History comes to Bustos
Don Day | October 9, 2007The History of Idaho Broadcasting Foundation will hold its next meeting at the Bustos Media offices in Nampa. Bustos regional VP Ed Distel will come to Boise from SLC… and Bustos is providing lunch for everyone! Art will share some vintage ads, and a tour of the facilities is in the offing.
The meeting is set for October 19th from 11:30am to 1:30pm at the Bustos studios. Directions and more info after the jump…
Are pleased to announce that this month’s History of Idaho Broadcasting Foundation meeting will be held at the offices of Bustos Media in Nampa, owners of KDBI 101.9 and KQTA 106.3 FM!
This meeting will include a FREE LUNCHEON!
Advertising agencies and current radio and television broadcasters are especially invited to attend to hear historic radio & television ads that actually played in the Boise market!
The meeting will be held Friday October 19th from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at 3307 Caldwell Boulevard Suite # 102 in Nampa. Bustos rents the front space to Sears, and their two radio stations, KDBI 101.9 and KQTA 106.3 are located in the suite behind. Please call 463-2900 for directions, or see below for detailed step-by-step driving directions.
You do not need to be a member of The History of Idaho Broadcasting to attend, and lunch and drinks will be provided at no charge. Our program will feature some fabulous radio and television ads of “yesterday” including; the 60 second full-sing jingles “you’ll enjoy doing business with Idaho First National Bank” (now US Bank) and “Your progressive Bank of Idaho” (now Wells Fargo Bank). We’ll also play a few classic Boise TV spots from the 60s & 70s! If you or your agency has some “gems” of the past you’d like to show off , please contact us at pawzup@qwest.net
Finally, you’ll learn about KDBI’s history (formerly KMFE in Emmett) and the history and growth of Spanish Radio in Idaho. We’ll also hear some current commercials from a few prominent KDBI advertisers who are now airing spots in Spanish! Bustos Media Regional Vice President Ed Distel of Salt Lake City will talk about the history and future plans of Bustos Media in Idaho. A brief tour of the studios and technical facilities of KDBI-FM and KQTA-FM will follow. The tour should be over by 1:30 P.M.
Please join us for lunch and enjoy this interesting and informative program!
If you have questions please call Clint Fitch at Bustos media at 463-2900 or Art Gregory at 465-8007.
Or you mail Email Clint at cfitch@bustosmedia.com
To get to Bustos from Boise:
1. Take I-84 to Nampa and take the new Karcher Mall “Marsing” Exit.
2. Turn Right (West) onto Nampa/Caldwell Blvd.
3. Go West for several miles and continue on Nampa/Caldwell Blvd. past Middleton Road.
4. Bustos Media is located behind Sears at 3307 Caldwell Boulevard Suite # 102.
SEE YOU THERE!
all are welcome to come,Lunch will be catered.This meeting will be very informative
Sure sounds like a classy bunch to offer up an open house and lunch to radio buffs and curious advertisers alike.
I am trying to see how many people would be able to make it for the meeting so I can give an estimated number to the caterer.Feel free to respond and let us know
Hi folks, just wanted to give you a report of our meeting October 19th at Bustos Media. This is a bit of a long post so I tried to break it up into paragraphs. But if Don’s software eliminates my paragraph breaks…please forgive me. I know it hard to read when it is so long.
First of all, thanks to GM Jose Tovar and AE Clint Fitch for hosting this event, it went great! The food was fully catererd and was fabulous. El Tenampa brought in a full hot buffet with chicken, shrimp, and a full array of fresh fixings. Everyone loved it! If you did not attend you missed a fabulous free meal!
We opened the program by playing the intro to The Mickey Mouse Club from October 1957…50 years ago. Sheezeee. I remember watching this one! Still the M-I-C…K-E-Y (Why? Because we LIKE you!) was fabulous and had people singing the intro to the “Mouse-Cartoon.” It proves the IMPACT that television has made on our lives if we can still remember things we saw 50 years later.
We then saw KBOI-TV Channel 2’s Bill Gratton doing an b&w Ad for a GE portable television, Channel 2 sports director Dick Eardley interviewing THE Lyle Smith (who was then head coach of the Broncos) and Louse Davis doing the weather.
