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KGFH QSL Letter, 1929
KGFH Letter, 1927
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KGFH – La
Crescenta – 1927 to 1929
Licensed: January 1927
First Broadcast: February 7, 1927
Last Broadcast: April 30, 1929
License deleted: May 10, 1929
Frequency
history:
1370 kilocycles January 31, 1927
1340 kilocycles June 15, 1927
1140 kilohertz February 29, 1928
1000 kilohertz November 11, 1928
KGFH Debuts:
The
complete
story of KGFH is probably far longer and more interesting than the life
of this
short-lived La Crescenta, and later Glendale, radio station.
KGFH was
a
project of Fredrick R. Robinson, a tinkerer and scenic artist for the
Lasky
Film Corporation. Robinson apparently was obsessed with the idea of
starting a
radio station “to put La Crescenta on the air.” In
January 1926 he applied to the Department of Commerce
for a
broadcasting license, began constructing a 30 X 45 foot building to
house the
transmitting equipment adjacent to his home and erected two 130-foot
towers
between which the antenna would be hung.
The
actual
studios not yet completed, the station’s “The Grand Opening” originated
from
Robinson’s home, adjacent to the new station building. Quoting the Glendale Evening News Monday, February 7, 1927,
“When
KGFH goes on the air tonight Frederick Robinson
will realize the
completion of another dream come true.
For the past year and a half Mr. Robinson has been working and planning
for tonight. Alone he has worked in
getting his station together, piece by piece.
Two trips to Washington and a number to San
Francisco
were made by Robinson in the past year, all with the idea of putting La
Crescenta
on the map of radioland. Tonight at 9:30
o’clock, with a wave length of 218.8, station
KGFH will go on the
air with a feature program, with many of the most prominent officials
of the
Southland taking part.” The
(Cresenta Valley) Ledger, newspaper reported, “Hundreds gathered for the dedication
of La Cresenta’s own radio station, KGFH.
Officials of civic organizations spoke and a musical program was given.”
Reports
in the Evening News praised the coverage and
fidelity of the 100-watt KGFH signal. “Reports from
surrounding towns on the clearness of the broadcasting
done at the local station are very favorable… Telephone calls are being
received daily at the Frederick Robinson studios commenting on the
carrying
tones of the singers who have been heard.” Reports of reception
came from as
far as the Atlantic coast and Canada.
Within
the week
Robinson announced his managerial philosophy for KGFH and outlined its
primary
service area. “A ‘wheel of many spokes’
will be organized in the valley for the purpose of governing KGFH, the
Robinson
radio sending station on New York Avenue,” reported The
Crescenta Valley Ledger on February 11. The
spokes were to “represent every
organization in the valley,…The hub of the wheel was to be an
“executive
secretary” who would prepare the broadcasts from talent supplied by the
‘spokes.’ “It
will be the duty of the
organizations to scout for and to develop talent…and to supply
information to
the secretary.” The piece also
announced
that “a lady to serve as executive
secretary is now being sought.” A prospective
applicant was warned, however,
that “she must be willing to give
her time to duties required and must not be
connected with too many other activities…” Whether
such a person was ever found is nowhere revealed.
Programs:
KGFH
continued
to broadcast several nights per week. Robinson’s wife, Formosa
seems
to have been in charge of both programming and keeping the newspapers
appraised
of forthcoming events. Swami
Paramananda, the spiritual leader of an
Eastern based eclectic religion called Vedanta, had
come to the US from India at the turn of the
century and in the early 20's had purchased a ranch a few blocks from
the
Robinson home as a retreat. The favorable response to the
Swami’s short
message on inaugural night and a letter received from an invalid in a
distant
town had convinced him of radio’s potential to reach a wide, receptive,
otherwise unserved audience and thereafter the Swami played a
continuing role
in supplying programming for Robinson’s radio station.
They
are still there today as the Ananda Ashrama.
The
program for
February 23 was comprised of phonograph records, including a Chinese
selection
that the Robinsons vowed, in a response to a listener, never to play
again. Capitalizing
on the mystique of the mountains, Robinson then began to publicize the
station
as “The Voice of the Sierras” in reference to the Sierra Madres, the
name then
commonly applied to the San Gabriel Mountains
which bound the valley on the north.
