I was wondering if anyone on here remembers anything about the former WLET-FM 106.1 Toccoa (now WNGC) as it was in the 1970's? I live in Pickens County, SC and back in the early 1970's I listened to the Wayne Martin Show on WLET-FM at nights playing Top-40 hits. Nearly every teenager I knew in Pickens County listened to that show. I remember one of the sponsors of the show was Reeves Hardware/Reeves Honda. The spots usually referred to Kenny, "the one man in Northeast Georgia that knows a Honda upside-down". The station was 100 KW even back then and had a great signal into SC. My question: was the WLET-FM transmitter co-located with WLET-AM at that time? I remember the station being on Prather Bridge Road right there in Toccoa. I believe the current WLET-AM, now owned by Toccoa Falls College, still uses the site on Prather Bridge Road. WNGC's transmitter is now located near Lula, GA and doesn't seem to have as strong a signal into SC now. Thanks for your help!!
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WLET/WNGC
- Thread starter more kilowatts
- Start date
I don't have my "cheat sheets" of history on hand, so bear with me. If you go back to the beginning of WLET-FM, I think you'll land around November, 1947. It was one of the first FM stations in the area following the creation of the new FM band after the war. I don't know many details of the early days offhand, but I do believe the antenna was atop Currahee Mountain - possibly the first communications antenna up there. I do know that until later in the 60s, most of the programming was simulcasted from what was on the AM. My how times have changed.
The McDonald's (Otto and Betty, Hiram and Beth) - doing business as Kellott, Inc. - purchased WLET AM/FM in 1969 or 1970. I still want to believe that the FM was broadcasting from Currahee at the time of their purchase. In February 1970, the WLET AM tower on Prather Bridge Road was replaced with the one that's standing today (a solid PiRod 344' tall). Part of Otto's intention with the beefy tower may have been to put an antenna for the FM on it - whether for full-time use or just as a backup. However, I don't believe that ever happened.
Sometime in the mid 80's, a major ice storm brought down the WLET-FM tower on Currahee. To get back on the air, they were able to get STA to mount an antenna on the WNEG-TV tower, which had just been erected north of Toccoa. I believe this is when the transmitter site made the move to just south of Lake Rabun, which they operated at through the late 90's when they moved it to just outside of Downtown Lula.
As Jay mentioned, WLET-AM is now diplexed on the tower of WNEG-AM, and has been since 2000. WLET-AM was donated to Toccoa Falls College by Lee Street Properties (Elliott Caudell) for a tax write off. The college downgraded from 5 kW to 1 kW to avoid some expense in purchasing the diplexing units. The WLET-AM studio is located in the WRAF studio building at the entrance to Toccoa Falls College. The old Prather Bridge Road site is owned by Northland Cable. They have since grounded the tower and mounted a few TV receive antennas on it. They also lease tower space to AT&T Wireless. The old studio in the infamous LeTourneau steel building is used for nothing but storage. Still contained inside are the bare studios and walls that have seen a lot of history.
We had a reunion a couple of years ago with many of the old WLET guys. Otto was there - just as sharp as he's always been, along with Fred Huff, Charles Head, Jan Bethke, C.H. Sutton, and many others. It was a great time. If I get the chance to talk with some of the guys this week, I'll fill in the blanks above.
The McDonald's (Otto and Betty, Hiram and Beth) - doing business as Kellott, Inc. - purchased WLET AM/FM in 1969 or 1970. I still want to believe that the FM was broadcasting from Currahee at the time of their purchase. In February 1970, the WLET AM tower on Prather Bridge Road was replaced with the one that's standing today (a solid PiRod 344' tall). Part of Otto's intention with the beefy tower may have been to put an antenna for the FM on it - whether for full-time use or just as a backup. However, I don't believe that ever happened.
Sometime in the mid 80's, a major ice storm brought down the WLET-FM tower on Currahee. To get back on the air, they were able to get STA to mount an antenna on the WNEG-TV tower, which had just been erected north of Toccoa. I believe this is when the transmitter site made the move to just south of Lake Rabun, which they operated at through the late 90's when they moved it to just outside of Downtown Lula.
