Peruna was a big sponsor on WBT in the 1930's and '40s. If it relieved any malady at all, it did it with its secret ingredient: 14% alcohol. Health care was a lot cheaper back then, such as it was.

Articles | History

Al Munn's Dream

Squandered Valor cover

Al Munn, who worked at WBTV in the fifties, long dreamed of publishing the story and diary of his older brother, Dalton, a Navy Gunner's Mate in the earliest days of World War II. Al reached out for the help of two old friends, also WBTV alumni, and the dream has become a reality.

Read about his new book »

Jeffcaster Snippets

History happens in dribs and drabs, as was the case at JPBC. People came, had anniversaries, excelled at their jobs, were promoted, enjoyed the highlights of their careers... We've captured some of that history as it was reported in the weekly house organ, The Jeffcaster, from the '70's through 1983.

Connections

There once was a railroad man, Julian Price, who rose to the top position in his company, the Atlantic & Yadkin Railroad. As a sideline he was also affiliated with the Jefferson Standard Life Insurance. Eventually he also became head of that company. In the early 1930's the insurance company created a subsidiary to acquire and operate radio stations. Price made his son-in-law, Joseph M. Bryan, its president. The second station to be purchased was WBT.

Railroad Ties »

Briarhoppers Recognition

State Seal

In its 2007 session the North Carolina General Assembly passed a Joint Resolution that acknowledged "the importance of the musical group known as the Briarhoppers, which provided family entertainment from the studios of Charlotte's WBT Radio, and honor[ed] the memory of former Briarhopper members and the group's founder." Read the actual resolution and the speech made before the Assembly by Hon. Cullie M. Tarleton, Representative of North Carolina's 93rd district.

Jorgenson To Succeed Charles Crutchfield

This July 1977 announcement of Crutchfield's retirement (effective at the end of the year) was a surprise to many of us. We were not surprised that Jorgenson would succeed him.

News article »

CBS Sells WBT

In 1945 a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission forced the sale of the station to the Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Co. There were long articles about the transaction in both the News and the Observer.

Read articles »

WBT's 70's Evolution

As the '60's ended, the days of old-line network affiliates were over, days when long-established stations could rely on their history and reputation to keep them popular and competitive. WBT took a big gamble—and won.

Technical History of WBT

In the mid 1950's WBT engineer Bill Hicklin wrote a history of the station from the aspect of its transmitters and antennas, from the time of experimental station 4XD in the '20's in a neighborhood chicken house to the up-to-date WBT in its last days in the Wilder Building.

Don't miss this »

WBTV Plans First Color Program

In the summer of 1954, in baby steps, color came to Charlotte television. There were few color sets in the area. They cost around $1,000 (about $8,000 in today's dollars). Viewers had to be assured they could see these shows on their black-and-white sets.

Don't they look natural »

WBTV's First Day

In its first days, television's success was not a given. It was a huge gamble by broadcasters. Would it "play in Peoria?" How about Salisbury? Would people buy those expensive sets? These articles reveals just how tenuous it all was, and how curious the public was about this new medium.

WBTV Celebrates 35th Anniversary

In an Observer interview on WBTV's 35th anniversary (in 1984), Norman Prevatte, our first producer-director remembers the first days of TV: how production was done by trial and error, and how the programs were received by the public.

Dedication of Stations' New Home

Week-long ceremonies dedicating the $1,250,000 home of WBT and WBTV began in the new building on Jefferson Place. It's the first in the United States to be designed specifically for telecasting color. A host of nationally-known celebrities visited the new broadcasting facilities during the week.

A very big deal »

A New Beginning

In early 1954, when Jefferson Standard Broadcasting's Charlotte operation was only two decades old, work began on a site out on West Morehead Street for a grand new broadcast center. Persuading the parent company, a conservative insurance company, to finance such an undertaking was one of Crutchfield's finest achievements.

Many radios in the old days were equipped to receive short wave, and some displayed the names of faraway cities on the dial, like London and Berlin. So, after Grady Cole went off, you could tune over and hear Hitler.