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| KFSG LA Aimee Semple
Pioneer L. A. Christian Station Stops Broadcasting After 79 Years
by Jim Hilliker
ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW LOS ANGELES RADIO STATION
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KFSG Towers 1920s
© Jim Hilliker Collection
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Aimee knew in 1922 she wanted to spread the word of God and bring people to
her church through the use of radio, which was first gaining popularity
at the time. The official church history states that she was the
first woman to preach a sermon over the radio in April of 1922, on the
Rockridge radio station (KZY) in Oakland, California. This
station went off the air in 1923, and did not become KNEW, as the KFSG
history Web site has written.
With about 500 radio stations in the country in 1923, Aimee gained more
radio experience on station KHJ, which donated time on Sunday mornings
to Protestant preachers. This helped her decide to put her own
radio station on the air. The experts told Aimee there were about
200,000 radio sets within 100 miles of Los Angeles, with more being
built and sold every day. Operators of other Los Angeles radio
stations advised McPherson she could be on the air for under
$25,000. Her congregation agreed with her and they raised the
money for the broadcasting station. Aimee hired popular radio
engineer Kenneth Gladstone Ormiston from the Los Angeles Times' station,
KHJ, to be her radio engineer for $3,000 a year. (Ormiston had
also written the radio column for the Times and was technical
editor of Radio Doings magazine. In 1925 while at KFSG,
he hosted a 45-minute weekly program over KFWB, the "Radio Doings
Technical Hour." He answered questions from readers of the
magazine about radio, their reception problems, problems with their
radios, etc.).
The new modern station was built on the 3rd floor of Angelus
Temple, with its transmitting antenna on the church roof. Radio
Doings magazine reported the following item about the new station,
a week before it went on the air: "The KFSG operating room is
located in the center of the third floor foyer, in a special built
room. Mr. K.G. Ormiston, well known through his work at KHJ, will
see that the big station transmits properly. An attractive studio
has been located at the east end of the third floor foyer, and
microphones have been installed in the auditorium, so that the programs
may be sent from either. A complete phone and signal system is in
operation between pulpit, studio and operating room."
In January of 1924, the Department of Commerce-Radio Division wired Aimee
that her license for the new radio station was granted, with the
sequentially issued call letters KFNC. She was disappointed with
the assigned call letters, and immediately sent off a reply
telegram. She asked that her radio station be called KFSG, as her
church of 4,000 resident members called its teachings the Foursquare
Gospel. On January 28, 1924, the very same day, a telegram came
back from Washington, D.C. telling Aimee that they had granted her
request to call her radio station KFSG. She sent a wire back on
January 29th, thanking the Department of Commerce for the
change. The new station was assigned to broadcast on a wavelength
of 278 meters, or 1080 kilocycles on the radio dial. KFSG's debut
came at a time when the new technology of radio broadcasting was still
undergoing change and experimentation. The public was also using
a variety of radios that weren't standardized yet, to hear the
broadcasts. These operated on storage batteries for power, and usually
one had to have 3 different batteries to power those early
radios. Recharging the batteries every so often became a chore
for early radio buffs. Loudspeakers cost extra, too. The
simpler, easy-to-tune one-dial all-electric AC radios weren't on the
scene until 1927 and 1928.
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Aimee Semple McPherson ca 1924
© Jim Hilliker Collection
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The start of this historic radio station took place 8 days later. The
date was February 6, 1924. It was a time when a 500-watt radio
station was considered to be "high power" and the average transmitter
power needed to cover a large city. KFI and KHJ were already
broadcasting with 500 watts, and KFSG was about to do the same.
KNX would not boost its power to 500 watts until October of 1924.
KFSG's first broadcast took place during Los Angeles' 2nd
annual Radio and Electrical Exposition, at the Biltmore Hotel.
The opening of the new radio station was the big story on the front
page of the Los Angeles Times the next day, since Mrs.
McPherson had been acquainted with the Times' staff, through
her occasional broadcasts on the newspaper's station, KHJ. Aimee
Semple McPherson's own magazine, The Bridal Call, announced the
big event this way in its February 1924 issue:
ANGELUS TEMPLE—Powerful 500 Watt Radio Station—Now Broadcasting—Wave Length 278
Meters—K.F.S.G. Angelus Temple, Kall Four Square Gospel.
Draw up your fireside chair, adjust your earphones and tune in, for the
great Angelus Temple Revival is now on the air!
With due pomp and ceremony becoming so great an event, the Angelus Temple radio
broadcasting station was opened February 6th at 8 p.m.
Enthusiastic thousands were assembled. Joyous anticipation rose
to flood tide, as the powerful 500-watt Western Electric equipped
station was formally dedicated to God and the people of the United
States, Canada, Alaska, Mexico, Panama, Hawaii, South Sea Islands, etc.
