Broadcasting (July - Dec 1938)

Radio Again Succors Stricken Regions All Facilities Are Used for Rescue Activity (Continued from Page 1U) gale, which by then was of hurricane force, our transmitting tower at Winthrop Point fell, and the roof of the transmitter house was lifted off. Our chief engineer, who had stood by over there up to this point, then had to leave. The studios suffered only slight damage from water and glass. At the peak of the high wind, U. S. Coast Guard Authorities hei'e at Fort Trumbull, New London, set the gale at 90 to 100 miles an hour. WEAN, PROVIDENCE WEAN, Providence, hit by the full force of the hurricane, lost all power, telephone and electric lines early in the storm. Both towers crumpled in a tangled mass about 6 p. m. Sept. 21, and only a single one-way line remained open to WNAC, Boston. Paul Demars, Yankee chief engineer at Boston, got a portable 5 kw. gasoline generator and drove to Providence. WEAN returned to the air with 100 watts on the wreckage of the two towers at 8 p. m. Sept. 22. Effectiveness of the power was indicated by reports of reception from as far away as Plymouth, Mass. Full power returned Sept. 23, and the portable generator was taken into the Crown Hotel and used to supply lights and heat to the WEAN studios. The only station on the air in Providence for some time, WEAN relayed thousands of calls to WNAC via the one-way line outlasting the elements. The WNAC broadcast could be received in Providence, WEAN reported. With Manager James Jennison and Chief Operator Harry Tilley, the entire WEAN staff worked continuously from 4:30 p. m. Sept. 21 until the emergency had passed. WTIC, HARTFORD By Irwin Cooper AT 3:52 p. m. Sept. 21, as New England's first hurricane reached its climax in the Connecticut Valley and roared its way through elm-lined cities and towns, adding to the terror of rapidly-rising flood-waters, the electric powerline from Unionville, Conn, to W T I C ' s transmitter on Avon Mountain was dashed to the ground, rendering the Hartford 50,000-watter temporarily powerless to help in the sudden emergency. Instantly, General Manager Paul W. Morency organized WTIC's entire staff on a 24-hour emergency basis under Program Director Tom McCray as ways were found to aid State and civic Authorities and to help individuals in disseminating flood and hurricane information and advice. The station's 7.5 meter shortwave transmitter WIXO was made available by Plant Manager J. Clayton Randall to the American Radio Relay League for personal messages and for flood and hurricane reports which were coming in rapidly over Transradio Press wires to the Transradio Central Connecticut bureau in the WTIC studios. Engineer Fred Edwards, through his own shortwave transmitter WIDJC temporarily located in the station's laboratory, established a 5-meter amateur network in the Hartford area to speed personal messages to points where telephone communication and electric power had failed. At the same time, WTIC's telephone switchboard became a hurricane news agency, as calls were answered from all over Connecticut, and information based on Transradio news reports and shortwave communications was given out. Power Again! At 9:58 p. m., power having been restored to its transmitter, WTIC was again on the air through its normal channel, able to lend its every facility to the occasion. Short circuited telephone cables between the Hartford studios and the Avon transmitter 10 miles away were overcome by Chief Engineer Herman Taylor by stepping up the voice-power at the studios to 10 times its normal strength. Then began an intensive program of 24-hour service from WTIC to the Hartford community, the State and the Nation. Personal messages concerning the safety of separated members o f families were broadcast as fast as they came in, along with authoritative news-flashes on conditions throughout New England, up-to-the-minute weather reports, verified statements from the Red Cross, schools, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the police, the National Guard, the Governor and the Mayor. Gov. Wilbur L. Cross, Hartford's Mayor Spellacy, Col. John J. Shepard of the Red Cross and WPA Administrator Vincent Sullivan were presented on the air with personal messages of news and advice concerning the gravity of the situation. Periodic shortwave pickups from flooded areas were relayed to WTIC and rebroadcast. Periodic broadcasts were presented from the top of the Travelers Tower, tallest building in New England, giving eye-witness accounts of the changing scene in the valley below as the swollen Connecticut River and its tributaries spread rapidly over the landscape. A five-minute account from this same vantage point was given to the nation by Announcer Ben Hawthoi'ne Thursday at 2:40 p. m. over the NBC-Blue network as part of a half hour all-New England survey. Throughout the entire catastrophe, WTIC's efforts were carefully directed along corrective rather than destructive lines. All news reports were verified before being broadcast. Only actual conditions were described. All "scare stuff" was eliminated. Whenever possible, and in order to allay public