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Opinion: Local Columns

WFTM Exhibit opens at KGMC

Friday, August 15, 2008 2:28 PM EDT

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The WFTM On The Air: 60 Years of Broadcasting exhibit opened Saturday, Aug. 9 at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center and runs through Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our national anthem". Since 1948 these words have greeted early risers in Maysville and the surrounding Ohio River Valley. Beginning August 9th through September 28th the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center will host an exhibit of photos, artifacts and recordings of WFTM celebrating their 60 years serving our region.

WFTM went live on January 1, 1948 at 12:01 a.m. three hours and sixteen minutes after the FCC gave its official permission to begin programming. Mr. James M. Finch, Jr. and Mr. Charles P. Clarke, owners of Standard Tobacco Company were the owners and operators of the new station with Mr. James William Betts acting as the first General Manager.

The Public Ledger announced the new radio station in the newspaper with the following statement: "It is the intent of the Standard Tobacco Company owners and operators of the new station to give Maysville and the surrounding counties on both sides of the Ohio River a local service broadcasting station established for the people of this community. The public service organizations located in Maysville's primary area will extend a warm invitation to use the facilities of WKYO [WFTM] to further the advancement of farm and civic interests."

The call letters originally assigned by the FCC were WKYO and WFTM had been assigned to a police station in Buffalo, New York. However, Mr. Finch wanted the WFTM call letters to represent the "World's Finest Tobacco Market". He contacted the police chief in Buffalo and made the trade of letters for a Kentucky ham and a chew of Burley tobacco.

Doug McGill, Station Manager, said "We are happy to showcase the pioneering days of this station with a display of older equipment, audio visual and pictures of events and people connected with this station. I have been here for much of the station's history and it has been fun, trying and made me feel good hoping I have done something helpful for the community. We are proud of the community support of WFTM these past 60 years. If it wasn't for that support we wouldn't still be here".

Danny Weddle and Robert Roe of WFTM are co-curators of this exhibit.

The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. Come to the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center and view the collection in the Exhibits Gallery to see and "Hear it from Tobacco Square".

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