Scarce had the station come on the air, till
telegrams and dispatches began to arrive from Arizona, Colorado, Canada
and the Mexican border, stating that the program was being received as
clearly as though the listeners-in were seated in the Temple.
STATE PRESS AND CLERGY OFFICIATE
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Aimee Semple McPherson and Kenneth G. Ormiston
© Jim Hilliker Collection
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Among the speakers on the dedicatory program who
congratulated Angelus Temple for their radio equipment were acting
Mayor Boyle Workman, Chairman of the City Council; Judge Carlos Hardy
of the Superior Court; Col. J.F. Dillon, radio supervisor of the
Western States for the Department of Commerce; Harry Chandler, owner of
the Los Angeles Times; "Uncle John" Daggett, announcer of the Times
radio station KHJ; Brook Hawkins, builder of Angelus Temple; Dr. J.
Whitcomb Brougher, Pastor Temple Baptist Church and many others.
So
draw up your chair, attach your loudspeaker and listen in. Three
times daily (except Monday), you may hear Angelus Temple and the great
revival sermons, song and prayer. Twice weekly, Tuesdays and Thursdays,
a message will be broadcasted for the shut-ins. May God grant
that the radio prove a mighty blessing to old and young, rich and poor,
to sick and well, to one and all."
The
first words ever spoken over KFSG were taken from the Bible, John
3:16. They were spoken from the "Gray Studio" by Aimee Semple
McPherson, at the start of the station's dedicatory ceremony that
evening. Programs during KFSG's early years that originated from
the main studio were listed in the newspapers and magazines as "Gray
Studio" programs.
When
KFSG first began broadcasting, a group of Christians formed a Radio
Missionary Society for the station. Each member took a day to pay
back the pastor, making it a tribute to a loved one, a cherished event
or in appreciation for the broadcasts. In this manner, KFSG was
sponsored for many years, solely by its listeners and was
non-commercial. Sister Aimee also decided to get word out about KFSG
and broadcasting her church services in a unique way. Since not
every household had a radio at that time, she set up tents around
various Southern California communities, where large groups of people
gathered to hear KFSG. For some, it was also their first time
listening to a radio.
KFSG'S EARLY SUCCESS
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KFSG Letterhead
© Jim Hilliker Collection
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Within
a few weeks, KFSG was as popular as any Los Angeles radio station at
the time, and there were only 6 stations on the air regularly in the
area then. By the middle of 1925, there were still less than a
dozen stations on the air in the L.A. region! During the first
few months on the air, KFSG's staff included Gladwyn N. Nichols, the
station announcer, who also was the Musical Director at Angelus Temple;
Essie Locy acted as station hostess, and K.G. Ormiston who was KFSG's
operator-engineer.
There
were no Arbitron ratings or any other ratings services at this
time. The only way radio stations could determine if their signal
was getting out and get an idea who was hearing them, was from
listeners either calling the radio station on the phone or by sending
the station a card, letter or telegram reporting reception of the
station. In March of 1924, The Bridal Call reported that
mail was pouring into Angelus Temple from throughout the United States
and outside the country, in response to the messages sent out over
KFSG. All the mail was "answered by a competent staff of church
members who had volunteered for the work." The March 29, 1924
KFSG schedule in Radio Doings magazine had a note at
the bottom of the page that showed the growing interest the public had
in radio at this time. It said that souvenir programs containing
photos of the Temple, studios and operating plant of KFSG would be
mailed without cost to those writing for them.
During
the week of April 6, 1924, the KFSG program schedule in Radio Doings
showed KFSG on the air every day except Monday. The station never
went on the air before 10:30 a.m., and in those first months, didn't go
on the air until 3:30 p.m. many days. Like many stations in those
days, KFSG went on and off the air as many as 4 or 5 times a day,
between broadcasts of church services, and organ recitals or studio
programs. The last broadcast of the evening during its first year
was usually no later than 9 or 10 p.m., and in 1925 there was a Sunday
night organ recital at 11 p.m. By 1927, the station remained on
the air more frequently until 11 p.m. or later. Besides the
church services and sermons by Aimee, there were children's stories
hosted by her daughter Roberta that were broadcast, along with the
regular organ recitals by Esther Fricke Green, and concerts performed
by the Temple Silver Band, Orchestra and Choir. Co-operative
programs were also to be given by "men and women active in the welfare
of Southern California." By August of 1928, Radio Doings magazine
featured a photo of Fricke Green seated at the Temple organ. The
caption said she had broadcast more than 825 organ recitals over KFSG
in four years for her West Coast listeners.
