CKMO Turns 25

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It's amazing the stuff you come across by accident.

The Vancouver Province did a two-page spread on Tuesday, May 27, 1947 on CKMO's 25th anniversary. Most of it is block ads (why else would the paper do the "story"?)

Unfortunately, the microfilm at the library is scraped and whole lines are missing; about seven or so per column.

Before I try to somehow decipher this, I'd like to know if anyone already has these articles. If so, there's no point in me trying to figure out what's in the missing lines.

The articles include a very capsulised history, a piece on Al Reusch's show, an interview with the receptionist, a piece by one of the announcers on how to announce, another on copy-writing, a piece on sports broadcasts and a little squib on the station's new transmitter.

cArtie.

[Jack Bennest]

I dont Jim

bring it on

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bring it on

OK. I went to the Burnaby library where its Province reels are scratch-free and readable.

Here's the first one:

Pioneer Station CKMO Marks 25th Birthday
[Vancouver Daily Province, May 27, 1947]
Many are the memories from days gone by that combine to tell the story of Vancouver’s original radio station, CKMO, today celebrating its 25th birthday and the first anniversary of broadcasting with an increased power of 1000 watts.
It is a story of progress and service during the past quarter century.
Twenty-seven years ago, three prominent businessmen of Vancouver, G. Cran, B.A. Arundel and the late R.J. Sprott, became interested in broadcasting. Hours of study and research culminated the decision to purchase the required technical parts and material for a transmitter, which, when completed, had an output of 50 watts.
The transmitter was built by Mr. Arundel, who, with his partners, spent long hours—often far into the night—assembling and setting up the equipment in a small room on the fourteenth floor of the old Bekins Building.
PARTS WERE COSTLY
Finally, after much experimentation and testing, the small station went on the air with the call letters CJCE and for some months broadcast musical presentations throughout the daytime period.
In those days, broadcast was a matter of “entertainment only” and the excessive cost of replacing expensive tubes, purchasing added gadgets and acquiring a recorded library soon because a burden. The three partners decided to give up their broadcasting and relinquished their license.
A few months later, in 1921, Mr. Arundel, principal of the radio school and the late R.J. Sprott, president of the Sprott-Shaw Schools of Commerce and Radio, again became enthusiastic about broadcasting—this time with an eye to the greater possibilities of public service.
GOT TEN-WATTER
As they had given up their license previously, it was necessary to purchase a transmitter and call letters—from someone already operating a radio station. Lady Luck smiled in their direction and they were able to purchase a 10-watt transmitter with the call letters CFCQ.
In the following months, the groundwork and may be long hours spent in setting up a radio station brought success and the introduction of what is now the “Neighborly” station in Vancouver.
In 1922 the foresight and pioneering of these businessmen was climaxed by the appearance of CKMO on a regular broadcast schedule, with a 10-watt transmitter.
EXPANDED RAPIDLY
In the next few years, CKMO acquired studios and offices at 336 West Hastings and as the station grew the studios were moved later to the Stock Exchange Building on West Hastings and then finally to 812 Robson. The 100-watt transmitter remained in the Bekins Building for many years until 1946, when the station stepped up its power to 1000 watts.
A year ago this month CKMO became operation of its new 1000-watt transmitter—the latest RCA equipment, which is situated in one of the finest locations on Lulu Island, on the banks of the Fraser River.
In November 1948, further additions to studio equipment brought the new RCA console into operation, giving the station dual control rooms and the very latest design in recording apparatus with the acquisition of Preston 6N recording equipment.
Today, as the station celebrates the twenty-fifth birthday, oldtimers will recall many radio personalities who got their start in the business at CKMO and who now rank among the top radio announcers, producers and technicians anywhere. There are not many oldtimers at CKMO now, but the management and staff, totaling 37, look forward to the future with the same enthusiasm that inspired their predecessors.

