The College Hill Commoner_June 2010

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COLLEGE HILL CROWN HEIGHTS UPTOWN SLEEPY HOLLOW Vol. 4 No. 6 JUNE 2010 8 How does your garden grow? A preview of this month’s garden & architecture tour. 4 Recalling “Ally Pally.” Late friend memorialized at Hyde Elementary. 15 Bike day on Douglas puts riders in the driver’s seat. THE COLLEGE HILL COMMONER The remarkably strong signal and lasting legacy of neighborhood radio station WAAP. PAGE 12 ‘GOOD EVENING COLLEGE HILL AND ALL THE SHIPS AT SEA’

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The community newspaper of the College Hill neighborhood of Wichita, Kan.

Transcript of The College Hill Commoner_June 2010

Page 1: The College Hill Commoner_June 2010

COLLEGE HILL CROWN HEIGHTS UPTOWN SLEEPY HOLLOWVol. 4 No. 6 JUNE 2010

8 How does yourgarden grow? Apreview of thismonth’s garden &architecture tour.

4 Recalling “AllyPally.” Late friendmemorialized atHyde Elementary.

15 Bike day onDouglas puts ridersin the driver’s seat.

• ••

THE COLLEGE HILL COMMONER

The remarkablystrong signal and

lasting legacy ofneighborhood radio

station WAAP.PAGE 12

‘GOOD EVENING COLLEGE HILL

AND ALL THE SHIPS AT SEA’

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WRITER’S BLOCK

There’s plenty to do in College Hill Park and I pre-fer lying down in the grass and doing next tonothing. There is usually a sandwich involved and

maybe a blanket, but not much else. I don’t have afavorite spot as just about any shady patch will do. Butthe kids, well, they have ideas concerning recreation.They prefer climbing and falling, and I tend to let themso long as they hit the ground close by. Me? I’m a read-er.

So it is that one afternoon last month I wanderedover to the footbridge after my nap in search of a fewchoice words. I found them carved in stone. They wereleft there by our College Hill ancestors. I wouldn’t callthem profound words, but they seemed deeply felt. “I LOVE JIM” must have been cut into the stone bysome poor heart-sick girl over and over again, so deepare the grooves. Other markings signal their stone agecreators’ devotions to rock ‘n roll and hallucinogens.“ON LSD” one message helpfully notes, as if we could-n’t tell from the penmanship. Names of the bands Rush,UFO, and Husker Dü are more lovingly rendered. “TheClash” is carved so finely that it could grace a tomb-stone. Now, I’m no geologist, but I know rock music,and those bands are mostly of a late 1970s early ‘80svintage. And some of the names left behind by our vainancestors seem straight out of the class ‘65 yearbook.

It’s not an important finding; it’s graffiti. I wouldn’tbother making a rubbing. But it’s difficult not to be atleast a little taken with the courage of the creators’ con-victions, their craftsmanship, their patience. Their namesmake good, quiet company, too. I sat there for a longwhile with STEVE, DEBBY, JANET and PAM, mutelywatching the strollers and dog walkers pass by and won-dering about JIM. I hope he married that girl.

BARRY OWENSEDITOR

THE COLLEGE HILL COMMONER z JUNE 20102

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

WRITE THE EDITOR: We welcome your letters. No subject is out ofbounds, so long as it is local. Letters should not exceed 300 wordsand may be edited for clarity and length.

E-MAIL US: [email protected]

WRITE US: 337 N. Holyoke, Wichita, KS, 67208

CALL US: 689-8474

ADVERTISE: [email protected], or 689-8474

LETTERS

THE COLLEGE HILL COMMONERVOLUME 4 ISSUE 6 JUNE 2010

PUBLISHERJESSICA FREY OWENS

EDITORBARRY OWENS

CONTRIBUTORSDAVE KNADLER, BUD NORMAN, STEVE RASMUSSEN, JEFF ROTH

THE COLLEGE HILL COMMONERPublished monthly by

The College Hill Commoner337 N. Holyoke

Wichita, K.S. 67208316-689-8474

[email protected]

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As a five-year resident ofKansas, I know just what todo when I hear the tornado

sirens: Go outside and stand aroundrubbernecking in the rain for a

glimpse of thefunnel. Then,time permit-ting, I maywander downto the base-ment forawhile. But it’skind of mustysmelling downthere and thebig TV isupstairs and I

might risk a trip or two to thekitchen to retrieve that box ofTriscuits and perhaps a bottle ofwine. And by then the guys on theradio have gotten sick of repeatingthemselves and life proceeds asbefore.

