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WRKW
WRKW (99.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Owned by Seven Mountains Media, through licensee Southern Belle Media Family, LLC, it maintains studios and offices at 109 Plaza Drive in Johnstown. It operates at the federally-assigned, effective radiated power of 50,000 watts, and transmits from a facility at 480 Tower Road in Summerhill, Pennsylvania.
To boost its signal, WRKW simulcasts on W230BK, a 175-watt translator on 93.9 FM that is licensed to serve Johnstown. The station is related to WRKY-FM "Rocky 104.9" in Altoona, Pennsylvania; both are owned by Seven Mountains Media.
For much of its existence, WRKW was known as WIYQ, first signing on the air as WEND-FM on July 15, 1962, from studios on Center Street in downtown Ebensburg, its licensed community. The station, along with WEND (1580 AM) was founded by Cary H. Simpson, who also founded the Allegheny Mountain Network based in Tyrone just 11 years before. This station originally broadcast on the frequency of 103.9 FM, but moved to 99.1 in 1966, which brought a power increase to 10,000 watts.
Years later, as Johnstown's economy prospered, the station moved to 1240 Scalp Avenue in Richland Township, where it became more of a regional station serving West Central Pennsylvania.
Throughout its existence, WIYQ went through a series of different formats, from middle-of-the-road to a brief period of top-40 in the late-1980s programmed by John Harlow [citation needed] who also did mornings with Tor Michaels. Matt Swayne did middays, Brian Tercek did afternoons and Dave Snyder did nights.
What WIYQ particularly became well known for was a local polka show broadcast every Sunday afternoon. "Jo-Jo's Polka Swing" debuted in 1972, and remained a staple of WIYQ's programming for twenty years, becoming one of the most successful programs on the station, with listeners calling in from as far away as Pittsburgh's eastern suburbs. Joe Vesnesky, a Glendale High School History Teacher by trade who also did sports play-by-play for another area station, hosted the show, gaining an especially strong following because of his mastery of the native Polish language and the powerful signal of WIYQ, which reached 27 counties in three states.
Air personality "Country Ron" took over the morning show at WIYQ in 1974 and soon developed a huge following among the area's country music fans and hosted several live broadcasts from the nearby Cambria County Fairgrounds. Ron Kauffman graduated from Glendale High School and had been a student of Joe Vesnesky. Ron once introduced Kitty Wells, the 'Queen of Country Music' to the stage at a local high school.
After 31 years, the station's history as WIYQ came to a sad end as the station was sold to TMZ Broadcasting of State College for $440,000. Gone were the popular oldies music and Jo-Jo's Polka Swing, which would resurface years later at a 5,000 watt AM radio station in Philipsburg.
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WRKW
WRKW (99.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Owned by Seven Mountains Media, through licensee Southern Belle Media Family, LLC, it maintains studios and offices at 109 Plaza Drive in Johnstown. It operates at the federally-assigned, effective radiated power of 50,000 watts, and transmits from a facility at 480 Tower Road in Summerhill, Pennsylvania.
To boost its signal, WRKW simulcasts on W230BK, a 175-watt translator on 93.9 FM that is licensed to serve Johnstown. The station is related to WRKY-FM "Rocky 104.9" in Altoona, Pennsylvania; both are owned by Seven Mountains Media.
For much of its existence, WRKW was known as WIYQ, first signing on the air as WEND-FM on July 15, 1962, from studios on Center Street in downtown Ebensburg, its licensed community. The station, along with WEND (1580 AM) was founded by Cary H. Simpson, who also founded the Allegheny Mountain Network based in Tyrone just 11 years before. This station originally broadcast on the frequency of 103.9 FM, but moved to 99.1 in 1966, which brought a power increase to 10,000 watts.
Years later, as Johnstown's economy prospered, the station moved to 1240 Scalp Avenue in Richland Township, where it became more of a regional station serving West Central Pennsylvania.
Throughout its existence, WIYQ went through a series of different formats, from middle-of-the-road to a brief period of top-40 in the late-1980s programmed by John Harlow [citation needed] who also did mornings with Tor Michaels. Matt Swayne did middays, Brian Tercek did afternoons and Dave Snyder did nights.
What WIYQ particularly became well known for was a local polka show broadcast every Sunday afternoon. "Jo-Jo's Polka Swing" debuted in 1972, and remained a staple of WIYQ's programming for twenty years, becoming one of the most successful programs on the station, with listeners calling in from as far away as Pittsburgh's eastern suburbs. Joe Vesnesky, a Glendale High School History Teacher by trade who also did sports play-by-play for another area station, hosted the show, gaining an especially strong following because of his mastery of the native Polish language and the powerful signal of WIYQ, which reached 27 counties in three states.
Air personality "Country Ron" took over the morning show at WIYQ in 1974 and soon developed a huge following among the area's country music fans and hosted several live broadcasts from the nearby Cambria County Fairgrounds. Ron Kauffman graduated from Glendale High School and had been a student of Joe Vesnesky. Ron once introduced Kitty Wells, the 'Queen of Country Music' to the stage at a local high school.
After 31 years, the station's history as WIYQ came to a sad end as the station was sold to TMZ Broadcasting of State College for $440,000. Gone were the popular oldies music and Jo-Jo's Polka Swing, which would resurface years later at a 5,000 watt AM radio station in Philipsburg.