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http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS Thursday, November 14, 2024 25

See RADIO on 26

KEENER
Continued from Page 24

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ketball team for charitable events.
Each area high school had a
Keener correspondent, who would
call in on an assigned night and give
a 3- to-5-minute report of what was
happening that week at their school
along with the number 1 song at the
school. Each school had a custom-
ized Keener jingle.
By size, AM 1400 was a small sta-
tion, but many notable radio person-
alities graced the microphone at this
station. Jimmy Launce left WELL
to go to Detroit and WJR. Steve
O’Brian, aka Steve Clark, at Keener
went to WKNR in Detroit, and later
to CKLW in Windsor, then on to
New York to 77-WABC, WCBS--
FM, and was the announcer for Dick
Clark’s “$25,000 Pyramid” show.
Barbra Marineau of WKFR News,
left to go to New York to pursue
a Broadway career and appeared
on NBC’s “Law and Order” and
returned to the Barn Theatre in
Augusta for a season.
John Meagher, news director,
went to WKNR in Detroit, then to
77-WABC and nationally on the
ABC Radio Network.
Susan Geha had an award-winning,
30-year career as evening news
anchor at WOOD-TV 8 in Grand
Rapids.
Rick DiAmico had an interesting
50-year career and wrote a book, “It
Just Wasn’t Perfect for Me.” After
Keener, Rick went to San Juan,
Puerto Rico, then back to Lansing,
where he was hired to do TV weath-
er, and later retired from an Emmy
Award-winning 30-year morning TV
anchor at FOX 10 in Pheonix.
Matt McLogan, news direc-
tor, went to WOOD-TV 8, then
served as Michigan Public Utilities
Commissioner, retired in 2022
as vice pPresident for University
Relations at Grand Valley State
University.
Bill Gray, probably one of the
funniest men on local radio, stayed
in the Battle Creek area except for
a short time in the Virgin Islands,
returning to work for the Enquirer &
News, then back to radio for 15 years
at WBCK, co-hosting the morning
show with Dave Eddy and later with
Roy LaFountain. Bill retired in 2009.
Dave Hoppe started at Keener

when he was 15 and is now a finan-

cial consultant in Battle Creek.

Who could ever forget Wally

Ahlers selling advertising to keep

Keener on the air? If Wally didn’t

make money, the DJs didn’t get paid.

There are more names I can list;

others owned radio stations, some

became general managers and own-

ers of audio production companies.

Also gone but not forgotten by many

listeners are Charlie Marsh, Jim

Jefferies, Mike Scott, Dick DeYoung

and Bob Nyles. There are many more

that you invited into your home,

or you listened to from that single

speaker in the dash of your car.

Just a lot of good talent came out

of that little station on the seventh

floor of the Michigan National Bank

Building in downtown Battle Creek.

AM 1400 is Battle Creek’s old-

est radio station. In 1925, WJBM

signed on then changed the following

year to WKBP (We Keep Breakfast

Popular) and later to WELL.

After WKNR Detroit changed its

call letters in April 1972, WKFR-

-AM was granted the WKNR call

letters and on Sept.r 1, 1972, WKFR

became WKNR--KEENER 14.

The F-M 103.3 kept the WKFR

call letters and dropped the personal-

ity music format and switched to the

pre-recorded “Beautiful Island.”

On Aug. 3, 1974, WKNR became

the first AM station in the U.S. to

completely computerize its opera-

tion.

Eventually the WKNR call letters

went to Cleveland in the late 1980s.

In the meantime, AM 1400 in Battle

Creek flipped through a succes-

sion of owners, bankruptcy, going

dark for about a year, and call letter

changes: WELL again; WWKN a

resurrection of “Keener”; WRCC

Radio Cereal City”; and eventu-

ally WBFN. The WBFN survived

when 1400 was spun off from Clear

Channel Communications, Inc. to

Family Life Radio, which still runs

it today. WKFR is still at 103.3 FM,

now owned by Townsquare Media,

Inc. and licensed to Battle Creek

and the #1 Hit Music Station in

Southwestern Michigan.

Keener 14 is long gone.

Radio has changed over the years.

Gone are the local stations run with

local talent, local owners, very little

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KIMBALL HOUSE MUSEUM

196 Capital Ave NE

ELIZABETH NEUMEYER,

Kellogg Community College History

Professor Emerita, will speak about

this new biography of Sojourner Truth

by a church historian, Nancy Koester.

Finally, a book that starts with her

faith. Liz will speak about the book’s

findings on the development of

Sojourner’s Christian faith.

2 PM, Sunday

November 17.

Adults $5,

Students $3

SERV 200 Student Exhibit

PIECES AND PARTS

Fires, Fashions and Physicians

NOV. 16, 1-4pm

$5 adults (12 & under FREE)

$3 Students

Kimball House Museum

196 Capital Ave NE, Battle Creek