There was a big storm a fewweeks ago where the sky turnedgreenish before it turned black asnight. For awhile there, I was con-vinced that my comfortable littlehouse would soon be reduced to apile of bricks and kindling. I hud-dled in the basement, alternately

feeling foolish andimagining the newspa-per photograph of mewandering half-nakedthrough the debris,clutching a cheesegrater and the fewfridge magnets I’d man-aged to recover.

It’s times like thatwhen you realize what’simportant in life. It’stimes like that when yourealize that your Emer-gency Tornado Kit con-sists of one can of tunaand half a jug of cranber-ry juice left over fromThanksgiving. Next tripto Dillon’s, you think, itmight be prudent to lay in a stock oframen and jerky. And some batteries,and some Band-Aids. Maybe a chain-saw and a shotgun too.

But the next day dawns cool andclear, and those things have a way ofsettling right back at the bottom ofthe to-do list. What’s important inlife goes back to being the same asmost other days: lawn maintenanceand meals and the next episode ofDancing With the Stars.

When you live in the Midwest,people from elsewhere are always

asking: “Don’t youworry about the tor-nadoes?” The usualresponse is to shrugand tell them no.Really, it’s notTornado Alley somuch as TornadoNature Trail, wherelarge storms wanderby for a bit of exer-cise before movingon to smash mobile-home parks in moreobscure communi-ties. At least that’smy perspective. Thenagain, I did drivethrough Greensburgnot too long after the

big one hit there, so I realize theremay be other points of view on this.

Fact is, we like our severe weath-er around here – as long as it’s notevery day, and as long as our homesremain undamaged. AroundWichita, the only real scenery is thesky. When those mountainousclouds appear in the southwest andrumble forward threatening fist-sized hail, it’s no wonder some of usignore the sensible warnings to seekshelter. We step outside when weshould be going downstairs. Hey,

it’s a tornado watch, right? So we’rewatching. We want to see this. Theyprobably felt that way in Poland themorning the Wehrmacht camerolling through.

Never mind that the greatest dan-ger is always in what you don’t see.During tornado alerts in CrownHeights, the only view I’ve ever hadis very close clouds behind wildlyswaying elms. I’m pretty sure thatby the time I realized there was afunnel in there, I’d be winging myway towards Andover along with thesiding and shingles that used to bemy house. And experiencing a cer-tain amount of regret.

It’s all about the adventure, isn’tit? It makes no sense, but there’ssomething ennobling about ridingout a storm. It requires no effort –and in my case, no planning – butwhen it’s over you feel you’vesomehow bested something far larg-er than yourself. You survey the fall-en branches on the sodden lawn, thetomato plants and petunias pureedby hail, and think: “That all yougot?”

But unless you’re really foolish,you don’t think it very loud.

Writer Dave Knadler lives inCrown Heights.

Praise the Lord and pass the Triscuits

DAVE KNADLER

Fact is, we likeour severeweather aroundhere — as long asit’s not every day,and as long asour homesremainundamaged.

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BY BUD NORMAN

More than 50 years have passed bysince a cute kindergartner namedAlison Goodwin first delighted in thelibrary of Hyde Elementary School,but her love of reading is still in evi-dence there as a result of her friends’effort to bring about some good fromtragedy.