We then HEARD KBOI’s Louise Davis do a 1958 radio ad for Brookover’s…and Darr Dodds and Bruce Whitehead (a 2-man morning team in 1958!) doing live reads for Lee’s Candies (btw, they mentioned their new store in the Vista Village that opened in 1958), and First Federal Savings. We also heard a Chesterfield Cigarette spot, a Double Mint Gum Ad, (“Double your pleasure double your fun…with…”), Larry Barnes Chevrolet, Pacific Upholstery, a 1964 Dr. Pepper jingle, Gary Lewis & The Playboys doing a “Things Go Better with Coke!” jingle from 1965.
We also heard some great Boise jingles for Bank of Idaho, Idaho 1st National Bank, The Western Idaho State Fair, Frosty Dog!, Black Forest Archery Center,Young’s Dairy, and more! We then heard a great Safeway jingle from 1972, Budget Tapes & Records from 1978 and Zamzows from 1979.
Among the TV ads we saw were a KBCI Channel 2 Dan Wilmot Jeff Bishop “We Got It” ad for Zamzows, a 1995 Tom Scott Motors ad when they were located in CALDWELL and Gary Bodily was the GM, and a 1963 Flintstone’s ad for Winston Cigarettes that showed Fred and Barney goofing off letting Wilma and Betty do all the work while they smoked Winstons. Definitely NOT “P-C” by today’s standards. Which is the wole point of our organization. There is much we can learn about how much our society has changed, about how much the Boise market has grown, and see and hear some great advertising strategies that worked then (and probably still would work today).
For those who think we are “just” a radio group, we sure did a lot of TV! We are NOT just a radio group…we are a broadcasting group! An besides most people in television, STARTED in radio (even if they won’t admit it)!
We also heard the current Spanish ads for Tom Scott Motors, les Schwab, Franklin Building Supply, Regence Blue Shield, and Zamzows.
Finally we heard an actual 1973 sign-on and sign-off of KMFE-FM 101.7 in Emmett! This station is NOW KDBI at 101.9 owned by Bustos. BTW, by signing-on in 1973, KMFE is the 4th FM Oldest station in Boise (KQFC went on in 1960, KBXL went on in 1961, and 92.3 KIZN went on 1968). So take that all you “johnny come lately” stations! Someone had to clear the path through the trees in the forest when no one would lsiten to FM back in the 60s and early 70s…and these 4 stations lost a LOT of money waiting for listeners to either get and FM radio, or switch their existing AM/FM radio over to the FM side.
As a side note, I helped Fred Novak (Lillge) sign-on what is now “96.9 The Eagle” as KUUZ-FM (“KWZ”. 30 years ago we debuted with a 10.1 share. But KFXD-AM still kicked our #!*! with a 18.0 share…although both KUUZ and KBBK-FM did finally make some headway against them in 1979. That year KFXD-AM had a 10.8 share…but KUUZ-FM was 2 points behind them with a 8.8 share and KBBK-FM had an 8.0! KBBK-FM btw, was a great FM rock station and had some fabulous personalities like Don Kelly, Kasey Keating, Bob Lee and yes “Big Jack” Armstrong who were all working there in 1978 and 1979.
Anyway, lastly, we got a tour of the KDBI/KQTA facilities which are very nice! Bustos owns the building and rents the front to Sears. The list of stations they own is impressive, and their programing originates in Sacramento with local cut-ins and traffic. 101.9 transmits from Deer Point, and 106.3 (licensed to Homedale) is up in the Owyhee Mountains South of Nampa.
All-in-all, the was a fascinating tour and the Bustos peole could NOT have been NICER to us! We all got free 101.9 Key chins, and free 106.3 T-Shirts! What a deal! Where shall we hold our next meeting? Does Saturday work better than Friday lunch time or Thursday evenings? Weekends are tough to get someone to let us in to the radio or TV station…but we can always meet at a restaurant and do our program there.
Hope to see you all at a future History of Idaho Braodcasting meeting. There are some great radio and TV people who frequent this site. We’d love to talk with you in the future before you forget, you lose, or your ex-wife throws away all of your radio history!
