Who's Who at WONN

Arch Abernethy

Arch was from Brooklyn, New York, and spent many years as News Director at WIPC in Lake Wales before moving to Lakeland to be Assistant News Director and Sports Director at WONN in 1969. In the early 1970’s, he co-anchored a half hour newscast weekday afternoons with News Director Dan Sanborn on Teleprompter Cable TV’s Channel 4 (whose studios were in the WONN building) and always wrapped up his reports with “This is ol’ Arch, the orange picker, for W-ONN Sports.”

In 1973 Arch left Lakeland and returned to Lake Wales. He worked as a reporter and city editor for the local Daily Highlander newspaper and wrote his “Arch-Ives” personal column. In 1993 he retired and moved to Citrus County along Florida’s upper west coast.

Arch died in early 2006 in Homosassa following a lengthy illness at the age of 74.

Station History