transcribed by cArtie

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‘Disk Jockey’ Runs Popular Daily Show
[Vancouver Daily Province, May 27, 1947]
CKMO’s top disc jockey, Al Reusch, M.C. of the popular “Name It, Play It” show heard over CKMO daily at 4:30 p.m., finds little time for himself these days since he added another program to his list of daily tasks, the “Al Reusch Show,” at 7 a.m.
With two programs to line up daily, Mikeman Reusch is more than busy.
The new morning stanza means lining up featured music for the period between 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. each day. That means that immediately following his afternoon “Name It, Play It” program, he has to take a deep breath and digest his supper while he drafts and lists the music and gathers data for several features that headline the presentation. This goes on sometimes far into the evening hours.
ARMFULS OF MAIL
Reusch arrives at the studio shortly after 6 a.m. A few hours later he is collecting armfuls of mail addressed to “Name It, Play It,” and from 9:30 a.m. until he goes on the air with the favorite teen-agers. At 4:30 p.m., he is sorting mail, making notes and selecting requested platters.
Somewhere in between he finds time to chat with his fans, welcome a group of young fans who visit the program every afternoon, and add more snapshots, drawings and cartoons to an ever-growing scrapbook that started some month ago when he had fans send in snapshots of themselves. The custom still continues from day to day.
Al always has a waiting list of fans who ask for the opportunity to visit on “Name It, Play It.” They are interviewed and asked to read their own dedications to the program. Mikeman Reusch has a smile for all he meets.
His years as a professional musician gave him a knowledge of music-makers that is unsurpassed.

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Receptionist Must Know Thousand Answers Daily
[Vancouver Daily Province, May 27, 1947]
The task of a receptionist at CKMO is by no means an easy one. From the minute she arrives each day until the evening receptionist takes over—it’s questions and more questions.
She guards her switchboard just as enthusiastically as does the program engineer who hovers over the switches and dials during each program. Every ring of the telephone, every light that flashes on that switchboard, means a test of her knowledge. It may be someone who wishes to speak to the manager or any one of the 37 members on staff.
VARIETY OF QUESTIONS
Isobel Russell, a charming young lady who greets callers from CKMO’s reception desk during the day, has many a story to tell about the people who call the station.
Isobel says:
”There are people who want to talk to Phil Brito, George Formby and many others, and we have to explain to them that these personalities do not appear in person but have transcribed their programs or recorded the selections and so on.
“Some people demand the exact time, while others call for a description of the announcer on a certain program, or want to know if he’s married—some even call up to get the answers to quiz questions being asked on other stations or they ask fro the title of a tune juts played or where can they can obtain a copy of this or that.”
Stories of such happenings would fill pages but there are many humorous incidents that make life at the reception desk a lot of fun.
For instance, a new night time receptionist, not understanding the mysterious terms heard around a radio station, answered a call and heard a voice say “Master Control, please.”
She thought but a moment and replied sweetly, “I’m sorry, there’s no one here by that name.”

transcribed by cArtie

[YesterDaze]

I recall friends who worked at "Squeaky-MO" in this era who would race to the bank with their pay checks. Apparently the station was frequently a hand-to-mouth operation .. and if you were among the last 10 to cash your check you could well be told the station's account held "insufficient funds."

There were some excellent broadcasters who spent time at 812 Robson, including Jack Cullen, Roy Jacques, Alan Roughton, Al Reusch, Phil Baldwin, Stan Lettner, Mel Cooper, Gene Kern and Bill Rae, to name a few off the top of my head.

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Community Service Keynotes Radio Station Activities
[Vancouver Daily Province, May 27, 1947]
Throughout the past twenty-five years Radio Station CKMO has taken great pride in the part it plays in the life of the community and the country, especially in the field of public service.
Many calls are received every day from public spirited organizations for assistance in publicizing charitable and worthwhile campaigns both in the community and those carried out on a nation-wide scale.
The public service is given prompt attention and the facilities of CKMO in the future, as in the past, are always available to further the worthwhile work being carried on, your in and year out by many organizations. As with all community stations in Canada, CKMO has provided spot announcements and programs for organizations, large and small, both in war and in peace.
VETERANS GIVEN AID
In addition to the assistance given from to such endeavors, CKMO’s public service department has provided more than 100 veterans with the opportunity to obtain a series of announcements to assist in their re-establishment.
With the co-operate of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in Vancouver, all veterans using their re-establishment credits and gratuities to set themselves up in business, received the opportunity to apply for this gratis service of CKMO.
All who applied received a series of 26 announcements and in some cases, extended assistance was given in this manner when recommended by DVA officials. This offer still holds good, and will continue until DVA advises the station that no further applications for the offer have been received.
FUND FOR PATIENTS
In the latter part of 1946 CKMO again directed its efforts toward helping veterans of both wars. This time the efforts of all staff members were turned toward the creation and building of a fund to be used to make Christmas a much happier one for the veteran patients in the Shaughnessy Military Hospital in Vancouver.
For those reasons CKMO is proud of the public service record it is building year by year—a record that will grow in the years to follow.

transcribed by cArtie

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There were some excellent broadcasters who spent time at 812 Robson, including Jack Cullen, Roy Jacques, Alan Roughton, Al Reusch, Phil Baldwin, Stan Lettner, Mel Cooper, Gene Kern and Bill Rae, to name a few off the top of my head.

