This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of when Beaver County’s first radio station, WBVP, was heard over the airwaves for the the first time on May 25, 1948.  To mark the historical event, each week, another “70th Anniversary Moment” will be showcased on the airwaves and published on the station’s online feeds.

If you do any research at the McCartney Library at Geneva College, and happen to ask archival Librarian, Kae Kirkwood, to help find information about the topic of Geneva College students participating in radio broadcasts, you will discover that there is a long history of hands on learning in the radio business.  According to records kept in the beautiful campus library in Beaver Falls, radio broadcasts produced by Geneva College began to air twice week in 1938 on New Castle Radio Station, WKST, which had just been granted a license and started broadcasting earlier that year.  In the 1950’s, WBVP alumni and Geneva College students at the time, Don Kennedy and Owen Simon helped organize a radio broadcasting club where students would tour other radio stations and learn about the industry.  According to Kirkwood, Kennedy even helped build a radio studio for the students to use on campus where weekly programs were produced and later on aired on WBVP.

In 1965, with radio broadcasting becoming more and more popular, Geneva College applied for, and was granted a license for an educational radio station, WGEV.  Initially the college station could be heard on 88.3 F.M. and 550 A.M.  Later on the station would only use the F.M. signal.  One of the earlier faculty directors at Geneva College for WGEV was arguably the most famous broadcaster to have started their career in Beaver County, Dr. Mike Emrick.  Emrick worked At Geneva College from 1969-1971.  Emrick loved hockey, and began to cover Pittsburgh Penguins games for The Beaver County Times while teaching at Geneva College. Later on, he got into broadcasting N.H.L. games with the Phildelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils radio networks. Today, “Doc” Emrick’s voice is heard around the world and is one of the most familiar in hockey as a television analyst on several television networks for N.H.L. Stanley Cup Playoffs and Olympic hockey games.

As the years went by, the relationship between the Geneva College radio station, WGEV, and WBVP flourished and was  very beneficial to both parties.  Geneva students often started their careers at WBVP after graduating.  The college station had a very well developed curriculum and practical training that produced a constant pipeline of good talent for the “big radio station downtown”.  In return, there were many occasions when the resources from WBVP were used to help improve the sound of WGEV . Old equipment was often donated to the college station.  WBVP staffers even helped out and taught classes on occasion.  Former WBVP and WWKS General Manager and Sports Anchor, Chris Shovlin, taught a few broadcasting classes for a couple years in early 1980’s.  Sam Siple was one of those Geneva College broadcasters who later on became the morning news anchor and Program Director at WBVP.  Siple recalled the system that WBVP helped set up for WGEV, so that the collegiate station could carry ABC network news. In the recently published book , Behind The Microphone, The History Of Radio In Beaver County, PA.  Siple reported that the owners of WBVP at the time, Hall Communications, through a contract with ABC that they had for WBVP, included the college station, WGEV, as a “Spoke Station” in the agreement, which allowed WGEV to air certain feeds from ABC that were sent from the “hub” station.  Engineers and technical support staff at WBVP/WWKS installed a phone line coupler in the Beaver Falls studio to send ABC network material to a similar piece of equipment installed at WGEV.  Also attending classes at Geneva College and participating in college radio station activities at the time with Sam Siple, were Current WBVP and WMBA talk show fill in host, Tom Stein, Former newscaster and Program Director, Randy Buckwalter, Show host from the  1980’s, Ken Mueller, and current station owner, Mark Peterson, among others.  Dozens of Geneva College graduates, who started their careers behind the microphone at WGEV up on college hill, wound up working afterwards at WBVP.  It was a perfect feeder program for the Beaver Falls radio station.

In 2002, WGEV left the traditional F.M. airwaves, but continued broadcasting through an internet on line stream, and thus, continued to give students the opportunity to learn the broadcasting business.  Many of those students continue to darken the doorway of WBVP in search of internships or permanent employment. The current host of “A.M. Beaver County”, Matt Drzik, is one of the more more recent talented broadcasters who came through the pipeline from Geneva College to WBVP.

“70th Anniversary Moments” is presented by  Abbey Carpet and Floor,  Albert’s Heating, Cooling and Plumbing,  Aliquippa Giant Eagle, The Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, Beaver Valley Auto Mall, Beaver Valley Sheet Metal, Castlebrook Development, The Community College Of Beaver County,  Farmers Building and Savings Bank, Freedom United Federal Credit Union, Hank’s Frozen Custard and Mexican food, The Health Huts, Kitchen City, Laughlin Insurance Agency,  Rochester Manor and Villa and Young’s Jewelry and Coins