Squier calls in to WDEV’s Saturday ‘Dump’ broadcast

April 13, 2021 | By Lisa Scagliotti 

Former longtime WDEV owner Ken Squier. Photo courtesy WDEV

Local radio station patriarch Ken Squier returned to the airwaves at WDEV Radio briefly on his 86th birthday Saturday, calling in to the popular “Music to Go to the Dump By” program and declaring he’s doing well in his recovery from COVID-19. 

Squier chatted with the program hosts and personalities Jack Donovan, Brent Curtis, and Farmer Dave live on the air for the first time in months. “I’m much better,” he said. “I’m going to make a comeback.” 

Squier thanked the public for their well-wishes during his illness, praised the loyal audience of the Saturday morning show that he regularly hosted before his illness (“The Dumpsters are the cream of the crop,” he schmoozed), and he didn’t hide his delight at being part of the banter, even if it was brief. “Golly, it’s good to hear your voice,” he said to Donovan. 

The on-air reunion included Dave promising to visit Squier in person for a handshake or a hug after he is fully vaccinated. 

Last November, Squier disappeared from the show, the airwaves, and the station’s Stowe Street office in Waterbury when he was hospitalized with COVID-19. He later moved to the Woodridge Rehabilitation and Nursing facility near Central Vermont Medical Center and recently returned home to Stowe to continue his recuperation. 

In a short update on the air the previous weekend, station manager Steve Cormier said he has been to visit Squier at his home several times so far. “He’s back to pre-COVID,” Cormier said. “He had that brain fog and we thought that we’d lost him. But he’s come all the way back except his legs are still a little weak…. He’s still Ken Squier. We expect him at work at some point.” 

A steadfast patron of Thunder Road Speedbowl, Squier in his Saturday radio appearance applauded one of his favorite race car drivers, Gov. Phil Scott, for his handling of the state’s response to the pandemic. “I’m so proud of Vermont,” he said. “A battle has been won, but the war is not over.”  

Since testing positive for COVID-19 last fall, Squier has been candid about his diagnosis and direct in his public statements to urge listeners to heed public health guidance to stem the tide of the pandemic. 

The program hosts joked about a new parody song they were planning to play later in the show that pokes fun at the coronavirus, one of many they have shared in the past months. Squier said he was looking forward to it.

And in a testament to his recuperation, Squier didn’t miss a beat when asked what a typical day is like now that he’s back at home. “I’m listening to WDEV and making notes,” he quipped. 

The recording of Saturday’s “Music to Go to the Dump By is online on the WDEV website. Squier joins the show at about the 25 min. mark.