October Anniversaries

Lots of anniversaries are due in October.

Broadcasting Yearbook gives October 1952 for the launch of KBRZ, Freeport, at 1460 kHz. The station is still on the air with the same call letters but has recently been re-licensed to Missouri City.

In the first week of October, 1957, Baytown’s KRCT, 650, completed it’s move to new studios at 227 East Sterling in Pasadena. Three and a half years later it flipped call letters to KIKK.

October 1st is the anniversary for two FMs. KQUE-FM, 102.9 MHz took to the air on that day in 1960, occupying the frequency that had been vacated by KHGM-FM 17 months earlier when it moved to 99.1 MHz. The station on 102.9 now is KLTN-FM.
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Broadcasting Yearbook gives 10/1/73 for the launch of KTSU-FM, 90.9 but whether that’s the date of the license or the start of actual operations I don’t know. According to the station’s website the station launched with just 10 watts of power.

Two more stations share October 4th as a birthday. KHUL-FM, took to the air on that date in 1959 on 95.7 MHz. The station became KIKK-FM in the 1960s and is now KHJZ-FM.

Meanwhile KXYZ-FM returned to the airwaves on that date in 1961 after being silent for 8 years (that was the date of the first listings in the Chronicle). It returned to the air on its original frequency of 96.5 which it had occupied from 1948 to 1953. The station has undergone a number of call letter changes and is now KHMX-FM.

10/7/22 was the date the license was issued for WTAW, Bryan-College Station, the oldest station in southeast Texas outside of the Houston/Galveston or Beaumont/Port Arthur market.

On the weekend of October 15-16, 1960, KARO-FM took to the air at 94.5 MHz. Other calls used on that frequency have included KLEF-FM, a full time classical station, KLDE-FM, an oldies station, and it is now KTBZ-FM, The Buzz.

October 22, 1953, brought the launch of KNUZ-TV, Channel 39, Houston’s fourth television station overall and first UHF. The station was a DuMont Network affiliate but lasted only 8 months.

September Anniversaries

Broadcasting Yearbook says KLVL-FM, originally on 92.5, now KKBQ-FM, 92.9, started in August, 1962. The first listings appeared in the Chronicle on September 7, 1962.

9/12/53 - installation of the second coaxial cable serving Houston-Galveston was completed and in service – up until that time Channels 2 and 11 had been sharing one line for live network programming.

9/15/64 - KWHI-FM, Brenham, 106.3

QUERIES

Letters.
We get Letters.
We get stacks and stacks of letters.

Well, not actually stacks but I do get email from people seeking specific information. Sometimes I can give an answer, sometimes I can point them in the right direction, sometimes I have no clue.

So I thought I would steal a practice from genealogical research and start a Queries section. Any questions I receive which I can’t answer will be posted here and readers of the blog can offer assistance if they can. Responses can be posted in the Comments or emailed to me and I’ll forward or give your contact information to the original poster. This will appear on the sidebar under News and I’ll tag it when there are new queries.

Also, for those seeking information on air personalities, try this site which also has some non-air personnel. Only a small percentage of broadcasters have ever signed up, but it’s worth a shot. You can search by city, name and station.

1. Our first letter today comes from Stephanie, who’s looking for information on a 30s performing group. Stephanie writes:

Fascinating blog!

I'm trying to find out more about a group that reportedly performed on Houston Radio in the 1930s. Unfortunately I don't know which station.

The group was called the "Hawaiian Strummers", and one of the group was Julius Rogers, perhaps called Ben Rogers.

If you can help, I would be very grateful.

Stephanie

2. Sue, a researcher in New Orleans, is writing a biography of Peck Kelley whose Peck’s Bad Boys Jazz Dance Orchestra performed on the second Houston Post concert on WEV in 1922 and had a regular show on KPRC in 1925; he also served as band leader at Sylvan Beach Park in La Porte in 1925 and his band included Jack Teagarden, Don Ellis, Pee Wee Russell and others. She particularly wants to find a good copy of a picture postcard sent out by KPRC of the band in the studio.

3. Angela is looking for information about her Grandfather, Raymond Joseph Kelley, who hosted a talk program in the early 50s, possibly on KXYZ, called 'The People Ask' which featured himself and a Rabbi and a Priest. Anyone with any information or perhaps know of a recording so she can hear her Grandfather's voice?

4. Michael Roesner is looking for information and perhaps an air check of his grandfather, George E. Roesner, who was the long time Farm Reporter for KPRC radio and TV and may have had a column in the Post, too. He died when Michael was just 10 and he would like to know more and be able to tell his children about their great-grandfather.