Glamorous and worldly, D.J. Schroeder became a fan favorite on WSAZ as the station’s first “weather girl.”
By James E. Casto
HQ 130 | SUMMER 2025
Her full name was Dorothy Jeanne Schroeder, but her family and friends, as well as countless local television viewers, simply called her “D.J.”
D.J. Schroeder was born the daughter of the late J. Bert Schroeder, who served as Cabell County sheriff, and Stella Pancake Schroeder, and was the granddaughter of the late Daniel Jefferson Pancake and Ella Teays Pancake, with whom she was extremely close. Daniel Jefferson Pancake, the early-1900s founder of Pancake Realty Co., had constructed a large home at 401 10th Ave., which became the residence for three generations of the family.
A lifelong member of Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, starting in the Cradle Roll Department, D.J. Schroeder never lost her interest in matters of faith. She attended Arlington Hall School for Girls in Arlington, Virginia, a finishing school, but the onset of World War II forced the school to close. She returned to Huntington, enrolling at Huntington High School and later Marshall College.
Schroeder held many interesting jobs over the years, including a position with First Lady Mamie Eisenhower as her fan mail secretary during General Eisenhower’s successful campaign for the presidency. She moved to Hollywood, California, where she was employed by 20th Century Fox in its public relations department. She enjoyed watching movies being made and later seeing them in a theater.
Schroeder eventually returned to Huntington to take a job at WSAZ Radio, and in the 1950s she began appearing on some of WSAZ’s live television programs. She became WSAZ’s permanent “weather girl,” as female forecasters were then commonly known. She had no meteorological training, of course — the station hired a meteorologist to research the forecasts that Schroeder delivered. Before each program, the meteorologist would sit down with her and explain what she was supposed to say as she stood in front of the weather map.
The viewing public loved her and made her a local celebrity. She was always smartly dressed, with her hair perfectly coiffed. Never mind that she sometimes got her weather “highs” and “lows” confused. Adding to her celebrity status, Schroeder was the longtime girlfriend of “one of the world’s most famous golfers,” according to former WSAZ anchorman Bos Johnson.
Long after Schroeder aired her final weather forecast, she was thrilled to be inducted into the West Virginia Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2006.
Schroeder’s television career ended, and she moved from the big house on 10th Avenue — the last member of her family to “put out the lights.” She reconnected with a high school classmate, whom she married after 40 years of being single. They traveled to Europe, Hawaii, Canada, the Cayman Islands and Nova Scotia, taking several cruises.
In later years Schroeder became single again, and ongoing health problems caused her to become homebound and to lead a quiet life. During these days, she particularly enjoyed talking about her experience in broadcasting and the wonderful people with whom she worked. As her ailments progressed, she more and more realized how much her relatives and friends meant to her.
As her final days neared, Schroeder directed that the following thought be included in her obituary: “Should you wish to do something in my memory, say something nice and encouraging to someone today. Even better, do something nice today.”
D.J. Schroeder died at Woodlands Retirement Community in 2013. She was 90 years old.
