Origin of Call Letters in West Virginia Broadcast Markets

This page attempts to list call letters which have been in use in radio and television in West Virginia broadcast markets, together with the meanings of the calls. The following people helped with this page: Geoff Allen, Jeff Batten, Michael Blair, Rick Callebs, Emmett Capper, Chris Carmichael, Randall B. Clark, Harold Cremeans, Paul Elder, Jonathan Fox, Bob Gooslin, James Given, Mike Graham, Robert Hanson, F. Harper, Clarke Ingram, Chris Johnson, Bruce Kennedy, Jerry King, Ronald King, Alan Kingery, Chuck Leavens, Jack Logar, Dave Loudin, Randy Mallory, Scott Martin, Mack Miles, Gordon Miller, Keith Miller, Bob Moore, Tom Moore, Bob Nelson, William Newbrough, Don Niles, Jim Owston, Scott Reppert, Ed Schumacher, Al Sergi, James H. Shott III, Fred Schroyer, Sid Shumate, Vernon Stanfill, John M. Taylor, Keith Thompson, Jeff Vankirk, Steve Watson, Bill Stahnke, Tom Taggart. If you can improve this page in any way, please contact us.

This page was last revised on April 1,2021

• WAAO Charleston -- sequentially assigned
  
• WAAM Parkersburg -- ?
  
• WAAR Huntington -- sequentially assigned
  
• WADC Parkersburg -- to sound like WABC (see note below)
  
• WAEY Princeton -- correspond to co-owned WAAY, Huntsville AL
  
• WAEZ Milton -- Easy Listening
  
• WAFD Webster Springs -- ?
  
• WAJR Morgantown -- Agnes J. Reeves Greer, owner
  
• WAMN Green Valley -- Amen
• WAMX Ashland KY -- Album Mix
  
• WAMX Milton -- for WAMX Ashland
  
• WANJ Wheeling -- Anthony (Gonzales) and Nick Joe (Rahall), owners
  
• WANR Wheeling -- Apparently to go with WANJ
  
• WATQ New Martinsville -- Wayne A. Thomas (owner), Q104
  
• WAUA Petersburg -- ?
  
• WAXS Oak Hill -- Wax (oldies format)
  
  
• WBBD Wheeling -- Big Band
  
• WBBN Clarksburg -- Big Band and News
  
• WBDY Bluefield -- Country Buddy
  
• WBES Charleston -- Beautiful Entertainment in Stereo
  
• WBES Dunbar -- for earlier WBES Charleston and for "best"
  
• WBEY Beckley -- Beckley (was to be a UHF TV, never went on air)
  
• WBGS Point Pleasant -- Big Country (?)
  
• WBKW Beckley -- airport designator for Beckley Airport
• WBLK Clarksburg -- Bruce Lee Kennedy, wife of owner John Kennedy
  
• WBOY Clarksburg -- ?
  
• WBPU Clarksburg -- ?
  
• WBRB Buckhannon -- The Bear
  
• WBRW Welch -- John W. Blakely, L. E. Rogers, and J. R. Werness
  
• WBTH Williamson -- Francis Wagner, William Booker, George Taylor, and William Hogg, owners
  
• WBTQ Buckhannon -- ?
  
• WBUC Buckhannon -- Buckhannon
  
• WBYG Point Pleasant -- Big River Radio Inc.
  
• WBZE Wheeling -- Busy
  
  
• WCAK Catlettsburg KY-- We Care About Kentucky
  
• WCAW Charleston -- Charleston and West Virginia (?) (see note below)
  
• WCBC Keyser -- for WCBC(AM) Cumberland MD, owned by Cumberland Broadcasting Co.
  
• WCDE Elkins -- Davis & Elkins College
  
• WCEF Parkersburg -- C. E. Franklin, owner
  
• WCEF Ripley -- for the earlier WCEF Parkersburg
  
• WCFC Beckley -- See note
  
• WCHS Charleston -- Charleston
  
• WCIR Beckley -- Christianity in Radio, or Christ is Risen (see note below)
  
• WCKA Sutton -- named by owner Jim Millikin, C for Cortney (his daughter), K for Katie (his niece), A for Adam (his nephew)
  
• WCKV Ceredo -- Wayne, Ceredo-Kenova, Vinson, the three high schools in northern Wayne County
  
• WCLG Morgantown -- C. Leslie Golliday, owner
• WCMI Ashland KY -- Where Coal Meets Iron (Ashland's city slogan)
  
• WCMX Clarksburg -- Clarksburg mix
  
• WCOM Parkersburg -- (your) Community (station)
  
• WCOZ St. Albans -- Cozy (see note below)
  
• WCPI Wheeling -- Columbia Pictures Industries (?)
  
