Saturday, March 15th, marked the 75th anniversary of WPKY-AM’s inaugural broadcast, making it one of Kentucky’s longest-operating licensed stations.
Last week, WPKY commemorated its anniversary by featuring interviews with employees who began their broadcasting careers at the local station, alongside live broadcasts with various businesses in the community.
Twyman Boren, the former manager of the radio station, reminisced in a previous interview about filing for the station’s FCC license and the first on-air employees who launched its operations on March 15, 1950.
click to download audioBoren also said that the signal for WPKY-AM was powerful enough to extend into Canada due to favorable atmospheric conditions.
click to download audioLocal Missionary Radio General Manager Ken Cummins paid a visit to WPKY last week and shared he got his start in radio broadcasting at the Princeton radio station. Cummins said he grew up around radio, although none of his family was in broadcasting. However, he explained that his maternal grandfather, Jimmy Lambert, had an old radio repair shop and was an engineer.
click to download audioFurthermore, he stated that he has an old commercial log from March 1950 that shows Lambert Radio Service.
click to download audioAnna Ray, current Caldwell County school board member, was 14 or 15 years old when she got a job at WPKY-AM.
click to download audioLocal sports guru and WPKY employee, Todd Griffin shared how he began his career at the local radio station.
click to download audioHe noted that radio was quite different back then compared to today, largely due to technological advancements.
click to download audioWPKY’s original tower site was on Dawson Springs Road until it was moved when Commonwealth Broadcasting bought the station.
The station was later sold to local residents Joe and Kathy McEnaney, owners of McDonald’s, and Dan and Lucinda Gray, owners of Trice-Hughes Chevrolet Buick GMC. After the purchase, the station was relocated from downtown to its current address at 1035 West Main Street.
In 2018, Edge Media Group President and CEO Beth Mann acquired WPKY, adding it to her portfolio of radio stations. The Princeton station has maintained its community focus by delivering news and information, especially in the aftermath of the December 2021 tornado, when WPKY provided a platform for city and county leaders, FEMA, and volunteer organizations to share crucial information with survivors.
