QZVX continues to delve into the stories shared by the Northwest Pioneer Broadcasters.
1987, Dexter Haymond, son of Tacoma radio entrepreneur, Carl Haymond—
Dad took electronics at the University of Washington, obtained a radio operators license, and was a radio operator during the First World War . In late 1921 the Seattle P-I had a station called KFC, and wanted to expand its use. Naturally being a newspaper, they printed an ad looking for someone with a college education, public speaking experience, and a license to operate a commercial radio broadcasting transmitter. Dad continued to operate the P-I station until about May of 1922 when he was hired away by the Rhodes Brothers department store of Seattle.
Rhodes wanted Dad to build a station for them. Not only did he build and operate KDZE, but he did most of the programming and announcing. He may have been the first play by play sportscaster on the west coast. In about September of 1922 Dad had the idea of broadcasting a University of Washington football game. No helpers. He took the equipment out to the field and just did it. It was while at the Rhodes station that dad sold the first commercial sponsor, and that just about got him fired. Mrs. Rhodes heard the commercial program and wanted the person who sold it to be fired. The idea of commercials on radio was yet to come. The Department Store wanted the station to simply promote its store, especially their radio department.
Dad able to obtain a higher power for the Rhodes station and change the call letters to KFOA. He stayed with KFOA until about March of 1926 when he got tired of working for someone else. He had so many ideas he wanted to try in radio engineering and programming, but was limited in experimenting with new ideas while working for someone else. Because he was quite a radio personality in Seattle in those days, his decision to leave KFOA did indeed generate a good deal of newspaper coverage. Dad made a wide decision in passing up Long View, Washington, by the way, because it was a one company town.
KMO Tacoma was on the air to a limited degree since about April of 1922. The station was licensed to Love Electric Company, a discrepancy on the license stated that the owner of the Station was a Tacoma radio supply company, and the fact that KMO had been located at the supply company owners’ home before it was moved to his downtown Tacoma radio supply location, and because Dad had known of this Mr. Reichert for three or four years, Dad had no reason not to believe Reichert when he told dad that he owned KMO and was interested in selling it
To help raise money for the new transmitter, Dad took a job installing a station in Alaska, for which he was to be paid $5,000. You guessed it, he went to Alaska, built that station and never got paid. It turned out the owner of the station was an Alaska representative for a bootleg ring and ended up in jail.
Desperate to raise money to buy the new KMO, 500 watt transmitter, Dad finally found a man who was willing to loan him money and take an interest in the station. He had his transmitter, and went ahead with its installation on the roof of the Rhodes Brothers department store in Tacoma at 950 Broadway, the corner of 11th and Broadway. Thinking he had purchased the station from its owner, Mr. Reichert, when everything was installed, he called the area radio inspector in Seattle, Mr. Redfern, and asked him to come down to Tacoma to inspect the station and give him the approval to go on the air. Mr. Redfern, the supervisor of radio for the seventh district in Seattle was so sure that Mr. Reichert did not own KMO, because only a few months earlier, on June 25, 1926 just after dad made his deal to buy the station, Reichert sent a letter to Redfern asking for an increase in power from 100 to 500 watts for KMO, and admitted in the first sentence that his Tacoma radio supply was an operating company leasing KMO from Love Electric. Of course, Reichert did not show that letter to dad. With all the problems worked out, the folks started KMO on schedule, August 25 1926. There was a huge amount of newspaper publicity about the new opening of KMO and the scheduled inaugural program. You would have thought the newspaper reporters were part of the KMO public relations team, with the accounts in the paper being so glowing.
