Summary Information
WEKZ (Radio Station: Monroe, Wis.) Records
1950-1968
- WEKZ (Radio Station: Monroe, Wis.)
U.S. Mss 146AF
1.2 c.f. (3 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Records of a Monroe, Wisconsin radio station begun in 1950. One-third of the collection consists of correspondence with advertisers and listeners, a topical file containing publicity and promotional items, a script of the dedication program, and related material. The balance is comprised of representative program logs, 1951-1967. Prominent correspondents include Harold Engel, Gaylord Nelson, and William Proxmire.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0146af ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Radio Station WEKZ, located in Monroe, Wisconsin, began operation on July 28, 1951. It was established by the Green County Broadcasting Company composed of four local residents: Willard and Edward Shuetze, Kenneth Stuart, and Doran Zwygart. WEKZ concentrates on providing service tailored to the interests of its rural listeners in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Agricultural programming includes farm news and coverage of cornpicking contests, fairs, and related local activities. The station has styled itself the “Voice of Agriculture” and has won several awards from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation. In addition, WEKZ covers a variety of non-farm topics of local interest, provides musical and other entertainment, and broadcasts local church services. WEKZ has expanded its operation over the years. In 1955 it increased power from 500 to 1000 watts; in 1958 it acquired a mobile unit to cover local events; and in 1959 the station began FM transmission that allowed it to expand to night-time service, thus adding sporting and council events to its regular fare.
Scope and Content Note
The WEKZ records, though incomplete, provide significant documentation of the station's activities for the first seventeen years of its existence. The collection is divided into two parts: general records and program logs.
The GENERAL RECORDS consist of a correspondence file and a topical file. The former is made up primarily of correspondence with advertisers (many of which were local firms) and listeners. There is also correspondence and related material concerning the Federal Communications Commission regulations of WEKZ's broadcasting hours in the early 1960's and correspondence with the National Association of Broadcasters' Code Authority in the mid- to late 1960's. The topical file contains site specifications for the station, 1951; a transcript of the WEKZ dedication program, 1951; an undated program schedule prospectus; publicity and promotional material, with a considerable amount of information on station activities and personnel; testimonial letters and related items, 1957-1962, concerning the “Service to Agriculture” award of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation; varied material, including station publicity, for Monroe's annual “Cheese Days,” ca. 1950-1965; and miscellany regarding WEKZ.
A representative sample of the PROGRAM LOGS has been taken for the years 1951-1967. The original set of logs was not complete; in most cases a week of programming for each of the four seasons of each year has been selected.
Prominent correspondents in the collection include:
- Harold Engel (1965 July and July 6)
- Gaylord Nelson (1959 March 12 and 1968 Jan. 19)
- William Proxmire (1961 May 17 and June 7; 1963 Feb. 27 and March 20)
- Alexander Wiley (1961 Dec. 27)
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Station WEKZ, 1969.
Contents List
|
Series: General Records
|
|
|
Correspondence file
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Undated
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2-15
|
1950-1964
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1-2
|
1965-1968
|
|
|
Topical file
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
3
|
Site specification, May, 1951
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
4
|
Dedication program, July 28, 1951
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
5
|
Program schedule prospectus, undated
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
6
|
Publicity and promotion, ca. 1951-1960's
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
7
|
“Service to Agriculture” awards, 1957-1962
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
8
|
“Cheese Days,” c. 1950-1965
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
9
|
Miscellany
|
|
|
Series: Program Logs
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
10-18
|
1951-1960
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
1-6
|
1962-1967
|
|
|
