90.5 WKHS Celebrates 45 Years of Radio Broadcasting on the Shore

In the final weeks of March 1974 the oil crisis brought about due to an oil embargo by OPEC nations was coming to an end, the terracotta Army city of Qin Shin Huang was discovered in China, Cher was at the top of the charts with “Dark Lady”, and “Blazing Saddles was the movie to see. Among all of this, on March 28th, a little student run public radio station at Kent County High School in Worton, MD, 90.5 WKHS turned on their transmitter.

At Noon on March 28, 2019 the station celebrated their 45th Anniversary with the playing of the first song played, Elton John’s Rocket Man. To celebrate the day they played only 45’s singles.

The station may have celebrated their 45th Anniversary but the station is young at heart with High School students running the station during the day. Many of the students had never touched a record, let alone a 45 single before this week. They learned to cue the records and play them just as the students 45 years ago had done.

Founded by the Kent County Public School System in 1974, WKHS is one of the most powerful high school stations in the country. At 17,500 watts with flat terrain all around, their signal can be heard for up to 60 miles in any direction. They have many listeners in the Baltimore area.

90.5 WKHS is a Public Radio Station. Instead of relying or advertisers and in a way working for those advertisers, Public Radio is working for the listeners. To continue that service they need support from you.

This week they have been holding a membership drive. There are cost to running a station. License fees and other monthly or yearly costs. Becoming a member of the station helps to pay for these costs. Did you know that for just 33 cents a day or 10 dollars a month would give the station 120 dollars to fulfill their mission?

The weeklong Membership Drive ends today, but one can always become a member by going to the station’s Website WKHSRadio.org and click the DONATE button.

Chris Singleton, the current Station Manager/Instructor, was a member of the class of ’84. He began his involvement with the station in 1983 when as a student of the Electronics Program was asked to repair a piece of equipment. In 1989 he came on as the station engineer, a role he has held since. In 2007 he took on the dual role of Station Engineer and Station Manager/Instructor.

There were many visitors to the station during their Anniversary show, including former students of the program, Fred Willard, a Broadcast Engineer, Mark Mumford, Kent County Clerk of the Court and former Kent County High School Principal Tracey Williams. She said, “When I was a student in high school, I was shy. I wasn’t outspoken. Joining the FM broadcasting program helped me learn to speak confidently (even when I didn’t feel confident), to speak more clearly, to speak in front of a crowd, and to work together with other students as part of a team to create original work. (i.e. Public Service Announcements).”

A surprise guests were the Eastern Shore Representative for Senators Cardin and Van Hollen, Kim Kratovil and Melissa Kelly. They presented Senatorial Proclamations to the station.

No Anniversary Celebration is complete without having a cake. DJ Aaron, a senior in the program cuts the cake as other students, sophomores to seniors, and visitors look on.

Photos: SG Atkinson