A side note to the Love Electric Company story, Dad’s arrangement allowed him to buy back Love’s Electric 25% anytime during the first year, which he was able to do. So as KMO celebrated its first anniversary, the folks owned 50% and Mr. Bower, from whom they had borrowed money to buy the transmitter, owned the other 50%. Not being a radio man, Mr. Bower was more than willing to have Dad buy out his half. The station was valued at $16,000 so Dad had to raise $8,000 to buy out Guy Bower. He gave Bower a note for $4,000 and borrowed $4,000 from the National Bank of Washington, and thereby owned KMO by owning 100% of the stock of KMO incorporated, the licensee. The only problem was that he had to come up with $8,000 within a year. This was 1928, and no easy task.
1928 was a general election year, including a highly competitive race for governor of the state of Washington. The idea struck Dad that if one candidate would buy air time and pay cash in advance, maybe the opposition candidate would also. So he got on the phone and called another candidate and asked him if he had heard his opponents talk on KMO. To make a long story short, all the candidates wanted time following each other, not to be outdone, and of course, wanted the last word. By the end of the primary campaign in September, Dad had collected the unheard of amount of $9,000 from two candidates for Governor of Washington. He paid off the National Bank of Washington and paid off the note due his former partner. It was late 1928 and the folks had KMO completely paid off.
Max Bice continues the story…
Most of us think of KMO as being at 1360 on the am dial with the transmitter on highway 99 at five with 5000 watts, day and night. That’s right, the station today is on 1360 but that’s not the way it started in August of 1926, it went on the air with 500 watts at 1200 on the dial. The transmitter was on the top the Rhodes Brothers department store, and the studio was on the roof of the newly opened Winthrop hotel.
Prior to 1927 and the origination of the Federal Radio Commission. Radio Broadcasting was very loosely regulated by the Department of Commerce. They had no legislative authority from Congress other than a 1912 Act, which only envisioned Ship to Shore wireless, nothing like broadcasting. In these early years, the radio department of the Department of Commerce simply did what they felt necessary to try to eliminate the mass confusion on the airwaves with stations operating all on the same frequency. With so many stations being licensed, they authorized new frequencies so a station could move off the crowded 830 frequency if they met certain standards, such as not playing records in favor of live talent and having a large studio for live programming. In some cases, stations requested to be moved off to a different frequency, and in other cases, they were told to move.
In any event, KMO went from 1200 on the dial in 1926 to 1180 with 250 watts in about June of 1927 with unlimited operating time. The Federal Radio Commission came into being in late 1927 when Congress finally agreed on broadcasting legislation with instructions to clean up the interference on the airwaves. The FRC assigned KMO to move to 1340 effective 3am Saturday, November 11, 1928, the date of a major frequency reallocation across the country. However, on 1340, KMO had to share time with KVI and had to contend with Spokane’s KFPY on the same frequency at night. A West Coast booklet that listed the programs of leading stations announced the new 1340 frequency in large, bold numbers, KVI got off the 1340 frequency, but KMO still had to share nights with KFPY.
Sharing time on one frequency was intolerable. And in early 1930 KMO requested permission to move to 760 with 500 watts. That was denied. But on December 15, 1929 KMO’s application to move to 860 with 1000 watts day and 500 watts limited time at night was granted. Limited time meant the station had to sign off at local sunset, but could come back on the air at night when the dominant Eastern station on 760 went off the air. This was usually about 9pm Pacific time. Not the best situation, but the coverage on 860 with 1000 watts day and 500 watts was much improved over 500 watts on either 1200 or 1340.
The only problem in changing frequency in those early days was that the transmitters did not stay right on frequency. KVI, which was KMO’s new competition was now on 760 on the same limited time basis as KMO, so that both stations had their own frequency and were about equal.
On August 1, 1930 the FRC granted KMO permission to move the transmitter from the top of the Rhodes department store downtown, to 1623 East J. Street in the tide flats area, which was the Carstens meat packing plant. One of the reasons for the move were complaints from people living in the downtown Tacoma area that KMO blanked out reception of all other stations. To counter this argument, Carl Haymond got letters from downtown stores such Almvig’s Music Company and Rhodes department store saying they had no trouble in picking up other stations. Since the Carsten site would be better than downtown anyway, KMO moved.