Programming
continued in the eclectic pattern typical of local radio at the time. On Friday, November 18, 1927, broadcasting
began with a talk on “Woman Glorified.” Following
were segments by a baritone singer; an
orchestra, a ballad
singer and a pianist. The L.A. Police
Bulletin on Public Safety concluded the evening’s program.
Programs on December 5th and 6th
included music by Charles and Julian Talbot, harp and mandolin, Formosa
Henderson, mezzo soprano, John Antoine’s orchestra of Glendale and Lala
Brown
Justice, pianist, accompanying a contralto, two tenors, a baritone, and
a
banjoist. Commented The Ledger, “It makes you feel merry to
listen in to this crowd.”
KGFH Moves to Glendale:
In
February,
1928, the Federal Radio Commission (FRC), recently created by the Radio
Act of
1927 and now beginning to assert its authority, ordered KGFH to shift
to 1140
kilohertz and to share time with KGEF, the station of the Trinity Methodist
Church, Los Angeles. This action usurped many of KGFH’s operating
hours on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and all day Sunday.
Despite
the new
restrictions or perhaps because of them, Robinson became increasingly
ambitious
to expand his horizons. He suddenly
found his homestead less than ideal for operating a radio station and
the
nearby city of Glendale,
which lacked a radio station, seemed the obvious site for relocation.
“I have
long dreamed of operating a radio broadcasting station in Glendale,”
asserted Robinson in a press
announcement.
In
preparation for a move Robinson
contacted H.P. Drey, formerly with WHK, Cleveland,
but currently managing the Circle Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Robinson asked him to accept the position of
station
manager at a salary
of “not less” than the $50 per week that he was currently earning. Impressed with the opportunity to get in at
the beginning of a potential bonanza, Drey enthusiastically agreed.
Robinson
then leased space in
the Glendale Hotel at the northeast corner of Broadway and Glendale Avenue. Learning from what he considered mistakes at
his La Crescenta operation he was determined to avoid them again. He hired a contractor to construct an
operating room on the roof for the transmitter and to remodel the
basement to
accommodate the offices, studios, and a visitors’ gallery.
Two eighty-foot towers were erected on the
roof supporting a flat top “T” antenna.
“There is a large reception room, manager’s
office, a large broadcasting studio for ensembles and bands, a smaller
studio
for solo work and the latest devices in technical equipment,” reported
the News-Press. Describing the main studio,
the News-Press gushed, “The walls and
ceilings are being hand painted by Mr. Robinson. The room will be
heavily carpeted and
everything possible done to eliminate unnecessary noise. Walls
and ceilings are double, with five
inches of sound-proofing between. There
is a double window between the studio and the visitors’ gallery.”
Emblazoned
vertically on the antenna tower on the hotel’s southwest corner in
large red
lettering was “KGFH,” proclaiming its pending arrival.
The
inaugural broadcast from Glendale
started at 7:00
p.m. on Friday, June 1, 1928, and lasted until midnight.
The News-Press
described it in the florid jargon of the day as
“an unusually brilliant program
of addresses and musical events.
As the program
progressed, hundreds of
telephone calls were received at the studio complimenting the managers
of the
station on the excellent reception that was being experienced in
different
points of Southern
California.”
Notices
optimistically indicated
the operating schedule soon would be expanded to include all day
Monday,
Tuesday morning, all day Wednesday except 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday morning
and all
day Friday and Saturday, but Robinson found he was unable to operate
over those
entire periods due to the necessity to share 1140 kilohertz with KGEF. Soon Robinson’s dwindling fortunes began to
plunge as KGFH simply was not profitable and Robinson found he was
unable to
keep up with operating expenses, let alone pay off creditors. On September 11, Drey resigned as station
manager and announcer having received only $100 in salary. Others soon
followed. “Theft of funds and
misrepresentation” by an employee caused the Robinsons to mortgage
their home.
He defaulted on his real estate taxes.
Russell L. Rust Enters the Scene:
In a
last-ditch
attempt to salvage his station, Robinson entered contract negotiations
with
Russell L. Rust, manager of a Santa
Monica station. Rust, as plaintiff in later
litigation, described Robinson’s predicament: “…while…operating said
radio
station at no profit and being in stringent financial circumstances and
desirous of securing the services of a capable and experienced radio
station
operator and manager…[Robinson] entered into a contract with the
plaintiff,
experienced in the management and operation of radio stations.”
