Hello, my friends. My latest radio history essay was finally finished in December 2011 and is now posted on Jeff Miller’s History of American Broadcasting website, after starting and stopping the project a few times in the past 2 years. I feel that this is a groundbreaking article, which debunks a popular story from the earliest years of radio. But the ‘story’ was not spoken about or written about until some 20-25 years later. This is a story I heard about in the 1970s and '80s, and I always thought the story was true. Even a pamphlet published in 1972 for KFU's 50th Anniversary mentioned this story, as if it were true. I still would like to believe it is true. But in my search for more evidence about this 1920s radio legend, I have not been able to fund any concrete evidence that it is true.
I’m talking about an alleged telegram that Los Angeles radio evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson supposedly sent to ‘radio czar’ Herbert Hoover, because Hoover said that her radio station, KFSG, was ‘wandering’ off its assigned frequency and interfering with other L.A. stations. In my research, I’ve found several gaps in Hoover’s story, and believe that such a telegram was never sent. I’ve also found that the story, at least the way Hoover said happened, never took place. Did Aimee really tell Hoover to “please order your minions of Satan to leave my radio station alone?” I believe she did not.
The year was 1924 and only about 11% of American homes had radios. Los Angeles had less than a dozen radio stations on the air. It’s also a story about the technology of the day, when cheaper crystal set radios had trouble separating a strong radio signal from a weaker one. That is, a person using such a radio had trouble tuning out KFSG if they were trying to hear KHJ or KFI. On the more expensive radios, the ability to separate one station from another was much greater and not a problem.
The people I write about include McPherson, who was the star attraction for listeners who wanted to hear KFSG; her engineer Kenneth Ormiston, who kept the station operating legally. He also helped educate radio fans in the Southland about how they could get rid of unwanted interference from other stations, how to hear KFSG better, etc. And for those who wanted to hear other L.A. stations without getting KFSG on their radios, Ormiston would also explain how to make that happen, too. (Ormiston also helped get KFWB on the air in 1925 and worked for KNX in the 1930s). The man in charge of radio from 1920-1926, Herbert Hoover is in the story too. Plus, his California radio inspector J.F. Dillon is one of the characters.
So, if you would like to read this in-depth essay on what I feel is the truth about the McPherson-Hoover telegram, simply click on the link below. It’s time to debunk this myth from radio’s infancy. Thank you for your time.
Regards,
Jim Hilliker
Monterey
http://jeff560.tripod.com/kfsg2.html
I’m talking about an alleged telegram that Los Angeles radio evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson supposedly sent to ‘radio czar’ Herbert Hoover, because Hoover said that her radio station, KFSG, was ‘wandering’ off its assigned frequency and interfering with other L.A. stations. In my research, I’ve found several gaps in Hoover’s story, and believe that such a telegram was never sent. I’ve also found that the story, at least the way Hoover said happened, never took place. Did Aimee really tell Hoover to “please order your minions of Satan to leave my radio station alone?” I believe she did not.
The year was 1924 and only about 11% of American homes had radios. Los Angeles had less than a dozen radio stations on the air. It’s also a story about the technology of the day, when cheaper crystal set radios had trouble separating a strong radio signal from a weaker one. That is, a person using such a radio had trouble tuning out KFSG if they were trying to hear KHJ or KFI. On the more expensive radios, the ability to separate one station from another was much greater and not a problem.
The people I write about include McPherson, who was the star attraction for listeners who wanted to hear KFSG; her engineer Kenneth Ormiston, who kept the station operating legally. He also helped educate radio fans in the Southland about how they could get rid of unwanted interference from other stations, how to hear KFSG better, etc. And for those who wanted to hear other L.A. stations without getting KFSG on their radios, Ormiston would also explain how to make that happen, too. (Ormiston also helped get KFWB on the air in 1925 and worked for KNX in the 1930s). The man in charge of radio from 1920-1926, Herbert Hoover is in the story too. Plus, his California radio inspector J.F. Dillon is one of the characters.
So, if you would like to read this in-depth essay on what I feel is the truth about the McPherson-Hoover telegram, simply click on the link below. It’s time to debunk this myth from radio’s infancy. Thank you for your time.
Regards,
Jim Hilliker
Monterey
http://jeff560.tripod.com/kfsg2.html
