KNOM: The Nome Static, March 2008

UNKIND WINTER: (left) General manager Ric Schmidt points to the studio furnace’s reset button, a control that’s seen plenty of use.

Meanwhile, with temperatures around –30º, a major failure brought the station within twenty degrees of freezing. Brr!

From Albany, Oregon, Ric was a KNOM volunteer in 1984-85, and founding general manager of Catholic station KBVM in Portland for seven years. He returned as program director in 1995, and was named general manager when Tom Busch moved to Anchorage after thirty years at the KNOM helm.

SCHOOL DAYS: (left) Volunteer news reporter Jacob Buckenmeyer flew to the villages of Savoonga and Gambell on St. Lawrence Island to cover board meetings of the Bering Strait School District.

This “local” school district includes 16 villages across more than 80,000 square miles of land — if it were a state, it would be the 15th largest in the Union.

Gambell is 333 miles from the district’s headquarters in Unalakleet, the same distance that New York City is from Pittsburgh. It’s all KNOM listening country.

Both Gambell and Savoonga are subject to extremely punishing winter blizzards.

(Left) In Savoonga, Jacob photographed the village's gas station.

WILLFULLY: Please consider adding our Alaska Radio Mission to your will. We prayerfully place all such gifts into funds that provide for emergencies, and provide for future major improvements.

May God bless you abundantly for your generosity.

INSPIRATIONAL SPOT: Jesus was born in a borrowed manger. He preached from a borrowed boat. He entered Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. He ate the Last Supper in a borrowed upper room and was buried in a borrowed tomb.

Does that tell us something about our own tendency to own so many things and make them so important in our lives?

INSPIRATIONAL SPOT: A prescription for inner peace: Forgive others totally. Forgive everyone who has ever hurt us. Take a leap of faith and trust and love. Thank God. Choose to experience peace rather than conflict. Choose to experience love rather than fear and guilt. Choose to be a love finder, rather than a fault finder. And choose to be a love giver, rather than a love seeker.

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IS IT COLD AT THIRTY BELOW? (left) You’d never know it from Kristina Proctor’s smile, around the corner from the KNOM studio.

Behind her, the World War II Quonset hut is a family’s storage shed.

Nearly destroyed by fire in 1934, Nome folks adopted 800 abandoned 1940s Army Quonsets and knock-down buildings.

In fact, the original KNOM volunteer dorms were knock-downs, until they’d deteriorated beyond repair in the early 1990s.

A first-year volunteer, Kristina supervises production of KNOM’s educational spots.

DO YOU KNOW a young person you think might make a great KNOM volunteer? Please show them this:

"What's your heart saying? Want to be an inspiration to others and use your talents to the fullest? Is volunteering the answer?

If you're a young adult or recent college graduate, we invite you to send us an email to belong@knom.org or check us out online at www.knom.org.

There you'll find tons of information about KNOM Radio, plus our volunteer opportunities.

Let your voice be heard and make a difference with KNOM Radio."

If you can, please pass it on!

“NORTHERN EXPOSURE” MOMENT: It was an unusual public service announcement on behalf of Nome Police, warning people to stay away from the north side of the town’s hospital.

The reason? A mother moose with a calf had wandered in from the wilderness, probably to take a break from slogging through deep snow. Nome does see the occasional critter.

(Left) Yes, the moose were avoiding the drifts, but they were also doing their best to avoid contact with people.

THE MOST AWARD-WINNING RADIO STATION IN THE UNITED STATES? We may be. With 15 Gabriel Radio Station of the Year Awards, 4 NAB Crystal Awards for Excellence in Community Service and 2 Marconi “Religious Station of the Year” Awards, plus many others, it’s well possible.

Thank you for helping sustain this important service throughout vast Western Alaska.

INSPIRATIONAL SPOT: "Dear Friend, if you ever need to talk, or share a dream, cry a tear, or be comforted, reassured or understood, remember: I am always with you. Your secrets are safe with Me, and I will always love you," says the Lord.

INSPIRATIONAL SPOT: People are never more tall than when they kneel before God; never more dependable than when they depend on God; never stronger than when they draw on God's strength; never so wise as, in their lack of wisdom, they seek Divine guidance. Truly, people who most rely on God will be the most reliable people.

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Transcript of two minutes of the KNOM finish line broadcast.

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ALAPAH! The nearly-universal word among Eskimo languages is pronounced ah-lah-PAH! Translation? “It’s cold!”

(Above left) With 643 souls, the village of Gambell huddles on the western tip of St. Lawrence Island. Illuminated by the sun is the frozen Bering Sea.

Looking in this direction on a clear day, you can see the mountains of Russia, which is only 35 miles away. (The photo’s by Jacob Buckenmeyer.)

Nearly every Gambell adult is a daily and enthusiastic KNOM listener.

FORTY YEARS AGO: March 1968 in Anchorage, volunteer Paul Deiser earns his Second Class and First Class Radiotelephone Licenses from the FCC, and is working on a ham radio license, too. Deiser is set to become the Catholic station’s founding chief engineer, but leaves a few months later as paperwork stalls construction.

THIRTY YEARS AGO: March 19, 1978, after 1,049 miles, two teams run neck and neck down Nome’s Front Street, and Dick Mackey wins the Iditarod by one-half second.

Tom Busch’s excited description of the thrilling finish becomes one of the best known live radio broadcasts in Alaska history.

Meanwhile, KNOM reports that at a side event, a dog named “Butter” wins the dog weight pull contest, hauling a sled with 590 pounds of weights 25 feet in 63.5 seconds.

“LED” THERE BE LIGHT: In early summer 2003, KNOM replaced our tower lights with highly efficient Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). LEDs use far less electricity than traditional bulbs, for our beacon and side lamps, 100 watts as opposed to 1,472 watts. (And they’re much brighter!)

Over the past five years, this has shaved a whopping $44,000 off our electric bills, as well as about $40,000 in transportation and payment for licensed climbers to replace the old style bulbs annually.

It’s one way in which we strive to use your gifts as efficiently as possible. To everyone who helped with this 2003 installation, thank you!

(Left) Chief engineer for KNOM at the time, Les Brown holds the tag line for the tower's LED beacon as workers hoist it to the top.

YES, WE NEED YOU NOW MORE THAN EVER. We pray for you, your intentions, and everyone you love. May Our Father bless you a thousand times over for your kindness.