Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

We Pay Our Respects to — JOHN SHEPARD, III THOSE ROMAN numerals that always append John Shepard's signature represent a just pride he takes in carrying on the tradition of a distinguished family of Yankee merchants prominent in New England since the Civil War. When John Shepard, the elder, in 1865 founded the mercantile dynasty over which his son and grandson were to reign after him, he little imagined the turn its expansion would take. Radio was undreamed of; in fact, it was merely as a hobby that John Shepard, III, embarked upon his broadcasting activities just ten years ago last month. It was on July 31, 1922, that John Shepard, III, inaugurated WNAC, Boston, to serve as a public service adjunct of the Shepard Store in Boston, the department store operated by his father and of which he was vice president. A few weeks earlier, Shepard, fils, had been fired with enthusiasm by the response elicited from the public when he started WEAN, Providence, where there also was a Shepard Store. Shepard, pere, knowing well his son's keen business ability, raised no objection to his radio enterprises, which at that time held out little or no promise of direct commercial returns. The story of the Shepard radio endeavors, leading to the establishment of the well known Yankee Network, is now New England history. A few months after his Boston and Providence stations went on the air, Shepard conceived the idea of linking New England communities together by radio. A regional network was in the back of his mind when he forged the first link in what is now the Yankee Network by connecting WEAN and WNAC by land line, so that they could interchange programs. But it was not until February, 1930, that new links were added. First came WLBZ, Bangor; then WNBH, New Bedford; then WORC, Worcester; then WICC, BridgeportNew Haven. Little by little the chain expanded, and now it also embraces WAAB, Boston, also a Shepard station; WPRO, Providence; WDRC, Hartford, and WFEA, Manchester. On Sept. 1, a newcomer to New England radio, WMAS, Springfield, will join the network. Grandfather Shepard started the Shepard Stores in 1865. His son, John Shepard, Jr., succeeded him before the turn of the century. He in turn temporarily retired from active direction of the stores in 1928 to become chairman of the board of both the store organization and of the Shepard Broadcasting Service, leaving the active direction to John Shepard, III, as president. John Shepard, Jr., still keeps his hand very much in the Shepard enterprises but spends most of his time in Florida, where he was several times elected mayor of Palm Beach. John Shepard, III, was born in Boston on March 19, 1886. He spent his childhood and received his ^arly education in Providence. Upon being graduated from Brookline high school, he was appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He passed all the examinations readily, but poor eyesight blocked his entrance. Discouraged at this failure, he chose to enter his father's store at Providence rather than go on to college. He began as a salesman. His experience in the Shepard Stores in successive years covered every phase of the business from salesman to floor superintendent to buyer to department manager. His promotion to office manager of the Boston store preceded his election as vice president of that store. In 1928 he was made president of the entire organization. Always, through the last decade, he has kept his hand actively in the management of the radio stations he started as a hobby and developed into a business as important as his mercantile trade. In April, 1931, he added WLEX to his station holdings, changing its call to WAAB. The novel idea of having both WNAC and WAAB broadcast from the same antenna system on their respective wavelengths occurred to him, and he installed what is said to be the first half-wave vertical steel mast to make this technically possible. Another technical improvement he PERSONAL NOTES ALEXANDER L. SHERWOOD, former assistant commercial manager of Westinghouse stations and now general manager of KQV, Pittsburgh, announces the appointment of Benjamin Soby, former promotion manager for Westinghouse in a similar capacity with KQV. BORN, to Dewey Sturgell, of the NBC field group in New York, and Mrs. Sturgell, a daughter, July 26; to Chester A. Rackey, of the NBC design group, and Mrs. Rackey, twin sons, July 28. LLOYD E. YODER, press relations manager of NBC in San Francisco, onetime Carnegie Tech football star, has been elected secretary of the Pacific Coast Association of Football Officials. LOU ANCKER, formerly with WIPWFAN, Philadelphia, has been appointed manager of WDAS, Philadelphia. The same station has also secured the services of Henriette K. Harrison, formerly with WCAU and WIP-WFAN and the Biow Company, New York agency, as program director. COMMUTING regularly between Chicago and St. Louis are Walter Preston, western program director for CBS, and J. Kelly Smith, sales director of WBBM, Chicago, and KMOX, St. Louis. Walter "Hank" Richards, formerly of WLS, Chicago, has been appointed program production director of