• WCST Berkeley Springs -- Charles Samuel Trump, attorney, one of the original owners
  
• WCWV Summersville -- We Cover West Virginia
  
• WCZR Charleston -- Charleston's Z-Rock
  
  
• WDBD Martinsburg -- ?
  
• WDBS Sutton -- The Boss 97 FM
  
• WDCI Bridgeport -- Dolphin Communications Inc.
  
• WDHC Berkeley Springs -- We're Down Home Country
  
• WDMX Vienna -- "Mix"
  
• WDNE Elkins -- Davis and Elkins College
  
• WDTV Weston -- for the earlier WDTV Pittsburgh (now KDKA-TV)
  
• WDZN Romney -- Disney Radio
  
  
• WEEL Wheeling -- Wheeling
  
• WEGW Wheeling -- "The Eagle"
  
• WEIF Moundsville -- "Wife" radio
  
• WEIR Weirton -- Weirton
  
• WELC Welch -- Welch
  
• WELD Fisher -- ?
  
• WELK Elkins -- Elkins
  
• WEMM Huntington -- Dr. E. M. Mortenson, owner
  
• WEPM Martinsburg -- West Virginia Eastern Panhandle Martinsburg
  
• WERL East Rainelle -- East Rainelle (station may never have gone on the air)
  
• WESM Martinsburg -- corresponds to co-owned WEPM
  
• WETT Bridgeport -- ?
  
• WETZ New Martinsville -- Wetzel County
  
• WEWV Martinsburg -- Eastern West Virginia (?)
  
• WEXP Clarksburg -- Clarksburg Exponent (was to be original call of WBLK, apparently never used)
  
• WEYS Institute -- We Entertain You Soulfully (?)
  
  
• WFBY Clarksburg -- The FBI (fingerprint lab moved to Clarksburg)
  
• WFGH Fort Gay -- Fort Gay High School
  
• WFGM Fairmont -- We're Fairmont's Good Music
  
• WFGM Barrackville -- ?
  
• WFSP Kingwood -- Free State of Preston (County)
  
• WFYZ Ravenswood -- ?
  
  
• WGGE Parkersburg -- Froggy
  
• WGIE Clarksburg -- Froggy
  
• WGKV Charleston -- Greater Kanawha Valley
  
• WGLZ West Liberty -- ?
  
• WGNT Huntington -- the (Friendly) Giant
  
• WGYA Logan -- ? (see note)
  
• WGYE Mannington -- Froggy 102.7
  
  
• WHAJ Bluefield -- Hugh and Jim Shott
  
• WHAJ Bluefield -- (AM station in 1922) sequentially assigned
  
• WHAK Clarksburg -- ?
  
• WHAR Clarksburg -- Harrison county
  
• WHAW Weston -- Harold A. McWhorter or Harold and Wilda (see note below)
  
• WHBR Parkersburg -- The Bear (?)
  
• WHCM Parkersburg -- Hometown Country Music
  
• WHD Morgantown -- sequentially assigned
  
• WHEZ Huntington -- Huntington EZ Listening
  
• WHFI Lindside -- ?
  
• WHGC Princeton -- (Robert L.) Harrison and (Dr. F. C.) Goodall Company
  
• WHIS Bluefield -- Hugh Ike Shott, owner
  
• WHJC Matewan -- We Herald Jesus Christ
  
• WHLL Wheeling -- Wheeling
  
• WHLX Bethlehem -- for WHLL (see note)
  
• WHMS Charleston -- West Virginia's Hit Music Station
  
• WHNK Parkersburg -- for Hank Williams (?)
  
