Joe Cupo Makes a Surprise Visit to News Center Maine on Cindy Williams Last Newscast
A Maine meteorology legend made a surprise visit to News Center Maine on December 17 for anchor Cindy Williams' final day and she could not have been more surprised.
I grew up watching Joe Cupo deliver the forecast every weeknight at 6 o'clock on what we all referred to back then, and most still do, "Channel 6." In 1979 we only had 13 channels, and they were almost all local. If you were watching TV you were either on 6, 8, 13, or channel 10 watching Sesame Street.
Back when Joe started, weather maps were actual physical maps mounted to the wall which he would draw on with an erasable marker, putting up current temperatures on a local map of Maine and drawing H's and L's over the national map to show where high or low pressures were. Satellite images were a new technology and were actual photos that Joe would walk over to as a camera shot a closeup of the photo. Joe would use a pointer stick as he described to the viewers what we were seeing.
Joe also as known for his many stops at elementary school to talk to students about the weather. It was a big deal to have someone you watched every night on TV in your classroom talking about weather. Sadly, he never came to the Oxford Hills when I went to school there.
Joe retired in 2016 but made a return to the News Center studio when he walked in on Keith Carson while he was giving the forecast for the upcoming snowstorm, which suddenly took a back seat. "Keith! It's December! It's gonna snow!" he said with his strong New York accent that he never lost in all his year in Maine.
Cindy was thrilled to see him. The anchor team that ruled Maine television news for over 20 years back together again for one last time. The only one missing was sports anchor Bruce Glasier, who sadly passed away in 2014.
At the end of the newscast, Cindy said her goodbyes through a few tears, after 32 years at News Center.