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(retro) Mystery Menomonee Falls station?

W

w9wi

While browsing the Wisconsin Public Radio website, I found a timeline. One item states that, in 1956, they ran an FM/FM stereo experiment involving WHA, the (then) eight Educational Radio Network FM stations, and commercial FM stations in Baraboo and Menomonee Falls.

Presumably the Baraboo station was WOLX, then known as WWCF.

The mystery is in the Falls. The station licensed there now (WJMR-FM 98.3, originally WZMF) didn't exist in 1956; it went on the air ten years later. I grew up in the Falls and had never heard of any station existing there *before* WZMF. (but I was born in 1959 so I don't have first-hand knowledge of what happened there in 1956!)

Nor, to the best of my knowledge, has any station licensed to Milwaukee or any other suburb ever broadcast from a transmitter site in Menomonee Falls. [0]

One correspondant from another forum has suggested WPR confused Menomonee Falls and Menomonie. (it happens!) I don't know if WMEQ (or a predecesor) was on the air in 1956, and it seems more likely WER would have used stations in the state's two largest urban areas - but maybe not.

Does anyone know if there was, in fact, another FM station in Menomonee Falls before WZMF?

[0] at least not until the mid 1990s when WFMI Brookfield, now WFMR, came on the air from the 98.3 tower
 
BROADCASTING yearbooks do not show any station with its city of license as Menomonee Falls.

In Menomonee, there is only one station listed, WMNE - commercial.


> Does anyone know if there was, in fact, another FM station
> in Menomonee Falls before WZMF?
>
.
 
> While browsing the Wisconsin Public Radio website, I found a
> timeline. One item states that, in 1956, they ran an FM/FM
> stereo experiment involving WHA, the (then) eight
> Educational Radio Network FM stations, and commercial FM
> stations in Baraboo and Menomonee Falls.
>
> Presumably the Baraboo station was WOLX, then known as WWCF.
>
>
> The mystery is in the Falls. The station licensed there now
> (WJMR-FM 98.3, originally WZMF) didn't exist in 1956; it
> went on the air ten years later. I grew up in the Falls and
> had never heard of any station existing there *before* WZMF.
> (but I was born in 1959 so I don't have first-hand
> knowledge of what happened there in 1956!)
>
> Nor, to the best of my knowledge, has any station licensed
> to Milwaukee or any other suburb ever broadcast from a
> transmitter site in Menomonee Falls. [0]
>
I don't think there was an FM in Menomonee Falls at that time-- I got my first
FM tuner in the '50's-- just weeks before WEMP-FM left the air leaving Milwaukee area with no FM's. Only WHAD, WWCF, WRJN-FM were then available for reception-- plus some Chicago FM's like WKFM, WEBH-FM. I am sure that if there was an FM in Menomonee Falls-- I would have recalled. Not much later, the next wave of new FM's in Milwaukee area began with WFMR with a GE xmiter at Bayshore, then WQFM, WBKV-FM, etc.
> One correspondant from another forum has suggested WPR
> confused Menomonee Falls and Menomonie. (it happens!) I
> don't know if WMEQ (or a predecesor) was on the air in 1956,
> and it seems more likely WER would have used stations in the
> state's two largest urban areas - but maybe not.
>
> Does anyone know if there was, in fact, another FM station
> in Menomonee Falls before WZMF?
>
> [0] at least not until the mid 1990s when WFMI Brookfield,
> now WFMR, came on the air from the 98.3 tower
>
 
> BROADCASTING yearbooks do not show any station with its city
> of license as Menomonee Falls.
>
> In Menomonee, there is only one station listed, WMNE -
> commercial.
>
>
> > Does anyone know if there was, in fact, another FM station
>
> > in Menomonee Falls before WZMF?
> >
> .
>
After WZMF went off the air on 98.3 the frequency was silent for a short time. Then came back on with elevator music as WXJY, "Joy 98" until the folks on 96.5 decided to give up classical music and the WFMR call letters. Then WXJY changed calls and format to WFMR 98.3 Classical Music. Now WFMR is 106.9.

-John L.
 
> I don't think there was an FM in Menomonee Falls at that
> time-- I got my first
> FM tuner in the '50's-- just weeks before WEMP-FM left the
> air leaving Milwaukee area with no FM's.
...
> Only WHAD, WWCF,
> WRJN-FM were then available for reception-- plus some
> Chicago FM's like WKFM, WEBH-FM. I am sure that if there
> was an FM in Menomonee Falls-- I would have recalled.

I got an email from Bruce Elving (FM Atlas) the day after I made that post. He heard that broadcast in Duluth, Minn., over WWCF.* He's pretty sure there was no Menomonee Falls station either.

Where the WPR web guys got that from I have no idea. (I did email them but have had no reply)

*and should have heard the other channel over WHSA, but it was off the air for a few days for maintenance...
 
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