Two months ago I found the website http://pdxhistory.com and posted a link here with their new pages "Portand Radio Days". The site had posted early Portland radio station pictures & memorabilia back to the 1920's. Some of the written history was wrong. The writer concluded that an ad in "The Portland Telegram" newspaper (ad ran between 1927 & 28) was proof that KEX was Portland's first broadcast station. The ad read: "The Pioneer In Radio in Portland:- The first program of radio entertainment ever put on the air in Portland was broadcast by the Portland Telegram on November 27, 1921, from it's offices in the Pittock block, operating under temporary government permit." The ad goes on to say: "Tune in on KEX, The Telegram's Station - 239.9 Meters, 1250 Kilocycles." (KEX was on 1250kc. from 6-15-27 to 2-17-28). The website writer states below the posted ad: "Portland's first radio station license was granted to The Portland Telegram and it was assigned the call letters KEX."

These conclusions are incorrect. First, KEX was never owned by The Portland Telegram. KEX at the time was owned by Western Broadcasting Co. KEX had been in trouble with the FRC for spilling it's signal onto other local and outlying frequencies. The FRC re-assigned KEX to the lower class 1250kc. frequency. (previously on cleared channel 670kc.). KEX had also alienated a lot of local advertisers because of this and because KEX was not locally owned. (Portland's first). KEX had huge blocks of time for sale. Enter The Portland Telegram, buying up much of the time for a nominal fee. Hence "KEX, The Telegram's Station."

KEX went on the air December 25, 1926 and had never broadcast under a temporary government permit, experimental license or call sign of any kind between 1921 & 1926. But what did happen on November 27, 1921? I had a date and this intrigued me. Anything about early Portland radio in 1921 is very rare. The only article found to date was on June 26, 1921 where among other thing's mentioned at the first convention of the Northwest Radio Association, Charles L. Austin was reported broadcasting phonograph music to radio operators on various ships in the Portland Harbor and heard from as far away as Astoria, over his station 7XF.

This is considered the earliest example of Oregon radio broadcasting as we know it today. (For more on this historic article, read "Part 2: Portland Radio History Changes" on the "Portland Radio History" page, posted in 2001). Knowing all this, I didn't know what to expect in The Portland Telegram article. First, here's the article it self. Added comments & additional information are in parenthesis(). Additional information from a follow up Portland Telegram article dated November 30, 1921, Page 1, column 2 are added with asterisk**.

The Portland Telegram, Monday, November 28, 1921, Page 1, column 7. Headline: "Radio Carries Concert AFAR, Music Week Feature Planned by The Telegram Heard in Many Stations (telegraph receiver sender stations). The Telegram's first radio concert given last night in the Telegram office (11th & S.W. Washington St.) and transmitted by radiophone to hundreds of official and amateur stations in Portland and neighboring towns and states, was most successful. One receiving station in Portland was able to make a wax cylinder record from a number sung by Mrs. Mischa Pelz and hear the song all over again by playing it on the phonograph.

The Telegram is operating it's radiophone *at 250 wavelength* (250 meters or 1199kc.) *and at a radius of 500 miles* by special government permit under the license 7XF Charles Austin. (7XF would later become KGN). The first concert is given at the Y.M.C.A. (831 S.W. 6th Ave.) and transmitted by it's radiophone. (station 7YG). At 9 o clock The Telegrams own radio transmits the music from the Telegram office, and at 10 o clock a concert is given on the east side and transmitted by the radio outfit operated by Charles Austin. (station 7XF at 1556 E. Taylor St., now 5830 S.E. Taylor St.).

The Telegram's radio was installed by and is in the charge of C.R.(Ray)Beamer and Wilbur Jerman (would later launch his KFWV aka KWJJ) of the Stubbs Electric Company. (O.B. Stubbs would later launch his KQY). Among the songs sung by Mrs. Pelz last night were "The American's Come" by Fay Foster; "Beautiful Oregon" by Edward Mills; "Thank God for a Garden" Teresa Del Rigo; "A Song of Thanksgiving"; "Flow Gently Sweet Afton" and "Annie Laurie". (end of article)
More to come...

Charles L. Austin's company "The Northwestern Radio Manufacturing Co." & 7XF's listed licensee, was building radio apparatus at this time for sale. Know doubt this was a good way to promote his product, by getting a newspaper involved. This broadcast event might have brought about the later sale of new Portland station 7XG to Willard P. Hawley, Jr. in February 1922, which Mr. Austin built. Since The Portland Telegram station permit was under the license of 7XF, no call sign was ever issued for this broadcast event.

