Radio digest (1922)

<^/4. Small Station With a Big Purpose WHBY, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Is Both a Civic and Entertainment Force for Good By Garnett L. Eskew THOSE who may believe that the little 100-watt station is not every whit as important, in its way, as the 10.000-watt station is in its way should learn of the recent activities of Station WHBY ("Whibby" they call it for short), at Green Bay, Wis., whose director of features, Harold T. Shannon, not only burns continually with a catching enthusiasm, but who expresses that enthusiasm by sending out over the air the most varied program of useful and entertaining features that could well be imagined. WHBY is located at St. Norbert's College. Green Bay. And the commercial studios are in the Columbus Community Club, in the same city. The station celebrated its filth anniversary May 32-13. And the Mother's Day season caused Mr. Brannon to add several features appropriate to the occasion. As Director Harold Shannon wrote the editor of Radio Digest, after the event was over: "The Mother's Day program was the greatest thing we've ever turned out. My own dear little Mother went Home in March and it was very much in the nature of a tribute to her that 1 worked desperately to perfect this two-hour feature, which is going to remain deep in the memories of those who heard it for many years. We used a symphony orchestra which was a whiz. Herr Herman Daumler, late concertmeister of the Xuremburg Conservatory Concert Orchestra in Germany, was our concertmeister. They emphasized the mother theme in the choice of their selections. "The program was dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, and the first number was a Mary hymn done by the Friars sextette from the Franciscan Monastery here. They also sang Ketelby's 'In a Monastery Garden' with the orchestra, an organ and chimes. "LeBaron Austin, baritone; Florence Roate, soprano of Lawrence College Conservatory of Music at Appleton, Wis., and Rev. Richard Gordon Londo, tenor, were the soloists "Only Mother songs were used. Dr. Leonard Parr, a Congregational divine, and highly reputed as an orator, was the speaker of the evening and "Hail to the Chief," by the orchestra signalized something unusual for WHBY — the message of a former president. "Mr. Coolidge was invited (because 'of those plain, homely virtues which characterized his private and public life and appealed so strongly to the mothers of boys') to be our guestspeaker, via the remotest of controls — by letter. "He sent us those paragraphs about his own mother from his Autobiography and they were read by the undersigned, which was his only participation in the program. It would have been a very hard program to work and keep the lump in one's throat down." The Sunday program, however, was only the start. On Monday a five-hour birthday party got under way at seven o'clock in the evening in the open-air studios atop the roof of the new Com munity Club. At eight o'clock two oldfashioned brass bands, of the sort that used to delight the musical hearts of Germans in America, took up the theme and presented a series of old-fashioned dance tunes: lancers, polkas and schottisches — lovely dances that have passed away but for the saving grace of the Radio which, in the hands of discerning directors, such as Mr. Shannon, serves to bring them to the ears of the world which otherwise would never have them. The bands were Romy Goaz's Bohemians and the Pilsen Brass Band. After that, at nine, was broadcast a sort of anniversary number — a revival of the very first broadcast hour over the station, five years ago, in the days when Hank Schmitt, the first announcer held sway at WHBY. Schmitt, who is now an ordained priest, was on hand as the "guest" announcer. Numerous telegrams of congratulation from senators, congressmen and mayors of cities of A N NOV N CEMENT of f\, the winners of the Amos and Andy contest, which has been attracting considerable attention in Radio Digest the last two or three months, will be made in the August issue. Therefore, you who are interested — and we believe that includes pretty nearly everybody — don't fail to get your copy. The results will be interesting. Maybe you'll win one of the prizes. the Land of Lakes showed that the surrounding country is awake to the manifold activities of WHBY and joined in the occasion. But the usefulness of this little 100watt station in the Land of Lakes is not confined to the broadcasting of musical numbers or of mere entertainment of any kind. Carrying out a suggestion made not long ago by the federal Radio commission that the rural and small-town stations develop a sort of "speaking-newspaper" aspect, WHBY has been doing its part to aid the unemployment situation. Mr. Shannon continues: "We have a tie-up with the Free Employment Bureau here and in two weeks trebled their number of placements. They tell us what kind of men and women they can place and, brother, we place them. They tell us of men and women (needy ones we insist) who are finding it difficult to get work. "We try to get work for them. Results have been instantaneous, particularly in temporary work. We asked all of our listeners to forego the exercise of taking off their storm windows, varnishing their floors, house cleaning, repairing, cleaning the basement, and engage some poor workless father to do it for them just to get a few more dollars into circulation and a few more men self-respecting as earners. "The calls for such help for a few days broke the local employment bureau record, with the result that we have a letter from the Department of Labor and a very much treasured 'memorial' signed by hundreds of jobless men. Some one of them started it and every fellow who got a job signed it. We prize it highly in our 'public service' exhibit which is our 'trophy case,' so to speak." Then, in the same "news category," there is a feature on WHBY known as "The Town Crier, the newspaper of the air," in which the announcer gives the local happenings of interest to everyone in that vicinity. Nor is that all. Shannon has also a spoken shoppers' guide which enables the frugal and thrifty housewife to visualize what is on sale at the various stores before gor ing out to purchase. This live station and its director of features knows exactly what it wants and goes after it. Recently when it was found that the editor of Radio Digest could, at the last moment, go up to Green Bay for the anniversary celebration, Mr. Shannon was ready with an airplane to take him up! Westphal Has Grown "Gray" in Radio Game HE HAS been broadcasting so long that he does not remember the exact year he started. Consequently when he was asked about his first Radio experience, Frank Westphal, noted orchestra leader and conductor of the WENR studio orchestra, replied that it was somewhere around 1922 or 1923. At the time, he had an orchestra at the Rainbo Gardens in Chicago, a popular night club and cabaret. The owner, Fred Mann, refused to take broadcasting seriously and declared, despite Frank's arguments, that it would never amount to much. Nevertheless Westphal became interested and was heard for the first time over KYW, the programs of which were then presented by the same organization that now operates WENR. Later Westphal left the Rainbo Gardens, but he finally saw the day that Mann was convinced that broadcasting was here to stay and would amount to something. This was when the Rainbo Gardens owner saw Station WQJ, which transmitted from the Garden, sold for approximately $60,000. When E. N. Rowland, head of the All-American Radio Corporation, went on the air, Westphal was asked to come in and take charge of the station. Thus it appears he has been known continuously by Radio listeners since "around 1922 or 1923." He was heard over Charles Erbstein's station, WTAS; KYW; WLS and WENR.