Historic Houston Radio Stations

[WestUNative]

I knew I could rely on you, Filio and the rest of you. Bill Young was a nice guy, very laid back and funny. He came to the doctor's office to work on the program concept and get us set up and in gear. Glad he is still doing well. It was he who asked me to be on the Auction as well. Of course, I remember Dickie Rosenfeld too.

Fantastic picture of Paul and yes, that is Justin, we used to roll in the aisles laughing at his Cajunness. No offense to any Coona--es out there! C'mon, he was funny. I fear Paul stayed too long at the fair. He was of our era and hip at the time, but boy did the times change.

[FilioScotia]

I knew I could rely on you, Filio and the rest of you. Bill Young was a nice guy, very laid back and funny. He came to the doctor's office to work on the program concept and get us set up and in gear. Glad he is still doing well. It was he who asked me to be on the Auction as well. Of course, I remember Dickie Rosenfeld too.

Fantastic picture of Paul and yes, that is Justin, we used to roll in the aisles laughing at his Cajunness. No offense to any Coona--es out there! C'mon, he was funny. I fear Paul stayed too long at the fair. He was of our era and hip at the time, but boy did the times change.

"Stayed too long at the fair." A good way to say it, and yes it's true. I dun tol' you dat for dam sho, as they say over in Cajun country.

[enviromain]

I still have a sticker on one of my cars. I used to have those stickers everywhere!

Ran across this picture of my bedroom as a teenager! Notice all the stickers, including 97Rock! Thank God I keep a tidy house now, LOL.

Did you notice the tie-died curtains. Did that myself!

[bachanon]

the first radio stations that EVER kept me wondering AND introduced me to tom tom club, skinny puppy, violent femmes, rem, talking heads and many more was "rice radio" 91.7FM and 90.1FM. i've always loathed the regular COMMERCIAL radio stations out there. the djs are the worst. sorry radio station fans. even in the 80's i avoided commercial radio like the plague. in the 70's before i knew better, i listened to KRBE and a disco station (was it KLUV?) every day.

[Earlydays]

There's a link on my blog (under "Houston Radio History") where this guy recorded hours worth of broadcasts from KRBE, KLOL and KILT. KRBE sounded pretty progressive in the late '60s.

I used to listen to KRbE in the 60's.....at the time it was one of the first "album rock" stations in the country.

[57Tbird]

Yes he was. KQUE-FM and KNUZ-AM were owned by the same company and were in the same building at Caroline and Blodgett. When Berlin got "too old" for the "young" audience KNUZ was chasing, he just walked down the hall and played records on KQ, the easy listening FM station.

KNUZ Studio circa 1952-53

Paul Berlin- April, 2004, at 74.

[Fez1964]

I cover many of the items discussed here with my self-published book, Kotton, Port, Rail Center: A History of Early Radio in Houston.

Yes, the first broadcasting station licensed as such in Houston was WEV. It was followed by WCAK, WEAY, and WGAB, all in 1922. Other Houston stations came on the air in late 1922 and early 1923 including WRAA from Rice University.

As the title of the book implies, Kotton, Port, Rail Center was the intended slogan attached to KPRC when it came on the air in 1925. I got this from personal interviews and newspapers of the day. Yes, when possible, vanity call letters were granted to a station's owner. For example, another Houston station that came on the air in the 1920s was KTUE. It was owned by the Uhalt Electric store and its slogan invited listeners to "Kome To Uhalt Electric" which stood for, KTUE. And, of course, it has been already mentioned here that KTRH stood for "Kome to The Rice Hotel" as KTRH would broadcast from the famous hotel.

Generally, during this era, those entering radio broadcasting did it to advertise their own agendas. WEV was owned by the Hurlburt-Still Electric store with the intention to advertise the store's radio department and radio receivers while the station aired entertainment programming. WEAY aired from a vaudeville/movie theater called the Iris Theatre because it's owner wanted to attract listeners to events that were being held at the theater's locale.

My book also covers the introduction of radio communication into Houston at the turn of the 20th century by controversial and unethical business ventures out to exploit the technology of radio and enrich themselves. During this time, Houston's first amateur radio operators would emerge and go on to invent Houston's first broadcasting scene that has been discussed here.

Currently, I only have a few copies of my book left. But by the end of the year, I will have printed up more copies and will inform y'all of this on this forum.

[gonzo1976]

Generally, during this era, those entering radio broadcasting did it to advertise their own agendas.

I guess some parallels can be drawn between this period and the development of Web sites beginning in the mid-1990s.