• WHPW Huntington -- Huntington Public Wadio (couldn't get the R)
  
• WHRD Huntington -- Thundering Herd, Marshall University sports teams
  
• WHTN Huntington -- Huntington
  
  
• WIBE Martinsburg -- sequentially assigned
  
• WIBR Weirton -- sequentially assigned
  
• WIBZ Parkersburg -- to sound like WBZ (see note below)
• WIRO Ironton OH -- Ironton
• WITO Ironton OH -- Ironton (FM sister station to WIRO)
  
• WITB Salem -- We're In The Basement (see note below)
  
• WIWS Beckley -- Ira W. Southern, owner
  
  
• WJAW St. Marys -- John A. Wharff, III, owner
  
• WJCF Westover -- Craig Falkenstein, owner
• WJEH Gallipolis OH -- John E. Halliday, the station's original owner
  
• WJGF Romney -- for John George Freeland, original licensee
  
• WJJB Romney -- JIB-100, for owner's love of the sea
  
• WJKK Beckley -- Judy, Karen, and Kristen, wife and daughters of owner
  
• WJLS Beckley -- Joe L. Smith, father of owner Joe L. Smith Jr.
  
• WJPB Fairmont -- J. Patrick Beacom, owner
  
• WJRM Elkins -- Jennings Randolph, owner (station had a CP for 1240 during World War II)
  
• WJYP South Charleston -- Joyful Praise
  
  
• WKAZ Charleston -- corresponds to co-owned WSAZ; the K was for Kanawha
  
• WKAZ Miami -- for WKAZ Charleston
  
• WKAZ St. Albans -- for WKAZ Charleston
  
• WKCJ Lewisburg -- ?
  
• WKEE Huntington -- Key Broadcasting
  
• WKEZ Bluefield -- ?
  
• WKGA Grafton -- ?
  
• WKGI New Martinsville -- ?
  
• WKJL Clarksburg -- We Know Jesus Lives
  
• WKKW Clarksburg -- Kicking Country
  
• WKLC St. Albans -- Owner Ray Kandel, son Lyle, daughter Candice
  
• WKLP Keyser -- the four nearest incorporated towns: Westernport (MD), Keyser, Luke (MD), and Piedmont
  
• WKMM Kingwood -- No significance (see note below)
  
• WKMY Princeton -- corresponds to co-owned WKOY
  
• WKMZ Martinsburg -- ?
  
• WKNA Charleston -- airport designator for Kanawha Airport
  
• WKOY Bluefield -- ?
  
• WKQV Richwood -- ?
  
• WKRP Charleston -- ?
  
• WKSD Huntington -- Kan't Stop Dancing or Kool Sound of Disco
  
• WKWK Wheeling -- ?
  
• WKWS Charleston -- "Kicks"
  
• WKYG Parkersburg -- call chosen to force clear enunciation
  
• WKYR Keyser -- Keyser
  
• WKZG Keyser -- ?
  
  
• WLFB Bluefield -- Living Faith Ministries
• WLGC Ashland KY -- We Love Greenup County
  
• WLOG Logan -- Logan
  
• WLOH Princeton -- We Love Our Hills
  
• WLTP Parkersburg -- Lite 1450 (?)
  
• WLYJ Clarksburg -- We love you, Jesus
  
• WLZT Charleston -- Light (Rock)
  
  
• WMCD Welch -- McDowell County
• WMEJ Proctorville OH -- Wonderful Music Exalting Jesus
  
• WMGA Kenova -- "Magic"
  
• WMGG Huntington -- Magic 101
  
• WMGP Parkersburg -- Magic Radio in Parkersburg
  
• WMJT Moundsville -- ?
  
• WMLJ Summersville -- ?
  
• WMMN Fairmont -- Matthew Mansfield Neely
  
• WMNF Richwood -- Monongahela National Forest
  
• WMOD Moundsville -- see note
  
• WMON Montgomery -- Montgomery
  
• WMOV Ravenswood -- Mid-Ohio Valley
• WMPO Pomeroy OH -- Middleport Pomeroy Ohio
  
• WMQC Westover -- We're Morgantown's Quality Choice
  
• WMRE Charles Town -- Memories
  
• WMSP Elk Hills -- ?
  
• WMTD Hinton -- ?
  
• WMUL Huntington -- Marshall University Laboratories
  
  
• WNBL Huntington -- ?
  
