Always good to hear from Doug Virden, he gets little tidbits and such to share with us:
"Sixty years ago in September KTHS became KAAY. It started off with the air personalities reading the Little Rock phone book cover to cover with the Baby Elephant Walk playing in the background. A short time later the Cuban Missile Crisis took place and the people of Cuba relied on KAAY to get information. It has been stated that the KAAY signal was the only one Fidel Castro couldn’t jam. Tom Bigby (Buddy Carr) stated he was kicked out of the studio by a Government official so they could broadcast Voice of America.
Fast forward sixty years, earlier this year we learned the powerful signal will not return. Talked to someone currently working there and said KAAY was in very bad shape. Checked the program schedule recently and there are only 16 ministries left on the station. I don’t know how KAAY can afford to stay on the air. The other directional tower may end up being used as a cell phone tower."
That's about correct, on the signal; it absolutely blanketed Cuba! At first, the government didn't realize KAAY was in operation, they thought that since KTHS was no longer, they thought the 1090 frequency and the previous signal was no longer there. When KAAY contacted the Feds, they acted quickly! And from what I am told, from midnight to 6AM, they did literally kick the deejay out of the studio, locked the door and broadcast U.S. propaganda to Cuba.
Thanks, Doug, for bringing this to light!
Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)
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