Date Original
1941-1962
Description
This collection contains folders including correspondence, forms, petitions and applications concerning legal and technical issues of the KTHS radio station from 1941 to 1962. The folders are arranged in chronological order.
Biographical/Historical Note
KTHS Radio station was granted a license to operate as a Class B station on December 19, 1924. At that time, it operated out of the west tower of the new Arlington Hotel on Central and Fountain Streets in Hot Springs, Arkansas. With 500 watts of power, the first official program was aired on December 20, 1924. Cam Arnoux served as the first station manager and main announcer. Ed Olds was the original chief engineer. On May 27, 1928, ownership of the station was transferred from the Arlington Hotel to the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, and the studio was moved to the Chamber of Commerce Building at 135 Benton Street. The transmitter and antenna were located at the Hot Springs County Club property on Malvern Road, southwest of the town. Ed Olds left in 1933 and was replaced by Mood McDonald as chief engineer. Cam Arnouz left as manager in January 1934 and was replaced by Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce Scott Hamilton was station manager. From 1937, interest was shown by Col. T.H. Barton to purchase KTHS radio and move it out of Hot Springs. The purchase of the station was approved by the Chamber of Commerce and approved by the FCC on June 16, 1942, transferring ownership of the station to a group of businessmen from Shreveport, Louisiana. Kenneth Kellum became station manager, and Cecil Suitt was promoted to chief engineer. In March of 1949, KTHS sought approval to move to West Memphis and increase its power to 50,000 watts. The plan failed because of protests from local groups and former Arkansas Governor Carl Bailey. On March 24, 1953, KTHS received permission to move from Hot Springs to Little Rock where they increased to a 50,000 watt station on frequency 1090 AM. The studio was located in the Old Blass Building at 313 South Main. The tower and transmitter were placed at Wrightsville, southeast of Little Rock. B.G. Robertson of Shreveport was general manager. Jack Wolever of Hot Springs was program director. Cecil Suitt remained the chief engineer. On June 15, 1953, the station became a CBS affiliate in Little Rock. In February of 1956, KTHS and KTHV TV moved into a new radio-television building at 8th and Izard in Little Rock. A new owner took over the radio station in July 1962, when Lin Broadcasting Corporation became the new official owner. The call letters were changed to KAAY, and the CSA affiliation was dropped. KAAY remained a 50,000 watt station with a Rock and Roll format. Tom Bishop was made station manager and Pat Walsh, Jr. was named commercial manager. Source: {"Arkansas Airwaves", by Ray Poindexter, published in 1974.}
Physical Description
Document, 8.5" x 11"
Geographical Area
Arkansas
Language
English
Identifier
MS.000781
Resource Type
Text
Collection
KTHS Radio Station records
Publisher
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
KTHS Radio Station records, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Rights
Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.
Disciplines
United States History