• WNEU Wheeling -- New 1470
  
• WNMR New Martinsville -- New Martinsville radio
  
• WNPB Morgantown -- West Virginia Northern Public Broadcasting
  
• WNST Milton -- Naseeb S. Tweel, owner
  
• WNUS Parkersburg -- "U.S. 107"
  
  
• WOAY Oak Hill -- WOAK was intended, but handwritten application was misread by FCC
  
• WOBG Clarksburg -- Oldies But Goodies
• WOBU Charleston -- sequentially assigned
  
• WOHZ Wheeling -- "Radio Aahs"
  
• WOKU Hurricane -- ?
• WOMP Bellaire OH -- "Womp"
  
• WOTR Lost Creek -- Old Time Radio
  
• WOVE Welch -- ?
  
• WOVK Wheeling -- Ohio Valley "K"ountry
  
• WOWK Huntington -- Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky (they wanted WWOK but it was taken)
  
  
• WPAR Parkersburg -- Parkersburg
• WPAY Portsmouth OH -- ?
  
• WPAZ Charleston -- sequentially assigned
  
• WPBY Huntington -- Public Broadcasting for You
  
• WPCN Point Pleasant -- ?
  
• WPDX Clarksburg -- ?
  
• WPHP Wheeling -- Wheeling Park High Patriots
  
• WPIB Bluefield -- ?
  
• WPLH Huntington -- Work, Play, and Live in Huntington
  
• WPMW Mullens -- Pineville, Mullens, Wyoming county
  
• WPNS Hurricane -- We Play New Songs or Putnam News Service (?)
  
• WPQZ Clarksburg -- ?
  
• WPVO Princeton -- ?
  
  
• WQAB Philippi -- Alderson-Broaddus College
  
• WQAW Parkersburg -- ?
  
• WQBE Charleston -- "the Cube"?
  
• WQBJ Clarksburg -- sequentially assigned
  
• WQBZ Weirton -- sequentially assigned
  
• WQWV Fisher -- ?
  
• WQZK Keyser -- ?
  
  
• WRDS South Charleston -- for owner, William, daughter Ronnie, son Daniel Stone
  
• WRGT Clarksburg -- Robinson Grand Theatre
  
• WRJL Oak Hill -- Robbie, John & Leah (Thomas)
  
• WRKP Moundsville -- Ron King Productions, a recording studio in Washington, Pa., which had been owned by the station owner Ronald W. King
  
• WRLB Rainelle -- Rainelle Lewisburg
  
• WRLF Fairmont -- Nick Louis Fantasia (WNLF was unavailable and this was his next choice); or for Rosemary L. Fantasia, his relative
  
• WRNR Martinsburg -- We (are) Rock 'n' Roll (see note)
  
• WRON Ronceverte -- Ronceverte
  
• WRRD Blennerhassett -- ?
  
• WRRL Rainelle -- Rainelle, Rupert, Lewisburg (?)
  
• WRRR St. Marys -- Seven Ranges Radio Company Inc. (?)
  
• WRSG Middlebourne -- Ruth Stealey Green, her foundation financed the construction of the station operated by Tyler Consolidated High School
  
• WRVC Huntington -- River Cities
  
• WRVZ Pocatalico -- corresponds to co-owned WRVC
  
• WRWB Huntington -- Red, White, and Blue
  
• WRZZ Ravenswood -- Ravenswood Z-106 (later licensed to Elizabeth)
  
  
• WSAZ Huntington -- sequentially assigned (originally licensed to Pomeroy Ohio)
  
• WSCW South Charleston -- South Charleston, West Virginia
  
• WSGB Sutton -- Sutton, Gassaway, Burnsville
  
• WSHC Shepherdstown -- Shepherd College
  
• WSHE Martinsburg -- ?
  
• WSLW White Sulphur Springs -- White Sulphur Springs-Lewisburg-West Virginia
  
• WSPZ Spencer -- ?
  
• WSSN Weston -- Weston
  
• WSTD Webster Springs -- ?
  
• WSTG Princeton -- ?
  
• WSWP Beckley -- Southern West Virginia Public Television
  
• WSWW Charleston -- "3-W-S"
  
  
• WTAP Parkersburg -- Television at Parkersburg, or With Total Area Programming, according to longtime CE Charles Helmick
  
• WTBZ Grafton -- Taylor-Barbour Broadcasting Inc.
  
