The History of WQLN
Did you know . . .
- That the first office of WQLN was in the basement of a private home?
- That W, Q, L, and N were not the first choice for our call letters?
- That WQLN TV was the first digital television station in Northwest Pennsylvania?
- That WQLN TV had the first truck equipped for "live" broadcasts?
Read on to learn about how a few dedicated people accomplished the near-impossible - in their quest to bring an alternative style of learning to the public -and developed an award-winning, one-of-a-kind broadcasting facility.
That Was The Year That Was
What we were watching on August 13, 1967
6pm: WQLN-TV Introduction to Erie, WICU-TV Frank McGee, WJET-TV Cheyenne, and WSEE-TV 21st Century
6:30pm: WQLN-TV What's New with George Fishback, WICU-TV Smithsonian, and WSEE-TV Putt Putt Golf Championship
7pm: WQLN-TV Charles Ives presents Leopold Stokowski conducting the American Wind Orchestra, WICU-TV Animal Secrets, WJET-TV Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and WSEE-TV Lassie
7:30pm: WICU Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, and WSEE It's About Time
8pm: WQLN-TV Court of Reason presents Book Banning, WJET-TV The F.B.I., and WSEE-TV The Ed Sullivan Show
8:30pm: WICU The Mothers-in-Law
9pm: WQLN-TV Sunday Showcase presents Yevgeny Yeutushenko Reading his Poetry, WICU-TV Bonanza, WJET-TV The ABC Sunday Night Movie: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, and WSEE-TV The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Emmy winners
Best Drama: Mission: Impossible seen locally on WSEE-TV
Best Comedy: Get Smart, aired on WICU-TV
Inflation: 2.8%
Unemployment: 3.8%
Cost of a new home in Millcreek: $24,600.00
Median Household Income: $7,143.00
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.05
Cost of a gallon of regular gas: $0.33
Cost of a dozen eggs: $0.49
Cost of a gallon of Meadowbrook Milk: $1.03
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How well do you
remember August 1967?
Pete Oatess' Ford Dealership on the Miracle Mile had the new big block V-8 Mustang in the window, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were steaming up the silver screen at the Warner and rioting was everywhere Bob Sutherland's inner-city reports from the Arthur F Schultz warehouse fire remain the stuff of local legend. It was the 'Summer of Love' gas was cheep, Paul was dead, and UHF was the next best thing.
This was Erie on Sunday August 13, 1967 when, with the flip of a switch, WQLN signed on the air for the first time. The event was the culmination of 14 years of hard work, which began with an FCC directive and a dedicated Erie team of volunteers that included Enoch Filer, Maurice Kolpien, John English, George Schaefer, and the local PTAs that formed Educational Television of Northwest Pennsylvania. This dedicated group did the impossible; by circulating petitions, raising money, negotiating with state and federal agencies they received approval from the FCC for the new license on March 31, 1967. With only one employee, Educational Television of Northwest Pennsylvania next cleared land, built a building, installed equipment, and hired a couple more employees so that in only 135 days put a new TV station was on the air.
The very first program was called Introduction to Erie; a 30- minute live broadcast featuring WQLN's staff, volunteers, board of directors, and local dignitaries discussing the mission and vision of the new TV station. At 6:30pm, our first 'real' program aired. The show was called What's New, hosted by everyone's favorite science teacher George Fishback.
By all accounts it was an exciting night for everyone at WQLN. On August 13, 1967 our forefathers saw more than George Fishback on the blinky-scratchy, black-and-white monitors – these visionaries saw the future. They saw NOVA, American Experience, Cosmos, The Civil War, Mister Rogers, Great Performances, and Sesame Street. They saw how good TV could be.
Through The Years
1950's | 1960's | 1970's | 1980's | 1990's | 2000's
1950's
In 1953, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began to portion some of the television bandwidth to public broadcasting entities; a local Erie group headed by Enoch Filer planted the first seeds to establish Education Television of Erie, Inc. in northwest Pennsylvania. Although the group did not succeed in actually constructing a station, they did reserve channel 54 for station use which set the stage for WQLN.