The biggest surprise was the YMCA broadcasting music. Their station 7YG was a telegraph station. Actually all call signs with a number were originally telegraph stations, but only call sings with "X" for "Experimental", were allowed to broadcast music. 7YG was licensed as a "Technical & Training School" station, not allowed to broadcast music. Many stations across the country licensed for telegraph only, were illegally broadcasting music. This was the rage of 1920 & 21. The most famous Northwest station to illegally broadcast music was 7YS at Saint Martin's College in Lacey WA. Today 7YS is considered Washington states first broadcast station. 7YS would become KGY in 1922 and move to Olympia in 1933.

This makes Portland's 7YG, Oregon's 2nd broadcast station. The YMCA was issued a licence bearing the call sequence 7YG granted to the Young Men's Christian Association in June 1920. As a side note, Charles Austin was also issued a license in June 1920 for his first telegraph station 7ZI. All telegraph stations operated on 200 meters or 1499kc. It's not known if 7YG broadcast music before or after the planned 7 day event. It is known that 7YG continued as the YMCA telegraph station until January 1923 when the license was transfered to Oregon Institute of Technology. The Portland radio school also operated station KDYQ. The school was located at 6th & Taylor St. 7YG would continue until the school closed on February 7, 1929.

The other surprise was The Portland Telegram station operating on 250 meters. It was not stated in the follow up article, if this was only The Portland Telegram station frequency or if all three stations were operating on the same frequency. The scheduling would've made this possible. We might never know. This is also the earliest article in Oregon broadcast history to mention a call sign, a frequency or a broadcast schedule. Before this and even after the 7 day event, music was broadcast on a whim. When ever it struck the broadcaster to do so. It's also the first documented live music performance. Before this, music was broadcast from phonograph records.

Wouldn't it be a treasure to uncover that wax cylinder mentioned in the article. It would certainly be the earliest Oregon radio air check! This article is another great discovery in early Oregon broadcasting.

You've done it again, Craig! Excellent work. Ever think about going into police work as a detective?! Thanks for the information.

How many people had radios in 1926? I bet they were big monsters. At least my grandma had a big one.

Thanks Mike. Wayne: Here's what I have:

NUMBER OF RADIOS
1900 18 per 1,000 people
1910 82 per 1,000 people
1920 123 per 1,000 people
1930 163 per 1,000 people

SALES OF RADIOS
1922 $60 million
1929 $842.6 million

NUMBER OF RADIOS ON FARMS
July 1925 553,003
April 1927 1,252,126

Between 1922 & 1929 the number of radios increased from 60 thousand to more than 12 million.

It's amazing that 18 out of 1000 had radio equipment in 1900! That would be right after Marconi broadcast the America's Cup results,and not too long after he sent "S" from Land's End to Newfoundland...

Doesn't it seem like the number of radios and the sales of radios conflict? You'd think the 1930 number would be much higher than that of 1920.

maybe in 1900 these were mostly "radios" in ships and stuff, not "entertainment consoles" at home . . . but this was waaayyyyy before my time.

Was there something to listen to on the radio in 1900? I can't fathom radios being used before 1920, but if there were... What else does one do in the evening on a farm but listen to a radio.

Telegraph radios would have been in use early on.
Information posted above on the number of radios, was from a few websites, on a google search.

Washington states first broadcast station was 7YS in Lacey. Now travel back in time and step into the studio......

http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/history/photos/lacey/lacey7.htm

...... 1930 census...........

Charles Austin age 39, born Iowa, occupation Airplane MFGR in Portland, Multnomah, Ore. Had a radio in his home ( they asked this on that census whether or not you owned a radio at home ) was a WW1 veteran, owned his own home valued at $5,000. Home located at 376 East 58th ( probabaly S.E now ) It was close to 58th and Hawthorne because on the same census page were some listed families on Hawthorne. He was married at age 23 , his wife Anna married at age 17, born Iowa. Daughter Virginia was age 10, born Oregon.

Social Security Death Index :

Charles Austin born April 29, 1890 died Jun 1980
Last Residence 97413, Blue River, Lane , Oregon, same location last benifit. SSN 543-38-1611 , issued in Oregon.

Any Obit would probably have been in the Eugene - Register- Guard.

Thanks, Oregon radio historian, Ron Kramer has seen this information and I used parts of it in Charley's history, which you can find on this page under "Charles Austin: Father of Oregon Radio".