LISTENERS FROM NEAR AND FAR
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KFSG QSL card ca 1940
© Jim Hilliker Collection
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Before the nation was connected by network radio, the early radio fans sat up
into the late night hours, tuning around to see what stations they
could hear. Areas outside large cities typically weren't served
by radio during the daytime hours then. The AM band had only
500-600 stations, not the congested band of nearly 5,000 AM stations
today. There also wasn't any of the man-made interference from
televisions, computers, light dimmers, fluorescent lights, etc., that
we have today that plays havoc with AM reception. It's hard to
imagine now, but with many people then using outdoor copper wire
antennas hooked up to their radios, it was possible for them to "pull
in" a 500-watt signal from KFSG, since that was the average power then,
and few stations transmitted with more than 5,000 watts.
After
its signal had "skipped" out into the night sky for several hundred
miles, (especially in the cold winter months), letters were sent to
KFSG from listeners in North Dakota, Kentucky, Florida, Indiana,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other states. Dedicated listeners
and radio hobbyists told KFSG how well or poorly the station was
heard. Many others also wrote about how the Angelus Temple church
services and music affected them, and how the broadcasts were inspiring
and appreciated. Sometimes, the station was even heard in far off
places such as the Cape Verde Islands and New Zealand!
Here
are a few examples of letters sent to KFSG from some of those listeners
long ago. The first one is from 1925, sent from Illinois:
We would be very unappreciative not to let you know we heard your Birthday
Program this morning (Feb. 6, 1925, first anniversary of KFSG). I
must tell you how we happened to tune in. My husband, being quite
a radio fan, dreamed that he had your station on the air. The
dream was so real he awoke and dashed out to the radio about 2
a.m. The first thing I heard was your announcer saying, 'KFSG,
Angelus Temple'. I did not remain in bed long then, for it came in loud
and clear on the loud speaker. We sat up here in the chilly
morning hours, wrapped in robes, listening in until 4 o'clock. We
wish to convey our appreciation to all who took part, for indeed it was
food for our souls and spirits. We do hope to hear you soon
again.
Mr. and Mrs. V.E. Richardson
Zion, Illinois
From November of 1924, this came from a listener in Indiana:
The service broadcast by KFSG was heard and enjoyed from 11:00 till 11:45
p.m., Sunday night. Central Time. Reception was exceptionally
clear and consistent. Would like to know who the woman preacher
was who delivered the message and what is the denomination of the
church?
Francis EuDaly
Seymour, Indiana
This is from the winter of 1925:
Just a word of appreciation of your
organ program which I heard here and enjoyed greatly. You must
have a very fine transmitter out there, as I received you on a
home-made single tube set. I tuned in on your wave at about 1:20
a.m. Eastern Standard Time, and heard and understood every
announcement, and held you until you signed off at 1:49, E.S.T.
George D. Walter
Easton, Pennsylvania
And finally, from October of 1927, this item from Aimee's The Bridal
Call magazine:
New Zealand is a long way off—but not too far for
the Gospel messenger of KFSG to wing its radiant way. And if the
Sunday evening program here happens to be Monday over there, the Gospel
words are just as true and the Gospel music just as sweet. Mr.
George A. Munro, a listener at Clevedon, South Auckland, reports in a
letter to Esther Fricke Green, Angelus Temple's accomplished organist,
that besides tuning in the musical hour with which she delights radio
land in this country every Sunday night, she is the first lady
announcer whom he has ever heard from the United States. His
letter states, 'I tuned you in on Monday evening, September 5th',
Mr. Munro wrote, 'which would be late Sunday night with you.
Using a four-tube receiver, reception was good phone strength and very
clear, though fading was rather noticeable because of the extreme
distance. I heard a song and two organ solos, then the hymn, Safe
in the Arms of Jesus. Another organ solo followed, which I
recognized as the well-known hymn, Abide with Me. Your station
then closed down, the New Zealand time being 6:31 p.m.
The letters from Los Angeles area listeners of the 1920s are just as
fascinating, thanking KFSG for broadcasting the church services for
shut-ins, the Sunshine Hour program every morning, or simply the sounds
from the Angelus Temple choir and band. These are just a few of
the many thousands of letters received by KFSG during its early
years. It was fairly typical then for other radio stations in
L.A. and across the U.S. to also get flooded with letters and cards
reporting reception of their signals in those days, from fairly great
distances.
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Jim Hilliker
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Jim Hilliker is a radio historian and former broadcaster. He has
written a number of articles on the history of broadcasting in Los
Angeles. He currently lives in Monterey, California.
This article is © 2003 - Jim Hilliker
Interested in reading more about LA Radio personalities? Buy Don Barrett's Los Angeles Radio People available through The Emporium Radio Heritage Store © and support the Radio Heritage Foundation.
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