The Rock of Marion

 By Eliott Grover ’06

It didn't take much.

A determined student’s ingenuity and a $35 transmitter, purchased secondhand from an Army Surplus store, launched Tabor’s radio station. In December 1981, the first strains of rock music crackled through the airwaves on 108.5 FM, announcing the debut of WTBR, Tabor’s bold experiment in student-run radio.

Clark Burgard ’82 had successfully lobbied the school to purchase the transmitter, which he helped install on the third floor of Hoyt Hall. The novelty of the new station captivated the Tabor community. Student DJs played a heavy rotation of rock and jazz, welcoming requests and keeping listeners engaged with school news bulletins and trivia contests.

“The disc jockeys are creative and crack up anyone who is listening,” a Log writer declared that first month. “Dave ‘Donut’ Danneman’s [Class of 1982] voice has become familiar to [W]TBR listeners. One Saturday night he presented an in-depth report on Pink Floyd.”

Supporting the station became a community-wide effort. “What is so unique about WTBR is that all of the records, tapes, and the three tape decks are student donated,” The Log noted.

A handful of teachers made special appearances on student programs. David Pierce, the station’s faculty advisor, even hosted his own show. “Mr. Pierce’s Blast from the Past” aired on Friday nights from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. In his warm and gentle cadence, Pierce introduced ’50s and ’60s classics such as “Great Balls of Fire” and “My Girl” before ending every broadcast with The Skyliner’s doo-wop hit “Since I Don’t Have You.”

Before long, WTBR became known as “The Rock ’n Roll Navy.” Its first catchphrase, “the station that reaches the beaches,” was popularized by Burgard who served as the inaugural station manager and DJed under the moniker Dr. Shockwave. The irony of the slogan was that the station’s signal seldom carried to the beach behind Lillard Hall on account of the weak transmitter. This inconvenience soon became an existential threat to WTBR.

In May 1983, The Log ran an article about Deerfield Academy’s new 150-watt transmitter that had a five-mile broadcast radius. Tabor’s one-watt station, the article explained, barely covered the entire campus. “If we had more watts, there would be more people involved, and also a much larger listening audience,” said DJ Jon Callahan ’83. The article ended on a concerning note: “WTBR officials are now worried as to whether or not students will want to continue the station for a third year because of its continuing weak capabilities.”

John Gannon ’83, who succeeded Burgard as station manager, spearheaded the effort to upgrade the old equipment. WTBR’s first fund drive commenced in late 1982 when the station sold buttons with the logo “WTBR Rocks Marion.”

“According to John Gannon and other DJs who push the campaign during their shows, on-air promotion is one reason the fund drive is becoming so successful,” a Log writer reported. “Station Manager Gannon stated that the top-rated shows such as faculty member David Pierce’s ‘Blast From the Past’ help support the fund drive enormously.”

The following spring, Headmaster Peter Webster announced that WTBR would be receiving a new transmitter. In May 1984, Burgard, who went on to pursue a long and successful career in professional radio, was working as a professional DJ in Hartford, Connecticut and returned to campus to help install a new antenna.

The station switched to 101.1 FM because, as The Log noted, 108.5 “was difficult to receive on digital tuners and on some Walkmen [sic].” The improvements achieved their technical goal of increasing the broadcast radius and helped rekindle community interest.

By 1986, WTBR had returned to its former glory. Its resurrection was the product of dedicated students who were passionate about radio and enjoyed the camaraderie of working together to take ownership of the station’s success. The frequency changed to 89.3 and student leaders consistently searched for new opportunities to boost WTBR’s presence, including an all-day broadcast from Springfest 1987. It was around this time that the station’s official slogan became “The Rock of Marion.”

Jon Hall ’88 was the station manager during this period. He worked alongside new faculty advisor Phil Sanborn to elevate the programming, performing his duties with professionalism and humor. He helped draft rules for the station, promoted shows by placing ads in The Log and hanging witty, often irreverent fliers across campus, and pursued untapped revenue channels. “I would like to offer you a new service of our radio station,” Hall wrote in a letter to local business leaders. “Our advertising.”

On Saturday nights, Hall hosted a variety show with student Head of School Cyril O’Neil ’88. “It was a call-in show and it was pretty popular since everyone had to be in the dorms by 10:00 PM with nothing else to do,” Hall shared years later. “The Jon Hall/Cyril O’Neil show has become quite popular [with] clever advertising and outrageous shows attracting more listeners,” a Log writer observed in April 1988. One skit featured God delivering the weekend weather forecast. Another, a segment called “Solved Mysteries,” invented wacky disappearances that the hosts asked their audience to dial in and help solve.

In 1987, radio made its way into the curriculum when Music Department Chair Phil Sanborn offered a telecommunications course. Sanborn worked with students to reconstruct WTBR by giving them hands-on experience with radio engineering, writing, and performing on the air. “The class intends to make a station manual and write to record companies requesting promotional records so that a music library can be started,” The Log reported that fall.