As Jay mentioned, WLET-AM is now diplexed on the tower of WNEG-AM, and has been since 2000. WLET-AM was donated to Toccoa Falls College by Lee Street Properties (Elliott Caudell) for a tax write off. The college downgraded from 5 kW to 1 kW to avoid some expense in purchasing the diplexing units. The WLET-AM studio is located in the WRAF studio building at the entrance to Toccoa Falls College. The old Prather Bridge Road site is owned by Northland Cable. They have since grounded the tower and mounted a few TV receive antennas on it. They also lease tower space to AT&T Wireless. The old studio in the infamous LeTourneau steel building is used for nothing but storage. Still contained inside are the bare studios and walls that have seen a lot of history.
We had a reunion a couple of years ago with many of the old WLET guys. Otto was there - just as sharp as he's always been, along with Fred Huff, Charles Head, Jan Bethke, C.H. Sutton, and many others. It was a great time. If I get the chance to talk with some of the guys this week, I'll fill in the blanks above.
Wow, guys. Thanks for all of the info. I have many fond memories of listening to WLET-FM at nights back then.
Before Otto McDonald's purchase of WLET, he was well known for years to folks in upstate SC as "Uncle Hank" on WELP-AM in Easley, SC. By the way, although it has changed owners several times throughout the years, WELP-AM is still on the air to this day in the same building, still playing Gospel music.
Before Otto McDonald's purchase of WLET, he was well known for years to folks in upstate SC as "Uncle Hank" on WELP-AM in Easley, SC. By the way, although it has changed owners several times throughout the years, WELP-AM is still on the air to this day in the same building, still playing Gospel music.
Otto is one-of-a-kind indeed. He started out his long run in radio just after World War II at WCRS in Greenwood. From there he went to WMIT-FM, and then spent some 16 years at WELP in Easley. If I'm not mistaken, he was actually a co-owner of WELP and WHPB in Belton, before buying WLET AM/FM.
Not only was Otto the morning man, but he was also an engineer. I remember Ted Taylor telling stories of mornings when the AM transmitter didn't want to wake up, and Otto was there on hand to get everything on the air. Along those lines, he also taught communications engineering courses at a couple of colleges. He was president of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters at one time.
Otto is 82 and is still in good health. He and Betty live in Greenwood, as they have for many years now. To the best of my knowledge, he still produces his "Little Country Church" program to air on WNEG-AM in Toccoa and WKDY-AM in Spartanburg. It's a short devotional program that he started producing back in 1952, and it's been running continuously ever since.
Speaking of Wayne Martin - I believe he resides over in Carnesville these days. Some other names from the era - Gene Bollinger, Woody Bollinger, Billy Dilworth, Buzz Tatham, Billy Burrell, Freeman Martin, Jack Moore, Wayne Edwards, Detriot Steeple, and the list goes on and on.
Not only was Otto the morning man, but he was also an engineer. I remember Ted Taylor telling stories of mornings when the AM transmitter didn't want to wake up, and Otto was there on hand to get everything on the air. Along those lines, he also taught communications engineering courses at a couple of colleges. He was president of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters at one time.
Otto is 82 and is still in good health. He and Betty live in Greenwood, as they have for many years now. To the best of my knowledge, he still produces his "Little Country Church" program to air on WNEG-AM in Toccoa and WKDY-AM in Spartanburg. It's a short devotional program that he started producing back in 1952, and it's been running continuously ever since.
Speaking of Wayne Martin - I believe he resides over in Carnesville these days. Some other names from the era - Gene Bollinger, Woody Bollinger, Billy Dilworth, Buzz Tatham, Billy Burrell, Freeman Martin, Jack Moore, Wayne Edwards, Detriot Steeple, and the list goes on and on.
With all deference to RadioFlyerAtl, and confirming that Toccoa radio managed to survive without Jovial Jay's professional presence, my somewhat sketchy research differs from RFA's.
Here's what I got:
In 1949, WLET-FM was licensed for 730 watts @ 190' HAAT, at coordinates 34-35-10/83-19-15. A rough check shows that to be the Prather Bridge Road location. BTW, 1949's WLET(AM) with 250 watts on 1450, is shown with a business/studio/transmitter address of 423 Prather Bridge Road
In 1975, I spent the day in Toccoa with J.J. Hemingway, who had worked at WLET a couple of years prior. We visited WNEG and WLET. I could be wrong, but I could swear I remember seeing a 10-bay FM antenna hanging on the side of the AM tower. While I can't recall this vividly, I seem to remember the FM transmitter being a Gates FM-20H. I do remember the FM board was a 5-channel Gates Stereo Statesman.
