My Afternoon Hanging Out With Bill O’Reilly in New Bedford

I guarantee Bill O'Reilly doesn't remember this, but he and I spent a Friday afternoon in New Bedford together. It's true. The occasion was Hurricane Gloria, 40 years ago.

Many of you may recall Hurricane Bob, which struck southeastern Massachusetts in 1991. Before Bob, there was Gloria.

Hurricane Gloria Hits Massachusetts

Gloria was a Category 1 hurricane when it arrived in New England on September 27, 1985. It left its mark on the region.

Hurricane Gloria formed off the Coast of Cape Verde, quickly reaching Category 4 status with maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour. It was the largest storm to threaten the East Coast of the United States in more than a dozen years.

By the time Gloria reached us, it had made landfall several times and had weakened considerably. The strongest sustained winds, 80 miles per hour, were experienced in southeastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod.

The storm arrived during a period of low tide, so flooding wasn't an issue. The strong winds plunged some 84,000 area residents into darkness and downed scores of trees and tree limbs.

There were no fatalities in Massachusetts.

Reporting Alongside Bill O'Reilly

Long before The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News made Bill O'Reilly a leading force in the cable news wars, O'Reilly worked in local Boston television news. In 1985, he reported for WNEV-TV Channel 7. I was only a few years into a career in radio journalism at the time.

We were both assigned to cover the arrival of Hurricane Gloria from an old trailer behind the former Civil Defense headquarters on Hillman Street.

O'Reilly, as I recall, arrived wearing a trench coat with an armload of newspapers. I had my tape recorder and a microphone. I can't remember if O'Reilly spoke to me or looked up from his papers.

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O'Reilly and I weren't alone in that trailer.

Award-winning journalist Jay Schadler was covering the storm for Boston's WCVB-TV Channel 5.

Rescued By the Mayor

At some point, New Bedford Mayor Brian Lawler stuck his head in the trailer to see if we were okay. Sensing my discomfort in a trailer with a couple of Boston reporters who were unaware of my existence, Mayor Lawler scooped me up, and we toured storm damage throughout the city in the official mayor's car.

Turned out to be a pretty decent assignment after all.

Barry Richard and Bill O'Reilly Now on the Same Station

The O'Reilly Update airs weekdays at noon on WBSM, right before The Barry Richard Show.