So it's not Seattle, but close enough. Does anyone have any history on this station? Where is it located and what are the calls today? Btw, does the name Margaret Habersetzer sound familiar to anyone on this board? Apparently she did some sort of lifestyle updates similar to the Wine Experience or some of the other stuff KOMO does on that station.
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KAPA/Raymond
- Thread starter bobdavcav
- Start date
KAPA went off the air over two decades ago after a succession of owners and operators. The station suffered from changes in the economy and changes in listening habits, including the entry of an FM station in the area in the mid 1980's.
KAPA launched in 1950, and the original owners were the same family that had KELA in Centralia. The story goes that KAPA was launched on 1340 due to the move of KXRO from 1340 to 1320, in an effort to keep KXRO from competing with KELA. Back then, there weren't many radio stations.
In 1956, Bob Claunch and Jack Reavley, a couple that had met in the Army, purchased the station for $20,000. Since they had no money, they hired a firm to come in and "pre-sell" annual advertising agreements. Bob and Jack actively owned the station for a number of years, sharing on-air and sales responsibilities. On their watch they upped the power to 1 kw, and eventually moved to their own building which also contained their apartment. While Bob and Jack had the station, they operated under "specified hours", which the FCC allowed in some cases. The hours were 6:30am-6:30pm, and 8am-4pm on Sunday. They stayed on the air for high school sports, which were a significant source of revenue.
Having been involved in acting in California, Claunch and Reavley were active in local theatre in Raymond.
Around 1962 I believe, Bob and Jack turned over management to an employee, and they moved back to Calfornia to pursue other interests. This didn't last long, and they returned to active management. They had their new building constructed, moved the station, and lived next door.
They then sold the station to Ben Tracey, who was connected to the Les Schwab Tire organization. Ben turned their apartment into a production studio and recorded the Les Schwab commercials.
They had to take the station back, then resold it to a gentlemen named Earl Kazmark, who owned an FM outside of Spokane. This time they got cash and retired to California.
Kazmar went through a few managers and eventually sold it to a couple who bought the business but not the real estate. After this couple filed personal and corporate bankruptcy, they gave the station back, and left town. They didn't get very far before the wife was struck and killed in an auto accident.
I don't remember if Earl put the station back on the air, but I think he did. In around 1992, Earl offered the transmitter, tower, etc and license to me. I made him an offer that he was able to refuse, and ultimately he sold off the transmitter and turned in the license.
Today, the former radio station is owned by a local logging company. The tower is gone. The call letters were taken by a station in Hawaii.
Although I remained in occasional contact and visited them in California a couple of times, I lost track of them a few years ago. I found out a year ago that Bob had passed away; he would have been about 85. Jack was heartbroken and apparently went to live with relatives. We have totally lost track of him.
Coincidentally, the name Margaret Habersetzer came up just the other day. I couldn't place her, but heard that she had passed away.
KAPA launched in 1950, and the original owners were the same family that had KELA in Centralia. The story goes that KAPA was launched on 1340 due to the move of KXRO from 1340 to 1320, in an effort to keep KXRO from competing with KELA. Back then, there weren't many radio stations.
In 1956, Bob Claunch and Jack Reavley, a couple that had met in the Army, purchased the station for $20,000. Since they had no money, they hired a firm to come in and "pre-sell" annual advertising agreements. Bob and Jack actively owned the station for a number of years, sharing on-air and sales responsibilities. On their watch they upped the power to 1 kw, and eventually moved to their own building which also contained their apartment. While Bob and Jack had the station, they operated under "specified hours", which the FCC allowed in some cases. The hours were 6:30am-6:30pm, and 8am-4pm on Sunday. They stayed on the air for high school sports, which were a significant source of revenue.
Having been involved in acting in California, Claunch and Reavley were active in local theatre in Raymond.
Around 1962 I believe, Bob and Jack turned over management to an employee, and they moved back to Calfornia to pursue other interests. This didn't last long, and they returned to active management. They had their new building constructed, moved the station, and lived next door.
