Another special day for Martin Davis

MILAN TWP. — It is an amazing story about Ken Wilde. Wilde, whose on-air name is Martin Davis, does it all. From his on-air job, to his work behind the scenes to keep the equipment working, he's vital to the day-to-day operation at WLKR radio. What makes this story so special is that Wilde is blind. On March 10, Wilde marked his 50th anniversary with the local radio station that serves Erie and Huron counties. Wilde was honored last month by Norwalk Mayor Dave Light, who called it "Martin Davis Day" in Norwalk while reading him a proclamation. He gave Davis the proclamation, but Light thought that wasn't enough. The mayor got the proclamation printed out in Braille for Davis, and returned to the Milan Township studios last week for a second presentation. "I was hoping to have it the first time, but this worked out well," Light said. "It was really neat and I know he appreciated it. "This was something I was glad to be a part of." Known by many as "Martin Davis," his on-air alter ego, Wilde mostly appears during overnight weekday broadcasts on WLKR's 95.3. He also provides fishing reports on sister station K96. Though he's primarily the company's chief engineer, Wilde supervises many behind-the-scenes tasks to ensure flawless broadcasts for him and his colleagues. In his younger days, he'd often climb radio towers several stories high to ensure a clearer signal for listeners. In a Tandem Media Network story last month, Wilde said he was born premature, and too much oxygen in the incubator destroyed his optic nerves. Despite that, he doesn't hold a grudge over his misfortunate. "I always tell people: I don't know any difference (between seeing and not seeing)," Wilde said. "That's how I grew up. It wasn't like for some other people who had to transition to being blind. I would think that would be harder."