1999 wasn’t just KCOW’s 50th anniversary year.  It was also the occasion of then-General Manager Mike Garwood’s 50th birthday.  Thiele Pharmacy and Gifts saluted this double-birthday in a commercial that aired in the summer of ’99.  And at the station’s 50th birthday dance at Heartland Aviation, the station presented a unique gift to Mike:

The blanket features iconic Alliance landmarks like the Newberry Building, Knight Museum, Central Park Fountain and (of course!) Carhenge.  It was the perfect gift for a man who, through KCOW and city government roles, gave decades of his life to making his hometown a better place.