• WTCR Huntington -- Town and Country Radio (see note)
  
• WTCS Fairmont -- Town and Country Station
  
• WTGR Charleston -- Tiger Radio
  
• WTGR Point Pleasant -- for the earlier WTGR Charleston
  
• WTIO Charleston -- (FM sister station to WTIP)
  
• WTIP Charleston -- Tops in Programs
  
• WTKZ Huntington -- "Talks" (talk radio format)
  
• WTNJ Mount Hope -- Tony (Gonzales) and Nick Joe (Rahall), owners
• WTOV Steubenville OH -- Television for the Ohio Valley
  
• WTRF Wheeling -- Two Radio Frequencies (AM and FM began in 1947)
  
• WTUS Mannington -- Today's U. S. Country
  
  
• WVAF Charleston -- West Virginia FM
  
• WVAH Charleston -- West Virginia, Almost Heaven
  
• WVAQ Morgantown -- "The West Virginia Q"
  
• WVAR Richwood -- West Virginia Richwood
  
• WVBC Bethany -- Voice of Bethany College
  
• WVBD Fayetteville -- West Virginia's Big Daddy, i.e, Robert C. Byrd
  
• WVCM Miami -- West Virginia Country Music
  
• WVEP Martinsburg -- West Virginia Eastern Public Broadcasting
  
• WVFX Clarksburg -- West Virginia's Fox Station
  
• WVGV Lewisburg -- West Virginia Greenbrier Valley
  
• WVHF Clarksburg -- Flora Vespoint, Bob Hilber, and Jim Fawcett, owners of Harrison Corp.
  
• WVHT Elkins -- ?
  
• WVHU Huntington -- West Virginia Huntington
  
• WVJO Mullens -- West Virginia Joe
  
• WVKM Matewan -- West Virginia, Kentucky Music
  
• WVKV Hurricane -- West Virginia Kanawha Valley
  
• WVLY Moundsville -- The Valley
  
• WVMA Oak Hill -- West Virginia's Music Authority
  
• WVMR Frost -- West Virginia Mountain Radio
  
• WVNP Wheeling -- West Virginia Northern Panhandle
  
• WVNS Charleston -- West Virginia Ninety-Six (FM)
  
• WVNS Lewisburg -- West Virginia News Station
  
• WVOW Logan -- Voice of West Virginia
  
• WVPB Beckley -- West Virginia Public Broadcasting
  
• WVPG Parkersburg -- West Virginia Public Broadcasting
  
• WVPM Morgantown -- West Virginia Public Broadcasting
  
• WVPN Charleston -- West Virginia Public Broadcasting
  
• WVPW Buckhannon -- West Virginia Public Broadcasting
  
• WVQM Huntington -- West Virginia Quality Music
  
• WVRC Spencer -- Voice of Roane County
  
• WVRP Ripley -- West Virginia Ripley
  
• WVRW Glenville -- ?
  
• WVSR Charleston -- West Virginia Super Radio "Super 102"
  
• WVSX Lewisburg -- West Virginia Super Fox
  
• WVTS Charleston -- West Virginia's Talk Station
  
• WVUC Barrackville -- West Virginia's Ultimate Country
  
• WVVA Bluefield -- West Virginia and Virginia
  
• WVVV Williamstown -- ?
  
• WVVW Grafton -- ?
  
• WVVW St. Marys -- ?
  
• WVWC Buckhannon -- West Virginia Wesleyan College
  
• WVWV Huntington -- West Virginia Public Broadcasting
  
  
• WWBB Madison -- Boone Broadcasting
  
• WWHY Huntington -- "HY Country" and "HY Guys", a reference to WWHY's air staff
  
• WWNR Beckley -- Nick Rahall, father of original owners
  
• WWVA Wheeling -- Wheeling West Virginia
  
• WWVU Morgantown -- West Virginia University
  
• WWYO Pineville -- Wyoming County
  
  
• WXCC Williamson -- Coal Country (see note)
  
• WXEE Welch -- named to sound like WIXY Cleveland
  
• WXIL Parkersburg -- Christ is Lord (?)
  
• WXIT Charleston -- "Exciting"
  
• WXKX Parkersburg -- "Kicks"
• WXVA Charles Town -- West Virginia
  
• WXVK Hurricane -- ?
  
  
• WYKM Rupert -- Your kind of music (?)
  