[enviromain]

[enviromain]

Here is another bit of the past. Oddly enough, I kept these with photographs.

Enjoy!

[Mark F. Barnes]

[enviromain]

For you, my friend....

[FreakyDude]

Dude, we like a lot of the same things! Check this out:

Drudging into the deep past!

Laters.

[Mark F. Barnes]

Check out his link, Someone archived the old web page and it is still slightly interactive.

Link to KLOL Archive

Dude, we like a lot of the same things! Check this out:

Drudging into the deep past!

Laters.

Your bucket is empty

[brucesw]

I don't have a date for this one; late 70 or 71?

KTRH-FM flipped to KLOL in August, 1970.

[Guest Marty]

Anybody remember the old breakdance station 1590 A.M. about 1981 to 1983? Now it's a Disney channel.

[enviromain]

Remember this one? A lot of people, such as myself, cut the dead head out for the sticker. I had one on each side of my van windows!

[WestUNative]

Are none of you aware of the Scandal of K101 stickers??? Some establishment members considered them to be subversive and indicative of the drug culture (duh). In San Jacinto County, Lake Livington area, the Sheriff and Judge in tiny Coldspring, Texas decided to persecute anyone passing through along Hwy 59 with such a bumper sticker.

This was not a laughing matter, kids, they arrested those displaying, took them to jail and in some documented cases actually tortured people. Now, understand, I am not speaking of anyone "carrying", just folks who liked rock music. This practice became so constant that finally some of the victims complained to the Feds. The info was met with disbelief at first, but finally the FBI sent in a undercover agent as shill, with hippie hair and garb, just driving along with K101 on his car. Sho' nuff, he was hauled to the jailhouse and submitted to "water torture".

The outcome is joyous. Everyone in that county who had any part or knowledge of what was going on ended up as guests of the state in Huntsville, behind la bars. That includes the Sheriff and Deputies, the Judge in cahoots with them and all. I'm not sure when the practice started, but the trials weren't over until about 1983-84.

[FilioScotia]

Are none of you aware of the Scandal of K101 stickers??? Some establishment members considered them to be subversive and indicative of the drug culture (duh). In San Jacinto County, Lake Livington area, the Sheriff and Judge in tiny Coldspring, Texas decided to persecute anyone passing through along Hwy 59 with such a bumper sticker.

This was not a laughing matter, kids, they arrested those displaying, took them to jail and in some documented cases actually tortured people. Now, understand, I am not speaking of anyone "carrying", just folks who liked rock music. This practice became so constant that finally some of the victims complained to the Feds. The info was met with disbelief at first, but finally the FBI sent in a undercover agent as shill, with hippie hair and garb, just driving along with K101 on his car. Sho' nuff, he was hauled to the jailhouse and submitted to "water torture".

The outcome is joyous. Everyone in that county who had any part or knowledge of what was going on ended up as guests of the state in Huntsville, behind la bars. That includes the Sheriff and Deputies, the Judge in cahoots with them and all. I'm not sure when the practice started, but the trials weren't over until about 1983-84.

Sounds to me like you might have encountered that sheriff. James "Humpy" Parker was the stereotypical crooked redneck bigot with a badge, and he gave rural Texas law enforcement a bad name it's still trying to live down. He and his deputies made San Jacinto County infamous in the 70s and early 80s by arresting innocent motorists on Highway 59, stealing their property, and subjecting them to water torture.

Deputies later testified in Parker's trial that they would park on that stretch of hwy 59 that goes across the eastern tip of San Jacinto County between Shepherd and Livingston, and watch for "long-hairs" driving VW buses, and any vehicle with a K-101 Running Radio sticker.

The FBI, helped by the Texas Rangers and informants in the sheriff's department, finally took Humpy Parker down in 1983. Sheriff Humpy, his Chief Deputy and son "Little" Humpy, and several other deputies, all went to federal prison.

The whole sorry story was later enshrined in a book titled Terror On Highway 59, and a fictionalized made-for TV movie with the title Terror on Highway 91. It's so fictionalized that only the vague outlines of the real story of Humpy Parker can be found.

They would say the movie was "inspired by actual events". Here's a link to it on the Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098459/

[Mark F. Barnes]

Are none of you aware of the Scandal of K101 stickers??? Some establishment members considered them to be subversive and indicative of the drug culture (duh). In San Jacinto County, Lake Livington area, the Sheriff and Judge in tiny Coldspring, Texas decided to persecute anyone passing through along Hwy 59 with such a bumper sticker.

