Marion station marks late Charlie Evers’ long radio career

MARION, Ohio (AP) — A Marion radio station is paying tribute this week to legendary broadcaster Charlie Evers, who died Sunday at 85.

WWGH FM will revisit Evers’ 65-year career through interviews and broadcasts of his old shows Wednesday through Friday.

A 2012 inductee into the Radio-Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Evers used his popularity as a radio host in the 1960s to create two enduring traditions.

The first was Buckeye Chuck, Ohio’s own weather-predicting groundhog, an animal named in his honor. The second was the Peanut Push, a Christmas fundraiser that involved pushing a peanut across Center Street with his nose. The Marion Star reports the event evolved into an annual local tradition.

Evers was born in Bucyrus in 1934. He began as an amateur radio operator in 1949 and launched his professional career at Marion’s WMRN three years later. He later worked as a talk show host on WWGH, where his last show aired April 8.

Evers is survived by his wife and three adult daughters.