Material Type

Artifact

Date

1948

Materials

ALUMINUM, STEEL

No. Pieces

1

Length

38.0

Width

11.1

Description

SERIAL NO. 1162 & 1735. RCA DISC CUTTING LATHE. MOUNTED IN VERTICAL POSITION. "OUTSIDE IN" ON SCALE. CONSISTS OF 2 PARALLEL BARS AND 3RD CALIBRATION BAR. RED "RCA" EMBLEM.

Subjects

TELECOMMUNICATION T&E

Historical Association

BUSINESS

History

THIS DISC CUTTING LATHE WAS DONATED TO THE GALT MUSEUM BY LETHBRIDGE BROADCASTING LTD., THE ASSOCIATION THAT AT ONE TIME OWNED LETHBRIDGE'S FIRST RADIO STATION, CJOC. IT WAS PURCHASED NEW WHEN CJOC OPENED ITS NEW STUDIO IN 1948. IT WAS USED TO CUT 16" VERTICAL DISCS, BEFORE TAPE RECORDERS BECAME AVAILABLE. *UPDATE* IN 2015 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON DEVELOPED THE FOLLOWING BRIEF HISTORY OF CJOC RADIO WITH INFORMATION FROM GALT ARCHIVES RECORD 20081033000. CJOC WAS THE FIRST RADIO STATION TO BROADCAST FROM LETHBRIDGE, AND ONE OF THE EARLIEST IN CANADA. THE STATION BEGAN OFFICIAL BROADCASTS ON JANUARY 9, 1924. A RADIO BROADCASTING LICENSE WAS GRANTED IN APRIL 1926 & ISSUED WITH THE CALL LETTERS CJOC. THE LICENSE OFFICE ASSIGNED "CJ", WHILE THE STATION CO-FOUNDER, JOHN ENDER "JOCK" PALMER, CHOSE THE "OC" IN REFERENCE TO HIS NICKNAME. THE STATION BEGAN BROADCASTING SPORADICALLY FROM PALMER'S MOTHER'S HOUSE. PALMER TOOK TWO PARTNERS, HAROLD ROBERSTON CARSON AND WILLIAM WALTER GRANT, INTO HIS BROADCASTING VENTURE, AND GRANT BUILT A 50 WATT RADIO TRANSMITTER. SOON THE STATION EXPANDED, MOVING TO THE BASEMENT OF THE HULL BLOCK, AND IN 1928 TO THE PENTHOUSE OF THE NEWLY CONSTRUCTED MARQUIS HOTEL. ON AUGUST 13, 1928 JOCK PALMER AND WILLIAM GRANT SOLD THEIR INTERESTS IN CJOC TO CARSON FOR $100 AND $150 RESPECTIVELY. GRANT AND PALMER MOVED TO CALGARY, WHERE GRANT FOUNDED THE CFCN STATION AND BUILT RADIO EQUIPMENT, AND PALMER CONTINUED TO PURSUE HIS AVIATION INTERESTS. ON NOVEMBER 26, 1928 HAROLD R. CARSON, W.J. MILLICAN AND G.H. MILLICAN SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION CREATING LETHBRIDGE BROADCASTING LIMITED. IN 1933, CJOC ANNOUNCER HENRY VINEY AND TECHNICIAN BOB BUSS DID ONE OF THE FIRST REMOTE HOCKEY BROADCASTS IN CANADA. MR. VINEY DESCRIBED THE PLAY-BY-PLAY OVER A ONE-WAY TELEPHONE LINE FROM VEGREVILLE WHILE MR. BUSS REMAINED IN THE STUDIO AT LETHBRIDGE. IN THE FALL OF 1936 CJOC BEGAN “THE RADIO SCHOOL OF THE AIR”, THE FIRST SUCH PROGRAM OF ITS KIND IN CANADA. CREATED AS AN AID FOR TEACHERS IN CLASSROOMS THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN ALBERTA, THE PROGRAM FEATURED ‘PORTS OF CALL’ ON MONDAYS, “HEALTH HINTS AND HISTORY OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE HELPED MANKIND’ ON TUESDAYS, ‘MOTHER GOOSE’ STORIES ON WEDNESDAYS, ‘DRAMA’ PRODUCED BY AGNES DAVIDSON ON THURSDAYS, AND SING-SONG SESSIONS ON FRIDAYS. IN 1948 CJOC MOVED OUT OF THE MARQUIS HOTEL TO 1015 3 AVE. SOUTH. THE STATION WON THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS ‘AM STATION OF THE YEAR’ AWARD TWICE: FIRST IN 1952 AS CJOC LED A CAMPAIGN TO RAISE MONEY FOR A BOY SCOUT HALL IN LETHBRIDGE, AND AGAIN IN 1967 FOR THE STATIONS’ EXTRAORDINARY PUBLIC SERVICE DURING AN INTENSE WINTER BLIZZARD. CJOC BECAME THE COMMUNICATION HUB OF SOUTHERN ALBERTA DURING THE CRISIS, RELAYING MESSAGES BY RADIO AND KEEPING THE PUBLIC INFORMED OF DEVELOPMENTS. ON JANUARY 19, 2000 THE CANADIAN RADIO-TELEVISION TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CRTC) APPROVED AN APPLICATION BY ROGERS BROADCASTING LIMITED TO REPLACE CJOC WITH A NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE FM STATION. THE NEW STATION WOULD REPLACE CJOC'S COUNTRY MUSIC FORMAT WITH AN ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FORMAT. CONDITIONS OF CRTC APPROVAL WERE THAT CJOC AND THE NEW STATION COULD BROADCAST SIMULTANEOUSLY FOR UP TO THREE MONTHS, AT WHICH TIME ROGERS WOULD SURRENDER THE BROADCAST LICENSE OF CJOC. CFRV 107.7 FM (THE RIVER) WAS LAUNCHED, AND LATER IN 2000 CJOC WENT OFF THE AIR. IN 2007 THE CALL LETTERS CJOC WERE ASSIGNED TO A NEW RADIO STATION IN LETHBRIDGE, 102.1 FM.

Catalogue Number

P19880012025

Acquisition Date

1989-02

Collection

Museum

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