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. There may have been one over North Dakota at Devil's Lake. I'm not just sure, and possibly Mandan. I'm not sure of that either. Keep in mind there were only about 200 radio stations in the United States at that time which gave you lots of room, and of course, would give you lots of coverage so there was no interference at all.
Number 24, what was the power supply for the station: batteries, wind charger, or other?
There was a little hand generator that is still at KGCX at the present time. There's a small little generator that was...you could get in about the size of a...not a shoe box. A little bit larger than that. Perhaps a boot box. That was the entire generator driven by batteries.
What might be considered the overall cost of station construction?
Of the regular operation, there was no cost of the operation, of course, except a few pennies for electricity. The overall cost of the station's construction at that time probably wasn't any more than 50 dollars.
Did Mr. Krebsbach have employees helping with the station operation?
4 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Absolutely none.
Twenty-seven, was KGCX purchased from Joe Jacobs, or was it the sole idea and enterprise of Mr. Krebsbach?
Well, the equipment, I'm sure, was purchased from or through Joe Jacobs. He built the operation for my father. It was just for the nuts and bolts and the...I would say the idea of having his own radio station...It wasn't the same thing as owning a radio station today for the dissemination of news, giving entertainment, and so on and so forth. It was solely a plaything. Much the same as a HAM does today—just for his own amusement, you might say.
Where were electronic parts obtained: tubes, meters, and so forth?
I have no idea.
Twenty-nine, what were the most frequent repair problems?
I really don't recall. As I say, I was from I was born in 1921. I was about three years old when my father started. The very first time...I could just barely remember being at the Joe Jacobs farm a couple of times. I can remember sitting and watching my father read—talk over the microphone. Didn't mean that much to me. I can remember during the noon hour my father would dash from the front door of the front room of the bank and tell my mother, "Have lunch ready. I'm coming back." He'd come on back, and he'd be watching his watch. "I've got to get on the air at 12 o'clock," or whatever time it was, 12:30, "because the people are expecting me," this sort of thing. But that's about all I can remember of those early, early days.
Let's see...the extended outages. I really don't know.
Number 31. Let's see...31, were there ever times when KGCX nearly closed down as an effort in fu tility in Vida?
I would say not. I think it was sort of a booming operation. In other words, he was not making any money out of it, of course. That was not the intent, nor did anybody in broadcasting in those days ever foresee what radio would turn into would be an economic venture. Nobody, nobody foresaw that in those days
Thirty-two, why did Mr. Krebsbach persevere with radio when others in homestead country farmed or ran conventional businesses?
Well, he was a banker as we have stated numerous times. And why did he persevere with radio? It was just a strong hobby. It was the only reason really, and I suppose people congratulated him and kind of looked toward him to bring them some sort of entertainment and this sort of thing. Then in 1929, he decided to...early in 1929, he decided to move to Wolf
5 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Point. His good friend, Mr. Dick Caughlin (?), had the Westland Oil Station bulk plant and so on and so on there in Wolf Point. So they decided that my father would take over that operation in the Wolf Point—the Westland Oil Company. Then Mr. Caughlin built for him some operating rooms in the back end of, what you'd call, the grease rack and then the washing part—the car- washing operation. So he built a couple large building there, part for Westland and part for the radio station. Then my father, I suppose, in return for, or in payment thereof called it the Westland Radio Station, which of course was advertising for the Westland Oil Company. So that was the way they had worked that out.
So why did why did he persevere with it? I don't know. Why does anyone persevering with a hobby, and then the hobby pretty soon becomes a business? That was just about the way it was.
How did people feel about having a radio station in Vida?
Impossible for me to say. I just couldn't say, but I think they were intrigued by it.
Did they really feel and understand its impact?
No, other than just Mr. Krebsbach was talking on the radio station and wasn't that fantastic that he could be talking in Vida and here ten miles out here in the country I can hear it. I think that was the biggest impact.
Was it considered just a momentary novelty?
Probably. Probably just a novelty.
Thirty-four, when did the station usually broadcast?
Earlier, it was just maybe a half hour to an hour a day. Later on, when he moved it to Wolf Point, it was a little more serious, and he had to broadcast more regular hours.
In the summer, in the winter time, or by the season?
I would say it was probably about the same. Whether it was winter or summer.
Thirty-five, was there a regular program schedule that listeners could rely on?
Yes, I would say sometimes he would broadcast for an hour during the noon hour, and then sometimes an hour around the supper hour, and sometimes maybe around the breakfast hour or something like that.
Thirty-six, how did programming change, if any, during the year at Vida?
6 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. At Vida, the programming did not change that much. Totally, he was on the air...It went from the day he started to build it about 1924 through 1928. Was only about, obviously, three or four years so it was strictly a play thing. It was only after he moved it to Wolf Point, they did have regular broadcast hours, and that was at the beginning of 1929.
