This Week in The Muhlenberg Weekly History: WMUH’s First Year—An Uphill Battle

“This Week in The Muhlenberg Weekly History” will bring to light past events, interesting articles, and forgotten aspects

of Muhlenberg history that The Weekly has covered throughout its rich 133 year history on campus.

I hope this doesn’t offend too many of our readers, but for the first time in my time at Muhlenberg, I listened to the school radio station: WMUH. Hopefully to no surprise for many of you, as I was listening I began to wonder the history of the school radio station. When did WMUH first hit airwaves? Was it during the heroic rise of radios in the 1930s, or would it be a surprisingly modern addition to campus? I went straight to The Weekly archives to see what I could uncover.

The name WMUH comes from the pairing of W (the call sign for radio station’s east of the Mississippi River) and MUH(lenberg). To my surprise, WMUH hasn’t always been the name for the school radio station. To tell the story of WMUH, we must go back to The Weekly’s Nov. 4, 1948 headline: “Berg’s Radio Station Buzzes Air-Waves Tonite.” This first broadcast, “marking another milestone in the history of Muhlenberg College,” was originally to be broadcast under the name WMUL. In order to be affiliated with any network, the Federal Communications Commission must approve your call sign first. To the dismay of the then-10-person team, WMUL was already being used by another broadcasting group. Instead of delaying the first broadcast, the station aired their first ever broadcast under no call sign. This didn’t cause any problems, however, because the signal could only reach up to 120 feet from the line; barely reaching all of campus. At the end of this very historic article was a call to “men with experience or who are willing to learn” to assist in Muhlenberg’s “new venture.” According to station staff member Dick Hessinger, the first ever broadcast was “on a professional level.” They said that “in spite of the poor atmospheric conditions,” the first broadcast was heard all over campus.

The second broadcast of the radio station, now officially donning the name WMUH, came a week later on Nov. 11th, 1948, from 7-9 p.m. The broadcast featured “jazz swing, classics, news, and higher fidelity.” By this second broadcast, the reception of the station had been increased greatly, so that the station could be heard from 15th Street to 30th street. The next article on WMUH came Dec. 2 with a rather disheartening headline: “SOS—Station WMUH Needs Helping Hand.” The article opens up complimenting those in charge of the station, but also asking students to assist them, saying “those men who pioneered this advance now deserve the recognition and praise of all the Muhlenberg family, but those few men cannot carry on such a worthy project without cooperation and support.” The article continues, noting that the small team needed help obtaining and setting up equipment, writing scripts, as well as business advising. This short article ended by telling students to “give WMUH personnel a pat on the back for their past performances, but don’t stop there. Give that ‘patting-hand’ a double duty-pitch in and help.” WMUH, seemingly off to a triumphant and historic start, already hit an apparent roadblock just a month after its inception.

Even with its early struggles, WMUH pushed forward. In the next issue after their SOS call, “Muhlenberg’s infant radio station” was back up and running. A main source of troubles not initially mentioned was their lack of funding. Since the Student Council had not budgeted for a radio station, there was only $25 in WMUH’s budget. Luckily, arrangements were made through the business office of the school to buy “essential equipment.” Another major problem was the location: initially situated in the projection room above the science auditorium, WMUH had to share the room with other activities in the lecture hall below. This had apparently led to the cancellation of several other programs due to noise conflicts. The College offered the station space in the treasurer’s office of the library (which is now Haas); WMUH loved this plan because it was both quiet and central to campus.

Even with the location settled and funds and new equipment coming in, WMUH still was struggling. Scheduling conflicts delayed and often canceled broadcasts. As the semester ended and students went home for the winter, it seemed like WMUH’s future would be decided by the success of their first broadcast of the new semester. Though not a profound triumph by any means, the first broadcast back was successful enough for the radio to keep afloat. With a new frequency transmitter, more participants, more funding/ equipment, and even their promised library studio space, it seemed WMUH was again back on the rise. A Mar. 10, 1949, headline boasted that the new “master control system” had been finished, thus eliminating the need for a powerline to the basement of Trumbower. The station had also added a world news segment which was very popular amongst students.

However, the irregularity and poor quality was a thing of the past, with the Apr. 7, 1949, headline proclaiming, “Radio Station Wakes Up From Technical K.O./ WMUH Broadcasts Bi-Weekly.” With a revived staff, working equipment, and the momentum to continue, WMUH started up with two 2.5 hour broadcasts a week. Their newest addition to the lineup, “Mule Kicks on the Air,” was a “gripe show” in which students would air “campus issues, pro and con.” By the end of the 1948-49 year, WMUH had finally gained its footing and fan base it had been so long trying to achieve.

From its humble beginnings, WMUH’s first year at ‘Berg was a constant uphill battle. With barely any equipment, staff, and money, the station marched on. With each significant achievement, a seemingly equally significant failure came shortly thereafter. However, the WMUH staff never gave up, and now, if you tune your stations to 91.7 FM, you can hear the product of the founding group’s endless perseverance.

All photos courtesy of The Weekly