hysteria, the station maintained its regularlyscheduled programs, supplying its listeners with entertainment rather than unnecessarily alarming rumors. AFTER the storm, WCOP, Boston, continued to supply flood bulletins, with Newcomb F. Thompson (left), of the Boston American, and Roland Hale, WCOP engineer, in the American office. WDRC, HARTFORD By Ray Barrett WE WERE on the air broadcasting details of coming flood at 7 a. m. Wednesday morning. Mobile unit W1XOU set out early to get a first-hand picture. It went on the air from most vulnerable points before the picture really appeared to be serious. It was the hunch of Program Director Sterling V. Couch. Officially nothing had yet been said of the flood. The mobile unit, with myself as special events man and Engineer Ken McLeod, stayed all day, even rode out hurricane and then cruised the city, giving eyewitness pictures of damage done by hurricane and flashing warnings to residents of fallen trees, dangling live wires, uprooted streets etc. It was only then that officials released flood warnings, hours after Couch's hunch turned out to be accurate. The station remained in constant operation with crews on duty all night, directing relief agencies, sending out calls for volunteers, mobilization of National Guard, police etc. and sending messages to persons unable . to communicate with relatives. Thursday all day the mobile unit was out broadcasting warnings from dangerous spots, putting on air interviews with officials stationed at flood points, giving instructions to residents of endangered areas, directing relief trucks and the evacuation of families and business districts. From Dry to Wet Wednesday night I fed CBS an eyewitness account of the hurricane and impending flood, Jack Zaiman, Hartford correspondent of United Press, putting on roundup of news available at 11:35. On Thursday the mobile unit fed CBS an eyewitness picture of worst flooded area of city from that point, interviewing refugees arriving by boat, and military and police officials stationed there. When we drove up the car was parked on dry land; when we left, the car was up to hub caps in water and McLeod and I, together with Salesman Eric Williams, were knee deep in water. At this writing, Chief Engineer Italo Martino and Program Director Couch have gone 72 hours without sleep or rest, Martino watching equipment and Couch co ordinating messages to relatives, calls for volunteer emergencies, keeping programs moving to minimize alarm, etc. The mobile unit is out again at this writing, cruising the city and giving spot messages, directing relief, etc. Announcers Bob P r o v a n , Gil Bayek and Harvey Olson, the entire office staff and engineering crews, and salesmen were all pressed into emergency service and worked on 24-hour schedules. r i WSPR, SPRINGFIELD By M. W. Stoughton DURING the danger point of the flood, we moved our transmitting equipment from the flooded area on a truck to the parking lot opposite our studios and next to the Hotel Stonehaven, which has an antenna given up by the station formerly located there. We connected our transmitter from the truck to this antenna and operated from the truck Thursday evening and all day and evening Friday from this point. From a highly precarious position, not only did we transmit our own flood programs, but we fed coast-to-coast Mutual flood programs, along with three to the Colonial Network. Moving the transmitter and reconnecting it took only six hours. WMAS, SPREVGFIELD By A. W. Marlin ■ 3i * Z. \l j ( lit I I f fi I . i t i in t K i i : n I jo \ ff I fa I I 1 OV: 111 , o: FOR THE second time in two years, WMAS played a vital part in the emergency created by the hurricane and flood which swept springfield and the Connecticut Valley. Early Sept. 21, due to the continued rain which started the Saturday before, it became apparent that trouble might be expected within a short time. The entire staff of the station was ordered to stand by. Lines were ordered into strategic locations — the Springfield City Hall and Red Cross Headquarters. At 3 o'clock, when the hurricane hit the city, the facilities of the station were turned over to Mayor Putnam and his Emergency Committee. The first job of radio was to warn people to keep off the streets. Statements were issued from the Mayor's office, giving an exact picture of what was taking place and reassuring the public. Due to the excellent organization of all departments, information was instantly available regarding flood possibilities in the Connecticut Valley. About 9 o'clock Wednesday evening, it was decided that conditions were serious enough to evacuate the people in Springfield's South End District. All orders regarding evacuation were given over the air by the Mayor himself. The staff of WMAS remained on the air throughout the entire night, giving bulletins and keeping the people of Springfield constantly in touch with developments. Around 9 o'clock Thursday morning, the engineers of WMAS stationed at the WMAS transmitter, which is located at Pynchon ' T :\>:< ■■ -; ire : ■■ T. : Page 66 • October 1, 1938 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising) n