What kind of live programs did the station present?
Nothing at Vida, but later on in Wolf Point various traveling bands a local piano player, somebody that could sing a song. Sometimes interviewing kids just walking down the street and coming on in. I can remember I used to...this is later of course, but 1935, '36 I la Camplin (?), who was the daughter of the Anacostal preacher there, she and I...She was very good piano player and could sing, and I would announce her program. We did it, oh, I think every afternoon, 2:30 to 3 or something of this nature. Anything that was live, of course, was considered good. People in those days...ugh! Transcription! That was a canned sort of a thing, and that was very frowned upon. Live things were big.
Thirty-eight, did the Vida community ever give contributions to help support KGCX financially?
No, not Vida. I'm very sure. Although Wolf Point did.
Thirty-nine, were phonograph records played in Vida?
Yes, of course. That was the only music there was available.
If so, the titles and the artists?
[pauses] I just can't think what they would have been in Vida. Later on in Wolf Point, he would buy some types of programs. I can remember the Three Black Crows and the...but I can't remember the early, early names anymore. Any of the artists who were playing in those days, of course, had records, he was playing them in those days.
Were there any other investors in the Vida station?
None.
Was Mr. Krebsbach also a HAM radio operator?
Not officially. He never did have a HAM license.
Were there any other stations in or around the Vida area?
7 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. None whatsoever. As I mentioned before, the closest was Havre in Montana, which was the first one. Vida was second. And in North Dakota, I think perhaps, maybe Devil's Lake and maybe at Mandan.
How old was Mr. Krebsbach back when he opened KGCX at Vida?
Let's see. He was about 35 or 36 years old at that time.
What kind of inspections and how often did the Commerce Department...how often did the Commerce Department make of the station? I'll have to read [unintelligible] What kind of inspections and how often did the Commerce Department make of the state?
Well, the inspections were very sparse. They would come around maybe every few or several years.
What contact did Mr. Krebsbach have with other state broadcasters?
Very close with them. Soon after he got on, Mr. Ed Craney in Butte went on the air [KGIR] with, I think, was considered the third radio station. He and Mr. Craney were very close. And the other broadcaster as they would come on. Mostly in Montana. In North Dakota, he didn't know them until later years actually. But the Montana stations were always very close. In fact, it was all through the '30s. Not a lot of close contact, but they would visit each other—write letters and so forth. Right after World War Two—immediately after—like about early 1946, I believe, my father was the first president of the Montana Broadcasters [Association].
Now let's see...what was the most popular program or kind of program on the station?
Nothing in Vida. As I say, it was strictly talk and occasionally a record, but later on in Wolf Point some very important programs were Ralph Bray Orchestra (?), as I recall, was one of them. They were a local dance band. Montana Pete was a guitar player and very important, and everybody knew Montana Pete
Forty-eight, did the station have access to telegraph or the latest news?
Very little news. However, the first news, as I recall, was picked up through a vizizig (?). And I don't know if you know what a vizizig is. One of the engineers and I spent one...not a whole summer but a portion of the summer lighting up a rhombic antenna that was pointing toward, I think it was, New York or Chicago. I've kind of forgotten now. Where it was sent out by CW (?). The vizizig would pick up the CW and transform it into printing like a teletype sort of. Later on then, it was just typed. It didn't work too well sometimes so if that thing knocked out, then one of the engineers would listen to it and type up the news in this way. I don't know...remember if it was the United Press, Associated Press, or International News or whatever it was, but the news would come by a continuous wave by Morse code and be typed up. Later on, because it
8 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. was kind of a hassle and a job. You know, you couldn't always find somebody that could type the news that fast.
They joined with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation—CBC—and was the only United States affiliate actually. We would pick it up...We would pick up either Regina or Watrous off the air, and then of course, rebroadcast and that was that was our network. We had that for, oh, many years actually. Maybe five, six, eight, ten years.
Let's see what did the station...okay. What kind of radio receiver did the Krebsbachs have at home?
I believe it was an Atwater Kent as I recall.
Which dignitaries, politicians were ever interviewed by the station?
I would say all of the politicians in the state of Montana. In 1936, we had President Roosevelt on the air when he came out there to dedicate the Fort Peck Dam, and I remember my father went over there by remote control and the broadcast that. All the governors, senators. He and B. K. Wheeler [Burton K. Wheeler] were very close friends as I remember. Most all the other politicians would stop in at the radio station, and they were friends of my father's.
What were some of the funny, unique, interesting, helping, creative stories of the station's 1920's history?
There weren't too many years of the 1920s, obviously, as I say up until '30.