This was not a laughing matter, kids, they arrested those displaying, took them to jail and in some documented cases actually tortured people. Now, understand, I am not speaking of anyone "carrying", just folks who liked rock music. This practice became so constant that finally some of the victims complained to the Feds. The info was met with disbelief at first, but finally the FBI sent in a undercover agent as shill, with hippie hair and garb, just driving along with K101 on his car. Sho' nuff, he was hauled to the jailhouse and submitted to "water torture".

The outcome is joyous. Everyone in that county who had any part or knowledge of what was going on ended up as guests of the state in Huntsville, behind la bars. That includes the Sheriff and Deputies, the Judge in cahoots with them and all. I'm not sure when the practice started, but the trials weren't over until about 1983-84.

READ THIS:

AND THIS

AND THIS

Also there was a Movie "Terror on Highway 91 (1989 TV movie)" Starring Ricky Schroeder. Based on the Book. "Terror on Highway 59"

The person Ricky Schroeder is potraying in real life is now a JP in San Jacinto County, his name is Greg Magee. He turned state evidense against Sheriff James

[Mark F. Barnes]

HOUSTON CHRONICLE ARCHIVES

Paper: Houston Chronicle

Date: SUN 09/05/2004

Section: B

Page: 1 Metfront

Edition: 4 STAR

In rural haven, tangled scandal still unraveling / San Jacinto County residents weary as officials face legal action

By CINDY HORSWELL

Staff

COLDSPRING - San Jacinto County, tucked along the shore of Lake Livingston north of Houston, has more than half its acreage covered by the towering trees of a national forest.

It has grown into a mecca for retirees, who are joining the farmers and lumberjacks who have lived there for generations. A prominent landmark, dating to the early 1900s, is the quaint courthouse square in the county seat, named for the ice-cold springs flowing from its bluffs.

Now, however, the white-columned courthouse gives many of the county's 23,000 residents a cold chill. Seven county officials have faced investigations, removal proceedings or indictments on criminal charges. It's a tale that involves allegations of pornography, racial bias and conspiracy.

During the past year, four special prosecutors and numerous visiting judges have tried to get to the bottom of the quagmire. Officials admit that the legal wrangling has taken a financial toll on the county, eroded public confidence and left many residents fearful.

One special prosecutor, David Ryan, carries a .40-caliber pistol after receiving death threats. Former courthouse clerk Terry Peden has complained to the FBI about a copperhead snake put in her mailbox. District Attorney Mark Price is taking precautions to protect his vehicle since its transmission line was cut.

"In many ways, this whole community has become more like Paradise Lost," Price said.

Price, who took office last year as the first Republican elected to a countywide office since Reconstruction, is facing criminal charges of retaliation, official oppression and tampering with government records. He denies any wrongdoing, blaming the charges on his "David and Goliath" struggle against the "old guard" who fear losing control.

But the county's treasurer for the past 22 years, Charlene Everitt, accuses Price and other newcomers of creating the furor by their own paranoia. She has put a frame around a state district judge's order that recently dismissed a civil suit that sought to oust her from office.

County Republican Chairman Bill Shaw and others filed the suit against Everitt for improperly paying a county judge's secretary, Jenny Vaughn, for two weeks she didn't work.

Vaughn was allowed to stay home for a short time after she reported finding pornography on her boss' computer, Everitt said.

"San Jacinto County citizens are tired. They want their county back. It's chaos. Every day, officials around here are checking to see if anything else has been filed against them," Everitt said.

Filling up drawers

In the district clerk's office, entire file drawers are devoted to the controversy. "Someone probably had to kill 75 trees just to supply the paper," District Clerk Marilyn Nettles said.

The first elected official to run into trouble was County Commissioner Bruce Wayne Thomas. He resigned last year after receiving deferred adjudication for using county employees and equipment to work on private property.

Then first-term County Judge Bill Law angered some residents by temporarily filling Thomas' seat with a newcomer from outside the precinct. The move set the stage for the controversy that ensued after Vaughn found porn on Law's computer.

The secretary said she witnessed Law having daily, sexually explicit chat-room conversations but didn't report him because she did not want to lose her job. But one day, she said, Constable Jerry Everitt, who is married to the treasurer, found her crying in her office, and she confided in him.

Looking into it

Everitt contacted State District Judge Elizabeth Coker, who called in Texas Department of Public Safety computer expert Sgt. Arnold Briscoe to investigate. He seized the office computer, from which he recovered sexually explicit material and nude male photos.

He also obtained a search warrant for Law's home computer. But evidence later showed that five hours before the search was executed, a program had been used to delete all the files - although numerous sexually provocative file names remained.

