Our inspirational spot of the week:
Your life may be the only gospel some people will ever read.
Archive | July, 2012
Fish and wildlife reports, and help from a KNOM alumnus
Engineer, technology guru, and former KNOM news director Tom Bunger recently paid a visit to our station and helped us improve our networking and internet connectivity. Here, Tom makes some tweaks to KNOM’s internet wiring. Photo by David Dodman.
Fish are moving upriver, muskoxen are roaming the tundra, and bears are perched at the edge of streams looking for their next meal. Summer in bush Alaska means wildlife and fish reports on KNOM will keep everyone informed and safe.
As summer progresses, our daily high temperatures are typically about 50 degrees, and we have been experiencing record precipitation. We wish we could share our rain with the drought-stricken areas of the “lower 48.” We pray for them and for relief from their extreme dry conditions.
Former KNOM news director Tom Bunger pitched in last week as we worked on technology issues. Tom was visiting Nome and devoted some time to help us streamline our computer and internet operations. His suggestions and work should show immediate savings of $300 to $500 per month. Thanks, Tom!
August 1992: A thank-you from the governor
Former Alaska governor Walter Hickel (right) and wife Ermalee Hickel, photographed in Anchorage, Alaska in 2008.
August 2, 1992
A letter arrives out of the blue from Alaska governor Walter Hickel. “Thank you for your generous commitment and devotion to the communities in the Nome area,” He writes. “Your radio broadcasts are really making a difference.” The governor and his wife are annual KNOM contributors.
The whole world
Our inspirational spot of the week:
You may be only one person in the whole world, but you may also be the whole world to one person.
Signs of summer, and letters of appreciation
A sign of late summer, circa 1990s: Nome resident Leona Mayac scours for wild salmonberries on boggy tundra 15 miles from Nome. (This photo was originally featured in our September 1999 newsletter.)
The temperatures are hovering in the mid-50s, and our region’s families are fishing, hunting, and preparing to gather greens and berries. They are also listening to KNOM. The radio is a constant companion for thousands of Alaskans, and if they could, they would thank all who make this radio ministry possible!
Signs of appreciation – in the form of support letters from organizations and individuals – continue to arrive as we put together our foundation grant requests for construction of the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios. These notes from the people who support, listen to, depend on, and enjoy the KNOM Radio Mission remind us of all the wonderful benefits you help bring to our remote listeners.
Special thanks this week to KNOM volunteer Matt Smith. He was instrumental in getting KNOM back on the air after utility workers shut off power to the AM transmitter site last week.
July 1971: Help from John Mullaney
July 25, 1971
Pro bono consulting engineer John H. Mullaney has flown to Nome from Gaithersburg, Maryland to supervise the installation of new high voltage filters, and KNOM resumes operation at 6:55 this morning.
Mullaney donates the entire week’s work.
Hope and faith
Our inspirational spot of the week:
Hope is hearing the melody of the future. Faith is dancing to it today.
July 1999: Rod Ewing paints the tower
In the summer of 1999, Anchorage tower contractor Rod Ewing steadily paints the KNOM transmitter tower, foot by foot.
July 21, 1999
Rod Ewing begins to apply a new coat of paint to the KNOM tower. How do you paint a tower? “The first thing you do,” Rod jokes, “is take a bucket of paint and pour it over your head, so you get that part taken care of right off the bat.” Actually, it’s tedious work, using cotton mittens, taking about two minutes per foot of tower.
41 candles on our birthday cake!
Bishop Robert Whelan pushes the “on” button for KNOM’s very first program: July 14, 1971.
On July 14, 1971, a dedicated staff of volunteers helped to launch a new kind of radio station. KNOM signed on as a mission radio station: a unifying source of inspiration, education, news, and entertainment. Today, KNOM is the oldest Catholic radio station in the United States.
Over the years, we have heard so many stories about how KNOM makes a positive difference in listeners’ lives. Years ago, a local man dropped by the radio station and, in a soft, low voice, told us how KNOM had saved his life. So many listeners have changed their lives. Many times we can’t repeat the stories, so as to respect the person’s privacy. As each story is told, we are more encouraged to make KNOM a beacon of faith, hope, and charity.
We thank everyone who has helped KNOM put 41 candles on our cake. We’ve only just begun!
Worrying
Our inspirational spot of the week:
Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles; it takes away today’s peace.