• WYMJ New Martinsville -- "Magic"
  
• WYNL Dunbar -- New Life
• WYPC Gallipolis OH -- We're Your Perfect Companion
  
• WYQC Charleston -- ?
  
• WYVN Martinsburg -- ?
  
  
• WZAC Madison -- for the father of station owner Wayne Price, whose name is Zachary
  
• WZAO Moundsville -- ?
  
• WZJO Dunbar -- "jammin' oldies"
  
• WZKM Montgomery -- Kanawha Montgomery
  
• WZMM Wheeling -- ?
  
• WZNW Bethlehem -- The Zone, Wheeling
  
• WZST Westover -- Star 100.9
  
• WZTQ Hurricane -- ?
  
• WZWA Clarksburg -- ?
  
• WZZW Milton -- "The Breeze"

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• WADC, WIBZ -- Mark, who viewed this web page, writes, "The orgin of the WADC and WIBZ call letters are not totally accurate. i was in on a late night brainstorming session with Calvin Dailey, Ray Reich, and Don West. WIBZ's selection had nothing to do with WBZ - everyone thought they just sounded good. Same with WADC. It was bought up at that meeting that there had been a station in Akron with the same calls which used the slogan "Where Advertising Dollars Count". Don West thought that was really neat. If there was a connection to another station it was WADC in Akron, not WABC." However, Andy Blatt writes, "I know WADC was programmed to sound like WABC. They used the same jingle company, same format, one of ABC's news formats, and stressed the same approach."
  
  
• WCAW -- This page previously indicated that the call stood for "country and western", However, Mack Miles writes: My dad, Paul Miles, ran WCAW and Capitol Broadcasting Corp. from 1959 until the late 80's or so. WCAW didn't program country music until around 1966, so it was just luck that CAW stood for Country and Western. I believe that the name came from a tie-in with their on-air mascot "Matey" the crow or "Matey 680". Matey the crow would say "caw, caw!" They even had a crow living in the studio for years and my dad used it as the logo. Our cars all had WCAW and the Matey painted on them for years. In 2004, Bob Moore wrote: Bill Stone told me he was formerly an original partner in Capitol Broadcasting, owner of WCAW and it originally stood for 'Charleston and West Virginia'. The bird of course, which came later only added to the station's stature. In a 2009 email, Chambers Williams wrote: I learned all about radio hanging out at WCAW in Kanawha City as a teenager, and spent many hours there on the weekend doing work for them for free just to learn the business. They told me then that the call letters were a combination of Charleston and West Virginia, and that someone realized later on that the "CAW" was the sound a crow makes, so they created "Matey the Crow" as the station mascot. They got a real crow -- and it sat in a cage in a corner of the control room. Ed Rabel was there for a while when I was hanging out at WCAW.
  
  
• WCFC -- A 1947 newspaper article stated: “The letters were selected first for ease in pronunciation, understandibility, and in being remembered. Several slogans were selected which fit the call letters WCFC. West Virginia's Cleanest and Finest City or, for use during the summer months, West Virginia's Coolest and Finest City; and WCFC, the World's Cleanest and Finest Coal, describing the famous smokeless coal for which the Beckley area is famous. Other call letter combinations were considered. One of them was WVSC for West Virginia Smokeless Coal but this was not available. The firm also sought a combination of letters which would fit the two newspapers it publishes but nothing satisfactory could be found.”
  
  
• WCIR -- The original owner, Thomas Waldron, told me that WCIR could be interpreted as either "Christianity in radio" or "Christ is risen." The station originally carried Christian programming in the midddays and all day on Sundays.
  
  
• WCKV -- This page previously stated that WCKV stood for Ceredo-Kenova Video. However, Vernon Stanfill, general manager and chief engineer of WFGH writes, "Here is a correction. There wasa business Ceredo-Kenova Video, BUT they were not an over-the-air entity. WCKV stood for Wayne, Ceredo-Kenova, Vinson -- three high schools in northern Wayne County. The station was to be affiliated with WFGH at Fort Gay and was actually given a Construction Permit with the WCKV call but it never got on the air because there was no money for equipment."
  