Law and his attorney, Laura Prigmore, said that at the time the home computer was swept clean, they were having a consultation at her office.

"My contention is that his home computer was hacked. Anybody paid to sweep his computer would also have gotten rid of the file names, too," said Prigmore, noting that her client is married, with an impeccable reputation as a leader at church and in the Boy Scouts.

Law said he does not know how the porn got on either computer: "All I know is that I didn't put it there." He pointed out that a grand jury no-billed him on a child pornography charge in July 2003.

Special prosecutor Don Cantrell, who was assigned to reinvestigate, dismissed a second charge about computer misuse in February.

Cantrell found insufficient evidence to prove Law had exclusive use of the office computer.

New porn-related charge

But in May, another special prosecutor, Frank Blazek, obtained an indictment of Law on a breach of computer security charge.

"It accuses him with improperly storing data (porn) on his hard drive that was supposed to be used for county business," said Blazek.

Law has been suspended by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct while the case is pending.

Prigmore said the charge is bogus.

"The state's witnesses have been unable to prove the age (of the young men) in the photos. I'm not saying someone has a right to look at porn, but anybody can, unless there is some kind of policy against it, as long as it's legal porn."

Conspiracy alleged

Yet Price has put a more sinister spin on the scandal. Not long after he presented the porn case that the grand jury no-billed, he filed civil racketeering charges against Vaughn, Constable Everitt and other unnamed co-conspirators whom he alleged planted the porn on the judge's computer to drive him from office.

Price then won a court order to temporarily suspend Constable Everitt while the case was pending.

Everitt had been angry that a newcomer was picked to temporarily replace Thomas, the commissioner, and vowed it "would not stand," Price said.

He contends the removal of the popular commissioner was the catalyst for planting the porn.

The petition even went so far as to allege the conspirators arranged secret meetings through cryptic notes left in a candy jar in the San Jacinto County clerk's office.

The former assistant county clerk, Terry Peden, gave a sworn statement that Vaughn had left such a note for Justice of the Peace Randy Ellisor.

Peden alleges someone sent a child-porn e-mail to her computer afterward as "retaliation."

Vaughn laughs at the candy jar allegations: "We used to joke around with the candy jar. The message I left (Ellisor) was about his docket. Nothing about Judge Law."

`It was a nightmare'

As for the conspiracy theory, Vaughn said, "I reported what I saw on the judge's computer, and the next thing I know I'm a conspirator. It was a nightmare and the farthest thing from the truth."

In a surprise move on the eve of the civil racketeering trial last October, Price dropped the case and let Everitt return to work.

"I did it because of a shortage of time and resources," he said, and he added that he believes the allegations are true.

Still angered by the racketeering case, three citizens filed suit to remove the district attorney for incompetence and official misconduct.

A judge dismissed the first two removal petitions sought by Shepherd Mayor Jerry Wade, former County Judge Joe Adams and the county clerk's husband, Leon Vann. But recently another visiting judge ordered Commissioners Court to appoint a special prosecutor to review the issue.

In his written responses to the removal suits, Price denies wrongdoing.

Montgomery County Attorney David Walker, appointed to review the removal petition, has decided it has merit. He is particularly critical of Price for suing his own witnesses against Law.

Returning indictments

On Aug. 25, the grand jury, on evidence presented by special prosecutor David Ryan, returned 11 indictments against Price, Constable Lou Rogers and County Commissioner Joe Johnson.

Price faces retaliation and official-oppression charges for filing the racketeering lawsuit against Vaughn, as well as a tampering with government records charge for allegedly improperly spending money from a prosecutorial fund.

Rogers is charged with abuse of official capacity for allegedly using his office letterhead to collect for a private gun-safety course he teaches. He also faces charges of abuse of official capacity and criminal mischief that showed "racial bias" for the destruction of a black woman's mobile home, abandoned on a county road.

Johnson is charged with abuse of official capacity, criminal mischief and official oppression for using a front-end loader to shove the home off the road.

Johnson said he only removed a "traffic hazard" blocking a public road when it was raining and getting dark.

Most residents seem weary of the controversy. Some have even submitted a petition begging the FBI to investigate.

.............

TURMOIL IN SAN JACINTO COUNTY

July 3, 2003: Commissioner Bruce Wayne Thomas accused of using county equipment and employees on private property. He later steps down. County Judge Bill Law appoints temporary replacement, who lives outside Thomas' precinct.

July 8, 2003: Secretary Jenny Vaughn first reports finding porn on Law's computer to Constable Jerry Everitt.

