Tag Archives | radio

Summer challenges: weather broadcasts and telephone lines

By KNOM on August 12, 2012 in Photos, Stories

Rural Alaska’s brief summer brings more than its share of unique challenges, many of which we can anticipate. Every year, nonetheless, unexpected emergencies find a way of catching us by surprise.

This summer, our friends at the National Weather Service are working with KNOM to overcome their latest difficulties. Normally, weather reports air on both a special National Weather Service radio channel and on KNOM. Recently, however, the Weather Service’s radio channel has fallen into disrepair.

Until a repairman can be flown to Nome, KNOM’s role as a primary source of critical weather information will be even greater.

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Fish and wildlife reports, and help from a KNOM alumnus

By KNOM on July 29, 2012 in Photos, Stories

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

By KNOM on July 28, 2012 in History, Photos

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.

Signs of summer, and letters of appreciation

By KNOM on July 22, 2012 in Photos, Stories

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 1999: Rod Ewing paints the tower

By KNOM on July 15, 2012 in History, Photos

Rod Ewing paints the KNOM tower, circa 1999

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!

By KNOM on July 13, 2012 in Photos, Stories

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!

July 1971: Thanks to a nurse, a last-minute fix

By KNOM on July 7, 2012 in History, Photos

Sally Duggan, Kitty Orris, and Ida Schilter: three of the 71 nurses who, during KNOM’s first 15 years, supported the station by donating their entire salary to the radio mission. The nurses worked at Nome’s hospital but lived in KNOM’s volunteer housing.

July 13, 1971

One day before scheduled sign-on, a copper strap burns apart in the antenna tuning unit, removing the antenna from the transmitter. Six small resistors burn in the transmitter’s final section. In isolated Nome, they are impossible to replace.

However, support nurse Kitty Orris (pictured, in the middle of the photo) has just escorted a patient to Anchorage, where she is able to purchase the parts for transport by air the next morning.

July 1989: A visit to Provideniya

By KNOM on June 30, 2012 in History

July 4, 1989

Walking on the main street of Provideniya, USSR, general manager Tom Busch encounters a young English teacher who recognizes his voice from the radio. “Everyone in Provideniya knows you!” she exclaims. Tom and son Steve are part of a Cub Scout field trip to the Soviet Union. They and the thirty others on the visit are the first ordinary Americans to visit the region, which is a militarized zone. The friendship-forging event is later recounted in the children’s book Friendship Across Arctic Waters by Claire Rudolph.

Summer and Sunday Mass

By KNOM on June 24, 2012 in Photos, Stories

Father Ross Tozzi celebrates Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Nome.

Large patches of snow dot the tundra on north facing hills, but most areas are beginning to see a variety of blooming tundra flowers. Subsistence fishing and hunting will soon begin; in Western Alaska, families work hard to store up food for the winter.

Throughout KNOM’s primary coverage area, 19,230 persons are unable to worship Roman Catholic Mass in their villages more than half of the time. For these individuals, the only weekly opportunity to worship the Mass is KNOM’s Sunday morning broadcast.

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