Radio VCC

 

1320 CHQM-AM was founded in 1959. They were not the original frequency to occupy that channel, that was CKNW. That station originally broadcast on the frequency of 1230 kHz, then moved to 1320 kHz in 1949, and then to 980 kHz in 1958. CHQM moved back to 1320 in 1973 hence the logo above. They kept those calls until 1994 when it changed to CHMB. The station broadcast "Overseas Chinese Voice" which in reality was brokered ethnic programming and what their financial reporting called "background music service." [SOURCE] 

What started me down this path was a cassette tape that looked like a radio show. I had thought for some time that Vancouver Community College had a carrier current radio station in the 1970s. I keep lists of that sort of thing. Books like the gas pipe networks are great but are few and of limited scope.  it turns out I was mistaken. Vancouver Community College, founded in 1965 has never had a radio station of any kind so far as I can tell.  

 

But the cassette tape was the first time I thought I had evidence. On the cover, side by side are the Vancouver Community College and Q1320 logos. 1320 isn't a carrier current radio station. The station and connection are real. The station still exists today, still broadcasting on 1320 MHz at 50,000 watts as CHMB despite the sunset of AM radio in Canada. It is actually one of the last AM radio stations in all of Canada. 

VCC has no connection to the UBC student radio station CITR, or even Cooperative radio (aka Co-op Radio) on 102.7 aka CFRO. First licensed in 1974, they signed on in 1975, broadcasting on 102.7 FM. But then in 2012 They swapped frequencies with CKPK and moved to 100.5. This is why I initially confused the two stations based on an entry in the book Secret Vancouver  by Alison Appelbe. It published in 2003, but all data ages out I suppose. Inside the cassette is some text that explains everything. It's a little lengthy but I've quoting the whole thing.

"ON Q is a joint project between radio station CHQM and the Vancouver Community College Music Department. The Q broadcasting system  has been established since 1959 and is a leader in the easy-listening format, and in business background music.

In the summer of 1988, the station recognized the need for corporate assistance in the training and development of talented young musicians in Canada. Since that time CHQM has donated funds towards scholarships for deserving music students at Vancouver Community College, and also encouraged the production and promotion of this recording. It is a partnership the College gratefully acknowledges and hopes to continue for some time. 

The Vancouver Community College Music Department opened in September of 1974 as an alternative to the traditional approach to music education. The school has over the past fifteen years become a leader in college music programs in Canada, recognizing and addressing the need for practical performance training in classical, jazz and commercial music. The program offers maximum flexibility to both part-time and full-time students, giving them the opportunity to learn, experience and perform a more complete spectrum of music than is possible in most other music schools.

 The "Soundwave" program has developed a reputation for a high calibre of performance and leadership in vocal jazz. the ensemble is formed annually from a select group of students who look for an extremely challenging experience in vocal jazz. The program has been at the forefront of the vocal jazz movement since it's inception. 

Over the years, the ensemble has performed with Diane Schurr, John Denver, the Hi-LOs, Mark Murphy, and many other well-known performers.

These students have represented Vancouver Community College at music festivals throughout the world. The mandate of the Soundwave program is to strive for musical excellence and help in the growth of the vocal jazz movement. "

But that's it. Soundwave is not a radio program. It's the name of the vocal jazz ensemble. The text even calls it a "program" but they don't mean a radio program. It only refers to to the educational program. That is still it's name today, alongside other ensemble groups at VCC such as VCC Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers, Orchestra, New Music Ensemble, Gamelan Ensemble, Korean Ensemble, Latin Jazz Ensemble and Latin Percussion Ensemble. The course Directed Ensemble awards one credit for the course.

The "ON Q" project name, visible on the tape is surely derived from the company name Q Broadcasting Ltd, the owning entity of CHQM. [LINK] I found one studio picture from 1973 here. CHQM and VCC do not appear to have a sponsorship program any longer.

CFRC: Calls From Home

If you hadn't heard, Kingston, Ontario is Canada's Prison Capital. That reputation isn't new. The book God's Plenty, (2011) by William Closson James points out their first prison opened in 1835. The 1989 book Crumbling Walls by Ruth Morris uses the same phrase describing Kingston. It is that reputation that probably led to the creation of the radio program "Calls From Home." Kristiana Clemens, operations officer at CFRC was quoted in 2012 as saying "...the announcement of proposed prison expansions in Kingston provided added impetus to begin focusing on prison issues more regularly,”

Calls From Home is a weekly radio show from 7:00 - 8:00 PM on 101.9 CFRC that connects friends and family with their loved ones inside Kingston’s prison walls. Prisoners are encouraged to contribute poetry, essays, letters, or other content. If that weren't remarkable enough, the program also broadcasts messages from prisoners inside to their loved ones on the outside. Friends, family, and supporters can leave a message on a special voicemail. These messages are screened and then broadcast on the last Wednesday of each month. Their programs are also stored on archive.org.

The 3,000 watt signal of CFRC can be heard inside six prisons in the greater Kingston, ON area and one in New York State including:

• Millhaven Institution 
• Collins Bay Institution 
• Joyceville Institution 
• Bath Institution 
• Frontenac Institution 
• Pittsburgh Institution 
• Quinte Detention Centre 
• Cape Vincent Correctional Facility

Text book descriptions of the program seem stiff and disconnected from the emotional reality of being forcibly separated from people you care about. For example the book Historical Geographies of Prisons describes the program in it's end notes

"CFRC 101.9 Kingston's community and campus radio station, airs a weekly program called CFRC Prison Radio (CPR), whose activism-based programming features prison justice issues and "Calls From Home," a segment in which inmates can communicate with community members through song requests and messages."  

The description is accurate but narrative details help you get more of a feel for why people care about the program. Take this quote from an article on their 2012 Christmas Special published in Queen's University Journal:

"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave,” echoed in seven Kingston-area prisons over the holidays, after an anonymous caller dedicated the Eagles’ “Hotel California” to those spending time behind bars... Erin is waiting for her partner Pat to finish his sentence at Millhaven Institution. In the meantime, she uses Calls From Home to connect with him. “You’re the most important person in my life and I would never have been able to get to where I am if it wasn’t for your love and support. Hang in there and always remember, after the rain,” she said in a message that aired on Dec. 21."

Similar programs air on three other Canadian radio stations: Prison Radio on 90.3 CKUT in Montreal, QC Guelph Prison Radio on 93.3 CFRU in Guelph, ON and the Stark Raven Media Collective produces a monthly prison radio show on 100.5 CFRO in Vancouver, BC.