Sales Manager

General Manager

About John Carroll Jr., (President & General Manager) came to the Tawases after graduating from College.  At that time WIOS was an AM daytime-only radio station.  Upon his arrival, plans were made to add an FM radio station.  An application was made to the FCC and granted in late 1979. WKJC FM 104.7 went on the air that year at 50,000 Watts.  Over the years the Carroll family has added WKJZ FM 94.9 (50,000 Watts) in Alpena and WQLB FM 103.3 (25,000 Watts) in Tawas City.  John's brother, Tim Carroll joined the family business in 1984 after he graduated from college and is now General Sales Manager.


East Tawas 1960's Postcard

This newspaper article from the Tawas City Newspaper shows WIOS is slated to begin daily operations September 27th, 1958.  Click thumbnail for entire article.  Thanks to Neil Thornton for photographing these historic articles.

photo Marvin Walther

Here is a picture of R. S. Underhill (President of WIOS beginning in 1958) with the Chief Engineer, discussing the new equipment installation for WIOS.  With a few more engineers since then, the current Chief Engineer is Marvin Walther who has an A.E.E. from the now-historic Valparaiso Technical Institute, Valparaiso, IN .  Click on the thumbnail to view the full sized picture.  Archivist Neil Thornton.

photo Marvin Walther

In this article, WIOS is slated to broadcast a Whittemore-Prescott versus Oscoda ballgame over the radio for the first time, no more than a month after the station begins operation in 1958.  Note the ballgames had to be recorded back then, since there was no way to broadcast live, at least with the equipment they had on hand!  Click the thumbnail to read the article.

Article reprint courtesy of Neil Thornton.

photo Marvin Walther

Old Silver Valley advertisement extolling the fun to be had during the Silver Valley Winter Sports Carnival (1958).  Today, there are only hints of all the ski and toboggan runs that existed at Silver Valley near Silver Creek in the Huron National Forest northwest of Tawas City between Tawas and Lumberman's Monument.  You can still hike the area near the Corsair ski trails and see the impact that years of frolicking fun have had on the region.  Click on the thumbnail to see the whole ad.  Thanks to Neil Thornton for archive access.

photo Marvin Walther

Ron Gamble, WIOS first General Manager is seen here as the DJ in this historical photo after the station opened for broadcasting in September of 1958.  Click on the thumbnail to view the larger picture.

Reprint thanks to Neil Thornton, Tawas area Archivist.

photo Marvin Walther

Here the new WIOS ownership asks "Will You Listen?"  The station began broadcasting at 12 O'Clock (noon) Saturday, September 27th, 1958.  It's interesting to note that on September 27th, 2008 (50 years later) it was also a Saturday.  This would not have happened if it weren't for the fact that in 2000, we did not have a leap year due to the millennia rollover. Paper archive-Neil Thornton.

Postcard of Lumberman's Monument from May 25, 1941

Lumberman's Monument today.  Notice how the trees have grown big in the last 70 years!

photo Marvin Walther

Remember what was on TV in 1958?  How about "Popeye", "The Price Is Right", or "You Bet Your Life" with Groucho Marx?  How about the Jack Paar Show (the predecessor to Steve Allen and the Tonight Show, followed by Johnny Carson when TV went to color in the 60's!).  Click on the old TV guide and see what was happening on the Television airwaves in 1958 when WIOS went on the air!  TV Guide-Herald newspaper archive courtesy of Neil Thornton.

 

Look at this Philco Predicta TV from 1958.  With an industry-first printed circuit (PC) board  design mixed with vacuum tubes, it made the Predicta prone to overheating (not so predicta-ble!).  Alas the Predicta was fraught with reliability issues, but non-the-less remains an iconic TV from 1958!  They were so prolific in sales in 1958, that even to this day they are not a rare find, and are still not too valuable as collector items, that is unless you love the cool styling of the Predicta!  Click to see a larger Picture!

Visit Neil Thornton's website and learn more about the region's history through his books and DVDs.  Neil is the Tawas area's foremost historian and archivist.  A reporter and newspaperman, Neil's historic referential point of view of Iosco County and surrounding areas breaths life into the historic figures and industries that have come and gone from our region.  Special thanks to Neil for letting me photograph certain articles from the old News Herald from 1958.  Neil was the head of the Tawas paper for several decades. He's the author of over 15 books on local history, lore and legend.  You can visit bookshops in downtown East Tawas that carry his historic writings, or to learn more, just visit Neil's Website.  Thanks Neil for letting me gather the photos for this historic review of WIOS Radio! - Marvin Walther

1958 saw the innovation of stereo phonograph records introduced to the public for the first time.  Columbia Records started as early as 1956, recording symphonies and classical works in the new stereophonic format, just so there would be enough material to release come 1958.  Pop recordings were recorded in stereo toward 1957, 58, and 59, during a transition phase and as custom recording equipment was being hand-built by the recording company's own engineers at a fervent pace and put into service.  But, early on, most of the major labels concentrated on their finer, classical masterpieces, often re-recording pieces that had only been recorded a few years prior.  Recordings from the likes of Leonard Bernstein and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra which had been recorded in monophonic High Fidelity since 1949 were such examples.  Stereo recordings were compatible with monaural players with the new, lighter-weight tone arms which had just come on the market.  Older, heavier tone arm record players would virtually destroy the finer quality groove of a stereophonic record, not only because of the weight, but because the record player's stylus was not cut to  the right shape or size, or wasn't made of a good, hard material like sapphire or diamond.  Often steel, copper or osmium styli damaged stereo records to the dismay of the owner!  Mono versions of the records were for sale side by side with their stereo counterparts for this very reason, so the older phonographs could continue to play them for years after stereo was introduced!  Radio stations often had to buy the mono versions for this reason too, or upgrade their tone arms and styli!

Tawas Tornado of June 7th, 1953
   
1. Photo capture of another tornado in Flint during the1953 outbreak.                 2. Recorded Paths June 1953
The summer of 1953 was a violent one.  The June 7th "Tawas Tornado" resulted in 4 local fatalities and provided the impetus to get the doors open sooner to the newly built St. Joseph Hospital.  The following day, this interview was broadcast on WSAM in Saginaw with Iosco County News editor Berkeley Smith.  This event also showed that a local radio station needed to be built in Iosco county:
 
Courtesy of SJHS.  Audio restored from transcription disc by Marvin Walther

WIOS

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