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Old January 5th 05, 06:43 PM
Mike Terry
 
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Default WMLT radio station celebrates 60 years

Pieces of Our Past
4 January 2005
Scott Thompson

Radio first came to Dublin in the early 1920s. WSB came on the air in 1922
as Georgia's first commercial radio station. In the early days of radio,
stations more than 500 miles away were heard in Dublin. H.J. Braddy and his
son established the first radio station in Dublin in the summer of 1921. The
station, located in the Braddy home on North Franklin Street, was a
rebroadcast station which could rebroadcast signals over a short range. The
Grand Ole' Opry became a local favorite in the late '20s. The first Georgia
Bulldog game heard in Dublin was the Yale game in October 1928. Throughout
the '30s WSB, WMAZ, KDKA, WSM, WLS, and WLW were among the local favorites
for drama, comedy and news programs.

In 1944, Dublin businessman George T. Morris sought out and obtained
permission to establish a radio station in Dublin. Morris saw that Dublin
was a growing community and he knew that the coming of the U.S. Navy
Hospital would ignite a growth in Dublin that had not been seen in more than
30 years. Morris also saw that Dublin's trade area would be able to enjoy
the music and programs, but more importantly, hear the commercials.

The station was built on the southwest corner of East Moore Street and North
Franklin Street. Many of the early stations were owned by insurance
companies and other corporations and their call letters were abbreviations
for the company slogan. WSB in Atlanta is said to have been an abbreviation
for Welcome South Brother! WMAZ radio, which began at Mercer University, was
an abbreviation for Watch Mercer Attain Zenith. George T. Morris was joined
by two partners in this venture. They were Lanier Thompson and Newton
Thompson. Thus the call letters were M (Morris), L (Lanier), and T
(Thompson), with the W designating that the station was east of the
Mississippi River. By the end of 1944 the station was preparing to go onto
the air. The signals of a test broadcast on Jan. 8, 1945, were heard by M.S.
Lamont in New Zealand, more than 6,000 miles away. Depending on weather
conditions, the station's signal could be heard in 19 states and Canada.

The station had an initial frequency of 1340 kilocycles with a power output
of 250 watts and was one of 34 stations in the state. By today's standards,
the power output would be obliterated by radio interference, but in 1945,
the station's broadcast could be heard over a moderate range. Amazingly,
there were five other stations in Georgia (WGAU - Athens, WGAC - Cedartown,
WDAK - Columbus, WSAV - Savannah and WWGS - Tifton) which broadcasted on the
same frequency as WMLT. Did you know there was another WMLT? Yes, a college
television station at Concord College in Athens, W.V., uses the same call
letters as our own local radio station. Today, WMLT broadcasts at 1330
kilocycles along with two other stations, WLBB in Carrollton and WBBQ in
Augusta.
At one o'clock p.m. on Jan. 16, 1945, WMLT began broadcasting from a remote
studio in the dining room of the Fred Roberts Hotel with a program
dedicating the new station. The first program was the news from the station'
s network, the Mutual Broadcasting Network, which was established in 1934.
Al Robinson was the first station manager. The first day's programming
schedule featured Superman, Tom Mix, Roy Rogers, Count Basie, Lawrence Welk
and Sammy Kaye, along with local entertainment. The Lanier High School Band
traveled from Macon to play a midafternoon concert. From the station's two
studios, Studio A and Studio B, local pianists Fred Kea, Nell Tyre and Mae
Hightower played timeless classics and popular tunes of the day. The station
signed on around sunup and signed off the air around 11 in the evening.
Because a television in every home was at least a decade away, radio
programs remained popular after World War II.

Among the more popular radio programs in the early days of WMLT were "The
Jack Benny Show," "Fibber McGee and Molly" and Fred Waring and his
Pennsylvanians. Throughout the day, local, state and national news programs
kept the public informed. The station's first newscasters were Pat Evans,
Jean Brigham and Betty Page. Donald Hull was the first sportscaster for
WMLT. Betty Page hosted "Talk of the Town," a local news program.

"Most of the news items were phoned into the station," said Miss Page. "My
mother often helped me gather the news for my show," Betty remembered.
One of the most difficult tasks that Betty and the other on air
personalities had to endure was the announcement of the deaths of Laurens
County's young men in World War II, which only began to accelerate in the
Allied Army's final push into Germany in the winter of 1945. Misses Page and
Brigham were two of the first women to broadcast the news on a Georgia radio
station. Another young employee of WMLT in its early days was Louis Parker,
who later followed in the footsteps of his father and went on to a long
career in the dairy business in Dublin. Among the other favorite local
programs were "Record Shop," which featured popular tunes of the day, and
"Birthday Club," which announced birthdays of local citizens.

WMLT featured original programming with local artists performing gospel and
country music. One of the more popular performers was Glenn Watkins and his
"Dixie Playboy Band." Watkins, a native of Kite, Ga., began playing on the
radio at the age of 17 in Greenville, S.C. While trying to establish himself
in the country music business, Glenn opened for Eddy Arnold, Roy Acuff,
Ernest Tubb, Pee Wee King and Minnie Pearl. The "Dixie Playboys" were formed
just for WMLT and were popular favorites. Along with Watkins, Smitty Pope
and Skeeter Harralson are all members of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of
Fame. Glenn left the band in 1949 to join another band, The Trail Riders,
before opening a successful insurance business in Albany, Ga.

Another WMLT employee to move on to other successful ventures in Albany was
Grady Shadburn. Shadburn worked at WMLT in the early 1950s before joining
the Army in 1954. In 1958, Grady joined the staff of WALB-TV. He worked at
the station for nearly forty years and was known to a generation of baby
boomers as "Captain Mercury." He also performed the role of "Ringo" in the
western show "The Lazy A Ranch Party." Shadburn also served as the station's
weatherman for decades.

On the station's 60th anniversary, we look back to some of the station's
most well known personalities, both on and off the air. Ed Hilliard and Dick
Killebrew were icons at the station in the third quarter of this century.
Programs like "Party Line" and "Swap and Shop" drew many listeners. On
"Party Line" listeners would try and guess the name of the song being played
on the radio. "Swap and Shop" allowed listeners to buy and sell almost
anything of value. In the 1970s and 1980s, Bucky Tarpley and Bo Whaley
became two of the station's most popular morning personalities. Behind the
scenes of any successful radio station are the women who keep the programs
running and perform the daily business of the radio station. The best in the
business were Jo Ann DiFazio and Anne M. Everly, who still works at the
station after 40 years of service.

Today WMLT broadcasts gospel music programming at 5000 watts at 20 times its
original power. There are no microphones, no turntables and no music you can
dance to. But to everyone who ever tuned their radio to 1330 or 1340,
cherish the memories of the songs that touched your heart, made you dance
and reminded you of when you first fell in love. Happy Birthday WMLT!

(Scott Thompson is a local attorney and avid historian
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v...yID=16876&on=0 )



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