Also in 1922, only a few days after receiving the CKAC Montreal call letters, a contract was signed between owner La Presse newspaper and the Marconi Company, which owned CFCF. And the next day, the newspaper announced it was going to set up CKAC as the most powerful station in the Americas. Plans began to build a 2000 watt transmitter on 430 metres on the roof of La Presse's 7 St-Jacques Street office building.
In 1997, CKUA began its first on-air fundraiser. At the end of two weeks, they had raised more than one million dollars, more than enough to make the station viable again. The station had been shut down by the CKUA Radio Foundation on March 20th, citing lack of funds.
In 2000, the Friendly Giant, Bob Homme, died of prostate cancer at the age of 81. He launched the show originally on radio, on the University of Wisconsin's WHA-AM, a year later on WHA-TV, then to CBC TV in September 1958. In one of its many "massive budget cuts", the CBC cancelled the show in 1984, with the last original show airing in March 1985. Rod Coneybeare both manipulated the puppets and performed the voices of both Rusty and Jerome.
In 2002, a Celebration of Life was held for the late Jack Cullen. He was a radio operator in the Canadian Navy during World War II, attended the Sprott-Shaw School of Commerce and Radio in Vancouver in 1945, and debuted at CJAV Port Alberni in November 1946, first doing News, then becoming a DJ. In April 1947, he moved to CKMO Vancouver in Engineering, but soon was back on the air, doing CKMO's all-night show, known as Pacific Patrol. Later that year, he took over the 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. DX Patrol program, selling his own commercial time and changing it to the "Owl Prowl", a program name he used for the rest of his broadcast career. He moved to CKNW in 1949, back to CKMO in 1954 through the call letter changed to CFUN and back to CKNW in 1957, until being laid off on May 18, 1999. He spent his last few months on-air at CKST Vancouver in 2000. CCF biography with picture and audio: http://broadcasting-history.ca/personal ... ancis-jack
In 2006, CIHS-FM in Wetaskiwin (Alberta) received approval to increase power to 5,120 watts and to increase antenna height, about 5 years after signing on with only 50 watts on 93.5 MHz. The station has since been sold after the majority owner took ill. The station continues to lose money, with no end in sight.