  
• WCOZ -- Chris Johnson, former General Manager of WKLC Rock 105 and WCOZ 1300AM writes, "The WCOZ call letters were parked on AM 1300 by the current owner Lynn Martin. Originally it stood for "COZY" and used in conjunction with an easy listening format that Lynn had on one of his stations in the Lexington KY market. When he changed the format on the Lexington station to adult contemporary he moved the WCOZ call to the St. Albans station. At the time, it was programmed with as a 100% simulcast of WKLC/ROCK 105 (105.1 FM, St. Albans). This was done so that the company could keep the WCOZ call letters as he felt they had value in the general radio marketplace. However, in doing so, he gave up WKAZ, which had been on the AM 1300 since Bristol Broadcasting gave them up for WQBE. In the long run, WCOZ was of no value because the easy listening formats are long gone. The WKAZ callsign was immediately taken by West Virginia Radio Corporation and put on their oldies station in Charleston. The WKAZ calls, because of their heritage in the market, proved to be much more valuable."
  
  
• WGYA -- WGYA was the original call for WVOW Logan when it had a construction permit in 1950. I do not know whether the call was ever used.
  
  
• WHAW -- The original owner was the Lewis Service Corporation, whose pricipal was Harold A. McWhorter. Harold established WPAR Parkersburg in 1935 and WHAW Weston in 1948. Harold wanted his inititals as the call letters, WHAM, but Stromberg-Carlson had those on AM 1180 in Rochester NY. He chose WHAW, telling some they stood for "Harold and (his wife) Wilda," others that he had just turned over the "M" in McWhorter.
  
  
• WHLX -- Chris Carmichael wrote in 2011: “The WHLX call letters were for WHLL. WHLX's owner Neal Fondas was the sales manager for WHLL. When he launched WHLX, he had wanted the WHLL calls, but they were unavailable. I worked for Neal from 1991 until the station was sold to Osborne Communications in 1996. Mr. Fondas passed away from lung cance, the same day that Rex Osborne took over.”
  
  
• WITB -- A reader of ths page writes, "My roommate at Salem College was our school's radio station manager. The station was located in the basement of the administration building, so "We're In The Basement"
  
  
• WKMM -- This page previously stated that WKMM stood for "Kingwood Mountain Music." However, in May 2004 Mike Graham wrote, "I can tell you, as the first official advertising sales person at WKMM, back in the days before the the soundproofing was done in the studio in the original building (and, also being the brother-in-law of the original owners son), WKMM does not stand for Kingwood Mountain Music. During a discussion in the early days with Sandy Garlitz (the original owner), I had asked if the call letters had any special meaning and she told me no, the original call letters she wanted were WMAX (her husband's first name). WKMM were actually at the time the only call letters available that she liked. At that point, my mother (the station's first news director), Sandy, Greg Bolyard (the station's original morning DJ) and I spent about an hour coming up with phrases created from the call letters. The favorite at the time was We're Kingwood's Music Maker."
  
  
• WMOD -- John M. Taylor, whose father Jake Taylor who owned WMOD around the early to mid 1950's, writes, "The call letters were aired under the phrase 'Worth More On Daytime radio,' to emphasize both the call letters, and the radio station's marketing for Daytime Radio Advertising." I suspect this is a slogan later adopted to match the call letters, and that the call letters perhaps could have been an abbreviation for "Moundsville" or "Modern."
  
  
• WRNR -- In 2007, Albert McGilvray, the WRNR news director wrote, “When WRNR-AM went on the air 31 years ago, the call letters stood for We (are) Rock 'n Roll. With the advent of FM, AM 740 began a gradual shift to the news/talk format. We are not related in any way to WRNR-FM in Annapolis, MD.”
  
  
• WTCR -- Judy Jennings of WTCR writes, "WTCR call letters actually stood for Town and Country Radio, originated by the owner Connie B. Gay, an orginal founding member of the Country Music Association and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Connie was instrmental in bringing the "pop" crossover sound to country radio and he wanted to convey the music was for the town and the country audience. In the more recent decade, we began to use Tri-State's Country Radio.
  
  
• WXCC -- Harold Cremeans, former engineer and builder of the station, writes that WXCC was one of ten calls that became available early in 1977. The calls were retired Navy ship calls from the 1940s. He writes, "Not realizing what a jewel he had, owner Robert 'Bob' Harvit always regretted not registering the slogan 'Coal Country.' It was too expensive!"

Return to front page