On March 25, 1932, KMO’s application was granted to change frequency from 860, limited time to 1330, 250 watts full time, reversing an initial hearing decision. From this point on, KMO would never again be limited in its operating hours, or have to share its frequency. On October 13, 1936 KMO was granted permission to move from the Karsten site to a site to be determined and increase power from 250 to 1000 watts, and install a regular vertical metal tower and ground system. A little over a month later, KMO was granted approval of the site at Colonial Gardens near Fife on highway 99. On November 13, 1940 KMO was granted permission to install a new gates transmitter and increase power to 5000 watts day and night. The transmitter was installed and was licensed for operation on October 2, 1941
In the Winthrop hotel, you had to take an elevator to the top floor and then walk up a small winding staircase to get to KMO. It was actually a three bedroom penthouse converted for a radio office and studio. As KMO grew and expanded its transmitting facility, they had to find a larger studio and office facility. At about the same time as KMO was moving its transmitter site from Carstens to Fife, the studio was moved from the Winthrop across the street to 914 1/2 Broadway, the upper level of the Keys Building, where it stayed until several years after Carl sold KMO radio and Television.
It’s 1937 and Tacoma’s only competition, KVI is affiliated with Bill Paley’s Columbia Broadcasting System. While strictly local amateur talent was great in the early days, listeners were now being exposed to national dramatic shows, live Big Band broadcasts, popular singers of the day, live coverage of major news events, commentators and world famous comedy shows.
With network competition from KVI and with KMO now finally settled with a good transmitter site near Fife, a fine new studio and a full time frequency, it was obvious that a network affiliation was necessary. CBS came to the west coast by affiliating with the Don Lee regional network in Los Angeles. That gave Don Lee an outlet for their regional programs up and down the west coast and gave CBS coast to coast coverage. But in early 1937 CBS bought KNX in Los Angeles, set up its own West Coast affiliation with stations and dropped its arrangement with the Don Lee network. That left Don Lee with no affiliates in the northwest, only Southern California. Carl Haymond understood what was happening in network circles and that gave him an idea. Dick Ross was hired by Carl Haymond shortly after going with Mutual along with Jack Clark to help with the operation of the Pacific Broadcasting Company.
Carl continued to operate the Pacific Broadcasting Company as a regional network affiliated with Don Lee and Mutual until late 1946. With the war over and the northwest network having become very profitable, Lou Wice of Don Lee wanted to take over the Northwest Regional network. Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Carl finally sold the entire network to Don Lee. However, Mrs. Irwin of KVI in Tacoma, which had lost CBS to KIRO in early 1940 when KIRO went 50,000 watts, went to New York and talked the Mutual network into giving KVI the affiliation for both Seattle and Tacoma.
So with the selling of his Northwest Regional network, Carl was again without an affiliation for KMO, which went independent in about 1947. KMO’s independent operation allowed it to concentrate on more local programs, just as the network era was beginning to come to an end, once again, Carl Hayman’s timing was perfect.
We don’t know as much about the early beginning of KVI as we do KMO and KTBI, but there are two major events that affected KVI, how KVI got the envious 570 frequency, and why it later moved to Seattle. The early government records conflict about KVI’s beginnings, but we are fairly sure that KVI started in the old Tacoma hotel at Ninth and A streets. It was owned by Mr. H W Winningham, who also had a station in Seattle for a short period.
We feel sure that KVI went on the air with 15 watts at 1237 on the am dial sometime in November of 1926. However, in early 1927 it moved to 870 on the dial, still with 15 watts, unlimited operating time. On April 28, 1927 KVI admitted to the new Federal Radio Commission that while its last application for renewal of license specified 15 watts, it had been operating since January of 1927 with 100 watts, and requested authority to temporarily continue using 100 watts. The FRC wired back a strong “NO”. When reallocation of frequencies were completed by the new FRC, KVI could apply for more power, and if desired, a hearing could be held. We can only assume that KVI obeyed and went back to 15 watts. By late 1927 KVI moved to 1280, with 50 watts, unlimited.
