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By Nancy Fraser
Borrowing a dainty little flashlight as the 1932 version of Diogenes’ lantern, I foregathered with the “Old Night Watchman” of WIL on Sunday night to help him augment the revels of St. Louis night life upon his rounds to assure radio listeners that “All is well.”

Thrilled to death I was for the idea of being assistant “watch lady” was unique enough in itself without having the fun of tearing about the city in a battery and amplifier-ladened Ford with a red lantern swinging in its wake. It was with a feeling of romantic glow of adventure that I met Billy Lang, the Old Night Watchman and Little Willie Keller, the remote control man at the Ambassador Theater at 8 o’clock to begin the thirty-five mile round. I wasn’t disappointed.

There in the screening room were the twenty “Gloom Chasers” led by a collarless Al Roth, Ambassador music director. They were working hard on the torrid night to send sweet strains of music over the air. As the last noted were wafted, up jumped Little Willie and disjointed the microphone and started putting wires and tubes and boxes together; the Night Watchman helping him. Being somewhat of a novice at the serious business, I was so confused that I all but got coiled up with the cords and put into the panel box. They discovered me in time though and we were out of the street and crammed into the “waiting” Ford to begin our land “hop” down to Sauter’s Park.

Streets flew by, headlights danced and the soft air from the Mississippi rose to greet us as we accomplished that leg of the journey in less than thirty minutes.

Little Willie dashed into the pavilion ahead of us and by the time we had threaded our way over the gaily illuminated floor, he had set up the microphone, twisted a few knobs on the amplifier and was ringing the control room in WIL saying “OK.” Then the Night Watchman climbed on the stage and with his “Heigh-Ho, everybody” began announcing the numbers of Dewey Jackson’s Harlem hot rhythm band.

I couldn’t help but reflect what a lot of pleasure such an open air place gave young people who were swaying and whirling around in floor in an inspired manner. It was cool, gaily lighted and the music impelling. I had a severe case of the “jitters” when Billy Langinvited me up to the microphone to announce a few of the numbers and couldn’t help envying him his easy manner and infectious smile as he greeted his friends both on the floor and over the air. There is a stir of anticipation when the Old Night Watchman enters each place and it is easy to see what an addition he is to the spirit of revelry.

The half-hour raced by and we were going through the same performance of taking down  the equipment and loading it into the car although I had by then learned enough to keep out of the way and to even carry the tiara-like mike with the significant call letters WIL across the top.

Dodging returning weekenders in a nineteen-mile circle of the country, we found ourselves on the Olive Street Road at Diane’s, the new dine and dance palace. We received a royal welcome there from everybody from the doorman up to Miss Diane herself.

Little Willie had the accoutrements strung up in the mere “twinkling of an eye” while Miss Diane, who is a tall, stately and gracious blonde person, proudly showed me the softly lighted café and introduced me to the delightfully silly entertainers including Al Rusell, the dancer, Larry Green, eccentric second Al Jolson and Ray DeVinney, drummer dance band leader.

The smart looking crowd joined in the dancing and greeting of the Night Watchman and a lot of impromptu specialties went over the air. The music was good, the crowd lightly gay and the hostess charming – so it was small wonder that the Night Watchman and humble assistant sneaked in a syncopated three turns about the floor before tearing ourselves away to join Bill Bailey at the Canton Tea Garden. And it was a thrill to dance with six-feet-four-and-a-quarter charming Billy Lang – Night Watchman or otherwise.

Another Ford flight and we were back in the center of busy St. Louis listening to Bill Bailey’s eccentric xylophone playing. There I helped Billy in “heighhoing,” getting the numbers all mixed up but thoroughly enjoying myself. It was just twelve when we bade the audience a regretful goodnight and little Willie packed up for the last time. Fleet Smith joined us and with our official duties over, we went back to Diane’s to catch the last floor show.

With tapping steps and well sung popular tunes still resounding in our ears, we left there in time to join the two o’clock bathing party at Sauter’s Park and it was near the dawn when we finally disbanded.

Weary I was but enchanted with the amusing possibilities of nightwatching with infectiously charming Billy Lang leading the lanterned way who uses the microphone instead of the stick to announce “All is Well.”

