GIBSON CITY - Gary McCullough has long since graduated from playing radio station DJ. From his childhood days of turning records on his old turntables, McCullough now celebrates 25 years with the community radio station he began on Nov. 28, 1983, WGCY 106.3 FM. | VIDEO: Behind the scenes at Gibson City's WGCY

"I grew up around it a little bit," the general manager said of his love for radio.

Based in Gibson City, family-owned WGCY is a rare treasure in the world of corporate media. For 25 years, it has stayed true to its roots of being a mom-and-pop radio station reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s. The station focuses on an easy listening music format and local news and sports programming.

"We're a little bit of a throwback," McCullough said. "People still yearn for those kinds of stations they listened to in the '50s and '60s."

WGCY fills a niche for people who enjoy songs from such artists as Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis and Frank Sinatra.

Other listeners tune in for the local broadcasts of high school football and basketball games. Others like to hear their children and grandchildren honored for scholastic achievements. The station also announces people's birthdays, lost pets and garage sales, McCullough said. On top of four daily local news broadcasts, WGCY carries national and international news from CBS Radio.

In addition to his love for music, McCullough also has been an avid sports fan all his life. He remembers listening to Chicago Cubs and Bears radio broadcasts and figured a radio station would be a good way for him to stay involved with sports.

McCullough started the station with investors John Noble and Bill Noble in the old Noble Brothers building north of the current WGCY studios on Sangamon Avenue. In the late 1980s, McCullough's father, Fred McCullough, bought the Noble brothers' shares in the radio station, which moved to its current home in 1990.

Fred McCullough is the president and owner today, while Gary McCullough runs the day-to-day operations in his role.

"We've stayed with our roots pretty much. It's a small-town radio station," Gary McCullough said. "We try to do especially well (with) what we do."

Since the station's format has stayed the same through the years, longtime listeners may not notice any changes.

Even Gary McCullough can only point to one real business change - but it's a big one. It's a challenge for a small station to keep pace with technology advancements, he said.

In 1983, WGCY played records, just like every other station. Then the station switched to compact discs, and now all music is on the computer hard drive, Gary McCullough said. With the development of the Internet, WGCY also can be heard around the world.

The main studio still has the station's original two turntables, as well as a CD player and computer. Some old records line the wall there; more are in boxes in storage.

"There's some real oldies but goodies in here," Gary McCullough said.

Station employees take the most pride in delivering a service to the local community of 3,400 people as well as the surrounding towns as far as Bloomington-Normal, Pontiac, Paxton and Champaign.

Sports Director Frank McCullough takes after his dad's love of athletics and sharing that passion with the community.

"In a small town, especially, it's very important to stress the schools and the sports," Frank McCullough said. "It's kind of your baby. It's a sense of community pride."

News Director Jim Killian enjoys covering school board and other meetings as well as breaking news and weather reports as a valuable service.

"If it's important to the community, if it's important for people to know, WGCY is there to do it," Killian said.

Also visit www.wgcyradio.com for more information about WGCY, including a special 25th anniversary section. Listeners also can submit their favorite memories of the station's past to be posted online.