192 habit, (4) it would deprive the listener of personal contact with the speaker (5) it would make follow-up decisions to accept Christ difficult, and (6) it would be questionable whether or not an- in~t;~-;~~t --;sed extensively in questionable amusements should be used to preach the Gospel. However, after some months the Biola Board decided to take the step and build a station. On March 10, 1922, a 10 watt station began broadcast- ing. Two years later the power of the station was increased to 750 watts, which made KTBI the most powerful radio station west of the Mississippi river at that time; it was the first strictly religious Broadcasting station li- ensed in the United States. The personnel of the station were Mr. M. E. Carrier, manager and announcer; Herbert G. Tovey, director of programs; J. R. Lytle; radio operator; Ollie B. Carrier, radio engineer; Harry P. Herdr.lan, announcer; Gordon E. Hooker, piano accompanist; and, Mrs. Gordon Hooker, better known to the Radio audience as "Aunt Martha," presenting Bible stor- ies. The personnel were all members of the faculty and staff, with no pro- fessionals, .since radio broadcasting at that time was too new to the public. Station KTBI was not without its trials and tribulations during the early years of broadcasting . For example, in April 1927, there were 755 stations in the United States and room on the air waves for only 315, due to the quality of the receiving equipment as compared to the present . So in April 1927, Biola found it necessary to appeal to its listeners to write letters to the newly formed Radio Commision to help KTBI secure a new li- cense. Eventually, a new .license was granted. The flood of letters from listeners helped greatly in this decision. During the years of its history, Station KTBI broadcast strictly re- ligious and Christian educational programs . Classes in Bible, doctrine, Bible synthesis, and missions were broadcast, with both the faculty and visiting pastors taking part, some in the weekly programs. The rapid progress made in both broadcasting and reception necessitated
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