Help with WMIT History for Arcadia Book

[wncmacs2]

I am working on an Images of America book for Mount Mitchell and I plan to include a chapter on the history of WMIT on top of the mountain. I'm looking for help from anyone who knows about the history of the station so I can provide a good overview of the history of this iconic FM station.

I do know that construction of the station started in the late 1930s and that Gordon Gray (WSJS-Winston-Salem) was the original owner and the station's call sign was W41MM. It broadcast in the 6-meter band. Sometime in the late 1940s - early 1950s, it was sold to Mount Mitchell Broadcasters who had studios in Charlotte in addition to those on the mountain. WMIT also changed frequencies to 106.9 Mhz. sometime after the war and it transmitted with 325,000 watts of power in the early 1950s. It was sold to Billy Graham in the late 50s.

Any help with stories, names of employees of the station, and especially photos will be welcomed! I am sharing materials that I gather. I have attached the photo of the entrance sign (mentioning the 325,000 watts of power) to the post. I also have a PDF of a souvenir booklet sold in the Mount Mitchell Broadcasters era that features photos and information about the station during that time, along with a coverage map that showed its reach into southern Ohio, to Nashville, Tennessee and east past Raleigh. I will share the PDF with you if you PM me with an off-board e-mail address

I have twice attempted to contact Blue Ridge Broadcasting for assistance with the project (and shared some of what we gathered) but so far have had no offer of help from them.

Either respond to this thread or personal message me if you have interest in the project.

 

[tylerSC]

106.9 still has a very strong signal to this day. However they may no longer broadcast at 325, 000 watts power. But I get this station clearly in Greenville, SC, and it can still be received from Georgia to Charlotte. Including the HD Radio signal. I guess it is still associated with the Billy Graham organization, but I wonder if they would eventually consider selling it. And what market are they officially licensed to, Charlotte or Asheville?

 

[wncmacs2]

Tyler,

I've lived most of my life in the shadow of WMIT's tower. The station runs at 36,000 watts ERP (about 1/10 the power it had in 1951). It still belongs to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and is licensed to Black Mountain, NC, although it includes in its ID major cities in its coverage area (including Greenville). As to selling it, I don't know it that would ever happen. Radio is undergoing a massive change due to the Internet and the rise of streaming audio, but over-the-air broadcasting can still more effectively serve an audience than online streaming. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next 10 years to legacy stations like WMIT.

I have more info that I'd be happy to share. PM me for details.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I don't know if this would provide more information than you already have, but I once saw a newspaper article about it in a file at the Winston-Salem library. I don't know precisely where this file is because they closed the library and scattered its resources all over creation while they renovate and add to the existing building which will reopen in 2017.