HAVERHILL — Edwin Johnson, veteran Haverhill High School English teacher and WHAV radio announcer, died in 2003 but he's far from forgotten.
From now on, WHAV announcers will tell listeners that they are speaking from the Edwin V. Johnson Newsroom. Yesterday, the newsroom at WHAV's new quarters at 189 Ward Hill Ave. was dedicated when Pat Johnson, his widow, unveiled a metal plaque that memorializes the man who mentored "Dancing With the Stars" host Tom Bergeron, among others.
"Ed Johnson was the epitome of unbiased news," said Phil Christie of Andover, who worked with Johnson at WHAV in the 1950s and went on to positions in Boston, New Haven and Bridgeport, Conn., and New York City. Christie is still heard daily on WHAV.
Elinor Curtin Cameron, who also taught English at Haverhill High for many years and headed the English department before retiring, said Johnson displayed "that same integrity in the classroom." He never uttered a bad word about a student and brought vitality to teaching.
Johnson also taught public speaking, which was a required class in those days, and helped many a student learn to become confident while speaking in front of a large group, according to both Cameron and another retired Haverhill High colleague, longtime history teacher Thomas Madson.
"You could hear that voice all the way down the hallway," Madson recalled at yesterday's dedication. Johnson's "calming presence" helped many a "petrified" student learn how to give a speech.
Larry Seaman, a former student of Johnson's who now makes videos for community TV in Salem and Derry, N.H., recalled Johnson was "always smiling, always joking."
Johnson went to work for WHAV in June 1951, right after he graduated from Emerson College.
He met his wife, Pat Sprague, at WHAV and they hosted "The Friday Night Shoppers." They taped their wedding and played it in installments over the radio. Later they hosted "The Newlyweds."
Johnson taught at Haverhill High from 1953 to 1989.
"I'm thrilled," Pat Johnson said. "It's wonderful to remember Ed this way. He's thrilled, too."
WHAV president and general manager Tim Coco, who got his start in the media at WHAV in 1978 with Johnson's encouragement, said Johnson was the station's longest-serving employee, working there for 34 years.
"He demonstrated a commitment to objectivity, accuracy and truth in reporting," Coco said.
Johnson interviewed John F. Kennedy during a campaign swing through Haverhill and a few years later reported the president's assassination on the 6 p.m. news. He also interviewed entertainers Danny Thomas and Frankie Fontaine.
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