I can't find any reference of the FM transmitter being located anywhere but that site, prior to 1985. A CP was granted in August, right after Otto sold the station to Orson Woodall, to move to Stony Mountain, a couple of miles N of town, with 100kw @ 1132' HAAT. A license for that site was granted in June, 1986. This site was not the WNEG-TV tower.
Also, in 1985, a CP was granted for 'expanded radiation' for the AM, and Direct Method authority was granted. My thinking is that, when the FM antenna and coax were removed, the efficiency for the AM increased, requiring amended licensing.
In 1990, a CP to move the FM to Lydia Mountain, just north of Salem, SC was granted. A couple of extensions/amendments were granted, but it was never built.
In 2000, the move the present site in Lula was granted.
All that said, my information comes from sources that I can't confirm...including my very sketchy eyewitness report from 1975. I had the second round of shock treatments after that visit!
Here's what I got:
In 1949, WLET-FM was licensed for 730 watts @ 190' HAAT, at coordinates 34-35-10/83-19-15. A rough check shows that to be the Prather Bridge Road location. BTW, 1949's WLET(AM) with 250 watts on 1450, is shown with a business/studio/transmitter address of 423 Prather Bridge Road
In 1975, I spent the day in Toccoa with J.J. Hemingway, who had worked at WLET a couple of years prior. We visited WNEG and WLET. I could be wrong, but I could swear I remember seeing a 10-bay FM antenna hanging on the side of the AM tower. While I can't recall this vividly, I seem to remember the FM transmitter being a Gates FM-20H. I do remember the FM board was a 5-channel Gates Stereo Statesman.
I can't find any reference of the FM transmitter being located anywhere but that site, prior to 1985. A CP was granted in August, right after Otto sold the station to Orson Woodall, to move to Stony Mountain, a couple of miles N of town, with 100kw @ 1132' HAAT. A license for that site was granted in June, 1986. This site was not the WNEG-TV tower.
Also, in 1985, a CP was granted for 'expanded radiation' for the AM, and Direct Method authority was granted. My thinking is that, when the FM antenna and coax were removed, the efficiency for the AM increased, requiring amended licensing.
In 1990, a CP to move the FM to Lydia Mountain, just north of Salem, SC was granted. A couple of extensions/amendments were granted, but it was never built.
In 2000, the move the present site in Lula was granted.
All that said, my information comes from sources that I can't confirm...including my very sketchy eyewitness report from 1975. I had the second round of shock treatments after that visit!
A
Art Sutton
Guest
Here's some more info on WLET FM.
Yes, WLET did go on the air on top of Currahee Mountain with 10,000 watts. It didn't stay up there long before it was moved to the AM tower. The AM was then known as WRLC....Robert LeTourneau Company. The FM was always WLET. LeTourneau operated an earth moving equipment manufacturing plant here in Toccoa which employed a couple thousand during the late 1930s into the 1940s. He was recruited to build the plant here by R A Forrest who founded Toccoa Falls Institute now known at Toccoa Falls College. Dr. Forrest brought radio to Toccoa in 1927 with the founding of WTFI which operated full time with 500 watts on 1420....equal to the power of WSB in those days. This station still exists. It's the 590 AM in Atlanta.
WRLC changed to WLET AM in the mid 1950s and the FM continued to operate on the 180 ft AM tower with 790 watts ERP til Otto bought the combo in the early 1970s. Otto built a new AM tower of some 340 feet and increased the FM power to 100,000 watts not long after he bought the station with his brother, Hiram.
When Otto sold the combo in the early 1980s to a limited partnership formed by Orson Woodall and his younger brother, a new tower was built on top of a mountain at the Rabun/Habersham County line....overlooking Lake Rabun. This allowed WLET to retain its full Class C classification. By 1986, all Class C FMs had to have a tower height of at least 1000 feet above average local terrain or be downgraded. The WLET tower collapsed during an ice storm in the mid to late 1980s. This may have been the same storm which claimed WESC Greenville, SC's 1000 ft tower built some 30 miles east.