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 7/30/1932).

By M.J. Conohan
The “Voice of St. Louis” is the powerful 50,000 watt radio station KMOX. One of the strongest and most popular radio stations in the middle west, KMOX has a listening audience over a radius of 1,000 miles. A member station in the Columbia Broadcasting System, it brings national broadcasts to its listeners as well as rendering all the radio services of regional interest to the people in the St. Louis business and agricultural area.

KMOX is located in the Mart Building in downtown St. Louis, KMOX being the only business enterprise that remained in the building when the government took over the property several years ago for use as an Army Medical Depot. The offices and studios of the station are located on the second floor of the building and occupy approximately 22,000 square feet of floor space. The transmitter for KMOX is located several miles outside the city limits of St. Louis.

Only a small portion of the space occupied in the Mart Building by the radio station is devoted to the actual broadcasting of programs. Long hours of preparations are required to obtain the perfection and split [second] timing so necessary in radio work and consequently much space is used for offices devoted to the development and preparation of programs. The business offices of the station are also located in the Mart Building.

The floors of radio station KMOX are all covered with serviceable floor coverings: rubber tile, asphalt tile, rubber and linoleum. The KMOX Playhouse has carpeting in the area used for the seating of audiences and the center portion of the main corridor is carpeted. Mr. L.C. Burrows, Maintenance Engineer for KMOX, has a crew of five men under the supervision of Mr. J.L. Scherder who takes excellent care of the floor services.

There are six studios, designated as studios A, B, C, D, E and F. Each studio has a Master Control Room, with a glass partition facing the studio so the engineer present for each broadcast can see exactly how the program is proceeding in the studio. The engineer has full charge of the broadcast, advising the various performers by hand signals when to begin their parts and when to interrupt the program for commercials. Each control room has a recording device to make recordings of the broadcasts and this equipment is used in playing or recordings or transcriptions for broadcast. There is a special room called the Recording Room which is used in making transcriptions for future broadcast.

Double doors lead to the various studios to provide a sound “trap” when it is necessary for someone to enter the studio during a broadcast. Some of these doors are heavily soundproofed and weigh as much as seven hundred pounds. All the studios are open to view, three panes of glass with air spaces between the panes and set on felt pads making the studio soundproof. The interiors of the studios are all acoustically engineered to make for good tonal quality in the broadcasts. One studio required considerable engineering: the ceiling and walls are all paneled with acoustical board, the board being set on the surfaces in a zig-zag pattern rather than flat against the wall surface so that sound waves are broken up and do not “bounce back” into the microphone; in addition the floor is set on springs six to eight inches high as a further assurance of proper sound quality.

The KMOX News Room is serviced by four teletype machines with complete Associated Press news service. The studio used for news broadcasts at one time was a part of the news room but it has now been separated from the news room and soundproofed. One of the music studios contains a four bank organ, the pipes of which are set into the walls of the studio. There are also two grand pianos in this studio.

All the studios in KMOX with the exception of the Playhouse and the Magic Kitchen are covered with the same type of floor covering – rubber tile. The selection of this type of flooring was apparently made after considerable attention to serviceability and beauty. Alternate blocks of rubber tile in red and buff, black and yellow mottled or marbleized, light green and dark green, all with black borders, make the studios very attractive and the condition of the floors shows that they have proved to be very serviceable.

The news room and the news studio have the best floors in the studios. These rubber tile floors have been in service for twelve years and still show no wear. The floor of studio D is in two shades of green rubber tile and has always been difficult to clean properly. During the cleaning of this floor, it must be kept wet until all cleaning is completed to avoid streaking of the floor.

The stage of the KMOX Playhouse has three tiers, the floor of gray rubber and the risers of the tiers in blue. Every Saturday the Playhouse is host to eight hundred guests for two very popular programs.

It is interesting to know that the broadcasting of programs concerning the preparation of foods is done from real kitchens maintained by the larger studios. The KMOX Magic Kitchen is a complete kitchen that would delight any housewife. The deep red or maroon linoleum in the Magic Kitchen make[s] it very attractive.

Passageways, corridors and toilet rooms are floored with asphalt tile in brown, gray or black. Offices are covered with rubber tile except for a few of the executive offices which are carpeted.