Effective October 1, 1928, a contract called
for Rust to “devote his entire time and energy to said radio station
and to do
his utmost to make the same profitable and successful.” He would
“hire a competent crew of operators,
solicitors, announcers and clerks at his own expense…”. He would
“receive said radio station, its
equipment, good will, contracts for the sale of time and all apparatus
now on
said premises…for a period ending with the date of lease held by
[Robinson]
with the Hotel Glendale for the space occupied by said radio
station.”
In return, Rust would receive a monthly
salary of $250, subject to certain contingencies relating to
profitability, plus
50% of the profit from the station “after deducting all necessary
operating
expense…”
Thus
Rust’s role
at KGFH, which would become the subject of later litigation, was more
than that
of a mere manager. It was essentially
that of station lessee - in potential breach of the federal Radio Act
of 1927,
which required advance permission of the FRC for such arrangements.
Rust and
his
team immediately took charge in an effort to operate the station on a
profitable
basis and by March 1929 his team had increased time sales contracts to
approximately
$2,500 per month gross, resulting in a net profit of $1,250 per month. But it was all too little too late.
On October
22,
1928, Robinson was served with a lawsuit. Otto
Parry, who had remodeled the hotel facilities for
$853, charged
that Robinson still owed him $350.53. Further, he had
acquired
Drey’s and Burns’ claims by assignment and so he sued Robinson for a
total of
$1,633.63. The superior court issued
writs of attachment including the “defendant’s place of business known
as Radio
Station KGFH including furniture, fixtures, equipment and all other
personal
property belonging to the defendant located at Glendale Hotel, Glendale
Avenue
and Broadway, in the City of Glendale.” On
April 26, 1929, Robinson settled with
Parry for a payment of $848.29.
New Owner, New Frequency:
Meanwhile,
a
stroke of fortune in the regulatory milieu offered Robinson a potential
assist
in staving off bankruptcy. The Glendale
News-Press reported on November
11, 1928, that, pursuant to the Radio Act of 1927 approved February 23,
1927,
the Federal Radio Commission (FRC), swamped by the magnitude of its
unprecedented task, had finally completed its studies and had adopted
an
allocation plan resulting in ordering 162 stations off the air as of
August 1. KGFH
was not among the stations eliminated. In
fact, it was ordered to change frequency from 1140 to 1000 kilohertz
and given
full use of the frequency with no the time sharing requirement, greatly
increasing the value of KGFH’s license and consequently its
attractiveness to
prospective purchasers including one Victor Dalton.
Victor E.
Dalton
was a used car dealer of questionable ethics. He
presented a compelling façade: “Buying a used car in
the ordinary way
is pretty much like buying a horse," declared Mr. Dalton, "because a
sleek,
well-polished exterior often covers a multitude of defects. But
the old-time, horse-trading method of
selling used cars has no place in today’s business,” he
continued. “One of the most important considerations
in
buying a used car is for the purchaser to have thorough confidence in
the
dealer who sells it.” Despite the
disarming language, it wasn’t long before the Times
reported the arrest of Dalton
and two associates for “usurious
practices in connection with the
refinance of
automobile contracts.” In 1931 Dalton was
charged with,
and pled no contest to, evading payment of $55,500 in income tax for
1925,
1926, and 1927. Apparently viewing radio advertising as the ideal way
to attract
customers, Dalton
set out to acquire ownership of some stations.
Robinson,
in
desperate need of cash, was unfortunately receptive to Dalton’s offer. On January 20, 1929, Robinson and Victor E.
Dalton, Inc., (the actual name of the entity was “Dalton’s, a Corporation”) executed a
“Contract to Sell and Purchase Radio Station.” The total price was to
be
$16,000. One thousand dollars was to be
paid upon signing of the agreement. An
escrow would be established into which Dalton
would deliver $9,000 and an additional mortgage for $6,000 encumbering
the
station and all its equipment. Robinson
would deliver into escrow necessary documents and properties including
title to
the station, contracts for the sale of time, the lease, approval of the
Glendale Hotel for the reassignment of the lease, and a release of any
claims
by Rust. Further, Dalton’s receipt of permit and
authority from
the Federal Radio Commission to operate the station in its name was
made a
condition precedent to all actions required by the agreement. Failing such permit and authority, the
agreement would become null and void and each party would return to the
other
“everything of value received” under the agreement.
Either party could terminate the agreement if
the other failed to deliver into escrow all required items before April
10,
1929.
