COWBOY CHRONICLES
The Earliest Social Media Oklahoma A&M found success moving into radio in the 1920s
A
Engineering faculty member James C. Kositzky designed and built the first radio equipment on campus.
96 S P R I N G 2 0 2 1
century ago, the earliest radio waves could have been described as social media. They transmitted through the Oklahoma skies to carry information and entertainment to isolated families, rural communities and urban centers. It may have seemed to them as magical and mysterious as if the sounds were coming from outer space. The beginning of the Golden Age of Radio was an enchanted time for many families as they would gather around small, battery-powered wooden radio boxes to hear the voices of people located hundreds of miles away. Eventually, scheduled broadcasts occurred throughout the day and programs were designed for specific audiences at designated listening times. These developments took time, and the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in Stillwater joined in the effort to enhance and expand radio listeners’ experience. The first efforts using radio on the OAMC campus were quite primitive. In 1915, engineering students installed a wire running from the top of the smokestack at the Power Plant to the roof of the Engineering Building (Gundersen) as an antenna to receive Morse code transmitted via wireless telegraph. Years earlier, only telegraph lines transmitted these messages, but with recent improvements in wireless communication open airwaves carried the signals. By November 1917, the college began to offer classes for radio, or buzzer, operators for training to serve in the signal corps of the army during World War I. With promises of increased pay and rapid promotions, many signed up. Certification required that they send a Morse code message of 20 words per minute, each word being five letters or more. The dots and dashes of Morse code were difficult for the general population to decipher, but when broadcasts began including the sounds of voices and music, the popularity of radio soared. OAMC leaders quickly recognized the potential of radio to assist with Extension efforts. Radio provided an opportunity to support outreach efforts and promote learning by directly reaching individuals in their own homes. Others on campus, especially the athletic department and the
STORY DAVID C. PETERS | PHOTOS OSU ARCHIVES