The next crop of young readers toattend what is now Hyde InternationalStudies and Communications MagnetElementary School will have 87 brandnew books to pore through, eachdonated in memory of the smiling andfriendly little girl who grew up tobecome Alison Goodwin Thresher.The new books, as well as a plaquehonoring the memory of Thresher,who went missing from her Marylandapartment in 2000 in a case that policelater declared a homicide, were offi-cially added to the library on May 14

during a school assembly. After an elaborate presentation by

several students on the country ofNicaragua and some enthusiastic

group singing, a rapt audience ofschoolchildren watched pictures ofThresher’s girlhood flash across ascreen and listened quietly as her

friend Scott Oatsdean recalled her loveof school and reading. He told of howshe used to walk to school from herhome on the 200 block of NorthPershing, “skipping on the same side-walks as you,” greeting friends whoknew her as “Ally Pally.” Recallingthat Thresher’s greatest passions werereading and writing, he explained howshe became editor of the HydeHighlighter and then the school news-paper at Robinson Junior High, firststops on a journalism career that cul-minated in a job as copy editor at theWashington Post.

“I hope this will cause you toreflect on the life of this girl,”Oatsdean said.

Although Thresher left Wichita forthe Washington, D.C., area shortlyafter finishing ninth grade at RobinsonJunior High, a result of her father

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RECALLING ‘ALLY PALLY’Friends honor late friend Alison Goodwin Thresher with gift to Hyde library.

Alison Goodwin, highlighted in the second row, attended Hyde Elementary as a kindergartner more than 50 years ago. Her friends have not forgotten her. Alison, who wentmissing from her Maryland apartment in 2000, was memorialized last month by friends and family at the school and a donation to the library was made in her name.

Alison’s mother, Francis Goodwin, center, and Alison’s daughter, Sarah, at right, react during theemotional ceremony May 14 at Hyde Elementary School.

STEVE RASMUSSEN

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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accepting a job as a high-rankingattorney in the U.S. JusticeDepartment, she somehow continuedher close friendships with her oldclassmates, frequently calling her oldfriends and occasionally flying to herold hometown for visits. Asked what itwas about Thresher that allowed her tomaintain such close friendships eventhrough decades of living half a conti-nent away, Oatsdean struggled todescribe her infectious smile, her car-ing attitudes and zest for life, but hefinally shrugged and said “You had toknow her.” Connie Kendall, another ofher friends in attendance at the dedica-tion, remembered a nine-months-preg-nant Thresher coming back for a juniorhigh school reunion, and said thatThresher helped keep her circle ofWichita friends together throughouther life.

Thresher’s death brought that cir-cle of friends together again about twoyears ago, Oatsdean said, when theymet to establish a memorial in hername. As Oatsdean explained, “We’dreached that point where we couldn’tbe in denial anymore, and decided itwas time.” The group raised $1,400for the Alison Goodwin ThresherMemorial Fund, and decided the bestway to honor their friend with the

money was by adding a few newbooks to the library she once frequent-ed.

The school’s librarian, MarileeMayo, acquired a diverse selection oftitles with the donation and was grate-ful for the opportunity.

“We’re usually limited in our pur-chases because of all the budget cuts,”Mayo said. “I’m thrilled and excited,because I was able to get some booksthat are fun.”

Thresher’s sister, Sarah GoodwinThomas, attended the dedication withher mother, Frances Goodwin, andsaid she was grateful for the memorial.

“I heard about it a year ago, andwas so touched they’d thought aboutthis,” Thomas said. “She had a lovelychildhood here, as did I, and I think itwas perfect to remember her with a lit-erary gift.”

Watching as Hyde’s remarkablywell-behaved students marched in an

orderly fashion out of the school, allwearing red t-shirts to proclaim their“Hyde Pride,” Thomas said she wasmuch impressed by her alma materand wished that her own son couldhave attended there. She admitted thatshe also sometimes wished that herfamily had never left Wichita and itshappy home on North Pershing, andexpressed a desire to come back moreoften for visits.

In the meantime, she was happy toknow that some other girl skipping toHyde would have a few extra books toread because of her sister.

