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Although there are many days lately when I wish I had a hobby other than managing Tube City Online, one of the great pleasures of running this website remains meeting great people like Adam Lynch.

The city native --- who got his "start in journalism" by folding papers in the mailroom of The Daily News --- is known throughout the Tri-State area for his long tenure on Pittsburgh's major TV newscasts, and is one of the few people I can think of who's worked for all three major network affiliates in the market.

After a brief stop at KDKA, Lynch moved to the former WIIC-TV (now WPXI) from 1963 to 1978. Beginning in 1980, he could be seen on WTAE-TV, where he retired in 1993.

. . .

But his very first broadcasting job was at WEDO, when it was located on Fifth Avenue, not far from the G.C. Murphy Co. home office. A few years ago, I sought him out to interview him about WEDO's early days, and we met at a local restaurant for lunch.

"You know," Lynch said, "I was skeptical when you first contacted me, but now I realize that you and I might be the only two people in the world who give a damn about what WEDO Radio was like in 1948."

. . .

Lynch remains active, currently contributing articles on military history, conservation, aviation and a variety of other topics to local and national magazines. In 2008, a feature story he wrote for Pittsburgh Quarterly won a Golden Quill Award for sportswriting.

He also happens to be a gentleman and a heck of a nice guy.

. . .

Lynch is the next participant in McKeesport Heritage Center's Summer Speaker Series. His talk at 2 p.m. Saturday will cover his career in broadcasting and his memories of growing up in McKeesport.

(As teen-agers, Lynch told me, he and future Daily News photographer William "Jasper" Ross used to borrow a car and play "roving reporters" around town, with one manning the "camera" and the other narrating the "action" he saw.)

The event is free and open to the public. The Heritage Center is located at 1832 Arboretum Drive in Renziehausen Park, and is wheelchair accessible. Call (412) 678-1832 for information or visit the website.

Unfortunately, I can't be there. (Ironically, I have to be on the radio on Saturday afternoon, just not at WEDO.) But you make sure to attend. It should be a lot of fun.

. . .

Lynch loaned me a small pamphlet published during his years at WEDO which includes photos of a number of people who worked at the radio station, including another longtime Pittsburgh broadcaster, Al McDowell, a talk-show host, newscaster and father of WDVE-FM's Sean.

Click the "More" link --- below --- to see some of the pages.

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