Hi, Daze. I had no idea Gene worked there.

During the time of these articles, Roughton's British Empire Programme was running from 6-6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, sponsored by National Furniture Stores, who also sponsored something called Teletime from 10-10:30 a.m. I guess that must have been a quiz show.

Phil, I think, was at CKMO for some time. It seems to me when I peered at some early 40s listings, his name was there.

There are several CKMO staffers I'll get to in a later article I can't trace at all. There are a few more articles to go.

cArtie.

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Continuity Writers Lock Show Together
By JOAN MULCAHY
(CKMO Continuity Editor)
[Vancouver Daily Province, May 27, 1947]
Radio commercials are the sponsor’s meat and the continuity writer’s break and butter. Radio is highly commercialised for obvious reasons. The sponsor revenue pays for the talent—the artists, the announcers, the orchestras, the operators and the writers—and probably the current light bill.
Without the angel (the sponsor) there wouldn’t be a show. It’s as simple as that. In return, they ask the potential buying public to listen to the laudation of their own baby—their product.
Continuity writers are “ghost writers” in the true sense of the word. They fit the jig-saw pieces until the show is tightly locked together. Commercials, musical selections are written, or chosen; then timed to the last second. Behind every program, whether it’s recorded, transcribed or live, is a writer to do these jobs.
At CKMO, there are four writers, theoretically armed with commercial bows and arrows. Patricia Young, an English import, John Jackson, a Winnipeg import, Hugh Wallace and myself. Their advice is: Think twice before you take up continuity writing as a career. They did—and they’re glad.

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Sports Broadcasts Play Major Role In CKMO Schedule
[Vancouver Daily Province, May 27, 1947]
A goodly share of CKMO programming depends on public choice of requests as to playing of music, the popularity of this meeting of this music, being determined by the majority vote of listeners.
CKMO has made a speciality of sports broadcasting and during the last year has provided listeners with all types of actual-on-the-scene sports broadcasts such as baseball, hockey, lacrosse, basketball, wrestling, boxing, bicycle races and other individual efforts.
It is the policy of the owners and management of radio station CKMO to continue to provide the Vancouver area listening public with continued service in all sporting activities.

Sports Season a Banner One For Radiomen in 1946-47
By LOYD BULMER
[Vancouver Daily Province, May 27, 1947]
The sports season of 1946-47 was a banner one for CKMO.
Listeners enjoyed one of the most complete and varied roundups of sport in the Pacific Northwest.
The University of British Columbia entered American football competition for the first time in 1946; and all five home games were aired over CKMO. The University Radio Society had a broadcast built in the stadium, and Sportscasters Jack Cowan and Johnny Farina brought play-by-play descriptions to the listening audience.
U.B.C.’s basketball squad also had several games broadcast with Jack Cowan and Don Winchester of the UBC Radio Society handling the mikes.
HOCKEY BROADCASTS
With the start of the hockey season, veteran Sportscaster Leo Nicholson, assisted by Bob Willett, broadcast the home games of the Vancouver Canucks.
Professional basketball got its start in Vancouver in the sports-year of 1946-47, and Leo Nicholson was on hand for the play-by-play.
In the summer months baseball gets under way in the Capilano Stadium. Duke McLeod is aided by Keith Mathews on the scheduled broadcasts.
Tuesday and Friday nights from now till August, bring CKMO listeners the fastest game on two feet, box lacrosse. In the absence of Leo Nicholson, taken abed with illness, Duke McLeod is filling the slot, with the aid of Erskine Allan.
REGULAR ROUND-UPS
Sports news round-ups are heard frequently on your Neighborly Station. Every morning at 7:55, Al Reusch brings listeners up-to-date with the overnight scores and late happenings. At 11 p.m. nightly the writer adds the major scores of the day. Then every Saturday night at 9, there is a quarter-hour roundup of the week’s sports news on “Speaking of Sports.”
Along with regular features, special events, in the world of sports are aired throughout the year—to mention one, the Western Canada senior men’s basketball championship games between Vancouver Merolomas and Winnipeg St. Andrews.

transcribed by cArtie.

