Oral History Interview with Edward Clair Krebsbach, March 1, 1978

Archives and Special Collections Mansfield Library, University of Montana Missoula MT 59812-9936 Email: [email protected] Telephone: (406) 243-2053 This transcript represents the nearly verbatim record of an unrehearsed interview. Please bear in mind that you are reading the spoken word rather than the written word. Oral History Number: 032-001 Interviewee: Edward Clair Krebsbach Interviewer: James D. Patterson Date of Interview: March 1,1978 Edward Clair Krebsbach: I'm doing this by cassette because it's going to save me a little bit of typing. This is to Mr. James D. Peterson of Wolf Point, answering a letter concerning the early days of KGCX and my father. My name is Clair Krebsbach, and I think that I can answer some of these questions, perhaps easier, in this matter. Question number one, where did the Krebsbach family live prior to moving to Vida? My father came there right after World War One, and my mother came there...My father came there right after World War One to work for and with his brother who was a banker in the Vida State Bank. My mother came there as a schoolteacher. She was born and raised in Rugby, North Dakota, had gone to school in Dillon, Montana, taught in around Columbus and Absaroka, Montana, and then eventually on over to Vida—a little country schoolhouse—and they met there. They were married then, I believe, in 1919. Question number two when did Mr. Krebsbach interest begin in wanting to set up a radio station? He had a friend or some brothers—the Jacobs' brothers—I think you're familiar with that name. They lived in a farm a few miles out of Vida. The Jacobs' boys were quite interested in electronics. Of course, it was a brand new art in those days. My father was became interested in this, and between them they devised a method whereby they would build a transmitter and so forth for my father, which my father moved in to one of the back rooms of the bank. We actually lived in a couple of the back rooms of the bank, and this was sort of a middle room in the bank, you might say, where he set up his little transmitter. Then he started broadcasting to the folks on a more or less regular basis from that time on, which this actually started about 1924. Number three, did Mr. Krebsbach have any previous broadcast experience? None whatsoever. Was the radio station a serious endeavor to begin with or just a hobby? It was a pure hobby. It had no serious endeavor other than it was a, you might say a...got to be more or less of a serious hobby. Question number five, where did Mr. Krebs back learn about electronics? He learned about them only from the Jacobs' brothers and / or announcer techniques, and he had no announcer techniques but just talked like a pure layman would. 1 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Question number six, how did Vida come to be the site for KGCX and the home for the Krebsbachs? Well, it became the site for KGCX because it was the home of Ed and Harriet Krebsbach. How did it become the home? I think we described that because my father came to work with his brother in the bank and my mother came there as a schoolteacher. Number seven, what other...Excuse me [clears throat]. What other possible work did Mr. Krebsbach do at Vida? He was a banker, and he played in the local orchestra—the Vida Syncopaters—and I think he was active in a church work. I think that's about all that I can remember. Oh, had...I think he had one of the first, what they called, a snow sled in those days, which is an airplane engine on a bobsled body, you might say, with the four runners. He used that occasionally when there was extremely bad weather to get into Wolf Point. Number eight, when was KGCX formally set up and operating at Vida? Well, there was a...I don't know what we would call a formal and informal, but he probably did it informally for a couple of years. About that time in 1926 or so, a radio inspector from the Federal Communications Commission came out, told them that he's supposed to have a license. So after about a week or so, one did come in the mail, and my father then was authorized to officially to run a broadcasting station. So...you might say formally or legally was about 1926. Informally and illegally about 1924. How much preparation time was spent in getting a government permission license, letter writing, ordering equipment, actual construction prior to formal airtime? I don't know, actually. Difficult to answer this because there was no ordering of equipment. The Jacobs' boys had a few extra spare parts, and I suppose they sent away for some. That's how they got the equipment, just kind of put it together over [unintelligible]. Maybe a period of a couple of months as far as letter writing is concerned. He did not write for permission to put on a radio station. He just put it out and started broadcasting. After that, then, the Federal Communications radio inspector came around, said he's supposed to have a license. In fact, we still have a copy of that first license signed by Herbert Hoover. Number ten, was the Krebsbach home located in Vida or on a farm? It was located right smack in the center of town. At that time, there were about a dozen or so buildings. The bank building was right across the street from the dance hall and right next door to the Faye's Vida store (?). The front room was the bank, the middle room was the radio 2 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. station, and the back bedroom, kitchen, bedroom was the Krebsbach home. The outhouse was outside, [laughs] Eleven, how were the call letters KGCX derived? That was strictly assigned by the FCC. When they sent back the first permit, they said, your call letters are KGCX, period. Where was the equipment obtained for the station? I really do not know. It was through the Jacobs' boys, that's all I do know and where they ordered them from or what company I couldn't tell you. Was any of the KGCX equipment homemade? The panels, I suppose, would obviously be homemade. The thick...Somewhere you said you had a picture of the original radio station. The panel was. The old gramophone, of course, was purchased. The microphone was purchased. The tubes, obviously, and the components were all purchased. But there were no pre-made amplifiers or any of that nature. Let's see...Number 14, did Joe Jacobs help with any of the construction? I would say probably did all of it. Or ongoing station maintenance? Probably did all of that also. Fifteen, what kind of equipment was used in making the transmitter, microphone, turntables, phonograph, antenna, microphone? I really don't know. It was an old...what you call it? [pauses] The granule-type held together on a frame with a couple of rubber bands. I can't even say the name of them anymore. Turntables was an old gramophone. Antenna was just a long hunk of wire that stretched from the front of the bank to the back of the bank and nailed up there on a couple of two by fours. Let's see...Number 16, how big were the studios in the bank building: one room, two rooms, dimensions? It was all in one room, and as I would recall looking back through the eyes of a six-year-old child or so. Let's see...It would be about, I would say, ten by...ten by twelve, ten by fourteen perhaps, was the entire room. Okay, number 17, what fixtures did the station have: soundproofing, piano, organ, decor? Nothing. Nothing whatsoever. Eighteen, how many farm families had radios? 3 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Difficult to say but I would say quite a few of them had radios. In fact, many of them were sold by my father. Or, was there coffee place were farmers or families gathered to listen to the new phenomenon? No, there was no coffee place in the Vida area, actually, although it could be heard 50 to 100 miles away. It could be heard in Wolf Point from Vida and around on a good day or good night. So...But I don't think there was any gathering place or a specific listening place. Question number 19, what was the station's frequency at Vida? I, unfortunately, have forgotten. I just don't remember. Twenty, what coverage? Actually, you could probably get this question through Oscar Halvorsen (?), who has a copy of the original license hanging on the wall at the present KGCX. I believe the frequency is on there. Number 20, what coverage area and miles did the station have on seven-and-a-half watts? Of course, it varied. There were just no other stations for many, many miles away. At that time when he went on the air, there was already one station in Havre, which was KFVB. A Mr. Buttrey (?) owned that radio station.

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