CFAR and Manitoba Radio History

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CFAR and Manitoba Radio History

Postby jon » Sun May 31, 2015 12:14 pm

Book tunes into history of Flin Flon, northern Manitoba radio
Jonathon Naylor
Flin Flon Reminder
May 23, 2015 12:00 PM

With the flick of a switch, Flin Flon changed forever on November 14, 1937.

The birth of CFAR radio ushered in a new era of entertainment, information and communication for the community and the broader area.

“It probably brought the entire region closer together, no question about it,” says Garry Moir, a veteran Manitoba broadcaster and journalist.

Moir dedicates a chapter to northern Manitoba in his new book, On the Air: The Golden Age of Manitoba Radio.

Broadcasting in the region originated with CFAR, the brainchild of a radio-loving entrepreneur named Monty Bridgman.

“He decided that he would try to get this radio station going in Flin Flon in the 1930s, which was not a very good time because there was a Depression going on and it took them a long time to get it off the ground,” says Moir.

Bridgman and two partners promoted the idea of a Flin Flon radio station as early as 1934, but they didn’t secure a license until May 1937.

Hit airwaves

After several months of devising and testing the necessary infrastructure, CFAR hit the airwaves from a studio near the rear of the long-defunct Northern Café on Main Street.

“It was so important in that there obviously had never been anything like it before,” Moir says. “Radio had been going in southern Manitoba since the early 1920s [but] the North never really had any radio until CFAR came along.”

Though CFAR was born some two years before the end of the Great Depression, Moir believes the station made sense as a business investment.

“Flin Flon had established itself as a fairly important mining community, and it had the potential for some significant growth,” he says. “Clearly there was a population big enough to probably support a radio station, in good times anyway.”

CFAR’s early days were dominated by local content, such as Bert Wilson calling barn dances and the band Welcome Morris and His Oldtimers performing from the old Elks Hall.

More famously, CFAR became the first radio station in Canada, and most certainly the world, to broadcast in Cree.

The show was called Teepee Tidings, also known as Teepee Chitchat, hosted by the English- and Cree-speaking Rev. Ray Horsefield.

Teepee Tidings grew into a key source of communication for Aboriginal people in the region.

Cree-speaking patients staying at Flin Flon General Hospital could now relay messages – “My surgery went well” and the like – to family back home.

Anglers and trappers in the middle of the wilderness could receive messages from family.

Perhaps just as importantly, Aboriginal people could feel a greater sense of inclusion as industry reshaped the region’s identity.

“[CFAR was] a leader in Aboriginal broadcasting and that’s pretty significant,” says Moir.

Everyone in the region – Cree-speaking or not – would benefit from other important messages relayed by CFAR, be it news of a forest fire or a mining development.

New career

The station also helped launch the prestigious political career of former Flin Flon MLA Buck Witney.

Witney spent a decade as a manager-announcer at CFAR before being elected to the legislature in 1959. He was in office for a decade.

“I’d say his recognition factor was a huge factor for his political success,” says Moir.

Whereas the arrival of television years later would spawn fears of lazy children and social dysfunction, Moir never found much evidence of such concerns around radio.

Moir, a semi-retired broadcaster known for his 40-plus years on Winnipeg airwaves, wrote On the Air to counter the lack of recorded history around Manitoba’s radio industry.

The 208-page book follows that history from the early 1920s until the early 1970s.

“Radio touched virtually everybody and it had an impact on all sorts of different segments of Manitoba society,” says Moir.

But in a world with so many entertainment and information options, has radio lost its importance? Moir doesn’t think so.

On the Air: The Golden Age of Manitoba Radio is available in bookstores around the province and online at Mcnallyrobinson.com. The book is published by Winnipeg’s Great Plains Publications.
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Re: CFAR and Manitoba Radio History

Postby jon » Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:39 pm

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Re: CFAR and Manitoba Radio History

Postby jon » Sat Jun 06, 2015 1:07 pm

Just got mine. From what little I've read, it looks very well researched.

Sacrifices some detail to keep it flowing and keep the book as small as it is. For example, I learned a lot about the early history of CFRW, but there was no confirmation of Chuck Chandler being hired as PD, just his name listed first in the new DJ lineup at the time.

Also has nice pictures, including at least one Winnipeg chart with Daryl B.'s photo on it.
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Re: CFAR and Manitoba Radio History

Postby jon » Sun Jun 14, 2015 6:38 am

Only error so far that I've noticed is CJOB-FM's Oct. 1968 automation touted as "the first radio station in Canada to test it out." Oddly enough, the potential claimant for First is also in Winnipeg: CJQM AM & FM, which later became CFRW. Several years earlier, CHQM installed an IGM automation machine in Winnipeg, later bringing it to Vancouver and CHQM, when CHQM sold their share of the stations.

On the positive side, the book answers many interesting questions. Elmer Hildebrand started in broadcasting at CFAM in Altona, buying the station more than a decade later, and growing it into Golden West. It was CFAM that quickly grew tired of the constant turnover of young broadcasters using the station as a stepping stone, and started training broadcasters from Locals with strong local knowledge and roots. This would explain the oft-cited article in a Fort Saskatchewan newspaper that Golden West's station there took several someones from the local Staples store (and other local businesses) and put them on the air.
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Re: CFAR and Manitoba Radio History

Postby Casey » Sun Jun 14, 2015 2:43 pm

CHTM in Thompson had a full automated system around 1970 when I worked there. Officially it was never used. We were told at that time automation was not allowed. Unofficially, it was used in a few special situations. It was a very big set up, especially by today's standards, several 19" racks full of equipment. It was a long time ago but I remember it had 12" reel to reel tapes and some carts.

One time we were taken off the air during a thunder storm. It was in the wee hours of the morning, I was doing the all night show. Our technician didn't want to go to the transmitter site by himself. He turned on the automatic system... and off we went.. We got the transmitter back on the air and didn't have to hurry back to the studio, as we were on the air, thanks to automation.

Casey..
. . KC Crowston . .
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Re: CFAR and Manitoba Radio History

Postby Shawndx » Sat Jun 20, 2015 10:29 am

There is more on this great book at:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-co ... 08701.html
I picked up my copy at the St Vital Chapters Bookstore in Winnipeg and was lucky enough to snag a signed copy!

The book is a great read and covers all the stations in Manitoba from the very beginning of broadcasting. Lots of pictures and a great bibliography at the back for further reading
Shawn Axelrod VE4DX1SMA
Winnipeg MB
amandx (@)mymts.net
REMEMBER ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN HEAR FOREVER
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