As we reflect on 50 years of WXXI Classical 91.5, there are two women who quietly but faithfully contributed greatly to WXXI radio. Edith Lank, longtime local and nationally syndicated real estate columnist, regularly shared her knowledge and advice on real estate both on WXXI's talk show, and weekly real estate commentaries on Simon's Super Scintillating Sunshine Show.
When Edith was growing up, there were few career options for women, but Edith created an entire career for herself writing ad copy for her husband's real estate business, and later her own newspaper column, which was carried in more than 100 newspapers nationwide. She often toured the country, speaking about her career and real estate, and eventually wrote (or co-wrote) a number of books on the Essentials of Real Estate for New York and New Jersey buyers and brokers. Edith was also a lover of the works of Jane Austen and classical music.
As a pianist, Edith's sister Esther Vail (pictured here with her husband Rex) also loved books and music, but preferred operettas, a form of light opera often on humorous themes, that includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. Her favorites were by Gilbert and Sullivan; so much so that in 1977 she founded Rochester's Off-Monroe Players named after the neighborhood where it was founded at New Life Presbyterian Church. Their first, assumed "one-time event" was the production of The Mikado, but it was soon apparent that this would become an ongoing adventure. In an article about OMP's founder it was said that, "if a group of grassroots amateurs gathering to learn, rehearse, and perform Gilbert & Sullivan could make a valuable contribution to the community's cultural life; and that if we had fun, our audience would, too." It was Esther's intelligence, humor, and goodwill that she brought to everything she did - from her book reviews, to her theater work, and her commentaries and announcing on WXXI FM 91.5 and later AM 1370. And none of us can forget the Rochester blizzard (late 80s/early 90s) that virtually shut down Rochester, and the night that Esther stayed overnight at the station to keep us on the air. That’s just the kind of commitment that both Edith and Esther had for public radio!