PHOTOS: STEVE RASMUSSEN

Above: Martha Lueck, left, and Francis Goodwin, right, view old photographs and new bookson a library table. The books were purchased with a donation to the school through the AlisonGoodwin Thresher Memorial Fund. Above right: Hyde students attended the ceremony.Alison used to skip “on the same sidewalks as you,” Scott Oatsdean (at right) told them.

RECALLING ‘ALLY PALLY’CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

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A Tour Throughthe Trees

Sharon O’Neill in her garden swing in the backyard of her home at 400 S. Roosevelt, one offive home and gardens included on the June 22 College Hill Garden and Architectural Tour.

How Does YourGarden Grow?

BARRY OWENS

GARDEN TOUR STOPS

300 S. Clifton

400 S. Roosevelt

335 S. Crestway

328 N. Pershing

237 N. Crestway

A Trident Maple tree, planted lastmonth in College HIll park.

BY BARRY OWENS

There’s a new tree in the neigh-borhood. It lives in College HillPark.

The Trident Maple was plantedlate last month by Justin Combs,City of Wichita Arborist. TheCollege Hill NeighborhoodAssociation paid for the tree. You’llfind it on the sloping grounds justnorth of the tennis courts. (Look forthe stakes).

Combs said he selected theTrident Maple, so called for itsthree-pronged leave, because it isunique.

The new maple is likely to bepart of the June 12 tour of the park.Combs, along with Tim McDonnell,who is with the Kansas ForestService, will be offering 45 tours ofthe park as part of that day’s CollegeHill Architectural & Garden Tour.

“I honestly could talk for aboutan hour on any single tree,” Combssaid. “I’ve got at least 18 or 19 dif-ferent species I want to show. I’mgoing to have to be careful.”

Enviably green gardens selected for June 12College Hill Architectural & Garden Tour

By Barry Owens“We literally drove up and down

every street in College Hill,” saidKathleen Snyder, one of the organizers ofthis month’s College Hill Architectural &Garden Tour, set for June 12. “We cameup with a list two pages long.”

Ultimately, Snyder and her neighbor,Judy Webber, settled on five homes toinclude in the tour. The pair volunteeredto select the locations and help organizethe event for the College HillNeighborhood Association. The tour is afundraiser for the Association.

“It was kind of hard to tell in Marchwhat the gardens might evolve to be, butit turns out that we made some greatchoices,” said Webber.

Among them is the handsome homesurrounded by flowers and foliage at 400S. Roosevelt.

“I’m the ground cover queen,” saidSharon O’Neill, who lives there with herhusband Bill McKeighan.

A master gardener and obsessiveweed puller (she yanked a few during arecent visit), O’Neill was only half jok-ing. “Being a master gardener doesn’tmean you’re an expert, it just means thatyour passionate about it. Other peoplehave hobbies, like flying. I garden. That’smy hobby,” she said.

The June 12 garden tour is set for 10a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $5 and areavailable at any of the locations on theday of the tour, or at Watermark Booksbeginning June 1.

Printed guides including informationon the home, homeowners and gardensalong the tour, will be provided.

O’Neill said she is eager to welcomeguests to her garden. Already, she’s get-ting visitors. Last month, a statue of St.Francis arrived, followed by flocks ofbirds that have discovered the seed dish,perpetually full, in his hands.

“They’ve been telling their friends,”she said.

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12 THE COLLEGE HILL COMMONER z JUNE 2010HISTORY

JEFF A. ROTH

“Dear Sirs, we must lodge a com-plaint regarding your radio transmis-sions. Your radio broadcasts from so-called ‘College Hill’ are interfering withour ship-to-shore communications. Wecan no longer tolerate your entertainmentprograms interrupting our Gulf Coastoperations. If your power is not curtailedforthwith we will be compelled to file acomplaint with the Department ofCommerce in Washington.”

According to the late William G.Pierpont, a local radio historian, a letterof protest, perhaps along the lines of theabove, was received in Wichita from aNew Orleans shipping concern. Thisdocumented problem with radio interfer-ence in 1922 attested to the transmittingpower of WAAP, a radio station broad-casting from an alfalfa field, on CollegeHill.

