FRANKIE HALFACRE, 75 'Mr. Lucky,' paved the way for blacks in broadcasting

He was called 'Mr. Lucky' for his ability to find four-leaf clovers.
By SARAH POULTON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Frankie Halfacre was "doing a little good in the neighborhood" right up to the end, said his friend, Mike McNair.
McNair, co-publisher of the Buckeye Review, said Halfacre paved the way for blacks to get involved in the local broadcasting business.
Halfacre died Tuesday night. The L.E. Black, Phillips & amp; Holden Funeral Home is handing the arrangements.
"Frankie Halfacre was a great man," McNair said. "His passing is a huge loss to the Valley. He has left huge footprints to fill."
Halfacre celebrated his 50-year career in broadcasting two years ago during Tom Joyner Sky Show Weekend in Youngstown. Tom Joyner is a disc jockey and activist whose radio show is broadcast nationally.
A Vindicator article that appeared July 6, 2003, said Halfacre began his broadcasting career while he was a patient in an Army hospital. During his stay, he met a man who worked as an announcer.
"When I got out, I said, 'Let me get on the air,'" Halfacre said.
While struggling to find a job in broadcasting, Halfacre was a caretaker with the city parks department. According to Vindicator files, it was then that he received his nickname, Mr. Lucky, from a co-worker who marveled at his ability to find four-leaf clovers.
First job
Thirteen years after Halfacre first dreamed of becoming a broadcaster, WHOT-AM in Youngstown gave him a job at its station in Conneaut, Vindicator records say.
Halfacre's next move was to buy an hour of air time at WNIO-AM in Niles. He turned an hour of air time into 41/2 hours by selling advertising.
Sterling Williams of Sterling-McCullough Williams Funeral Homes said Halfacre was good friends with his father, McCullough Williams Jr., and Sterling went to school with Halfacre's children.
"Besides being a track star at Rayen, I remember him most as being the host of "Mr. Lucky's Soul Kitchen" on WNIO," Williams said.
Halfacre would eventually become a record promoter for singer James Brown. He would travel to cities a week ahead of Brown to ask disc jockeys to play Brown's music. This all ended, however, after Halfacre was injured in a car accident. He said he missed being away from his family anyway, and enrolled in Youngstown State University upon arriving home.
Halfacre graduated from YSU in 1975 with a bachelor's degree, said Margaret Linton-Lanier, another longtime friend, who now lives in Cleveland.
Getting serious
It was after graduation that he became serious about radio broadcasting. Vindicator files show that Halfacre "just dibbled and dabbled in radio" until Atty. Percy Squire of Columbus, a Youngstown native, asked him to help get WRBP-102 JAMZ on the air here as the voice for the black community.
"He started doing a little good in the neighborhood," Williams said. "He actually wanted to do some good. He was the beacon of truth among minorities. He was really trying to make sure the African-American voice was heard."
Halfacre was a supporter of local politics, voter registration and ethnic pride in the Valley. McNair called him Mr. Possibilities. "He was always talking about how anything is possible if you work together," McNair added.
Family man
Linton-Lanier said Halfacre was a good husband to his wife, Mary, and a good father to his seven children. She also said he helped organize the Black Broadcasting Coalition here. She said above all, he will be remembered as more than a DJ: "He will be remembered as a community activist."
McNair said that he had the good fortune of watching Halfacre get inducted into the Radio/Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame of Ohio in Akron. He said that the prestigious award was emblematic of Halfacre's career, and that he will always be remembered for his contributions to society.
"I cannot tell you how huge a void his not being here is," McNair said. "Fifty years ago, he was fighting to do his job and communicate. Against all odds ... he persevered and continued to be a voice in the community."
spoulton@vindy.com