Broadcast History - June 23

[jon]

In 1927, CHWK Chilliwack signed on for the first time on 1210 KHz with 5 watts. Some sources say the original assigned call letters were 5CG, but they were definitely CHWK by 1928. They only broadcast an hour or two a day, sometimes less if the owners of Menzies Hardware (and CHWK) were too busy selling radios to their customers. One U.S. publication of the day labelled CHWK "the smallest commercial radio station in North America". On April 14, 1951, CHWK Chilliwack moved from 1340 to 1230 KHz, the frequency vacated by CKNW in 1949, and increased power to 1000 watts daytime and 250 watts at night. Within 2 years, CHWK moved to 1270 KHz, with 1000 watts full-time, increasing to 10,000 watts in 1960. In August 1999, Rogers purchased the station, and at 5 p.m. on August 31, 2001, CHWK became CKSR-FM on 98.3 KHz.



In 1936, the Canadian Broadcasting Act, authored by C.D. Howe became law, dissolving the much-despised Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) and creating the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The CBC was not just to be a national broadcaster, but also a broadcaster regulator. Its first General Manager was Gladstone Murray.



In 1989, CFCW Camrose, CKRA-FM Edmonton and CHRK-FM Kamloops were sold to Newcap by Hal Yerxa (90% ownership) and Warren Holte (10%). Hal signed on CFCW at 1:00 p.m. on November 2, 1954, with 250 watts on 1230 KHz, and still lived in Camrose in 1989. He retired that year, and passed away on April 12, 1997. Hal was born in 1920 and began as an announcer at CJRM Regina in 1937, moving to Toronto to work for the CBC, serving in the Regina Rifle Regiment during World War II, announcing for CKCK Regina, then CJCA Edmonton, where he was famous for a children's program and became News Director. Hal helped start CKRD Red Deer and then had a popular morning show on CKNW New Westminster, before returning to Alberta in 1953 to start CFCW, CKRA-FM in 1979, and CHRK-FM in 1984.

In 2003, CJNL-1230 Merrit (B.C.) announced it would begin broadcasting 12 hours of local programming per day. The station and CHNL-AM Kamloops both began on May 1, 1970, with CJNL mostly simulcast with a very minimum of local programming. In 2009, CJNL-AM moved to 101.1 MHz as CKMQ-FM and the 1230 KHz AM transmitter became a rebroadcaster of CHNL.