That field, formerly the M.R. Moserfarm, had been platted by nurserymanand blacksmith Moser in 1884 as theBrooklyn Heights Addition to Wichita.In the recovery following the 1880’s col-lapse of Wichita’s real estate market,

Samuel “S.W.” Cooper bought threelarge lots in the addition along MoserAvenue and in 1894 built a large countryhome at Third and Moser, today’s 403 N.Roosevelt. Today the home features a

Colonial appearance as a result ofremodeling efforts in 1924 by S.W.’sdaughter Rebecca (Cooper) Rounds.

In 1921 however, radio was “all thebuzz.” Up to then “wireless” had beenthe province of amateur “hams” — thegeeks of yesteryear. They broadcast inMorse code and later voice, althoughrarely over 100 miles distance due to lackof power. With the advent of improvedtechnology after WW I, radio would

move from experimental tocommercial use, requiringthe government to licensethe use of the airwaves. In arush that started in Januaryof 1921, various businessesapplied for a broadcastlicense: newspapers, auto-mobile dealers, furniturestores, colleges and others.

One such applicant wasthe Wichita wholesale elec-trical supply house, UnitedElectric Company, operatedby President S.W. Cooper,son S.W. “Wilbur” Cooper,Jr. and youngest son Donald

Cooper. The Coopers, owning real estateideally situated on the hill, were granteda broadcast license on April 25, 1922.This enabled them to construct a radiostation in the family’s alfalfa field northof their house on the west side ofRoosevelt. United Electric would ownthe station and the Wichita Eagle wouldprovide content for its broadcasts. The

‘Live from College Hill, it’s WAAP Radio’Radio station on Roosevelt is long gone but signal still loud and clear.

Left: WAAP at its later home in Milford, Kansas.The station first broadcast from a small shack andtwin towers on Roosevelt in College Hill (shownbelow, center). The original station, which wassold and moved to Milford in 1923, was launcheda year earlier in College Hill by S.W. Cooper, presi-dent of United Electric Company, and operated bysons S.W. “Wilbur” Cooper, Jr. and youngest sonDonald Cooper. Wilbur, shown below, was the sta-tion’s promoter.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WILLIAM G. PIERPONT ESTATE

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN HYDE

PHOTO COURTESY OF ORIN FRIESEN WICHITA-SEDGWICK COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

The radio tower is only faintly visible in thisearly photo of the original WAAP onRoosevelt in College Hill.

The Cooper home, circa 1900. It has since been remodeledbut still stands at 403 N. Roosevelt. The radio station, atleft, was built in an alfafa field north of the house.

Join us for our Vacation Bible Camp June 28 - July 2.

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call letters they chose were WAAP(before the government switched to callsigns beginning with a W if east of theMississippi River or with K if west ofthere).

Work on the station was begun earlyin the spring of 1922 with a goal tobroadcast by July 4 that year. Aone-roomcottage was hauled to the site to housethe equipment and serve as the “studio.”Their transmitter was a behemoth for itstime – 500 watts. The newspaper report-ed “Wichita is to have the most powerfulradio broadcasting station betweenPittsburgh, Pa., and the Pacific coast.” Itwas predicted that its range would be1,000 miles, a fact soon confirmed by seacaptains in the Gulf of Mexico.

The station’s range was a result of notonly its RCA vacuum radio tubes, builtas big as Coke bottles, but also its aerialsuspended 120 feet in the air. Called acage-antenna, the aerial was a horizontalcage of wires running lengthwise oversix foot diameter hoops, stretchedbetween two poles set about 150 feetapart. To the neighbors it looked like a150 foot skinless zeppelin hovering over-head.

