Will we stay or will we go? I have no idea. But as of right now (830-ish am) the sun is out and there's nary a drop of rain in the forecast, so I'm planning on doing a tour tonight.
We'll see how THAT turns out, right?
So because I'm trying to figure things out, as promised—the 20-minute newspaper article. I'll let you know if we actually toured tonight tomorrow!
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In one way, Marquette joined the 20th century ninety years ago this week.
The 1920s were a dizzying time for changes in both technology and entertainment. Leading the vanguard of that change was the development of radio. The first commercial station went on the air in 1920, and as the decade wore on stations across the country were networked together by such chains as the National Broadcasting Company and the Columbia Broadcasting System. Large cities were the first to have their own stations, but by 1929 radio had come to the UP when a company in Houghton was granted a license.
A little over a tear later, during the height of the Great Depression, Marquette's Daily Mining Journal organized a company and filed a petition to be granted a license for a station in Marquette, to be called WBEO. It was common for radio stations to be owned by local newspapers back then; they had the resources (both financial and talent-wise) needed to keep a start-up station on the air. They started building the studios on the upper floor of the Mining Journal building in mid May of 1931, and started testing the transmitter and equipment a few weeks later. Even though the testing was done overnight, eager area listeners stayed up and turned on their radios in hopes of hearing something local.
Finally, on July 2nd, 1931, WBEO signed on the air.
The first day of broadcast was full of fanfare, with a live orchestra broadcasting from the Delft Theater across the street from the station's studios, speeches from civic leaders, and performances from local talent. In the early days, that local talent was the key to the station's success (as well as the reason it was only broadcasting several hours a day). Because it wasn't hooked up to one of the major networks, the station had to supply every single second of programming it aired, from news to entertainment. Aside from performances by the station's own house orchestra, recipes shows and dramatic readings were popular, as shows featuring local singers.
One of those local singers was downtown Marquette legend Phil Niemisto, who used to perform with a choir consisting of kids who were growing up in the Holy Name Orphanage. Phil, who later kept up the flowers in the downtown Pocket Park, which occupied the location of the old Mining Journal offices and WBEO studios, liked to joke that he “started his life in this lot” and was “going to finish it there, too”.
Phil was just one of hundreds of Marquette residents who found themselves on the radio, if even just once. In fact, the station was so persistent in trying to get local talent on the air that high school kids of the early and mid 1930s dubbed WBEO “We Bother Every One”. That changed in the latter part of the decade when the station affiliated with the Mutual Broadcasting System, meaning it became home to such legendary radio shows as “The Lone Ranger” and “The Shadow”. It also changed its call letters to WDMJ, to reflect its ownership by the (as it was called then) Daily Mining Journal.
WDMJ had the local radio market to itself until following World War II, when WJPD-AM signed on in Ishpeming. In the 1950s and 60s, as the AM band became filled with stations across the country, FM radio was developed on a commercial basis. With a higher signal quality and no night-time “skip” (meaning that local stations like WDMJ had to reduce their power after dark, lest they interfere with bigger station) existing stations started to sign on FM counterparts. WDMJ was no exception, launching WDMJ-FM, the area's first commercial FM station, in 1966.
Shortly after that time, though, the Mining Journal had decided to get out of the broadcasting business, and sold the stations. After a few years, new owners spun off the FM station, eventually selling it to a religious group that still operates it as WHWL. WDMJ-AM, though, continued programming music and local news through the 1980s, when the growing number of FM stations in the market (with their music-friendly signal) caused the station to switch to an all-talk format, which it has kept since. A fire that destroyed its transmitter tower a few years ago drastically reduced its coverage area, as well.
However, in a time when radio listeners have more choices (and more ways to listen) than ever, WDMJ is still of one just two AM stations broadcasting from Marquette County, carrying on a legacy that began 90 years ago this week.
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