Mr. Scherder finds that the floors do not require an undue amount of care, and maintenance at irregular intervals, as the floors require, has proved satisfactory. The floors are dry mopped daily to keep them clean. When additional maintenance is indicated, the floors are cleaned with a wet mop and neutral soap. All but the Magic Kitchen are then treated with Finish Material and buffed. Some of the floor areas can be kept in good condition for as long as two months at a time with daily dry mopping.

Due to the nature of the linoleum floor in the Magic Kitchen, a “spewing” of oil apparently coming from the porous surface of the linoleum, it does not readily take applications of wax. It has been found that the cleanest and neatest looking floor for this surface can be obtained by merely scrubbing it with neutral soap and water and leaving it untreated.

Even the experienced radio announcer is subject to “mike fright” when facing his unseen audience. Two black smudges on the floor of one studio just before the microphone proved to be due to the nervous scraping of the feet of an announcer. Due to the methods of maintenance used in KMOX these “burns” are easily removed and do not injure the floor.

The selection of proper maintenance materials and good maintenance methods  for the floors of KMOX studios has materially aided in making the appearance of the studios fit in with the top quality of its programs.

(Originally published in Floorcraft magazine 12/1943 ).

J.L. Van Volkenburg has been appointed Director of Operations subsequent to the resignation of William H. West who has served in that capacity for the past year.Mr. Van Volkenburg came to KMOX last October as Director of Sales and will continue as Sales Manager as well as Chief Executive of the station.

A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Mr. Van Volkenburg has been on the stage and featured as an entertainer and musician over the air. He left stage work to go into advertising and was Director of Radio at Batten, Barton Durstine and Osborne Agency before coming here. He is but thirty-two years old and one of the youngest executives of a 50,000 watt station in the country.

Other appointments made at the station subsequent to Mr. West’s resignation include the advancement of Nicholas J. Zehr to the position of Radio Engineer in charge of the transmitter plant in St. Louis County and Graham L. Tevis to Audio Engineer in charge of studio reception, wire lines and remote control.

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 2/4/1933).

As many of the 5,000 mates of the Pirates’ Club that could possibly get there foregathered yesterday at the Missouri Theater for the first get-together meeting of the club. They met personally Uncle Bob, Pirate Chief, who is Bob Enoch of WIL.

The meeting was opened by the members of the crew rising and singing the Pirate Song which is a necessary ritual of the organization. Uncle Bob related some thrilling adventures of swashbuckling days while the youngsters gathered about him. The latest release of The Marx Brothers’ “Horsefeathers” was the feature entertainment with a subsequent comedy by the “Our Gang” youngsters.

Uncle Bob has been conducting a cleanliness health book contest and the prizes have just been awarded. Another contest is now underway whereby the youngsters submit scrapbooks of their own design dealing in health and cleanliness and underlined with their own comments.

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 8/27/1932).

A new trio made its appearance to the radio audience of KMOX, The Voice of St. Louis, last Sunday at 10:15 a.m. The trio to which we refer is “The Debutantes” whose vocal harmonies attracted so much attention on Sunday’s broadcast that the telephones of KMOX were kept busy for hours answering calls from the inquiring audience who wanted to know just who these three girls really were.

Well, they are Linda Stuart, Jean Carleton and Betty Marshall, and their initial broadcast over KMOX was their first appearance before a microphone.

The reason they created such a sensation was because they had, at the start, the experience of “old timers.” They derived this experience from Ted Straeter, popular KMOX pianist and coach who has been instructing the trio for three months.

During this time Ted has taught them the art of radio broadcasting by teaching them expression, phrasing, microphone technique, in addition to blending their voices, developing their vocal personality and writing special trio arrangements.

Summing it up in a few words, Ted discovered and developed this unusual trio. He has a habit of developing radio talent, for Ted has coached some of radio’s outstanding trios and soloists. “The Coeds,” “The Three Blue Notes,” “Irene Beasley,” “Bernardine Hayes,” “Jimmy(sic) Cabooch” and many others have been tutored by this young man who is now only eighteen years of age.