The manner of setting the two sup-port poles bears mention for the techni-cally curious. Close to Central Avenuethe first footing was dug and a pipecemented into the ground to receive thetowering mast. Above it a temporarywooden derrick, similar to oil field der-ricks of the era, was built above the foot-ing. Borrowing block and tackle tech-niques from the oil patch, the workmenraised six 20 foot sections of 2-inch tub-ing into the air (as opposed to loweringsections of pipe into the ground), boltingthe pipe sections together as it went up.The growing tower was stabilized withmultiple sets of guy wires. The erectionprocess was then repeated for the southtower closer to the Cooper home. HerbRoll, one of the youngest workmen, washoisted to the top of each mast and paint-ed it as he was lowered down.

The two towers were raised without ahitch. However, a day or so after the sec-ond one was finished a Kansas wind-storm blew into town testing the design.As luck would have it the north towerblew down, folding over onto itself. Theweak link turned out to be a glass insula-tor called a “Johnny-ball” that had failedunder the strain. To correct the problemadditional insulators were added to thenew tower’s guy wires to spread out theload. Regrettably during the hoistingaloft of the cage-antenna the south mast

also failed. The culprit was anotherJohnny-ball failure. According toPierpont, after the collapse of the originaltwo towers it took more than a little bit oftalking to convince young Herb Roll togo back up and paint the new ones.

The station was nonetheless ready toair its first broadcast on Tuesday July 4,1922. The fare for the evening was achampion wrestling match being helddowntown at the Forum Auditorium,Century II’s predecessor. The match fea-tured Ed “the Strangler” Lewis of FortWorth and local favorite Alan Eustace,“the Kansas wrestling farmer.” DespiteLewis winning 2 out of 3 “falls” thebroadcast was deemed a huge success —loud and clear. Quoting A.V. Davis of315 S. Holyoke, “Reports came in per-fectly and the broadcasting was perfectlymodulated.”

Later that week the city at large wasinvited out to the hill for a live broadcast,billed as the station’s grand opening.Promoter Wilbur Cooper took out news-paper ads showing the Roosevelt Street“radio plant” and offering an evening’sentertainment in a picnic-like setting.Curiously, the ad on page 5 of the July 7,1922 Eagle no longer touted the stationas being the largest this side of Pittsburg,the claim was now… “this side ofChicago.”

Receiving sets (radios with mega-phones) were placed at intervals aroundthe field. Parking on Roosevelt andCentral allowed patrons to sit in theirautomobiles within hearing distance ofthe broadcast. Those wanting a closerexperience, to actually see the perform-ers, were invited to set chairs near the

studio-shack without fear of electricalshock, “as everything is doubly, triplyand more insulated” (ever since the addi-tion of extra Johnny-balls following thefirst mishaps). Thousands of distant lis-teners tuned in. The program includedthe Boy Scouts’ flag raising ceremony;Edison music played into a telephonemicrophone; remarks by Eagle publisherMarshall Murdock; a live performanceby the Symphony Quartet; solos by Mrs.L.A. Heckard, and a concluding bedtimestory read over the air at 10 p.m.

WAAP was never much of a financialsuccess for United Electric. The stationwas expensive to operate and after thenovelty of the broadcasts wore off,Wichita merchants became less active insupporting it with advertising revenue.Some even had qualms about advertisingon the radio in the first place, thinking itunethical to use this new medium forcommercial advantage. The Coopersturned off the power on June 1, 1923.They had found, however, a buyer forCollege Hill’s WAAP and its impressiveequipment, someone who had no needfor outside advertising but who neededplenty of transmitter power for the reachit would bring. That buyer would be noneother than the master of self-promotionand quackery, Doctor John R. Brinkley,the infamous Kansas goat-gland doctor.

John R. Brinkley is best known foroffering a $750 surgical procedure tomen whose libido was drooping – hewould transplant a goat’s testicular glandinto the male patient’s scrotum in aneffort to turn the hapless man, accordingto one of his ads, “into the ram that amwith every lamb.” During a visit and

gland operation on the Los Angelesfounder of the Times-Mirror fortune,Harry Chandler, Brinkley toured KHJ, aradio station Chandler owned. Brinkleyimmediately saw the promise a broad-casting station would hold for promotinghis peculiar cure. Back in Kansas hemade a deal with United Electric to buyWAAP for $10,000. He had the stationreconstructed in Milford, Kansas andrenamed it KFKB, standing for “KansasFirst, Kansas Best.”