At one point, WLET filed an application and may have received a CP to move to a mountain top in northern Oconee County, SC. It appears that the decision was made to "go for Greenville" but this was never built. When the limited partnership that owned WLET went in default, the new owners focused on Gainesville. The WLET combo was sold in 1999 to Paul Stone and the late Charles Giddens, owners of Southern Broadcasting. The price was $2.2 million. The FM became known as South 106.1 similar to many other Southern FM stations which took the South moniker. Gainesville was still the focus and it found limited success competing against the well entrenched WDUN operation which may, beyond WSB, have the distinction of being the radio station which has operated the longest with the same licensee. John Jacobs founded the station in 1949 with some investors, namely the Dunlap family of Gainesville.
When Randolph Holder's Clark Broadcasting sold the frequency of WNGC to Cox, Southern made what turned out to be the most successful experience for Toccoa's only FM station. The intellectual property of WNGC was purchased along with its sister station, WGAU, and the 106.1 frequency became WNGC. While never a huge ratings success in the Athens area, WNGC operated by Holder was a huge financial success.
Prior to becoming WNGC, the 106.1 took a downgrade from a C to a C1 and moved off the mountaintop and down to Lula, GA. Since 106.1 and 106.7 Gainesville had been allocated prior to FM spacing rules in 1964, these two facilities can ignore the overlap between each other..a policy established somewhat by WNGC when it filed to change city of license to Sugar Hill. A case in Peachtree City, GA was established when the old WCOH-FM in Newnan, also pre 64 shortspaced to WKLS in Atlanta filed to change city of license. The FCC decided that the pre-64 status would be grandfathered to city of license changes. WNGC established policy that the pre 64 shortspacing would carry forward when facility class was downgraded as well. The FCC decided, however, that once a pre-64 FM took a lower class, it could not reclaim the higher class. In other words, they are stuck forever in the new class. This was the motivation for Cox to keep 95.5 a C1 instead of the C2 it filed for in its transmitter site move to central Atlanta.
WLET-FM as a 100KW FM station could probably best be described as a station too big for its home when it operated as a local station here in Toccoa. Once the station reached a certain value and carry debt load, no one could produce the revenue from the smaller towns of Northeast Georgia. A similar fate seems to also apply to WNEG-TV which we understand is about to be sold. Only when the strong revenue of WNGC moved to the channel did the station find long term financial success as best evidenced by the recent sale of WNGC to Cox. Reportedly, more than 50% of the revenue from the Athens cluster for which Cox is paying Southern $60 million is generated by WNGC.
Yes, WLET did go on the air on top of Currahee Mountain with 10,000 watts. It didn't stay up there long before it was moved to the AM tower. The AM was then known as WRLC....Robert LeTourneau Company. The FM was always WLET. LeTourneau operated an earth moving equipment manufacturing plant here in Toccoa which employed a couple thousand during the late 1930s into the 1940s. He was recruited to build the plant here by R A Forrest who founded Toccoa Falls Institute now known at Toccoa Falls College. Dr. Forrest brought radio to Toccoa in 1927 with the founding of WTFI which operated full time with 500 watts on 1420....equal to the power of WSB in those days. This station still exists. It's the 590 AM in Atlanta.
WRLC changed to WLET AM in the mid 1950s and the FM continued to operate on the 180 ft AM tower with 790 watts ERP til Otto bought the combo in the early 1970s. Otto built a new AM tower of some 340 feet and increased the FM power to 100,000 watts not long after he bought the station with his brother, Hiram.
When Otto sold the combo in the early 1980s to a limited partnership formed by Orson Woodall and his younger brother, a new tower was built on top of a mountain at the Rabun/Habersham County line....overlooking Lake Rabun. This allowed WLET to retain its full Class C classification. By 1986, all Class C FMs had to have a tower height of at least 1000 feet above average local terrain or be downgraded. The WLET tower collapsed during an ice storm in the mid to late 1980s. This may have been the same storm which claimed WESC Greenville, SC's 1000 ft tower built some 30 miles east.
