Today, Arkansas has hundreds of radio stations. But that has not always been the case. While the first commercial radio station, KDKA in Pittsburgh, went on the air Nov. 2, 1920, Arkansas did not have a radio station until 1922.
Our story begins when Harvey Couch, founder of Arkansas Power and Light (AP&L) visited the studios of KDKA. On this trip, he met Lee de Forest, who had invented what he called the “radio-telephone.” Impressed with what he saw, Couch bought equipment to set up a radio station in Arkansas. Couch and his team had been talking about setting up a radio system so AP&L plants around the state would have simpler and more reliable means of communication.
Couch’s plan to start a radio station began in February 1922, when AP&L placed two 100 ft. wooden poles to hold a radio antenna at its Pine Bluff office. Ralph Pittman, AP&L’s electrical superintendent, oversaw construction. Just a few days later, the U.S. Department of Commerce gave AP&L permission to operate its new station with 500 watts of power.
Couch gave his vice president, Jim Longino, the task of naming the station. He believed that the station’s call letters should mean something. He ultimately decided on WOK, which stood for “workers of kilowatts.”
WOK went live for the first time on the night of Feb. 18, 1922. Pittman was the station’s first announcer of sorts, reading news and other announcements. Pittman encouraged listeners to call in and comment on the quality of the station’s reception. Amazingly, WOK’s signal was heard all over the country.
Almost immediately, AP&L went to work promoting WOK. The company purchased more broadcasting equipment, and the news of the station’s opening spread like wildfire. During its first week of operation, a performance by Kueck’s Orchestra of Pine Bluff aired, and popular Metropolitan Opera soprano Lenora Sparks performed several numbers, which helped to increase WOK's popularity.
Starting in March 1922, Al Whidden, AP&L’s communications director, became WOK’s main announcer. The station broadcasted from 8-9 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, with programming that included news and weather reports, interviews with local leaders and musical talent from Pine Bluff and the surrounding area. Sermons by local clergy were broadcast as well.
Couch and his team at AP&L publicized WOK all over the state, including the Arkansas State Fair and even in prisons. Word about WOK was spread like wildfire.
Because AP&L funded the station, WOK was commercial-free. While listeners enjoyed radio without ads, WOK became a financial drain on AP&L and also took up a lot of the company’s employees’ time.
As a result, WOK went off the air in June 1923. But Couch promised broadcasting would resume in the fall after much needed changes to the station’s business model were made to make the station more self-sufficient. But while WOK’s license was renewed in September for an additional three months, the station remained silent never to return to the airwaves.
With WOK officially closed, Couch donated the station’s broadcasting equipment to Henderson-Brown College (now Henderson State University) in Arkadelphia, and a student-run station began broadcasting. WOK resumed its place on the radio dial in February 1924. The new incarnation of the station wouldn’t last long — WOK closed for good in June 1924.
Other radio stations sprang up around the state in large cities such as Fort Smith, Hot Springs and Little Rock. KTHS (which stood for “Kum to Hot Springs"), which broadcasted from the Spa City in the Arlington Hotel, eventually moved to Little Rock and became “The Mighty 1090” KAAY.
Couch is fondly remembered as an innovative businessman, the founder of AP&L and the man responsible for lakes Catherine and Hamilton. But his contributions to Arkansas’ broadcasting industry are equally as admirable.
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