July 25, 2003: Grand jury no-bills Law on child porn accusations.

Aug. 5, 2003: District Attorney Mark Price files civil racketeering case against Vaughn and Everitt, and Everitt is suspended soon after.

Oct. 27, 2003: Price dismisses the racketeering case, and Everitt is reinstated.

Dec. 12, 2003: Grand jury indicts Law on charges that he misused a government computer. The charges are dismissed two months later.

March 8, 2004: Citizens file amended lawsuit petitioning for the removal of Price.

May 7, 2004: Law indicted on charges of breach of computer security for allegedly storing porn on his government computer.

June 2004: Special prosecutor David Walker decides to pursue removal of district attorney and files revised petition.

Aug. 25, 2004: Price, Constable Lou Rogers and Commissioner Joe Johnson arrested on 11 indictments handed down by a grand jury.

................

SAN JACINTO COUNTY

Population: 23,000

Ethnicity: 82 percent white, 13 percent black and 5 percent Hispanic

Physical Features: Lake Livingston, Trinity and San Jacinto rivers, and Sam Houston National Forest

Economy: timber, oil and agriculture

Largest towns: Coldspring and Shepherd

[Mark F. Barnes]

Here are two links that are the local soap boxes for the county today. It get almost humurous of the spin doctors involved. To show unbiased views I have include both. The top one is the Republicans and the lower one is the Democrats. The area has been under Democratic rule since the begining of time. There were 5 or six seats won by the Republicans in the last local election, and the sparks have been flying since. The county is in turmoil internally and these idots are slinging mud while the ships sinking. It's really unreal.

http://www.gosanjacpac.com/home/index.php

http://www.sjcpac.com/

[enviromain]

Are none of you aware of the Scandal of K101 stickers??? Some establishment members considered them to be subversive and indicative of the drug culture (duh).

Don't do drugs! Just love Classic Rock! Been going through some of my boxes and sharing stickers and such with other Rock-n-Roll fans. That's all.

Rock-On WestU!

[brucesw]

Houston

[gonzo1976]

FEZ1964's book is an amazing accomplishment, undoubtedly one of the best books on broadcasting history in a single market ever published, and I highly recommend it. I had been researching radio history in Houston for 8 months before I found it. I had not gone back nearly as far as his book does, having mostly concentrated on the period from 1922 forward, and have compiled a chronology of AM stations down to about 1980 and FM stations down to about 1968; I have about 100 pps in a word processor and someday will get around to getting it on line.

Seriously, you guys should team up for a volume II. 100 pages of history might not translate well online, but it sounds like a potential book.

[FreakyDude]

When I was a kid, there was a radio station that played scary stories in the evening. I don't remember if it was every night or once a week. I still remember one of those scary stories. Does anyone remember what radio station that was?

[gnu]

When I was a kid, there was a radio station that played scary stories in the evening. I don't remember if it was every night or once a week. I still remember one of those scary stories. Does anyone remember what radio station that was?

I remember them!

I thought they were on KPRC. i think they were old timey 40's radio shows but they could have been contemporary ones too, i guess.

lots of times I used to hide in floorboard of the backseat when we were returning home from someplace - they were so scary.

[Gilder]

I remember them!

I thought they were on KPRC. i think they were old timey 40's radio shows but they could have been contemporary ones too, i guess.

lots of times I used to hide in floorboard of the backseat when we were returning home from someplace - they were so scary.

Oh gosh, I had forgotten about those delightful scary stories.

The one that shook me up the most is the one where people took a falsified detour and became lost. They stopped at a house for direction and the people insisted on them staying, then proceded to feed their guests a giganitic dinner. Lo & Behold, their car would not start after that. So the guests remained there eating wonderful meals and snacks while one of their hosts was so called "working on the car." Later the guests found out why their hosts were fattening them up! Yep, exactly what you are thinking! And I couldn't sleep that night.

That was as scary as it got back then. I miss those scary stories.

[Mark F. Barnes]

That had to be the re-broadcasts of the "Light Out" radio shows from the 40's. Thats was some spooky stuff. The sound effects were so realistic they made your skin crawl. Bones being crushed, skin being peeled off, the sound effects guy sold the show. KPFT still does old radio re-broadcasts from time to time. or at least they did not to long ago.

[57Tbird]

In addition to "Lights Out", there was also "Inner Sanctum", "I Love a Mystery", and "The Mysterious Traveler". I listened to these in their prime... before "reruns". Mark is right about the sound effects. It's amazing what you could do with your imagination before TV.