1960's
In June 1964, Education Television of Erie, Inc. changed its name to Educational Television of Northwest Pennsylvania, Inc. and worked to establish a non-commercial television station which would serve Crawford, Erie, and Warren counties in Pennsylvania; Ashtabula County in Ohio; Chautauqua County in New York, and southwest Ontario. The mission of the new station was to, "Stimulate, enrich, educate, and entertain the public through communication."
In 1966, Robert J. Chitester, director of instructional television at Edinboro State College, was appointed general manager and became the station's first employee. Believe it or not, his basement became the first home of WQLN!
In June of that year, Educational Television of Northwest Pennsylvania, Inc. filed an application with the FCC for a construction permit to build a station with a grant from the Departments of Health, Education, and Welfare. A local capital funds campaign was spearheaded by individuals such as Meadville attorney George Barco, Erie industrialist Melvin Zurn, and Erie attorney John English, along with corporate support from General Electric and Talon Inc. Edwin Jarmain of the London TV Cable Service also contributed significantly. On December 6, 1966, the FCC construction permit arrived.
The next step was to choose call letters. The first choice was WLRN, emphasizing learning, but those letters were already taken. The group then chose WQLN for "We Question and Learn."
Final approval for the new station came from the FCC on March 31, 1967, and construction began the same day on land donated by the Pennsylvania Gas Company. On June 15th, the first test transmission was conducted. Fourteen years after the initial endeavors by Education Television of Erie, Inc., on August 13, 1967, WQLN was floating on the airwaves.
In those early years, WQLN-TV 54 was on the air from 6 - 11 p.m. on Sundays and from 7 - 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, as compared to the 24-hour daily broadcast of today. On September 11, 1967, 21 school districts began participating in the first in-school schedule of instructional courses known as Instructional Television (ITV).
In January 1968, WQLN added two black-and-white TV cameras just in time for the first local remote production: the tape-delay coverage of an NAIA basketball play-off between Edinboro and Gannon.
May 1968 brought great accomplishments with live studio productions on current issues and a local documentary covering the Headstart Projects in Northwest Pennsylvania. Ted Junker and Marine Bank presented the station with an underwriting grant to carry the greatly demanded program, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."
In November of 1968, WQLN began receiving inter-connected programming signals via National Educational Television (NET). Until WQLN was inter-connected, we received network tapes and films via trains, planes, and automobiles - sometimes mere minutes before they were to air!
In 1969, WQLN TV 54 transmitted the first broadcast on the new Pennsylvania Public Television Network, added color programming, premiered "Sesame Street," and piqued viewer interest with the unusual concept of a live TV auction. Although the station was not sure how well the auction would do, it raised an impressive $16,000.
WQLN continued to offer programming of special interest to local viewers. The station began to broadcast Erie City School Board meetings live and had two programs with Erie poet Don McQuaid accepted for national distribution.
1970's
In 1970, when WQLN TV-54 reached the age of three, over 2,000 visitors were welcomed to the station for an open house and pottery exhibit. The cast from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood entertained over 700 children at the event.
These first years of operation were a huge success as WQLN-TV became firmly established in northwest Pennsylvania. Erie City Council meetings began to air in 1970. In 1971, a microwave unit was purchased which increased the capability of remote broadcasts of local sports and band events, and the first color production was completed featuring the nationally recognized vocal quartet, The Arbors.
An expansion was planned for station facilities, and after considerable debate, Bob Chitester convinced the board of directors that similar alternatives in broadcasting should be available for area radio listeners. Before long, applications were sent to the FCC for a non-commercial radio license and for a change in the name of the license holder to Public Broadcasting of Northwest Pennsylvania, Inc.