What were some of the funny, unique, interesting, helping, creative stories?
[laughs] This is kind of a tough one, and it would be very, very broad and I suppose a person could write a whole book on something like this. But what I could do is refer you to Dr. Hess who just wrote a book, and I'll give you his name and address here in a few moments, maybe at the end of this tape.
Fifty-two, did the area take advantage of KGCX services? River conditions and so forth?
I would say yes, although a lot of these things were not thought of frankly as trying to be of the greatest service. It was not much more than a jukebox, you might say, with a little bit of news and perhaps the baseball scores. I can remember when I was younger it was my job to run down to the railroad station to get the telegram. Every afternoon about five o'clock to get the afternoon baseball scores. I would run back from the railroad depot back to the studio, and then the announcer would read the baseball scores. One time, and then that was sufficient. That was it.
9 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Many times, the announcers would just put on a 15-minute disk and put it on the air and just let it go. Then they'd run across the street and work in the...maybe work in the grease rack or change tire or something. Come on back and take that one off and maybe had run out by five minutes and come back and got another one up. Put on another 15-minute record. It was definitely not the type of radio broadcasting that we have today. It was just barely keeping the thing on the air.
Did Congressman Scott Leavitt ever visit KGCX during the 1920s?
I do not recall the name.
Did the Vida newspaper ever carry any stories about KGCX?
Vida never did have a newspaper. Copies of this publication are hard to come by. I'm not surprised, because there were none, [laughs] There is no such a thing ever printed in the city of Vida. At that time in the '20s and '30s, Vida, as I say, consisted of a grocery store, a post office, a bank building, a dance hall, a garage, a school building, a sort of a cafe, and about half a dozen houses. That was all of Vida, period. It was way out in the country in those days. You know, a day's ride, you might say...In fact, it was about two days ride by a horse and wagon to W olf Point.
How did Mr. Krebsbach feel about being a pioneer broadcaster?
He never did know that he was a pioneer broadcaster. He was just playing with some radio broadcasting. That was all. He didn't ever think of himself as a pioneer.
You recall what the cresentine (?) radio was like?
I have never heard that term before.
Why was KGCX moved to Wolf Point?
Because my father did...just felt like moving from Vida to W olf Point, and they...Better opportunity raising a family. He had two children. I was about eight years old. I had a sister about six years old. The opportunities for going to school etcetera, etcetera, were very poor. In fact, you could go as far as the eighth grade there in Wolf Point, and that was...or in Vida, and that was the end of the schooling of course. As a matter of fact, let's see...there were three of us children when we left Wolf Point [interviewee means Vida] because Kathleen then was born in W olf Point. Yes.
Why, let's see...[telephone rings] What was Vida like when the station was moved?
10 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. I think I just described the size of it, and it was strictly a farm community and a very small community with maybe a dozen or 15 buildings.
What was Vida's reaction to the KGCX move to Wolf Point?
I don't think they reacted to it at all. It was, you know, just a man moved with his little plaything and his toy, and it went on into W olf Point. That's fine because he didn't perform that big a service that they ever missed it in Vida. Besides that, when he got it on the air in W olf Point, it could be heard in Vida probably louder because he went up to 250 watts at that time. Then in 1936, he eventually went up to 1,000 watts
Number 60, how long was KGCX off the air from time of closure at Vida to formal on-the-air broadcasting in Wolf Point?
I suspect that the entire move and everything may have consisted of maybe up to six months.
Was the Wolf Point station allowed to have advertising on the air in 1929?
Yes, very definitely. Had to.
Or was a corporate contract RCA forbidding same?
I don't know that I understand the question, but very definitely he was selling advertising as soon as he got to Wolf Point in 1929.
Did Mr. Krebsbach work fulltim e as a broadcaster in W olf Point?
No, he did not. He had to have to...He was not an engineer himself. Never did have any kind of an FCC license, and so he had to have a first-class man at all times which he paid that man out of his own pocket or from the small revenue that he took in from the advertising and for the electricity and so forth. W ith Dallas Jensen (?), yes. Dallas Jensen, of course, was the fulltime.
For many years, there was only one person. If you were an engineer and an announcer, you...well, you had to be both really in a small town station like this, and you signed the thing on and you signed the thing off. You were a one-man show seven days a week.
Did KGCX do any nighttime broadcasting either in Vida or W olf Point during the 1920s?
I would say yes. I'm sure that he did. Although I can't remember definitely him broadcasting at night time in the '20s, but I know later on in the '30s very definitely. He did that what he called DX (?) programs—put on special programs—and you could be heard practically all over the United States on your 250 or even 1,000 watts.
11 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Are pictures available of any studio equipment, announcers either at Vida or Wolf Point during the 1920s?
