KSRO Schedule

With thanks to the Santa Rosa history website, I ran across a KSRO program schedule from September 24th, 1937.  It was the station's 25th anniversary. But today that schedule is almost 85 years old.  Their website flags just 5 programs as local on the schedule: Breakfast Club, News, Byrd Weyler Kellogg, Man on the Street and Sportscast as local shows. After a bit of research, I am inclined to agree. The station began as a 250 watt local stick, but 25 years, and 5,000 watts later they had become heavily reliant on the NBC Thesaurus transcription service.

The Church in the Wildwood at first glance looks like it could be local but it was a syndicated NBC Choir program. The Thesaurus called it "Familiar old hymns beautifully interpreted. A ¼ hour —5 times weekly Featuring JOHN SEACLE, popular baritone with WILLIAM MEEDER, NBC's famous organist." It was also on KDYL at 3:15 PST and 6:00 AM on KQW also on PST. Likewise Home Folks Folic was syndicated in 1937 and 1938. The NBC Thesaurus described it "A spirited program of hillbilly harmonies. ¼ hour —6 times weekly." Even Samuel Kissel was also syndicated. His musical career included playing nightly on the WOR program Moonbeams in the 1930's.. Later, Kissel became concert master of the NBC Symphony of the Air.

The Melodeers are probably the Melodeers Quartet. But there was a Melodeers on WABC as well but back in 1933. Of course it was much later that the NBC Blue network became ABC in 1943. But there was a Melodeers on WEAF in 1931 and one on WBAL in 1928. It's a common name. The Rhythm Makers have the exact same problem. Though this one is surely the NBC Rhythm Makers Orchestra. The Master Singers also came directly from NBC thesaurus "Vocal music of distinction. ¼ hour —3 times weekly The MASTER SINGERS themselves, a mixed group of 14 voices in a program of fascinating choral effects." Ditto Rosario Bourdon Presents, though his later work at Muzak is hideous.

At first George Hall's Orchestra appeared local as well but Dolly Dawn sang for them in the 1930s. [SOURCE]. The Collegian student newspaper of Richmond University referred to them as "nationally known Columbia artists" in April of 1934. They were also known as George Hall's Hotel Taft Orchestra. They were notable enough for Billboard magazine wrote up their live performance of dinner music on WJZ in 1928. They had a residency at The Taft Hotel but after 1941 the Vincent Lopez band broadcast their own weekly show out of the Taft Grille downstairs for the following 20 years.

TIME	SHOW
7:00 - 7:30	Breakfast Club
7:30 - 7:45	News
7:45 - 8:00	Melodeers
8:00 - 8:15	WPA Program
8:15 - 8:30	Dance Hour
8:30 - 9:00	Concert Miniatures
9:00 - 9:30	George Hall's Orchestra
9:30 - 9:45	Church in the Wildwood
9:45 - 10:00	Byrd Weyler Kellogg
10:00 - 10:15	Rhythm Makers
10:15 - 10:30	Behind the Headlines
10:30 - 11:00	Knights of the Golden Gate
11:00 - 11:15	Home Folks Frolic
11:15 - 11:30	Master Singers
11:30 - 12:00	Musicale
12:00 - 12:15	Melody Time
12:15 - 12:30	News
12:30 - 12:35	Farm Flashes
12:35 - 12:45	Rhythm Makers
12:45 - 1:00	Man on the Street
1:00 - 1:15	Samuel Kissel
1:15 - 1:45	Melodies by Green
1:45 - 2:00	Los Angeles Chorus
2:00 - 2:30	Rosario Bourdon Presents
2:30 - 3:00	Hollywood Highlights
3:00 - 3:15	Music Graphs
3:15 - 3:30	Dictators
3:30 - 4:00	On the Down Beat
4:00 - 4:30	The Mountaineers
4:30 - 5:00	Blue Velvet
5:00 - 5:15	Sportscast
5:15 - 6:00	Dancing Echoes
6:00 - 6:15	Slumber Hour

Dictators was a CBS syndicated program. Melodies by Green I still suspect is local. I thought it might be connected to the Green Music Center, but no such luck. On the Down Beat too eludes me but appears in a Radio Variety directory on both KSRO and WIP. That same 1938 issue lists the Slumber Hour on KGO-KPO, WDRC and KGLO. Music Graphs was also syndicated, it also aired on KGO. It was also straight out of the NBC Thesaurus transcription service: "Graphic music pictures of the American scene. ¼ hour —3 times weekly FERDE GROFE, his music and his concert orchestra with the BUCCANEERS, widely known male octet."

Farm Flashes was a USDA radio program originally named Noontime Flashes, produced by Morse Salisbury and aired nationally. If you want to know more about that I recommend the book Farm Broadcasting by John Baker.

But the Byrd Weyler Kellogg program, that is 100% local. She wrote a column in The Santa Rosa Press Democrat "Our World of Women" until at least 1949. She began writing for the Press Democrat as early as 1927. Burn in 1881 she lived until 1964. Her papers are held at the Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library. In addition to her news writing, she also wrote screenplays; short stories; and poems. Some of her work is collected in the book Singing Years. The Sonoma County Anthology of Poetry and Prose published in 1933. Her original byline in the Press Democrat just read "Society and clubs."