WRAL-TV’s Rick Armstrong (right) as Melvin the Mailman, the sidekick for WRAL legend Uncle Paul Montgomery in 1978.
Mail deliverers have been front and center during the pandemic, particularly during this holiday season. One CBC employee recently recalled a fun memory of playing a postman on TV, a role he never expected when he joined the WRAL team over four decades ago.
Capitol Broadcasting celebrates long term employees, staffers with five or more years of service, each December. WRAL-TV Enterprise Multimedia Journalist Rick Armstrong celebrated 43 years with CBC in 2020, making him the longest term CBC’er outside of CBC CEO/Board Chair Jim Goodmon.
Armstrong first connected with WRAL-TV in 1976 when he joined Explorer Post 5, a Learning for Life program of the Boys Scouts of America for students who want to learn more about broadcasting. Armstrong became Post 5 President the next year, as he began his freshman year at NC State, and one of the advisors, Paul Pope, asked if he would apply for a part-time job opening on the studio production crew. Armstrong got the job and started work on January 6, 1978.
He recently shared a favorite memory of that first year as a WRAL employee:
My favorite memory was being picked by Paul Montgomery to be his side-kick “Melvin the Mailman” on the Uncle Paul Show. I came in after the sound effects of a horse galloping, as if I delivered mail on a horse. I walked in and joked around with Paul and read all the special birthday announcements mailed into the show. Even though I didn’t think so at the time, it was the coolest thing ever to be part of Paul Montgomery’s legacy.
Armstrong recently came across this photo of him with Uncle Paul in his “Melvin the Mailman” role and shared it with Capcom.
“Time For Uncle Paul” was the most beloved local children’s show on WRAL-TV. The program ran weekday mornings from 1961-1981 with “Uncle Paul” Montgomery serving as the jovial ringmaster and host.
Explorer Post 5 is hosted by WRAL-TV and is the longest continuously operating Boy Scout Explorer group in the nation. It was originally chartered in 1969:
Thanks to WRAL-TV’s Rick Armstrong for this Capcom photo.
