Rev. Jack L. Neville on KVOO

On the inside cover the copyright reads 1934 by Thoro Harris. That name is probably better known than  Rev. Jack L. Neville or W. Fred Henry. But in tiny print at the top it reads "compiled by Thoro Harris" making the connection somewhat more clear.  [SOURCE]  

Harris lived from 1874 to 1955 and has been described as one of the most prolific hymn writers of the early twentieth century. He wrote literally hundreds of hymns. He was born in Washington D.C. and lived most of his adult life in Boston, MA. He was a musician and theologian but not a radioman. His connection to radio was purely through other musicians performing his works, and the one hymnal which gives the impression that he may have had something do to with the publication of a radio hymnal. There may be others, but this is the first I've found.

When Jack L. Neville died in Rancho Cucamonga, CA at the age of 81 in 2005 his obituary said nothing about his time in radio, only that he was a pastor. But we can derive some dates from his birthday. "A Pastor for 50 years, he was born on August 10, 1923 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was a Rancho Cucamonga resident for the past 11 years. He was a Veteran of the United States Army, serving in World War II."   He would have been 11 years old when that hymnal was published. So though it does not mention it, that hymnal documents a child preacher, something which was a novelty and even somewhat trendy in the 1930s. Today it'd be considered child abuse. 

Neville was later known as the "Flying Parson of the Panhandle Church of the Air" and broadcast many of his revivals on his radio program from Station KGRS. A March 1938 issue of Motion Picture Daily tells us that he  just left a news editor role at KVOO and "opened a series of broadcasts over KSO."  Neville was one of numerous preachers to use the nickname "Flying Parson."

What makes it odd is the connection to 1170 KVOO-AM, which is in Tulsa, OK; 1,500 miles away. KVOO was founded by E. H. Rollestone and first signed on the air on June 23, 1926. (Rollestone also founded KFRU in Bristow.) At the time, it operated at 1,000 watts transmitting from Bristow, OK. Rollestone also founded KFRU in Bristow. KVOO didn't move to Tulsa until 1927 following a partial buy out by William G. Skelly, who later bought the station outright. So as you think of 1934, KVOO was relatively new in town at the time and actually younger than Mr. Neville. 

W. Fred Henry at piano with (L-R) Etta, Virginia and Nevin Henry at KVOO

W. Fred Henry is a whole different character. The date on the image above is unknown, but assumed to be 1930s. The IPFHC has multiple images of him. the earliest is assumed to be from the 1920s here. There is another here with the note "a few months before Nevin was killed. The location given is in Florida. There is another image of him here from 1972. Other images are in Minnesota, Arkansas, Michigan, and Idaho. Only one image, from 1963 is in color. Mr. Henry appears to have been a traveling revivalist. He's often pictures with pianos and accordions and usually also a trombone indicating he's a multi instrumentalist. He appears in short references in a few regional periodicals, most referring to Tulsa or KVOO indicating some longer term connection. There are none mentions or images of him with Jack Neville, which indicate their connection was short-lived.