On the air Brinkley would speak forhours on end promoting his goat glandtreatment. He variously cajoled, shamedand appealed to his listener’s egos andtheir desire to be more sexually active.Between his spells of hucksterism hewould fill the airwaves with an eclecticmix of story telling, astrological fore-casts, French lessons, and music includ-ing military band, dance orchestra,gospel revival and country western. Inaddition to running afoul of theAmerican Medical Association and hav-ing his medical license revoked, he alsodrew the ire of the Federal RadioCommission who refused to renew hisradio license in 1930. He sold KFKB andpioneered the use of high powered radiotransmitters just across the border ofMexico, “border blasters,” where for atime he continued to practice his quack-ery in nearby Del Rio, Texas.

College Hill’s WAAP radio stationeventually returned to Wichita in a sense.Before moving his operations downsouth, Brinkley sold the station to TheFarmers and Bankers Life InsuranceCompany of Wichita, who changed itsname to KFBI. The station broadcastfrom Abilene (with remote a studio inSalina where for a time Paul Harvey wasemployed as its station manager).Farmers and Bankers brought the stationhome to Wichita in 1940 after its decadespent in Abilene.

KFBI’s studio was set up on the fifthfloor of the Farmers & Bankers buildingat 1st and Market. Its recording facilitieswere state-of-the-art and played host, forinstance, to jazz great Charlie Parkerwho’s Wichita recordings there werethought lost but discovered in 1959 andreleased in1974. Another notable visitorwas Hollywood star Ronald Reagan whostopped by to affirm broadcast industryties. KFBI’s powerful 254 foot, 5,000watt tower was located at 42nd andNorth Broadway. If the tower’s locationsounds vaguely familiar it may bebecause today the address is home toKFDI radio – the current holder of theWAAP, KFKB, KFBI, KFDI legacy.

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

‘LIVE FROM COLLEGE HILL, IT’S WAAP RADIO’CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

KANSASMEMORY.ORG

Doctor John R. Brinkley, the infamous Kansas goat-gland doctor, prepares for a questionableprocedure (transplanting a goat’s testicular gland into a male patient’s scrotum). Brinkley pur-chased WAAP from the Coopers to use the air waves to promote his cure for impotence

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presentssummer art camp

Enroll early for weeklong sesson where students willlearn the basics of clay construction and spray art on can-vas. During these processes your child will learn how tocreatively express themselves through the elements andprinciples of design, which will promote cognitive devel-opment and build probelm solving skills.

The first part of the week will be devoted to 3-D design.Students will create a unique

lidded vessel out of clay which will be fired in the kiln andthen painted.The second part of the week will be devot-ed to 2-D design where students will learn the process ofspray painting on stretched canvas.

sessions1. May 31-June 3

2. June 7 - June 113. June 14-June 184. June 21-June 255. Juned 28-July 26. July 12-July 167. July 19-July 238. July 26-July 309. Aug. 2-Aug. 5

Sessions: 4-7pm Mon-FriLocation: 1141 Jefferson(in Riverside area)Ages: 7 and upCost: $150 per session perstudent. (Drinks andsnacks provided.)

Call now!258-4043

meet the teachersTINA THOMAS is a certified art teacher who holds aBFA with an emphasis on ceramics and art education.She volunteers her time with the Ulrich Museum.JOHN Q is a well known local artist who specializes inspray painting. He has held numerous shows aroundWichita. You can view his work in Old Town.

From Delano to College Hill, bicyclists could befound up and down the avenue during “I BikeDouglas,” an event organized last month to raisebicycle awareness and safety. At the Red Cross,hundreds turned out for maintenance and safetycourses. “He just got his training wheels off,” saidone parent. “So we thought we’d bring him here.”

Photos byBARRY OWENS

Pedal Power

Page 16: The College Hill Commoner_June 2010