Cleveland County Music Hall of Fame brings new life to old building
Since the close of World War II, the WOHS radio station has stood sentinel along Dixon Boulevard, turning out talented disc jockeys and sending out thousands of hours of music over the air.
In 2021, Calvin and Teresa Hastings handed over the keys of the building to Phil Weathers, president of the recently formed Cleveland County Music Hall of Fame.
The vision for the historic building is a place where live and recorded music will once again fill the hallowed space.
Cleveland County Music Hall of Fame has a mission to honor the legacy of the county’s music pioneers, and the WOHS radio station will play a key role in that mission.
In the two years since the radio station changed hands, a conceptual drawing of the outside of the building has been created, and renovations are underway inside.
Weathers said they are waiting on the status of some grant applications and are seeking donations in order to continue the work.
He said once they receive the grants, they can start making progress. In the meantime, they’ve been chipping away at renovations they can handle themselves.
“We’ve been doing the work we can do, cleaning and painting, and we tore the old carpet out,” he said. “We’re trying to do it in phases.”
When they tore out the old carpet, they discovered the old WOHS letters in the entryway floor underneath,
Currently, a Gaston County radio station is occupying a portion of the building.
“There’s been a lot of disc jockeys come through here,” Weathers said. “It was always a radio station.”
In addition to WOHS, when the building first opened it also housed WXIK which eventually was sold to a station in Charlotte.
Weathers said they foresee a place for live events, music lessons and more.
“We own all of the parking lot and access back behind the building,” Weather said. “The future plan is to build a stage and have local concerts.”
They also plan to add an addition to the building and make it handicap accessible by tearing out one wall and adding a second entry way.
The Cleveland County Hall of Fame has held one induction ceremony at the Don Gibson Theater since its inception with a second one planned this fall.
They are currently taking nominations.
Inductees include Earl Scruggs, Don Gibson, Ron Feemster, Bobby Rogers who owned a record store uptown, and Herman and Jean Dawson, and JB and Kathleen Lewis of J & K Music Shop.
“We also inducted two songs,” Weathers said. “I Love the Nightlife by Alicia Bridges and Timber I’m Falling in Love by Patty Loveless.”
They’ve had donations of signed musical instruments, including a guitar signed by Bobby Gibson and the Earl Scruggs family and donations of furniture.
Weathers said not only will the building be a museum featuring hall of fame inductees and the history of the county’s talented musicians, but it will also be a place for current musicians to record CDS or records, give live concerts and teach music.
“I want it to be an active place with something going on all the time once we get it open,” he said. “We got a lot to do but we’re plugging away at it.”
A fundraiser is planned for Dragonfly Wine Market in September with more information to be announced.
Weathers said they are in need of donations and anyone interested can find more information about Cleveland County Music hall of Fame on the website www.ccmusichalloffame.org or find them on Facebook.
“We just want to keep the message and history of Cleveland County music alive,” he said.
Reporter Rebecca Sitzes can be reached at rsitzes@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Former radio station new home for music hall of fame
