By Mark Peterson. Published April 20, 2022, 6:00 A.M.

(Beaver County, PA) Guglielmo Marconi was born on April 25, 1874.  He was an Italian inventor and businessman who was the most responsible for creating what we all enjoy, love and know as radio. Beaver County Radio will honor Marconi and the business he gave birth to on his birthday with a special line up of guests highlighting the discovery and development radio.

From 9 to 10 A.M., Ken Mueller will join Teleforum show host, Eddy Crow.  Ken will take you on a trip all the way back to the late 1800’s when great men like Guglielmo Marconi, Nikola Telsa, Heinrich Rudolph Hertz and Reginald Fessenden made it possible for you to “tune in” to the radio today.  Ken Mueller graduated from Geneva College with a degree in broadcasting and has a master’s degree in mass communications from Penn State University.  He began his radio career right here at WBVP from 1982 through 1984.  Ken then held other positions in the radio industry in Lancaster, Philadelphia, and New York, at both the local and network levels. Additionally, he spent 13 years as the Radio Curator at the Museum of Television & Radio (now the Paley Center for Media) in NYC and Beverly Hills. He is currently the Director of Public Relations and Development for the Occupational Development Center in Lancaster, PA.

The spirit of invention that Guglielmo Marconi embodied will be further exemplified from 10 to 11 A.M.  That is when well-known Pittsburgh radio personality and historian, John Poister, will be Eddy Crow’s special “Marconi Day” guest on Teleforum.  John will take a look at a very exciting time for our region.  Specifically, back to the 1920’s when radio stations were first coming on the air in Pittsburgh.  John will talk about the formation and startup of the five original Pittsburgh radio stations including KDKA, KQV, WCAE, WWSW and fellow St. Barnabas Radio Network Station, WJAS. John Poister has been a radio junkie since he was 6 years old. After graduating with a Communications degree from Ithaca College, John got his professional start right here at WMBA in Ambridge.  Along the way, John also lent his talents to WEBO-Owego, NY, WIXZ-McKeesport, KQV-Pittsburgh, WTAE-TV and Radio-Pittsburgh, WPGH-TV-Pittsburgh, WSHH/WJAS/WPTT-Pittsburgh, WPXI-TV-Pittsburgh and WMNY-Pittsburgh. In addition, John served briefly as Allegheny County Communications Manager and was the media spokesperson for the State Department of Environmental Protection’s Southwest Region. He is currently the afternoon news anchor for WHJB -FM in Greensburg.

The final hour of Teleforum on Marconi Day will celebrate the hobby and tradition of Amateur Radio.  Representatives from the Beaver Valley Amateur Radio Association will talk about the popularity of doing more than just listening.  Since its beginning, wireless communication has always been an amazing way to exchange information between people. Initially, radio waves were used to send and receive Morse Code signals back and forth between individuals. Here is a sample of our stations call letters, WBVP, WMBA and WJAS, translated to Morse Code:

Being connected with other people around the world with wireless communication is very important and it has become a big part of our everyday lives.  Long before the internet and cellular phones made this type of communication commonplace, radio pioneers were the ones who first envisioned and then introduced it.  While it has evolved over the years, two-way radio wave voice communication continues to proliferate today in an F.M. bandwidth that is a little higher than the one in you can pick up in the dashboard of your car.  Amateur Radio operators work their craft between 144 and 148 Megahertz.  Beaver Valley Amateur Radio Association will open the door to this amazing word as part of Marconi Day on Beaver County Radio.

International Marconi Day takes place this year on April 23, 2022.  The day is a 24-hour amateur radio event which celebrates the career of Italian wireless communications pioneer, Guglielmo Marconi. The event takes place each year on the Saturday closest to Marconi’s birthday, which was on April 25, 1874. The on-air tribute to Marconi and the special segments on Beaver County Radio will take place on Marconi’s birthday, Monday April 25, 2022.