At one point, WLET filed an application and may have received a CP to move to a mountain top in northern Oconee County, SC. It appears that the decision was made to "go for Greenville" but this was never built. When the limited partnership that owned WLET went in default, the new owners focused on Gainesville. The WLET combo was sold in 1999 to Paul Stone and the late Charles Giddens, owners of Southern Broadcasting. The price was $2.2 million. The FM became known as South 106.1 similar to many other Southern FM stations which took the South moniker. Gainesville was still the focus and it found limited success competing against the well entrenched WDUN operation which may, beyond WSB, have the distinction of being the radio station which has operated the longest with the same licensee. John Jacobs founded the station in 1949 with some investors, namely the Dunlap family of Gainesville.
When Randolph Holder's Clark Broadcasting sold the frequency of WNGC to Cox, Southern made what turned out to be the most successful experience for Toccoa's only FM station. The intellectual property of WNGC was purchased along with its sister station, WGAU, and the 106.1 frequency became WNGC. While never a huge ratings success in the Athens area, WNGC operated by Holder was a huge financial success.
Prior to becoming WNGC, the 106.1 took a downgrade from a C to a C1 and moved off the mountaintop and down to Lula, GA. Since 106.1 and 106.7 Gainesville had been allocated prior to FM spacing rules in 1964, these two facilities can ignore the overlap between each other..a policy established somewhat by WNGC when it filed to change city of license to Sugar Hill. A case in Peachtree City, GA was established when the old WCOH-FM in Newnan, also pre 64 shortspaced to WKLS in Atlanta filed to change city of license. The FCC decided that the pre-64 status would be grandfathered to city of license changes. WNGC established policy that the pre 64 shortspacing would carry forward when facility class was downgraded as well. The FCC decided, however, that once a pre-64 FM took a lower class, it could not reclaim the higher class. In other words, they are stuck forever in the new class. This was the motivation for Cox to keep 95.5 a C1 instead of the C2 it filed for in its transmitter site move to central Atlanta.
WLET-FM as a 100KW FM station could probably best be described as a station too big for its home when it operated as a local station here in Toccoa. Once the station reached a certain value and carry debt load, no one could produce the revenue from the smaller towns of Northeast Georgia. A similar fate seems to also apply to WNEG-TV which we understand is about to be sold. Only when the strong revenue of WNGC moved to the channel did the station find long term financial success as best evidenced by the recent sale of WNGC to Cox. Reportedly, more than 50% of the revenue from the Athens cluster for which Cox is paying Southern $60 million is generated by WNGC.
jovialjay said:With all deference to RadioFlyerAtl, and confirming that Toccoa radio managed to survive without Jovial Jay's professional presence, my somewhat sketchy research differs from RFA's.
Here's what I got:
In 1949, WLET-FM was licensed for 730 watts @ 190' HAAT, at coordinates 34-35-10/83-19-15. A rough check shows that to be the Prather Bridge Road location. BTW, 1949's WLET(AM) with 250 watts on 1450, is shown with a business/studio/transmitter address of 423 Prather Bridge Road
In 1975, I spent the day in Toccoa with J.J. Hemingway, who had worked at WLET a couple of years prior. We visited WNEG and WLET. I could be wrong, but I could swear I remember seeing a 10-bay FM antenna hanging on the side of the AM tower. While I can't recall this vividly, I seem to remember the FM transmitter being a Gates FM-20H. I do remember the FM board was a 5-channel Gates Stereo Statesman.
I can't find any reference of the FM transmitter being located anywhere but that site, prior to 1985. A CP was granted in August, right after Otto sold the station to Orson Woodall, to move to Stony Mountain, a couple of miles N of town, with 100kw @ 1132' HAAT. A license for that site was granted in June, 1986. This site was not the WNEG-TV tower.
Also, in 1985, a CP was granted for 'expanded radiation' for the AM, and Direct Method authority was granted. My thinking is that, when the FM antenna and coax were removed, the efficiency for the AM increased, requiring amended licensing.
In 1990, a CP to move the FM to Lydia Mountain, just north of Salem, SC was granted. A couple of extensions/amendments were granted, but it was never built.
In 2000, the move the present site in Lula was granted.
All that said, my information comes from sources that I can't confirm...including my very sketchy eyewitness report from 1975. I had the second round of shock treatments after that visit!
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