Central Penn radio history highlights Episode #161

By Paul Miller

Knightly News Co-Adviser

On a special edition of the Knightly News Podcast, we welcome Central Penn alums Craig Fahnestock and Dean Reigle to reminisce about Central Penn’s WARP 640 AM radio that existed on campus from the mid-80s to the early 90s. Fahnestock and Reigle were both instrumental in the creation and development of the station over the years, and this podcast welcomes them back to campus to share their stories.

As part of a story being developed by Knightly News Co-President Dylan Bowman, the Knightly News has been working to find out more about the history of two radio stations that existed on campus until the early 90s. Fahnestock, who attended Central Penn College from 1990-92, shares stories of the benefits of being on the station, what it was like on campus, and other fond memories of his time at the college.

While Fahnestock’s career path took him outside of media, he has also developed an entrepreneurial spirit, as he is in the process of opening his own business called Fahnestock & Baer Brewing Company in the Harrisburg area.

During our time with Reigle, we take a look at not only the station itself, but also look at his radio experience after college, and ways he has transitioned to digital media as an outlet.

Reigle tells stories of a former Central Penn faculty member Ron Ross, who was instrumental in reviving Central Penn radio as WARP 640 AM after a brief hiatus transitioning from an FM signal.

In addition, Reigle reminisces about his experiences with Ross and other Central Penn students at a national student broadcasting conference held at Brown University in the late 1980s.

Reigle still broadcasts today, albeit via a different medium. He can be found on his YouTube channel “Reading Little Blue Books” on YouTube.


You can find the last three episodes of the podcast on our SoundCloud page. Subscribe to us to be notified when new episodes are released!