On January 7, 1973, WQLN-FM 91.3 began to play alternative programming not heard anywhere else. The broadcast day, 6 a.m. to midnight, featured live main studio productions, National Public Radio features, programs from satellite studios at Edinboro and Mercyhurst, and minority-oriented broadcasting from the Opportunities Industrialization Center in Erie.
After only three months on the air, WQLN-FM's listeners were responding by mail with applause for the new programming. More applause came to both TV and FM when they teamed up in May for the Watergate Hearings in Washington.
In 1973, after six years of blackand-white programming, WQLN acquired color cameras and aired the weekly series "Info 54" in color. In September 1974, a color remote van was purchased for coverage of sporting events. The remote van was on the road to places such as Oil City, Corry, Edinboro, and London, Ontario. New technology enabled direct TV program feeds via satellite from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in Washington, D.C.
Working with ABC-TV News and WJET-TV 24, WQLN was able to provide "ABC Captioned News" in November 1974. WQLN's commitment to the public continued as countless deaf and hearing impaired citizens were able to access world events. WQLN radio began broadcasting in quadraphonic in 1974 as well.
In 1975, WQLN produced its first local drama, John Millington Synge's "Riders to the Sea", which was taped on Presque Isle. The cast included Erie Playhouse actors, Fr. Tom McSweeney, Paul Brown, and Chris Groenendaal, who in the 90s was the lead actor in Broadway's "Phantom of the Opera." More local productions followed including a historical documentary tracing the Erie area from prehistoric times to the present.
In 1978, Amagin (pronounced "imagine") Incorporated, a WQLN subsidiary, began to produce national programs. That same year, WQLN was awarded a merit certificate from the American Bar Association and a National Underwriting Award from the Public Broadcasting System for its 1976 production Armed Robbery. Weekday minority programming, Studio 91, was introduced in 1979 giving minorities their first opportunity to broadcast their own interests.
The 1970s also saw the addition of three public radio signature programs. Radio Reader, with host Dick Estelle, National Public Radio's All Things Considered and Morning Edition were all added to WQLN Radio's daily schedule.
1980's
While the decade of the 70s was one of growth for WQLN, the 80s started out in turmoil. Expenses exceeded the station's income due to reduced government funding; decreased support from local memberships and corporate underwriting; and heavy production costs, eventually leading to layoffs. Once revenues were increased and expenses held in line, new programming began to be added back into the schedule.
The mid-80s saw the addition of Frontline, a series that looked beyond the headlines of national and international issues; The Pennsylvania Game, which tested viewers' knowledge of Pennsylvania history; and Mystery!, Q Classics, and The Wonderful World of Disney. In September 1983, the WQLN "Kid's Club" began. It offered a pin, membership, special birthday greeting, and a subscription to "ON Q" to children for a $30 membership fee.
WQLN Radio expanded in the 80s as the station began to receive programs by satellite including the radio versions of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Weekend Edition. WQLN also expanded into other communities in the region: 89.3 in Meadville, 90.1 in Chautauqua, and 98.9 in Warren.
By 1986, WQLN TV-54 began broadcasting from 6 a.m. to midnight.
One of the many notable WQLN productions was Three Lives produced by Tony Machi and featuring Judy Lynch, Michele Ridge, and Gertrude Barber.
The year 1987 marked the 20th anniversary of WQLN and was celebrated with a dinner dance at Rainbow Gardens with the Tommy Dorsey Band. Local artist Jim Sabol marked the occasion with a commemorative plate depicting the Presque Isle Lighthouse.
1990's
WQLN continued to expand its horizons. The first broadcast of the Erie Philharmonic was heard on September of 1990. WQLN-FM began to broadcast on 91.5 in Titusville and 91.9 in Oil City. In 1991, WQLN's mascot "Quiggley" was introduced to area children. In 1992, a new Harris 20 KW stereo radio transmitter was installed and we began to offer 24-hour radio service. In 1994, WQLN-TV 54 became the area's only television station to incorporate second audio programming or SAP. A new Comark 70 KW TV transmitter enabled TV-54 to reach an even farther audience. The first live broadcast of First Night Erie was aired in 1993. The film, Remembering Erie, about the Boston Store, Koehler Brewing Co., and Union Station was produced in 1994.
