Headed Back to the South - WHAL Goes on the Air

An ad appears in Broadcasting - Seeking Chief Engineer to build broadcasting station in middle Tennessee town. Construction permit pending. Looked promising, made contact. "Hired."

The new station was to be in Shelbyville, Tennessee. About all we knew of the town was that we went through there once shortly after the courthouse was burned. Well, it was close to home anyway.

August 1946. We moved from Jackson to Flintville to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Crawford and Mrs. Jennie Braden until time to start construction of the station in Shelbyville. Installed my amateur radio station in the wash house, worked 40 meters C.W. W4IWV.

From Dad's notes:

R.A. and B.L. came back to Lincoln County, Tennessee in September 1946. Sold old home place at Lincoln for $3,250. Had moved to Lincoln May 20, 1920. Purchased place on the Big-Cut above Kelso. September 30, 1946, moved to Campbell Street, Fayetteville. Sold place on Big-Cut December 8, 1955. Built on Adams Street 1958.

House on the Big-Cut

By the last of September, we were ready to start construction. We decided to stay at Flintville until the station was nearer to completion. This meant wheels, so we purchased a Model "A" Ford with a shiny new red engine in it, we called her old "Lottie." She served us well. The first engineer I hired was Henry Clayton Rutledge, a friend I grew up with at Lincoln and had gone to Coyne Radio the same time that I did. He, Helen and myself began the construction of the ground system and transmitter equipment located at the Flat Creek Bridge on the Lewisburg Highway. The location is now a pine thicket.

The studio was located on the east side of the square, upstairs, over the 5 & 10 and Brantley's Drug Store. While we were constructing the studio, we ate most of our meals at Pope's Cafe, a few doors down. Dad's records say we moved to Shelbyville November 25, 1946. I have no reason to doubt it. I know it was cold. We moved into one of the John Ledbetter houses, newly constructed, located in Edgemont behind  Shelbyville Lumber Company, where Nichol's Furniture Store once stood on Chockley Street. The houses were cold and damp.

Timothy R. Marsh - WHAL Radio
Shelbyville, Tennessee

We put WHAL on the air on December 24, 1946. Charlie Christian was program director, I was chief engineer, Clayton Rutledge was on of the staff engineers. Later Helen pulled a transmitter shift, as did Norm Dye, Winston Roberts and others.