| The links below
will display images of The original Nome Static Newsletters, scanned into
digital format. Please note that these files are
fairly large, and may take some time to load. these are just a few examples of the newsletter's development over the years. We hope you enjoy these slices of KNOM history! Transmission
#1, page 1
Transmission
#2, page 1
Transmission
#64, page 1
Transmission
#66, page 1
Transmission
#67, page 1
Transmission
#68, page 1
Transmission
#69, page 1
Transmission
#70, page 1
Transmission
#108, page 1
Transmission
#263, page 1
Transmission
#319, page 1
|
It was during a one year break from
the Alaskan missions in 1964 that Father Jim Poole, SJ began soliciting
funds for his dream of an Alaskan radio station. He was living in Portland,
Oregon, serving in the "not very sought after job" of Athletic Director
for
Jesuit High. Starting with friends and family, he slowly developed a group of dedicated individuals, some of whom sent a dollar a month toward the future Catholic station, to be located somewhere in the wilderness of western Alaska. The next year, Father Jim continued to raise funds while pastor in Barrow, and following his assignment to Nome in summer 1966, and permission from Bishop Francis D. Gleeson, SJ, he published the first edition of the Nome Static in September 1966. Father Jim's lone volunteer Noralee Irvin typed Transmission One onto a mimeograph stencil, which she then printed on an ancient mimeograph machine belonging to St. Joseph's parish. The machine pulled in the paper crooked and printed lightly and irregularly. For Transmission Two, and every so often in the early years, either Nome's supply of mimeograph stencils ran out or the machine would mangle stencils, and one or both sides of the single sheet newsletter were printed using a blue spirit dittograph. By October 1987, the monthly "press run" had reached 4,000, beyond the endurance of a typical fragile mimeograph stencil, not to mention the endurance of a secretary forced to hand-crank a mimeograph printer, squeezing out one sheet at a time. That month, the newsletter, still typeset on a typewriter, went into production through a conventional offset press, Commercial Printing of Fairbanks, and was assembled and mailed by the Alaskan Shepherd office of the Diocese of Fairbanks. In 1990, freight prices to Alaska had risen, making it more economical for the Nome Static to be printed closer to the source of paper in the Lower 48. That year, The Daily Journal of Commerce in Portland, Oregon began printing the "Static," and they continue printing it today. In May 1993, KNOM began using a Macintosh computer to produce the Nome
Static, and the newsletter ended its typewriter
Primarily written in scraps of time after normal work hours, the Nome Static retains the simplicity and economy of Father Jim's Transmission One and retains its original flavor, within an inexpensive and easy-to-read format. Contributions sent to KNOM in response to the newsletter comprise 94% of the radio station's cash operating income. |
| Home | Volunteering | Photo Gallery | KNOM Staff | Nome Static | Inspirational Spots | About KNOM |
Copyright 1996-2008 KNOM.
Send comments to webmaster@knom.org