Dalton paid into
escrow a note for $6,000,
$500 in cash, and an agreement to deposit an additional $8,500 in cash. Dalton then paid Robinson $5,000 cash outside
of escrow toward the purchase price, deposited into escrow a waiver of
the
additional items, and requested the escrow holder to deliver to him the
bill of
sale, the lease, and the assignment of lease. On
April 1, 1929, Robinson appeared at the station
accompanied by Dalton
and three
associates. One of whom, purportedly a deputy sheriff, insisted that Dalton was now
the owner
of the station and demanded possession. Robinson,
protesting that his contract continued in effect
until March
23, 1931, but awed by the “menacing, threatening attitude” of the
intruders was
defeated and Dalton
began operation of KGFH.
Lawsuits and License Questions:
On April
3,
1929, Rust filed suit against Dalton
and Robinson. Robinson failed to respond. Dalton
was in a conflicted position, needing to argue for the invalidity of
Rust’s
contract but apparently also willing to jeopardize KGFH’s license. He argued that the contract was null and void
as contrary to the laws of the United States: “…the license to operate
said
radio station was issued by the United States to the defendant Robinson
and to
no other person, and no permission or consent in writing or otherwise
of the
licensing authorities had been issued to said Robinson, or any other
person,
permitting the transferance [sic] of said license to the plaintiff or
to any
other person.” He argued further that
the contract had become null and void by reason of Robinson’s violation
of his
lease with the Glendale Hotel Company and the hotel’s resulting
exercise of its
option to rescind it—and
in any case on March 29, 1929, when Robinson
terminated it. Rust’s petition for
appointment of a receiver to operate KGFH was denied. For unknown
reasons,
probably his weak case, he failed to pursue the issue to trial.
Dalton then
acquired KMIC Inglewood and placed
both stations under one manager. The Times reported, “The new owner has a
radio advertising scheme which is being severely criticized in
representations
to the [Federal Radio] commission.”
Another
major
hurdle now loomed—the rule of the Federal Radio Commission (FRC)
requiring its
prior approval for transfer of a station’s license.
Needing examples to establish its precedents,
the nascent FRC was looking hard for transgressors. “The commission,
throwing
restraint to the winds, is losing a steady stream of fire upon
delinquent
broadcasters,” proclaimed the News-Press.
Both parties performed all necessary actions to apply to the FRC for
the
transfer, but while consideration was pending, Dalton imprudently announced over
both KGFH
and KMIC and by printed advertisement that both stations were owned and
operated by Victor E. Dalton, Inc. The
FRC reacted by ordering the licenses of both stations withheld.
With both
licenses jeopardized, Dalton then apparently developed a scheme to
defraud
Robinson of the agreed value of his station: First
Dalton informed Robinson that his attorneys and
agents had
negotiated the matter with the FRC and that the FRC had decided that if
Dalton
were willing to consent to the cancellation of the license for KGFH,
the FRC
would approve reinstatement of the license for KMIC and its transfer to
Dalton. Dalton also told Robinson that he had
been
“offered an interest” in KPLA (which station was currently sharing time
with
KMTR on 570 kilohertz) if he would consent to the cancellation of the
KGFH
license so that KPLA could move to KGFH’s frequency (1000 kilohertz). He also informed Robinson that in order to
effect this scenario, the FRC desired that Robinson consent to it and
that if
he would cooperate, Dalton
would “protect” Robinson and “he would lose nothing.”
Relying on Dalton’s assurances, Robinson
joined with Dalton
in a telegram to the FRC dated May 20, 1929: “It is agreeable to the
undersigned for the Commission to make such disposition of the license
to Glendale
station KGFH as
in its judgment may be for the best interests. Victor
E. Dalton/Frederick
Robinson.” Dalton then sent a letter to the FRC
Commissioner confirming his consent to withdraw the application for
license
renewal. The FRC then reinstated the
license of KMIC and consented to its transfer to Dalton, and KGFH went silent, its
last
broadcast day being at 9:00 a.m. on April 30, 1929.
Frederick Robinson’s dream and KGFH
were over.
Dalton now
proceeded with his scheme. On May 18 he
sent Robinson a “Notice of
Recision [sic] or Withdrawal.” Citing
the lack of fulfillment of certain conditions to the FRC and alleging
failure
by Robinson to deposit certain items, including a release from Rust
into
escrow, Dalton
elected to exercise his option to terminate the agreement.