They then sold the station to Ben Tracey, who was connected to the Les Schwab Tire organization. Ben turned their apartment into a production studio and recorded the Les Schwab commercials.
They had to take the station back, then resold it to a gentlemen named Earl Kazmark, who owned an FM outside of Spokane. This time they got cash and retired to California.
Kazmar went through a few managers and eventually sold it to a couple who bought the business but not the real estate. After this couple filed personal and corporate bankruptcy, they gave the station back, and left town. They didn't get very far before the wife was struck and killed in an auto accident.
I don't remember if Earl put the station back on the air, but I think he did. In around 1992, Earl offered the transmitter, tower, etc and license to me. I made him an offer that he was able to refuse, and ultimately he sold off the transmitter and turned in the license.
Today, the former radio station is owned by a local logging company. The tower is gone. The call letters were taken by a station in Hawaii.
Although I remained in occasional contact and visited them in California a couple of times, I lost track of them a few years ago. I found out a year ago that Bob had passed away; he would have been about 85. Jack was heartbroken and apparently went to live with relatives. We have totally lost track of him.
Coincidentally, the name Margaret Habersetzer came up just the other day. I couldn't place her, but heard that she had passed away.
Bill, wasn't it 1982 that Bob and Jack turned over Management to an employee? Not 1962?
I have so many fond memories of KAPA. I worked there during my Senior year at Raymond High School. I got out of school at noon and held down the afternoon show 12:30pm-6:30pm.
I left there in 1978 and graduated the Broadcast Program at Clover Park Vocational College in Tacoma. I did return in 1982 and worked for Ben Tracy. Been is an excellent promoter and entertainer and taught me a lot about life and broadcasting.
Ben was the voice of Les Schwab for 40 plus years. If you heard his voice, you'd know it.
It was a great training ground. Opportunities like this don't exist any longer for those entering the broadcast field.
I could write a rather lengthy article about KAPA, as I'm sure you could too, Wolf. Maybe another time, but not now.
RR
I have so many fond memories of KAPA. I worked there during my Senior year at Raymond High School. I got out of school at noon and held down the afternoon show 12:30pm-6:30pm.
I left there in 1978 and graduated the Broadcast Program at Clover Park Vocational College in Tacoma. I did return in 1982 and worked for Ben Tracy. Been is an excellent promoter and entertainer and taught me a lot about life and broadcasting.
Ben was the voice of Les Schwab for 40 plus years. If you heard his voice, you'd know it.
It was a great training ground. Opportunities like this don't exist any longer for those entering the broadcast field.
I could write a rather lengthy article about KAPA, as I'm sure you could too, Wolf. Maybe another time, but not now.
RR
1982 was a later time. I'm referring to the earlier time. I went to work at KAPA in the fall of 1960. Sometime after, Bob and Jack took jobs in California. Their engineer-announcer, Bob Sheetz, took over. Then Bob left to help start the new station in Shelton (KMAS), and in the summer of 1962 I got my First Class Radiotelephone License, went to work fulltime, opening the station daily before school, returning to do logs after school. I worked for a Bob Cone, and then Bob and Jack returned either just before, or just after I graduated. I recall they were back when we bought the new Gates transmitter which I installed. I didn't work at KAPA after the summer of 1963.
It was a great learning experience. Bob and Jack were very firm about start times for the news, tidiness, pronunciation, etc. We did the logs on a manual typewriter, the commercials were in RED, PSAS in BLACK. Tab settings had to be just right.
Shortly after I left for college, I believe, built them two tape cartridge machines. They used foil strip cue on the tape instead of a tone. Worked okay. My dad built the wooden boxes that held the cart decks. They had carts and were on top of the world.
It was a great learning experience. Bob and Jack were very firm about start times for the news, tidiness, pronunciation, etc. We did the logs on a manual typewriter, the commercials were in RED, PSAS in BLACK. Tab settings had to be just right.
Shortly after I left for college, I believe, built them two tape cartridge machines. They used foil strip cue on the tape instead of a tone. Worked okay. My dad built the wooden boxes that held the cart decks. They had carts and were on top of the world.
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