Davidson College Installing Wireless Station, October 1921

Davidson Installs Wireless Station. . . Students Taxed Two Bits Each in Order to Provide Modern Apparatus for College

Davidson, N.C., Sept. 24—The Davidson student body voted this week to tax each member 25 cents for the purpose of establishing a modern wireless station at Davidson. It will not be possible for the students to get detailed reports of the football games and other news of interest. The equipment has already been received and the station is being erected. The apparatus consists of a receiver for both telephone and telegraph, capable of “tuning in” with the most powerful stations. The transmitter is 1-2 K.W. the antenna will be erected between the flag pole and Shearer hall. The office hours for communication with other colleges will be from 9 to 10 p.m. The call letters have not yet been received and until they are assigned the call will be “Davidson.”

The college is fortunate in having an experienced operator in the person of B.L. Team of Camden, to take charge of its new station. The statin is a new thing for Davidson and it is hoped that other colleges will cooperate to make it a great success.

From The Tar Heel college newspaper, Chapel Hill, N.C., October 4, 1921

-=-

I went to Davidson College’s Archives and Special Collections at its library to see if I could find a photograph to go with this story and was surprised to find “WALT 1610 AM, the Davidson College Student run and operated Radio Station, was founded in 1986. It’s constitution states that “WALT. will act not only as an opportunity for interested students seeking involvement in radio, but will also serve as an alternative form of radio that is unavailable in this area. WALT. will also serve as an alternative form of communicating campus information to the college community.” It ceased operations in 1990 but was re-constituted in 1994. In 2008, WALT began public live pod- and web-casting, whereas previously it had webcast for college students, faculty, and staff only.” (davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/encyclopedia/walt)

So perhaps the wireless station mentioned in the newspaper article never was installed? Or it’s been abandoned so long ago that it was forgotten.