By the 90s, the awards started rolling in for WQLN. At the 1992 Erie Ad Club banquet, WQLN received a Silver Award for the press kit for The Timber Rattler. WQLN also received Distinctive Merits for the auction promo video September Wind and for the press kit for The Rise and Fall of the Tin Toy Dynasty. This documentary on the former Louis Marx Company received an award from the Erie County Historical Society as well.
In July 1992, we received the prestigious Elmo Award from the Children's Television Workshop (CTW). This award recognizes a station for an outstanding community outreach project that embraced one or more CTW programs. WQLN was presented this award in recognition of a job fair held in November 1991 that drew over 500 first graders from six Erie County schools. Presenters demonstrated and answered questions about their careers.
WQLN was one of the first stations to be awarded a $10,000 grant from CTW for the implementation of the "Sesame Street Preschool Education Program Initiative." In 1994, WQLN adopted PBS's new Ready to Learn (RTL) program that combines award-winning shows like Sesame Street, Mister Roger's Neighborhood and Barney and Friends with local seminars, resource materials, and other efforts to help parents and childcare providers make television viewing more interactive and beneficial.
In 1994, F. Brady Louis, then president and general manager, helped direct a capital funds campaign which resulted in new facilities for both TV-54 and FM-91.3. The new facilities were completed in October 1996.
In 1995, The Red Green Show and Dudley the Dragon were added to the programming. Special local performances continued with a live broadcast of Eiji Oue's final concert with the Erie Philharmonic. Wally Faas joined the staff as Morning Classics host. In 1996, the station added Arthur and Kratt's Creatures to the children's programming schedule. In 1999, Teletubbies was added also.
2000's
The 21st century brought with it the "Age of Information" and the Internet, and WQLN Interactive was born. WQLN formed Q-MultiMedia a for-profit company that created seminar-style streaming media over the Internet. Q-MultiMedia became one of only six companies in Pennsylvania to receive Microsoft certification.
In January 2000, both WQLN-TV and WQLN Radio were broadcasting a true 24-hour schedule.
2001 was a broadcast milestone when WQLN launched Erie's first digital television station WQLN-DTV 54.1. The station is currently broadcasting in high definition.
In 2002, WQLN was recognized at the White House for the creation of WQLN F.A.M.I.L.I.E.S. a unique literacy program that encourages parents and children to read out loud to each other.
2003 marked the graduation of the first GED student from "GED on TV." The WQLN Member Card was also introduced to qualifying members for discounts at area restaurants. In May 2003, WQLN won the Historical Society Award for Boo! Tour Eerie Erie. In July of the same year, Q Crew at the Zoo premiered and went on to win the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters (PAB) award in 2004 for excellence in children's programming.
In 2005, BBC News, the news program of the British Broadcasting Company, began to air on TV-54. WQLN-TV 54 also hosted and broadcast the debate between candidates for Erie city mayor. WQLN won the Pennsylvania Association Award for Excellence for Take Me Out to the Ballgame a Nine Inning Tour of Pennsylvania. (WQLN also won PAB awards for excellence for producing Experience Pennsylvania Wineries, Pennsylvania Breweries and Made in Pennsylvania.)
WQLN launched adult education programs in 2006 with the help of a PA Higher Education Assistance Agency grant of $200,000 to expand the GED program. The station also received a $12,000 grant from the National Center for Outreach for the program Embracing Our Differences. WQLN received the "Speedy Delivery Award" for using the Internet to deliver educational programs.
As WQLN surges on in the digital age, it is redefining itself as WQLN Radio, WQLN TV-DT, WQLN Education, and WQLN Interactive. The loyal support of our members and the communities we serve is crucial to the continued success of public broadcasting and its mission.
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