Early January 1928, KVI was moved to 1340 and to share time on that frequency with KMO as part of a general reallocation of radio stations by the new FRC. By late 1928 KVI moved their transmitter to a site near Kent where it erected two poles with a wire between them, KVI literally asked the FRC for a frequency they could have alone. They asked for 1150, 710, 1060 and finally, on April 13, 1929, KVI was given 1000 watts on 760 –limited time. That meant they had to sign off at local sunset and could not come back on the air until 10pm.
Records don’t show exactly when Mr. E M Dorenbecker purchased KVI. He evidently purchased the stock of the Puget Sound Radio Broadcasting Company, so there was no need for a transfer of the licensee corporation. However, we think that Dorenbecker took control around May 1, 1929, about the same time, the operation moved to 760, 1000 watts, limited time.
Now comes the most fascinating part of the KVI story and how it got the valuable 570 frequency. Almost immediately after Mr. Dorenbecker took over KVI, he started working on obtaining one of the new emerging national network affiliations. From this point on, virtually every move he and his daughter Mrs. Vernice Irwin made, was to get a hold on the CBS Radio Network for Tacoma and Seattle. The CBS network affiliation was the driving force behind every move they made.
Mr. Dorenbecker made a trip to see William Paley, the owner of CBS. KVI, affiliated with CBS, in early 1930 but remember, they were only a limited time station. They could operate during all daytime hours, but only from 10pm until midnight or 1am at night in summer, they would have to go off the air as early as 4pm and not return until 10pm.
This was intolerable for CBS, so they also had KOL as an affiliate out of Seattle. In a push to get a full time frequency in order to keep CBS for Tacoma and for Seattle, KVI filed both a renewal application for its 760 limited time 1000 watts and an application for modification to change from 760 to 570, 1000 watts day and 500 night, full time. The problem is that there was already a station on 570 and that was KXA in Seattle.
KXA filed for renewal of their license on 570 and were thrown into hearing with KVI. The hearing was held between December 8 to the 18th, 1931 and the examiner’s report was submitted January 30, 1932, and recommended that KVI be given KXA’s frequency, thereby forcing KXA to take KVI’s 760 day time frequency. Why would the FRC allow KVI to take KXA’s full time frequency? The primary grounds for the decision was that Seattle had eight broadcasting stations and Tacoma had but two, KMO and KVI.
In short, KXA was given the option of going off the air and out of business or take over KVI daytime frequency. KVI won the hearing against a Seattle station for the simple reason KVI was a Tacoma station. Why then was KVI ever allowed to change its city of license from Tacoma to Seattle?
Having won the hearing KVI went full time from its Kent transmitter on 570 with 500 watts day and night in about April 1932. Three years later, as promised to CBS, KVI applied to change the transmitter site from Kent to Vashon Island, where it signed on November 29 1936 and eventually got a full 5000 watts Day and night, which it has to this day.
In the mid 1930s about the time KMO moved into the new studio in the Keys building, KVI moved from the basement of the Tacoma Hotel to the fifth floor of the W.R. Rust building, the major office building in Tacoma at the time. Headlines of the time indicated that the new Rust Building Studio were the most technically up to date and were the most elaborately furnished radio studios in the West. KVI also had studios in the Olympic hotel in Seattle, but they were closed in the late 1930s.
Mr. Dorenbecker had indeed kept his promise to CBS. KVI was a full time station with excellent coverage of both Seattle and Tacoma, and they had studios in both cities. It was time for Bill Paley to keep his promise and drop KOL so that KVI could be the only CBS station for Seattle and Tacoma. In fact, KVI was continually leaning its programming to sound more like A Seattle Station.
