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Mmtwmvmxwwmmmmmmm®mWmmmBy KAY WILSONAt 5:45 a.m. December 27, 1966, amid a tangle of wires, workmen, engineers and owners,0. C. Young flipped a brand newbutton and intoned, “Good morning. This is staUon WHIS signing on the air from our new location at Broadcast Center.”It all began 45 years ago.From the first moment young Jim and Hugh Shott, Jr. detected recognizable sound above the piercing “Squeee-ee” static emitted from their earphones “tuned” to KDKA, a dream wasmmMCXSOWRANDOLPH••.v.Ill•V.*.******* | ISONBUR fSwim* •HUNTINGTON1««ST£«NlGHlAHOAuerttACHARLESTON •POCAHONTASNICHOLASKANAWHAWAYNEnoonBOONEGStENBRIERfAYETTE10GA*AU£6MA»IYRALEIGH*OUfMONROEFI 0TBWYOMINGA**t« t•OTtlOUtTMcOOWELt 1%BLUEFIELDLYNCHBURG.^tOAN(MOfir-PVIAMI C20^*:RAWUJNnoroGeorge Hendrick, radio manager; Tom Cundiff, salesman; and Bud Gentry, audio production manager, discussing plans for an upcoming promotional campaign.PLANNING GROUP—“Now the reason I called this meeting . . .” is a familiar phrase at Broadcast Center. Here (1-r) are John Shott, general manager; Scott Shott, TV manager;far more urgent directions into which electronic know-how must be channeled during the war years that followed.No DefermentsSpinning records was not a job the Draft Board considered worthy of deferment so personnel came and went. But true to tradition, the show went on — sometimes under most adverse circumstances. Like the time Pat Murphy was doing a sorrier newscast of war catastrophes when a mouse ran up his pants leg. Without missing a word, Pat grabbed the mouse and held on so tightly that when the newscast was over, so was the mouse! But humor and tragedy ran hand in hand. One evening O.C. Young was recording the piano playing of Bob Longworth, a Daily Telegrpah employee. The record complet-(Turn To Page S)studios tailored expressly for broadcasting purposes.The Golden EraIt was in that year that WHIS became affiliated with the “Blue Network” of the National Broadcasting Company, bringing the great live shows of radio’s Golden Era into area homes. In 1941 the government decreed that NBC could not operate two networks (the “Red” and the “Blue”) so the Blue was sold and became the American Broadcasting Company. At that time, WHIS elected to stay with NBC and has retained this af-filation to the present.By now, radio had “arrived” as a tremendous force on the American scene. By the time the entire nation listened to that Sunday’s fateful announcement that Pearl Harbor had been bombed, already there were rumors of radios with actual pictures! But there weremmstmwas running for Congress. Young Jim and Hugh, Jr. thought it would be a great stunt to “broadcast” election returns. In the six short years following the rug incident, the air waves had become so congested with “ham operators” transmitting on anyfrequency at any time, the government had established the first Federal Radio Commission, making it mandatory to obtain a license and an assigned frequency. An old friend, Judge Ira Robinson of Grafton. W. Ya., was chairman of the federal agency, and Jim contacted him for a temporary permit just to boradcast the election returns.Judge Rules NoIn no uncertain terms. Judge Robinson made it clear that radio was serious business: not a gimmick. Permission denied! However, Judge Robinson advised the boys that West VirginiaMany FloppedBut radio stations were as hard hit financially as any other business, and some didn’t make it. It was in that year, 1933, that WHIS boueht out the Roanoke station with whom it shared time, After having already been moved from 1420 to 1410,the Federal Communication Commission (outgrowth of the former FRC) found it necessary to move all stations 30 k.c. up the dial to provide for more stations . With its new frequency, and power of 205watts, WHIS went full time. Mel Barnett had seen the handwriting on the wall, and had moved to WHIS in 1930. Later, several others from WRBX came to WHIS — Pat Murphy, Bill Saunders, Barney Nash.In 1935 a new 500-watt transmitter was purchased for the West Virginia hotel operation, and the staff was moved to temporary studios on Commerce Street. Just one month later, the first of a series of fires destroyed the brand new transmitter. At this point, to compound its woes, the city fathers “requested” that such a hazard be moved out of the city limits. A location was found at Harry Heights, and a powerful new tower was built.The Commerce Street location saw WHIS emerge as a business that could stand on its own. Pat Murphy, a salesman from Roanoke, succeeded Ken Beau-gee as manager.“Dear Dairy”“Dear Diary”, the forerunner of all soap operas, was the most popular program on the air, while C. C. Pyle and football’s famed Red Grang did a series of records on sports, becoming radio’s first syndicated program.Some 28 years later, Jack Ruby was to become the first to commit murder while millionsMAW.mmpicked op a strange voice saying, This is wrTTS. Bluefield,signing on the aar!” We don'tknow who made that momentous announcement, but we do know it has been made everysingle day since.Triumph, ConfusionIt was a moment of great triumph — and great confus-SMILING EFFICIENCY—Whether Receptionist Cydney Brunner is more pleasant than efficient or vice versa—is a moot question to those calling and visiting Broadcast Center. Cydney is the daughter of the late Stuart Odell, whose early “Breakfast Club” was a favorite on WHIS-Radio for many years. (Photos by Hank Jordan)1928—Broadcast first election returns1929—Moved into new quarters atop West Virginia Hotel1931—Became first station outside Soviet Unionto broadcast actual murder trial1935—Built new transmitter tower at Harry Heights1948—Began transmitting FM broadcasts 1955—WHIS-TV telecasts began 1963—Resumed FM broadcasts 1967—Completed new Broadcast CenterCable
Newspaper Details
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Bluefield, West Virginia, US
Sun, Apr 09, 1967
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Sammi B.
NA 10 May 2021
Other Publications Near Bluefield, West Virginia
Bluefield Evening Leader
Bluefield Daily Leader
Bluefield Sunset News
Bluefield Sunday Telegraph
The New Daily Telegraph
