windsor’s version of Wikipedia, always seeming to have the facts and the background on the topics she deals with at her fingertips. Lynn attributes her preparedness to the fact that Windsor has a very open and transparent community. She believes the Windsor media is fortunate to have the high degree of cooperation in obtaining information from the people you need to obtain it from. This isn’t always the case in other media markets, but it certainly is in Windsor. So, for example, if she needs to talk to the executive director of Windsor Regional Hospital, David Musyj, she chats with him live on air or, if that isn’t feasible, she receives a return call with the necessary information for the show.

Part of the responsibility in being a media personality is interaction with the community through participating in social and charitable events.  Lynn is a familiar face at many of these, perhaps none bigger than the Annual Run for Rocky which just finished its fourth run at the riverfront a few weeks back. Lynn was a close friend of Rocky, a young man who tragically took his life,  and she continues to share a very close and personal relationship with his parents, Nancy and Rob. Nancy describes her son:

Rocky was a shining star, an achiever and proud to be gay. He had everything in life to live for, including a high profile new job and a family he adored and who supported him endlessly with great pride. It is now apparent that Rocky suffered from depression. We understand that if this scenario is possible in our family it is a risk for any family with an LGBTQ youth. Rocky made a difference in life and as a family we are determined his message continues to be delivered and makes a difference in others’ lives.”

Since Rocky’s death, Lynn has emceed the event each year and joined countless Windsor Essex residents in donning their sneakers and walking to honour Rocky’s memory and legacy. Close to $300,000 has been raised to date to assist local LGBT youth and to help educate the public at large.

Until recently, Charlie O’Brien, a veteran and legend of CKLW AM “The Big 8” in the 1970s, was still going strong as a popular on air personality with 580 AM, CKLW’s sister station.  Charlie retired this past November 2015. A longtime colleague of Lynn’s, Charlie shared an equally long and impressive tenure in this market.  Now that he has retired, that distinction rests alone with Lynn Martin.

Asked how she would hope people will remember her when she signs off the air for her final show, she says “as being somebody who is fair and open, – now I’ve always been opinionated – there’s no doubt about it – but I’m not afraid of a challenge, I’m not afraid to take things on. I hope I have raised some awareness on important issues and given people the chance to voice their views”.

Me, personally, I will always remember Lynn’s steady, clear and reassuring voice whether hearing it in my car, at work or at home. I will always respect the fact that she respected you, though she didn’t always agree with you. Her preparedness and ability to talk factually on such a wide array of topics was so impressive.

But mostly, I will always remember Lynn Martin as integral part of my life, my community.

Like the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit Canada Tunnel, Lynn Martin has just always been there for us each and every day – and sometimes we don’t appreciate that enough.