Plus, you might be blown away by some the history we may have ON YOU (all good of course)! Thanks for reading. Hello to Dick Stott.
Art Gregory
For what its worth, I can remember listening to KMFE one weeknight when I was in high school. The Brown’s were doing a live country music jamboree show from their studio’s in downtown Emmett that night. I think it was about 8 or 9 pm.
I actually recorded a part of the show. I have it “somewhere” on cassette. Ed Brown and the gang were playin’ fiddle and just having a good time. I have him saying in a somewhat “hoakie” tone, “This is KMFE, in Emmett Idaho…” well, if I ever find it, I will share it…its worth the moment in history. Sometime later, I went to see my grandparents, I made the time to visit the station. It was too late. I met the Brown’s and saw where the storefront studios were- in their low key, very humble little store. I asked them about the station. They were both very depressed. Seems they were promised by one Steve Sumner, I think that is who bought it, that it would be kept local… well we all know the rest of the story with him. By the way, for those who think they know Idaho Radio History, and if memory serves me right, it was not Bad Bob Lee and gang that were the first to haul fuel up the side of a mountain to keep a transmitter on the air in the face of Idaho Power. It was Sumner, did it earlier yet, I think it was “Bill Bailey” who told me that back in the early 90’s… He might know the details if someone wishes to know more.
I miss that little hometown station….(and all the others I grew up with as well) I wish the new owners best of luck. From what I can determine from Art’s description of the new ownership, its found good owners who have some class and that is refreshing to know.
Hey Radio Active You are everywhere. About KMFE 101.9 I still have Several Bumper Stickers- oval type with a child cowboy with hat and legs crossed napping on top KMFE letters. 1n 1984 The Late Roman Reyna and myself took turns doing an evening Spanish Show At their downtown studios in front of their Store. During their Jamboree nights We would go on at a later hour, but help Floyd and his Wife Greet The Guests and listen to the Live Show-and yes it was great-I also had the pleasure to be at the KWEI 1260 AM Live Fiddler Music Shows Performed in the FM studio Room-Hometown At its best.That was in Late 1984 and 1985, ‘86-Well going back to the summer of 1984 in Emmett one evening as I was arriving to do the Spanish Show I Had to park a block away because of a Big U-Haul type Truck in front of the store-Floyd was inside behind the counter and what a difference of expresion from an always joyful and kind person to see him so low in spirit you know that look of disbelieve-That was the day Mr. S. Somehow convinced the court to rule in his favor and take the station away from the Brown Family. They were hauling the Radio equipment to their Meridian Studio On Cherry Ln And Meridian Rd. So Mr S. Talks to Roman Reyna to Continue the Spanish Program at the new Studio. We Went and I remember holding an LP on my hand ready to cue and turn to Roman and tell him this is not right. The show must go on but not today not here not with him. Mr Brown had opened his door for us.
Some ten years later I helped Lucio Prado Of Acapulco Restaurant Chain Do a Spanish Radio Program on KKIC-That year I Believe was when a tv news channel caught him on tape going out the back door and officers going in the front door-or something like that. and in 2004 or 03 on KJHY 101.9 spanish program Short Term. He Fired me for being on the front page of the Idaho Statesman I was interviewed for a Story on Spanish Radio all good publicty for the station. I thought I would get a raise and an award or something, but no I got fired-I was laughing all the way Home.
Hey RQ- Thanks for the correction on the name, I was thinking it was Ed. And I do remember the cowboy sticker -thanks for bringing it back to the front of my mind.
Yes, I remember all the shananagin’s that were played out over the course of this ownership as well as the Fairview studio location. That station situation was always the talk of the town among radio workers. Perhaps someone out there would care to let us know about the court decision, I was unaware of that.
Speaking of that location…. I worked with a part timer who had to steal the reel to reel tape machines from a certain person you mentioned. One night before he left the station, He “borowed” them, then placed them in hawk at the pawn shop the next day. He told a certain unscrupulous radio station owner that if he wanted the claim tickets back for them then he would have to make good on the bad pay check… He was threatend with arrest but somehow the game of poker played off…It was unprofessional…but he ended up getting paid!
Speaking of fiddle music, I too remember the National Old Time Fiddle Contests… back in 1986, I helped the KWEI station owner/manager cover those on a live remote basis on the FM. It was fun, educational and a great deal more, but frankly, I had my fill of that kind of music…to this day. It just seemed to drag on and on and on… Talk about music fatigue. If I did it again, I would do a live show from the parking lot or the campgrounds where all the musicians loved to jamm and just plain show their stuff without regard to the rigid rules of keeping that particular style of fiddle contest music going…. KWEI helped create a lot of radio professionals in its day from that classic looking studio building.
At first read I was going to take issue with the this statement –
“BTW, by signing-on in 1973, KMFE, is the 4th FM Oldest station in Boise (KQFC went on in 1960, KBXL went on in 1961, and 92.3 KIZN went on 1968). So take that all you “johnny come lately” stations!”
What confused me were the call letters. The statement is correct, but KQFC was KBOI-FM, and KIZN was KBBK-FM. So, I was expecting it to read (if you still use the KMFE call letters in the same sentence) to read,
” BTW, by signing-on in 1973, KMFE, now KBDI, is the 4th FM Oldest station in Boise (KBOI-FM, now KQFC, went on in 1960, KBXL went on in 1961, and 92.3 KBBK-FM, now KIZN, went on 1968). So take that all you “johnny come lately” stations!”
Just marks history a little more plainly, I think, and reflects the changes over time.
Sorry about the confusion by using the modern call letters! I should have explained it a bit better.
Most radio stations, both AM and FM have gone through MANY changes in frequency, power, and call letters from the time they signed on to the present day.
The first 4 Boise-market commercial FMs were (in order of sign on):
97.9
94.1
92.3
101.7 (now operating on 101.9)
Since most present-day radio people would have NO IDEA that there ever WAS as KBOI-FM, a KBGN-FM, and that KIZN signed on the air on Magic 93.1’s frequency, I used the present day call letters.
Keeping track of call-letter history gets real confusing real fast! Our history group has a terrible time trying explain to people that KFXD and KIDO swapped frequencies in 2002 and that the transmitter building on Hubbard Road that says K-I-D-O is now the transmitter for KFXD!
Anyway, yes the oldest surviving FM in Boise is indeed KBOI-FM followed by KBGN-FM, KBBK-FM, and KMFE-FM (using their original call letters). The frequencies are all the same except for KMFE’s which moved to 101.9 in late 1991 when the station moved to Deer Point.
BTW, at our Friday meeting we did briefly discuss the the “former owner” and the many moves the 101.7 FM transmitter made…sometimes to surprize of both the FCC and the land owner of where the transmitter eneded up.
A gas generator could indeed be used to keep a low power FM transmitter on the air until the power bill was paid! I will ask David Faught (aka Bill Bailey) about this who would probably know. He was working there I think when that happened! Nuff’ said in a public forum…
Hello,
Great web site and even better comments and discussion. I have a short response to Art and by the way I think the work you are doing for the foundation is very interesting for people outside of the radio biz but still interested in the goings on.–thank you The 101.7 transmitter was moved to a location just outside of Emmett—I think it was near a place called Freezeout or near there(?) This was the only location that could reach Boise at that power/frequency. Coverage was still questionable. Mr.S could not afford to pipe in power lines so he used a Diesel generator to power the operation 7/24 for 2-3 years (?). Then I believe the station moved to Deer Point. (frequency change 101.9) A friend of mine that engineered for KGEM/KJOT at the time helped Mr. S set this up. Land was leased–FCC papers filed–not sure why people may think the transmitter made several moves surprising the FCC and land owners. I do not think this is accurate. The use of the generator was not because power bills were not paid (power bill issues at the studio may be true–don’t know) it was because of a lack of power source at the transmitter site.
Editor’s note: We’ve had two people identify themselves as “Outsider” or “The Outsider” on this site, and this commenter appears to be neither of them.
Oh, my. So much could be said regarding one “Mr. S” and radio in this valley. While it would all be true, a public forum is not the place to post it. In the interest of kindness (where none is really deserved) I will refrain from telling what I know. Many of you that have been in this valley very long and involved in radio probably know what I mean. As in the previous post … Nuff’ said in a public forum…