If you thought that Irv Weinstein at WKBW (34 years) and the recently retired Jacquie Walker at WIVB (40 years) were amazingly long lived anchors, you've never heard of Don Alhart. He's been at Channel 13 in Rochester, N.Y. for an incredible 58 years, in all that time working for the exact same station. 

It's such an unheard of record, he's in the Guinness Book of World Records for longest serving male broadcast anchor. 

It all ended on Thursday night, as Alhart finally retired after nearly six decades of delivering the news. Even the call letters have changed more than the anchor, with the place starting as WHAM, becoming known as WOKR for a while and then transforming back to WHAM years later. And through it all, Alhart was the most familiar constant.  

The station sent him off in style, with family and friends gathering for a final salute on the 6 PM news. You can see that emotional send-off here.

So why leave on a Thursday? Turns out, the day marks exactly 58 years from the day, June 6, 1966, that he started at Channel 13. 

Alhart signed off with a final commentary on his "Bright Spot" segment, with a literal poem of praise to his viewers. The final shot was touching - Alhart all alone in the studio, turning to look at a monitor with the words "THANK YOU" in huge letters, as the lights dimmed one last time. 

I'd never even heard of the guy and I felt emotional for this symbolic and historic passing of the torch. You can see those final moments here. Don't know much about Alhart, but he seemed to be a class act and he certainly went out that way.