The Fraser Radio Gospel Hour (Part 2)

Courtesy of Bill Johnson

I got some new information on a post [LINK] from way back in March of 2012 and I am now able to post a Part 2 segment. My original research indicated that the program started "around" 1925 and ran until possibly as late as 1973 and was hosted by Rev. Robert Fraser, a Blind Radio Evangelist in Philadelphia. It even operated a gift shop at 36 North 8th Street, an area that's now prime center city real estate. a calendar I saw at the time listed the stations carrying the program in 1947, those were on Sunday from 4:00 - 5:00 PM: 1310 WCAM-AM, 1240 WSNJ-AM, 1110 WNAR-AM and 1360 WWBZ-AM. Then Sundays 9:00 - 9:30 PM: 990 WIBG-AM, WNAR-AM, 1360 WWBZ-AM and 1360 WPPA-AM. 

WCAM is particularly interesting as Camden New Jersey's oldest radio station. It dates back to September 1925, predating the program under the callsign WFBI-AM then on 1270. WPPA-AM was a share time with WCAM so it's all the more odd that both stations were listed. [More here] WSNJ-AM was in Bridgeton, NJ and had been since 1937. WNAR-AM only signed on in 1947 in Norristown so it would have been a brand new affiliate that year. WWBZ-AM was in Vineland, NJ, and WIBG was in Philly of course.

I had assumed originally that the program ended when host Rev. Robert Fraser died but that date was unknown, and  conjecture anyway. It took 8 years, but all of those questions have been answered.

Courtesy of Bill Johnson

Edward W. Fraser Jr. himself tell us that the program actually began in 1927 just after Robert Fraser and Ella Stark were married. Robert Fraser's prior radio experience was limited. He appeared with Christopher Graham "Uncle WIP" who read children's stories on WIP-AM. [More here] Later he was booked as the "Sunshine boy" at WCAU. He sang with Dumont and Emmett Welsch's  Minstrels on WFI-AM and WDAR-AM.

The Gospel Hour program ran until 1995. This end date is much later than I expected, as Bill Johnson confirmed that Rev. Fraser died April 11th 1957.  Mrs. Fraser (née Stark) continued to host the program. The speaker for the last 10 years of the show was the late Rev. Nelson H. Hill, Jr., of Aldan, PA. The equipment was run by James J. "Joe" Tolbert. His wife, Dianne, played the organ. Dianne's sister, Darlene, and mother Adele Marsh were on the program years before Mr. Hill was the speaker.  When the Gospel Hour program was finally discontinued, it was being produced at WVCH, Chester.

Courtesy of Bill Johnson

Prior to the studios of WVCH, The Fraser Radio Gospel Hour was produced at the Fraser Home for Elderly Ladies. Though at least some the equipment was still on site in 1972. He also operated a home for girls on 529 Tabor Rd in Olney, PA.  Chaplain Steve Phillips passed this information to us directly from Mr. Hill's wife, Lucille Mosher Hill. (Lucille, and Joe and Dianne are residents at Quarryville, Pennsylvania Presbyterian Retirement Community.)

Also interesting is that the program was also carried on channel 12.  While that is WHYY-TV today, that was WVUE-TV on the VHF band out of Wilmington back in 1957, as in the calendar below:

Courtesy of Bill Johnson

All of the above images came from Bill Johnson. He purchased a Bible at an Estate Sale in Southern California. Inside were several artifacts from the Fraser Radio Hour, including a card announcing the passing of Rev. Robert J. Fraser on April 11, 1957.

The Fraser Radio Gospel Hour

There is scant information out there regarding the Fraser Radio Gospel Hour. It started in 1925 and ran possibly as late as 1973 and was hosted by Rev. Robert Fraser a Blind Radio Evangelist in Philadelphia. He headed several related charities including the Fraser Home for Elderly Ladies, the Fraser Mission and the Fraser Home for Girls.

He was born on March 14th 1906, and attended Overbrook school for the blind also in Philly. The book Undaunted by Blindness by Clifford E. Olstrom claims that he was singing on the radio by the age of 16. That seems dubious as that'd be in 1922, but there were at least a few stations in Philadelphia at that time: WFI-AM, WOO-AM, WGL-AM, WCAU-AM, and WDAR-AM, so it is possible. The Olstrom reference I found for this seemed weak. The book does got the man's age wrong a sentence later claiming he was 19 in 1923... oops.  Fraser  wrote his autobiography in 1936 titled Overcoming Obstacles, chapter 4 is "Growing up with radio." It ironed out the specifics.

It details his early radio appearances. He worked with Christopher W. Graham (Uncle WIP) on WIP-AM, and on WCAU-AM he played the character "Sunshine Boy." He sang with Dumont and Emmett Welsch's  Minstrels on WFI-AM and WDAR-AM.  But in 1924 he was converted and gave up jazz and vaudeville for gospel and preaching. It's unclear where he might have preached on the radio in the early years but he and his wife Ella Stark were married in the studio of WCAU, so it's probably that station.

Another book, 30 Years With Radio looks back at the program over it's history. It was published in 1955 to commemorate 30 years of his radio program. It lists WLBR, WIBG, WNAR, WVCH and WKAP among others but often lacking dates. But the autobiography  noted that they broadcast 532 shows on WIP-AM. If the Fraser Radio Gospel Hour was always weekly program, that means spent the better part of a decade on WIP before appearing on any of those other stations.

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Updates in PART TWO HERE