Further, he demanded that Robinson return the
$6,500 previously paid and stated his willingness to return everything
of value
received in return. On August 9, 1929,
Robinson filed suit in Superior Court against Dalton for the remaining unpaid
$9,500. Then
on March 25, 1930, Dalton
filed suit against Robinson “For Recision [sic] and for Money
Delivered”
alleging essentially the same issues as he had in the previous notice
of
rescission.
Robinson
responded by filing cross-complaints, charging that Dalton’s actions
were done
with the fraudulent intent of securing the license for KMIC at the
sacrifice of
KGFH, obtaining compensation from KPLA, and thereafter invoking the
provision
of the contract, that should the plaintiff Dalton be unable to obtain a
license, the agreement would become null and void and each party must
return to
the other everything of value received. Robinson
continued that, by his actions, Dalton
waived the obtaining a permit from the FRC to operate KGFH as a
condition
precedent to the agreement, and so must be stopped from claiming the
right to
terminate the agreement. Robinson summarized that he had performed all
terms
and conditions of the contract except those waived by Dalton and
therefore the balance of the purchase
price was now due.
On March
4,
1932, the court entered judgment for Frederick Robinson against Dalton’s, a
corporation,
in the amount of $11,890. Dalton stated
his intent
to appeal the judgment and meanwhile requested to stay execution of the
judgment, but the court rejected his request. No
appeal was filed and Robinson was able to pay his
delinquent real
estate taxes. Relieved of lawsuits, debt and connections to radio,
Robinson then
returned to his prior involvement in theatrical production.
KIEV
Glendale:
In 1932
Robinson
joined with two others in a venture to start a new Glendale radio station, although
whether he
had a financial interest in the station is doubtful.
On his La Crescenta property Robinson
designed and built the transmitter for KIEV.
On December 13, a derrick hoisted it to the roof of the Glendale Hotel
where it
was installed in the former KGFH equipment house. KIEV
also occupied the former KGFH studios. But
unlike KGFH, KIEV’s
inaugural broadcast on Friday, January 27, 1933 elicited hardly any
newspaper
attention, indicating just how commonplace radio had become in the
short span
of just five years.
Robinson
and his
wife remained in their La Crescenta home now numbered 5026 New York Avenue. Although a destructive brush fire in October,
1933 raged through the neighborhood, it spared the Robinson homestead. Robinson sketched and painted scenes from the
fire, which The Ledger called
“valuable contributions to our local history.”
Robinson
then
turned his attention to designing and building an elegant touring
automobile reporting
his intent to use the vehicle on an extended journey to the desert to
sketch
ghost towns. In July, 1939, as president of the Scenic Arts Association
of
America, he negotiated the first ever contract with the Motion Picture
Producers’ Association providing wage increases and overtime pay. And
in March,
1940, Robinson mounted an exhibition at the State
Exposition Building
in Los Angeles.
It
is evident that the Robinsons never found themselves financially
comfortable. Formosa expressed the
reason with a
touch of bitterness in a letter: “We
had little besides our small home
on the
hillside, as he always has had some scheme or invention to take what he
earned,
and if he lives another fifty years he may finish some.” Formosa
also reported that Frederick
had returned to work accepting a paid position “…where his ability is
unchallenged and he is given full recognition…” Famed movie
mogul David
O.
Selznick was returning to active production after a hiatus of three
years and
hired Robinson as “production artist,” the role he performed for the
hit film “Since You Went Away”
and perhaps others. Frederick
also remained active in the Chamber of Commerce. In
1946 the Robinsons reluctantly sold half
of their acreage to a subdivider.
Formosa
Robinson died in her home April 6, 1948 at age 72 of diabetes and
heart disease. Frederick’s tribute in
her
obituary personified her birth in China
and her acclamation, when a young singer on the New York stage, as the “Toast of
Broadway.” Frederick
followed her a
year later March 15, 1949, age 87, succumbing to heart disease. His
holographic
will dated June 14, 1947, bequeathed all his property to his daughter,
Fern
Davis. His estate was valued at only
$25,500, $25,000 for real estate and $500 for furniture.
The 1917 Packard 12 that he had refurbished
so elegantly and a 1927 Lincoln
coupe were appraised at exactly “no value.”
Sadly,
no one was to write a newspaper obituary for this man who had
contributed so uniquely not just to the culture of the Crescenta Valley
and Glendale but the early history of Los
Angeles
radio.
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