While young in years, Ted has had a wealth of experience. He has been in radio since the early days of the one tube set when he was featured as the child wonder. Ted is still a wonder, for in addition to his radio work, he finds time to maintain his own studios where he teaches piano and voice. In spite of his youth, Ted Straeter is regarded as one of the most capable coaches and pianists in the middle west.

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 1/16/1932).

Many radio listeners recall the pleasant hours spent back in 1927 when there were few stations in St. Louis and their dials used to swing to WSBF, the Stix, Baer and Fuller Station. Since the days of 1925, ‘6 and ‘7, radio in the city of St. Louis has made rapid progress and it was in the early part of 1928 that WSBF went out of existence.

How many of you remember the name of Eddie Burback? Well, it was Eddie Burback and Danny Seyforth who appeared regularly on WSBF in a piano and singing act.

After WSBF went out of existence, Danny Seyforth floundered around until he finally formed a five-piece band, but the call of the radio brought him to Station KFVE, which was then located in the Egyptian Building in University City. Shortly after this KFVE was moved to the Hotel Chase, having been purchased by Thomas Patrick Convey for a group that financed the transaction.

Early KWK Artist
It wasn’t long before Danny Seyforth found himself working with a singing trio known as “The Varsity Boys” and in the early hectic days of KWK many of you recall the many hours of pleasure brought to your home by the trio. In fact, the Varsity Boys Trio became so popular that they were called to Chicago for an audition by the National Broadcasting Company. Like most trios, quartettes and other musical groups that start to get somewhere, something always occurs to break them up, and before the trio learned what their future might be with the National Broadcasting Company, they parted and each went in a different direction. Danny Seyforth, whom we are writing about, decided to go back to clerking, working for banks, railroads, shoe companies, paint companies, and even became a soda fountain clerk for short time.

Radio On His Mind
Evidently Danny’s numerous changes in jobs were brought about by dissatisfaction with these various types of work. He couldn’t get radio off his mind and his itching to return to radio caused him to drift into KWK where he met Bob Thomas who happened to be on duty at the time. Danny begged for a chance to start up a singing team and convinced Bob that he might, with a little training, be able to harmonize with him.

They didn’t know much about it but became enthusiastic, knuckled down to hard work, rehearsed day in and day out and finally convinced the Program Department of KWK that they had arrived at a point where they deserved a chance on the air.

The team of “Frank and Ernest” was the outcome, and while they have not as yet arrived at a point where booking agents are seeking their services for national network programs, they give promise of a future if they continue their hard work and do not become temperamental among themselves as many teams do.

Many have written to KWK to learn the identity of the “Early Morning Songster” and the story is now out – he is “Frank” of the “Frank and Ernest” team, who pays his income tax under the name of Danny Seyforth.

Hard Work His Diet
Danny Seyforth is so enthused about his future in radio that it is difficult to even get him to enter a bank, a shoe store, or a paint company where he formerly worked. You cannot even get him to ride on a railroad train. He prefers to travel by air, and even in hot weather it is difficult to get him near a soda fountain – BUT, show him a piano in a quiet atmosphere, a microphone and he is as contented as any human being could be. He doesn’t know a thing about music, never took a lesson, doesn’t know one note from the other, but somehow or other he manages to hit the right ivory at the right time. His fingers seem to synchronize with his ear and he is determined to work in the development of his technique in broadcasting – in fact, he said the other day that he would work until Niagara – Falls.

His fan mail at KWK is growing day by day. His postage bills have been running so high that he cannot even answer all his fan mail any more but endeavors to do so in a word of thanks now and then on the air and by sending out the type of material that most of the fans request.

Danny is still unattached, he is under twenty two years of age, his waist line is still under twenty-two inches, he is five feet seven inches tall and as far as can be discovered after close examination, his heart and his attentions have been devoted to one little girl whose first name begins with a “C.”

Now and again he fails for several days to shave his upper lip but he is gradually being sold on the idea that he takes a better photograph when his upper lip is shaved.

He spends all of his spare time about the studio grabbing a piano wherever it is not in use and when he cannot get accommodations at the Hotel Chase studios, he can be found at Kirkwood practicing and rehearsing in a little private studio that has been set aside out there for the development of Frank and Ernest and for emergency announcements or broadcasting.

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 1/23/1932).