Pete Bridgewater, 1980

Pete Bridgewater, undated

This biographical information on Pete Bridgewater comes from the Doris K. Wylie Hoskins Archive, specifically a News-Gazette article from October 6, 1980, pages D-4 and D-5

Pete Bridgewater's name and the jazz and big band sounds were synonymous for East Central Illinois. He had a slot on WDWS radio several hours on Tuesday through Thursday nights and Sunday evenings with big band nostalgia, the passport to a unique and pleasant listening experience. Bridgewater's radio show began in the early 1970s. Pete's collection of records probably could not be be duplicated. He was a knowledgable lover of music all his life and is of a family of professional musicians, qualities he has used to his and his listeners' advantage. He began a career as a disc jokey around 1960. Pete Bridgewater has his own musical group, called the Pete Bridgewater Quintet.

Harold "Pete" Bridgwater at WKID radio, on Philo Road, undated (ca. 1953)