Old Missoula

U of M’s KUOM Radio Station – Montana’s Only Regular Program Radiocasting Station – 1925

Station KUOM Will Advertise Missoula

Name and Wave Length of 243 Meters Assigned by Government

“Station KUOM, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana,” will be the announcement greeting radio fans throughout the country Tuesday, February 17, when the radiocasting station at the university is formally opened.

Testing of the station will be completed this week, the radiocasting of the Grizzly-Bobcat game Friday night being the final test when the play-by-play returns of the contest will be put on the air. The wave length of 243 meters and the call letter KUOM were assigned yesterday by the government, according to Professor G. D. Shallenberger of the physics department, who is director of the station.

The station is located on the second floor of Simpkins hall, where ample room for the needs of the plant has been provided. The final details of the studio, which is a room specially remodeled and acoustically corrected, were completed yesterday.

Station KUOM is the largest station between St. Paul on the east, Spokane on the west, Salt Lake on the south and Calgary on the north, and will be the only regular program station in Montana.

The Charter Day exercises to be held at 2 o’clock Tuesday afternoon in Main hall auditorium will be radiocast. The program will consist of addresses by George Boldt, A. S. U. M. president; James Hamilton, dean of men at Montana State College; two one-act plays by the University Masquers and a concert in the evening by the University Symphony orchestra. The station will be open to the public for inspection on Monday and Tuesday.

Dean De Loss Smith, of the school of music, is the program director of the station and the regular schedule for the program will be announced some time next week. Dean Smith is now on tour of the state with the Glee club and it is expected that more definite plans in regard to the programs will be made when he returns.

The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on February 13, 1925.

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In his Master’s Thesis, “History of Radio Broadcasting in Montana”, author Ron P. Richards presented an interesting historical study of origin of U of M’s early radio station KUOM. The thesis is available at U of M’s  ScholarWorks at University of Montana site – see the link below:

https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6904&context=etd

The Grizzlies basketball team defeated the Bobcats in Missoula on Friday the 13^th, 1925, by a score of 28 to 22. Known as Montana State University at the time, the Missoula team was led by Chief Illman, and George “Jiggs”, and Oscar Dahlberg. Football stars Billy Kelly and Russell Sweet also scored in this game. A “play by play” radio broadcast of this game, according to a Missoulian article, was “picked up clearly by a number of people.”