Yes, there is a picture at KGCX studio right now of my father and of the original picture. There have been numerous copies made of this.
What were the circumstances that involved a tragic electrocution at KGCX, supposedly, early in early W olf Point days?
Stewart Beamon (?) was the announcer-engineer at that time. Originally from Kalispell, worked for my father, and highly thought of. There was some trouble with the transmitter one day. Mr. Beamon called my father from across the street, or wherever. "Would you run the radio station while I do a little operating or have to fix something?" My father was playing some records and talking or whatever. Mr Beamon was working at his side, maybe six or eight feet away, with a screwdriver or pliers or whatever and tinkering with something. Then he was going to slide one of the racks over to the other rack while it was on the air and hot of course. One of the legs caught and it tipped, and as it tipped, it kind of tipped into the other rack. This is where it got shorted out, and Mr. Beamon was immediately electrocuted. Fell to the floor, but was still holding on, or touching, to the rack. My father in horror got out of his chair to come over and talk with him. But he gaspingly said, "Don't touch me. Don't touch me." So my father stood back for a half a minute until Mr. Beamon pried himself away from the rack. Then my father carried him or helped him get on into...there was a couch in the studio in the next room. Laid him there and immediately called for an ambulance and resuscitator, I believe it was. They worked on him for 15 or 20 minutes, but he then died, so that was briefly the story of that.
Let's see...[pauses] Okay, [pauses] Any pictures? Circumstances involving tragic electricity...Okay, 66, what is the most vivid memory of living in Vida in the 1920s?
Most vivid memory of living in Vida in the 1920s. Mine, I presume you're asking. I can remember several things. Like I can remember...like I mentioned to you, the motor sled, riding in the back and my father was sailing down the road making all kinds of noise. The propeller was in front so it was blowing the snow right back at you. [laughs] It made it pretty cold.
I can remember leaving there. Very distinctly leaving there. Going to Wolf Point in our big move in a bobsled. I think it was the last day of February, 1929. Very cold, covered up with horse blankets, and had warmed bricks at our feet and stopped every ten miles at a farmhouse to warm up the bricks and thaw a little bit. It was, I don't know, maybe 20 or 30 below as I recall. Very, very frosty cold morning I do recall that.
I can remember going to school there, and my teacher—one of my teachers—was Miss Shaw (?). I can remember swimming in the old mud hole just outside of town with the pollywogs. [laughs] I can remember picking crocuses on the little creek down below the hill below the old schoolhouse.
12 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. I can remember a snow bank between our bank and home, and the [unintelligible] store that was probably just about as high as the building one winter. I don't know which winter it would have been, but I suppose I was five or six years old. It would have been 1926 or '27. I dug a big cave in that and crawled in there, and that used to be my little home away from home there for that winter.
These are just a few of the things I can recall. Mr. Dye (?), the postmaster at the bank. I can remember coming home one day, and they were talking about Lucky Lindy in 1927, I believe it was. I had a little rubber airplane that said Lucky Lindy on the side. Those are just a few of the little things that go through my mind.
Of course, the old outhouse and the old Model As and talking with the garage man across the street and so forth.
What was the most vivid memory of living in Wolf Point in the 1920s?
Well, you recall, we moved in there in 1929, so that was only one year of the 1920s living in Wolf Point. But the first thing I recall, my gosh, sidewalks. A big train came to town a couple of times a day. The Indians sitting on the sidewalk in front of the drugstore, and the old gals smoking their pipes with their beads and leather dresses and leather footgear and so on and so forth. The old Indians driving around in the old buckboards with the young kids in the back end and a dozen dogs following them. The big Missouri River where we could go to Wolf Creek just outside of town where we'd go swimming in the summertime. These are just a few things in the very late '20s or early '30s.
What was the most vivid memory of KGCX in the 1920s?
The most vivid memory of KGCX in the 1920s. I suppose the most vivid thing that I can think of, my bed was in the living room. Of course, as I say, there was a bedroom where my folks slept, and then there was a kitchen and there was a living room. My bed was in the living room. Right next to my head was sort of a little box in the wall, and on the floor in that box was this little generator. Now, you could get to the generator from the living room or on the other side of the wall was the, you might call, the radio station room. That little buzzing and buzzing and buzzing would be going, and I just thought...I just marveled at that thing. I couldn't imagine what in the world made that thing run. [laughs] I think that's the most vivid memory of KGCX, that little generator, which still does exist today. Of course, this was well over 50 years ago.
I think that answers all the questions, and I'll send you the tape and we'll see what happens.
Incidentally, if you have any more questions, why, drop me a note.
[End of Interview]
13 Edward Clair Krebsbach Interview, OH 032-001, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula.