Hitting the High Notes

The announcing voice tended to be consciously over-articulated and theatrical. It was, in effect, an attempt to adjust to the equipment and to create the best impression. Many background noises came through unadulterated along with the broadcast. For example, the church broad- casts and those from the Victoria Hotel were carried to the transmitter at Upper Hillsborough Street over the telephone lines. Listeners came to expect to hear as part of the broadcast Dad and Walter Burke conversing back and forth with each other,

“Okay, Walter, we seem to be all set up here fine. Are you receiving me okay?”

“Loud and clear Keith. I think we’re all set to go. Right?”

“Stand by then.”

All this technical preamble would be in their everyday normal voices, then whomever happened to be announcing would assume his radio voice.

“Good afternoon. This is radio station CFCY, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island broadcasting.”

It was all very experimental. There was one program, though, which became a part of Walter Burke’s devotional hour on Wednesday evenings. Up the street from Burke’s lived the Rev. Ewan MacDougall. He was invited to come down to the Burke home to give an inspirational talk. Mail came in from the New England States and from along the Gaspe Coast. The Rev. MacDougall’s talks were so popular that Dad arranged for him to broadcast from his own parlour through a telephone line.

Broadcasting from the Burke living—room as I have said, must have caused a great deal of inconvenience at times. They were a large family—four girls and one boy. When the transmitter was moved to its own room upstairs, it relieved some of that pressure. But a new problem was created. There was not enough room for the more sophis- ticated type of program expected from them. A proper studio was needed, but that would mean a lot of money, and the major alterations to the Burke house to move the transmitter to the second floor had d6pleted finances. Walter did not want to get any farther in over his head. As far as he was concerned they had done enough. But on the other hand, Dad was champing at the bit to expand. They found a temporary solution. They would broadcast from our living—room on Bayfield Street through telephone hookup. When this decision was made, evening broadcasts became more and more frequent.

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