Written by Bob Bassett
Vance Eckersley was a strong advocate of public tours of the entire Channel 6 facility. He believed profoundly in community relations and visits to WTEV were a perfect outlet. In the first few years of the station, he would conduct the tours himself. Vance was fully oriented in every aspect of the operation. Later on, the tours were delegated to members of the Public Affairs or Promotion Departments, but even then, Vance would still find time to guide a group through the station. He enjoyed it and he liked people The countless awards and citations he received over the years attested to his concern and dedication.

Things didn't go so well the night WTEV was visited by the North Dighton Fireside Ladies Club. Their members ranged in age from about 25 to 70. It was a small social club in a village some 30 miles from new Bedford. Their tour, led by Vance, took place in an early evening a few years after WTEV began televising. At this time, the audio engineer sat next to the director in a wide open area on the top floor. They were visible to all. On this particular night, the director was Bill Grammas and I was doing audio. By this time, I was highly recognizable through the "Community" program, and it was embarrassing to me to be seen by visitors doing audio chores, although it was part of my original job description. Vance came around the corner, leading this group of giggly, awestruck and curious ladies. Several spotted me at once and shouted almost in unison: "There's Bobby Bassett - we see him each morning on the 'Community' show!" Yea, girls, I suppose I was the first television personality or "star" they had seen in person. Vance quickly explained the director's console and audio board to the gals and moved on to another department. I always felt he was on edge, lest I utter an insulting remark to the North Dighton Fireside Ladies Club.

Grammas and I were busy taping a "Woman" show, a daily half-hour hosted by Athena Parker. Immediately after this, I was to go into an upstairs satellite studio a few feet away to do a voice-over commercial ("Voice-over" is an industry expression describing an announcer who is heard but not seen.) The tiny studio was used primarily for the final newscast of the night - a five minute presentation, done by Andy MacMillan, Truman Taylor and myself on a rotating basis. It usually aired live around 1am, after the final network program or locally originated movie. There was a single camera on a tripod which was controlled remotely by an engineer. As AI entered the room for the voice-over, I did not take note of the lights being on, and while waiting for my microphone to be turned on for the commercial, I proceeded to do the following right into the camera: bending my middle finer knuckle so as to appear I was mightily picking my nose, and then flicked an imaginary king-sized booger at the camera, then I poised my right arm and hand, putting my middle finger into the universally familiar obscene "salute" to a non-existent unseen audience in the camera - or so I thought! The second I had done this, I realized that the bright lights were no necessary for a voice-over! At this PRECISE moment in Master Control, Vance was describing the intricate workings of the engineers's room to all the members of the North Dighton Fireside Ladies Club! Jack Case was the engineer at the master Control console and later would tell me, "Bob, I swear Vance's face was five inches from the upstairs studio screen, and if I had spent a week shading and focusing that remote camera, it couldn't have been sharper! Vance just shook his head a few times, and walked away in silence." But all was not lost on the ladies; they all instantly recognized me from the moment I sat down to the end of my filthy antics! "That's Bobby Bassett! "We just saw him upstairs!" they all screamed.

Master Control was the last stop on the tour this night. I don't know whether Vance had planned it this way, but he ended it anyway, at least on this evening.

I expected the worst. Grammas had already fled after seeing my display on the director's screens. In fact, he left the building! "With you as a friend, I don't need any enemies." I later told him. Sure enough, I was paged over the loudspeakers! I expected it to be Vance in a rage with orders for me to report to his downstairs office and finally, to be fired. God knows he had given me numerous chances up to this latest embarrassment to him and the station.

I gingerly picked up the nearest telephone. It was a sports fan inquiring about a score!

To this very hour and as I write this story, Vance has never mentioned the episode. And I can just visualize a club member arriving home and being greeted by her husband:

"Well dear, how was the tour?"

"We drove sixty miles and Bobby Bassett gave us the finger!"

As years passed, the majority of the tours were directed by girls from the Promotion Department, overseen by Pete Mandell. Each was given a lengthy course in the various aspects of WTEV, and with this thorough training, was a credible guide to each and every phase of the station's history and operation. A delightful member of Mandell's staff was Priscilla Bessette. She was vivacious, friendly to a fault, and knowledgeable. One afternoon she was conducting a tour for a sizeable group of Boy Scouts. As she made her way through each section of the top floor, she opened the door to the film editing room, just in time to spot the film editor patting the ass of his female assistant. "Gee, lookit that!" declared a young scout, as Priscilla made a hasty exit to the next department.

As soon as the tour was completed, she was called into the editor's office and told, "The next time - KNOCK!" Priscilla was not ever bashful and proceeded to state one of her famous lines, "Since when is the editing room off limits to Boy Scouts?"

For the record, the two parties who were intimately involved in the editing room eventually married.