WVAC to WMLN

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On the Wikipedia page for 91.5 WMLN, the college radio station of Curry College in Milton, MA it reads "From 1968 until 1974, WVAC, the "Voice at Curry", was a carrier-current AM station at Curry College, which later became WMLN-FM on April 1, 1975."  What strikes me most about this description is that I know for a fact the radio program goes back into the 1940s. 

Normally at this point I'd review cached versions of the radio stations website. But strangely it seems that WMLN never had a website of it's own.  It's only ever had a couple different pages inside curry.edu; domain. These rotated every few years. (Todays' is the longest most tortured URL of all.) The earliest of which was only created in 2001.  But they were web streaming way back in 2004. Kudos. [SOURCE], [SOURCE] and [SOURCE]  Sidebar: In the interim, a fuckwit domain investor, Kevin Ham, domain squatter extraordinaire, ganked WMLN.com. (sigh). There are other options of course. Personally, I think it's worth the $15 a year for the now 50 year old station to have a real URL. I'm looking at you Jay Gonzalez.  

I can't corroborate the 1974 sign on. In fact, the Broadcasting & Cable annual from 1975 describes the new FM station as not on air yet, but with a 10w, 100 ft. antenna on 848 Brush Hill Rd. But in the 1976 annual it is on air, John S. Hafer is president and Paul A. Kaschulur is GM. Looking at other sources, Curry College has published a number of different year books since it's founding in 1879. It was the Curryer of 1974 which I found to contain a confirmation of the FM conversion and 1975 sign-on. [SOURCE]

"This marked the last year that the campus radio station would broadcast from its A.M. 640 spot. Permission was finally granted from the F.C.C. for new call letters, W.M.L.N., and to operate on F.M. 91.5, commencing in the school year '74 and '75. This will be a welcome and well-deserved change for the rapdily-developing and always versatile station."

 And as I had hoped there were images of the WVAC staff in the 1972 issue. (below) But it was the 1969 issue which cites an earlier station: WCUR. The accompanying text is cryptic though.  "The original call letters of the station were WCUR, fm, they were forced to change their boadcast [sic] procedures in order to obtain a permit to broadcast."  There are a few images of the studio, it has all the sixties suit jackets you imagine. [SOURCE] 

WVAC 1967

Fun fact, 91.7 WCUR, West Chester University didn't sign on until 1999. They are probably unaware that Curry College used those call letters 30 years earlier. I did eventually corroborate the WCUR call letters. They appear in the IBS April 1967 issue. They are only noted as a "delegate" WCUR at Curry College in Milton. No other information but interestingly in the IBS issues from 1972 thru 1974, WCUR appears as West Chester University. (I'll have to revisit that another day. )

 

WVAC 1968

Finding the roots of WCUR before 1968 have largely proved fruitless. But I have found one more print source, a course guide from 1948. The 52 page booklet is promotional in nature and has numerous pictures of it's students and programs. This was an era when you could tell someone you majored in oratory with a straight face. Actually, Curry College was named "School of Expression" until 1943. and prior to 1885 was the School of Elocution and Expression. The private college didn't even move to Milton until 1952. 

So the booklet dates to a time when the campus was still in downtown Boston. 251 Commonwealth, The Bigelow Mansion, is actually for sale at the moment [LINK] for a cool 12.5 Million dollars. Curry College occupied the space from 1932 - 1952.  In 1932, Curry also began a radio broadcasting major, one of the earliest such programs in the country. This is the earliest possible date for the WCUR calls. 

In the course guide we have a surprising amount of information. There are three images which are from the Bell Radio Studios at Curry College. Curry has always emphasized it's connection to Alexander Graham Bell who did lecture at the college in 1873. Ostensibly Samuel Silas Curry was present for the first telephone call in 1876, but that is a retcon from decades later by his daughter... who was not there. But the Bell endowment was very real. Anyway, that's reason enough to name the radio studios for Bell. 

These images are probably all from 1948.  I do notice that the woman in the striped dress is one of the few that's not crisply in focus. There's probably something to that. It's 16 years after the radio program was launched, so in addition to the current students, They included 4 head shots of Cury students who went on to processional radio careers: 

 

We can easily trace the history of at least three of these four students today and then some notable faculty. The radio program was 15 years old in 1948 and had already spawned some career radio men and a surprising number of faculty from WEEI in Boston. 

• Kenneth R. Coleman - WJDA, Quincy, MA. He stayed there until 1951. Then he worked for a year at WNEB in Worcester, MA. In the 1970s Coleman was the "Voice of the Red Sox" on 850 WHDH-AM. From 1975 to 1978, he was the play-by-play man for WLWT in Cincinnati. He literally wrote a book on sportscasting.

• William J. McColgan - WSYB, Rutland, VT.  Bill became a sportscaster for life. He went on to be the sports director for WFMJ. In 1953, he joined WGAR in Cleveland. Then he went on to WTOP in D.C. and WWL  in New Orleans, LA until 1972. He died in 1973.

• David Felder - WOTW, Nashua, NH. Dave appeared in Billboard on May 8th, 1948 "WOTW, Nashua, N. H., has started two new daytime shows: Bob Huse is handling a daily morning hour long show while Dave Felder and Joe Ross collaborate on an afternoon spin session which is tabbed Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round"  But that didn't work out. In the May 29th issue was an update. "Dave Felder, WOTW, Nashua, N. H., will confine his jock activities to records from here on in. Dave, out riding his first cayuse last week, was thrown for a substantial loss."  He seems to disappear after that.  A cayuse is archaic slang for a low-quality or semi-feral horse. It's unclear if it was meant literally or figuratively. 

• Richard Craig - WLLH, Lowell, MA. He remains obscure. I suspect he later decided radio wasn't for him. 3 our of 4 ain't bad.
  

• Neil Wallace, (Faculty) - WLLA Lowell, MA; WMAS, Springfield, MA; WEEI, Boston, MA. Director of CBS News New England.

• Thomas Henry Calhoun (Faculty) - Assistant production manager WEEI, Boston, MA. Former Program Manager CBS Shortwave. 

• Frederick H. Garrigus (Faculty) - Program Director WEEI, Boston, MA. author of multiple scammy sounding radio fact and quiz books. I knew that name sounded familiar. [LINK], [LINK] A note in Radio daily of 1942 has him at a WEEI WWII war bond sale. An Issue of Broadcasting in 1952 NARTB  organizational  services  manager. I think he's the same Fred Garrigus who was the secretariat of NAB. He died in 1960.

• Joseph Kenneth Meyer (Faculty) - Former Cheif Announce WATN Watertown, NY; Announcer WHDH, Boston, MA; Commentator BBC London, Announcer WCOP, Boston, MA.

• Walter Edward Lannan (Faculty) - Studio Engineer WEEI Boston, MA.He was there as early as 1943.