For decades, and even into today, radio has been an important part of any community’s culture. For a community that is relatively isolated like Flin Flon, the radio plays an important role by helping people be in touch with what is going on in the rest of the world.
For Flin Flon, the local radio era dawned Nov. 14, 1937 when the words, “This is radio station CFAR, the voice of the north land in Flin Flon, Manitoba” were spoken over the airwaves.
The radio station had been granted the licence in May 1937 under the Arctic Radio Corporation. Flin Flon itself was in a perfect position, as the centre of the mineral belt, to provide radio service to outlying communities throughout the area.
The idea for the radio station had come from Monty Bridgman, who had been playing with radios since his school days and came up with the idea of a broadcasting station in Flin Flon.
At the time in Manitoba, there were only two other stations operating, one in Winnipeg, the other in Brandon.
The road towards the radio station began in 1934 when Bridgman, along with Joe Cousineau and Monty’s father George, the operators of Monty’s Radio, Auto and Marine Service, started looking at the idea of a radio station. The Flin Flon Board of Trade was on board with the idea and they applied for a licence.
When approved, the licence was approved for 1,370 kill cycles with 100 watts of power. With the approval, the work was on to plan, build and test the locations for a transmitter to ensure maximum range. The men did not have a lot of money so they built a 125-foot windcharger tower for the antenna. That antenna buckled and had to be torn down, shortened and built up again.
The first studio for the radio station was located behind the Northern Café building at 120 Main Street.
The first program broadcast by the radio station was a three-hour broadcast that would mark the occasion. Premier John Bracken, who represented the Flin Flon area as well, gave a message of congratulations that was received through a remote control line from Manitoba Government Telephones. This was quite an achievement for the small radio station on its first broadcast.
For the most part, the early programs of the radio station came from local content. There was the music of Welcome Morris and His Oldtimers, who would be a fixture on the radio station from 1937-1944 while also playing every Friday night at the Elks Hall. Bert Wilson, who worked at the CPR Depot, would host a barn dance programme for several years and Captain Honeychurch of the Salvation Army would host a program every morning except Sunday called The Hymn Singer.
Listeners could also put in requests for music, which were called or mailed in and every night from 7 p.m.-8 p.m., those requests would be played.
In addition, there were also market quotations, temperature and weather reports, train arrival times, sports and more to fill the airwaves of the program.
In September 1939, the radio station would become affiliated with CBC and, for decades to come, the radio station would be an important fixture of Flin Flon.
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