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New Transmitter Gives Station Greater Range
[Vancouver Daily Province, May 27, 1947]
Probably no radio station in Greater Vancouver fits better into the community picture, than does CKMO with its staff of 37 people, of diversified talents, working to bring to the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, the civic picture. Whether it be sports days, school enterprises, talks on community efforts, openings or dedications—CKMO will make its facilities available to assist each part of the community make itself known to all.
With its new RCA 1000-watt transmitter on Lulu Island, CKMO has been able to reach more listeners in the past year than would ordinarily be possible. Its signal reaches many place such as the Cariboo and Okanagan Valley.

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Personality a ‘Must’ For Announcing Voice
By ERIC AJELLO
[Vancouver Daily Province, May 27, 1947]
There are more unusual occupations in the world than you can shake a stick at. You can be a deep-sea diver, a flag-pole-sitter, a tea taster or a model of bathing suits. You can even become one of those who talk for a living—the radio announcers.
How would you go about it? Perhaps you feel that the first necessity is to have an uncle who owns a radio station. This, of course, would help, but it’s not an absolute necessity. The best way for the average person, whose only knowledge of radio stations is that they can be heard at any hour of the day over his radio, is to go to one of the stations and ask for an audition.
This is the first step. Any radio station will give you an audition. For all the management knows, you may have the voice that will thrill millions, and they don’t want to miss out on anything.
IT’S UP TO YOU
All right. You are about to have your audition. You are led into a small room with a microphone and you are given several sheets of copy to read. There are commercial copy, ome news items and possibly some continuity for a musical program. From here on, you’re on your own. You read the copy, and the men who are listening to you pass judgment.
Now, let’s take a look at your qualifications. You can talk, of course, but then most people can do that. Maybe you’ve been told that you have a wonderful voice—deep, rich, mellow. Fine! But don’t count on your voice alone. It’s what you do with that voice that counts.
Do you know how to read aloud effectively? Do you know when to pause, and when not to pause? Do you know when a change of pace is desirable? Do you know when to raise your voice and when to drop it? If you haven’t thought about all these things, go back and start reading aloud to yourself again.
COLOR COUNTS
It’s the color and personality you put into your voice that counts. You may have the most beautiful voice in the world, but it will be a dead loss to you if you don’t know how to use it. Remember, too, that an exceptionally deep voice is not a necessary qualification for a successful radio announcer. In fact, an exceptionally deep voice can often be a handicap.
A man with a booming bass, unless he has had a considerable amount of voice training, is apt to leave it right where it is—down in his boots. So, if your voice is a trifle tenor, don’t be discouraged. As long as you sound mature, you have a good a chance as the next man.
Now let’s get back to your audition. You have finished reading your copy, and you are entirely satisfied with your performance. You are just a little hurt, in that case, when the chief announcer comes in shaking his head. What have you done wrong? You have read every piece of copy he has given you a clear, strong voice. Your diction and pronunciation have been flawless. Where, then, is the trouble?
VITALITY A MUST
The chief announcer tells you. The first commercial he gave you was an intimate little thing—one of those warm, friendly commercials. You read it in a cold, detached tone. The second was full of punch and sales talk.
You read it in a cold, detached tone of voice. In short, you read everything he gave you in exactly the same way.
Discouraged? Don’t be, because yours is a very common fault. Most people don’t even speak, let alone read, with personality. You know yourself what a treat it is to hear somebody with a little vitality and sparkle in his speech. It’s refreshing just to listen. That’s what you have to cultivate—sparkle and contrast. Don’t forget the contrast. Suit the tone of your voice to the mood of the copy you’re reading.
Unless, of course, your uncle owns a radio station. In that case, you’ll be a vice-president.

[Jack Bennest]

Great stuff Jim

The item on how to use your voice should be mandatory reading for
traffic reporters in the air and on the ground. The message is in the
pauses.

[Jack Bennest]

A small tribute to cArtie and all these articles now loaded for posterity

http://www.bcradiohistory.com/Articles/CKMO1947.htm