KMOX, with William H. West, associated with KMOX since its inception, as director of operations. Ruth Braden Betz is at KMOX as publicity director on leave of absence from WBBM. FRANK E. MULLEN, NBC director of agriculture, participated in a "Do You Recall" program July 19 at KDKA, Pittsburgh. He broadcast the first market report from that station. EDWIN M. SPENCE, of WPG, Atlantic City, has been named chairman of the committee in charge of arrangements for the NAB convention to be held Nov. 14-16 in St. Louis. Chairmen of four local committees were also named by Harry Shaw, president, as follows: Thomas Patrick Convoy, KWK, entertainment; Bill West, KMOX, reception; L. A. Benson, WIL, transportation; Stewart Chambers, KSD, publicity and exhibits. was quick to adopt was the special acoustical treatment for the Yankee Network key studios in Boston and the technique of distant pickups. All programs of WNAC and WAAB, and most of the programs of the Yankee Network, originate in 10 beautiful modern studios on the main floor of the Hotel Buckminster. Even the department store business cannot claim priority over radio in the affections of John Shepard III. Radio is his primary hobby, but there are two sports that also claim his interest. The first is golf. An excellent golfer, holder of several trophies, he won the golf championship of the National Association of Broadcasters at its annual convention tournament in Detroit last fall. The other hobby is baseball. The opening games of the season always find him on hand, and he enjoys as many more games during the season as his busy schedule will permit. It was his keen interest in baseball that led him to arrange for complete coverage of all the games over the Yankee Network; in his own organization he is probably excelled only by Fred Hoey, Yankee Network's ace baseball announcer, in his knowledge of the game and its players. AMONG those who stopped at the office of Fred Weber, Chicago NBC traffic manager, on their way to Washington for hearings before the Radio Commission were: John Henry, KOIL, Council Bluffs, la.; John Gillan, WOW, Omaha, Neb.; Jack Denny, WHO, Des Moines, and Peter MacArthur, Joe Maland and Paul Loyet, WOC, Davenport, la. ARMSTRONG PERRY, director of the National Committee on Education by Radio, was to sail Aug. 14 from Boston on the Georgic for Europe. He intends to continue his interviews of broadcasting officials, started last year, and to attend the International Radio Conference at Madrid. CARL WESTER, of the Chicago NBC sales division, joined Gene and Glen at Glen Lake, Mich., during a two week vacation in the early part of August. HAROLD S. SYKES has been named commercial manager of KUMA, Yuma, Ariz., which formerly was KFXY, Flagstaff. Edward Calder, hailing from Boise, Ida., is the program director and M. W. Bannister is chief operator. FRANK B. McLATCHY, of KSL, Salt Lake City, has been appointed head of the program committee of the Salt Lake Advertising Club. THE ENGAGEMENT of James Moran, young Washington radio attorney, and Senorita Cecilia de Alfaro, daughter of the Minister of Panama, was announced Aug. 7. The wedding is scheduled to take place on September 17. Mr. Moran is a brother-inlaw of Oswald Schuette, special copyright representative for NAB. CLYDE C. HALL, formerly assistant to the director of research of the National Committee on Education by Radio, Tracy F. Tyler, on Aug. 1 left that post to become assistant to Bernard F. Weadock, executive manager of the National Electric Light Association, New York. Mr. Hall will be stationed in Washington. JAMES HAYS, formerly announcer and commercial man at WCAE, Pittsburgh, has joined the commercial staff of KDKA, Pittsburgh. HOWARD C. BARTH has succeeded Charles H. Kaletzki as manager of WSYR, Syracuse, N. Y. The latter has returned to the local agency field, with offices in the Tower building. DON SEARLE, manager of KOILCouncil Bluffs-Omaha, is on an extensive vacation trip in the west. John M. Henry, director of KOIL, recently addressed the Omaha Rotary Club on "The Economic Niche of Radio." S. S. FOX, president, and Harry Golub, manager of KDYL, Salt Lake City, have returned after an extended trip to Los Angeles and other coast points. JOE NICKELL, manager of WIBW, Topeka, acts as special announcer for the daily radio talks by Governor Woodring of Kansas, carried simultaneously over WIBW and KFBI, Abilene, Kans. STEVE TRUMBULL, CBS publicity manager in Chicago, spent the middle two weeks of July on a sailing cruise around the shores of Lake Michigan. CAPT. RALPH L. WALKER, Radio Commission examiner who has just been transferred to the Legal Division as senior attorney, on Aug. 8 began his regular tour of duty with the District of Columbia National Guard at Camp Ritchie, Md. FATHER CHARLES E. COUGHLIN, of the Shrine of the Little Flower, Detroit, visited Washington Aug. 8, to discuss plans for his special independent radio hookup to carry his weekly sermons beginning in October. From Washington, he went to Philadelphia, where he discussed similar plans with Dr. Leon Levy, WCAU, and thence to Newark, where he visited WOR. August 15, 1932 • BROADCASTING Page 17