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CHNS in Halifax is marking 100 years of broadcasting. The oldest radio station in Nova Scotia now broadcasts as 89.9 The Wave.
The station’s first studio was in the Carleton Hotel and later the Lord Nelson Hotel. It made several more moves over the years before landing in Bayers Lake 12 years ago.
The station is ingrained in Nova Scotia’s history for its coverage of the 1936 mine disaster at Moose River. CHNS broadcast J. Frank Willis’s historic reports for the CRBC — the forerunner to the CBC — from the mine site.
Archives11:44Moose River mine disaster
CBC’s J. Frank Willis reports from Moose River, where three men have been trapped in an old gold mine for eight days.
“It made CHNS regular J. Frank Willis a household name not only in Halifax and across Canada but all over North America,” says Mike Mitchell, vice-president of programming for the Maritime Broadcasting System (MBS), in an interview with Information Morning Nova Scotia.
Another household name with connections to the station is legendary Nova Scotia country musician Hank Snow.
“He was offered $15 a week to join the staff of CHNS back in 1933. He took the offer … and actually those performances on CHNS led to his first audition with RCA Victor in 1936. And obviously we know how his career went.”
Mitchell said the station came from humble beginnings when a group of local organizers applied for a radio station licence in 1925. They received the licence the following year and began broadcasting on May 12, 1926.
“Nova Scotia’s first radio station. CHNS went on the air for the first time 100 years ago,” says Mitchell.
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The CBC established its own station in Halifax in 1944.
“CHNS at that time acted as an affiliate … producing a tremendous amount of network programming,” says Mitchell.
MBS presented an anniversary special on May 12. It highlighted the history of the station with clips from the past to the present.
The presentation featured archival audio from Angus L. Macdonald during his time as premier, the opening of the Halifax airport in 1960, and remarks from former Dartmouth mayor Joseph Zatzman. It also included current greetings from Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore and Premier Tim Houston.
The station also had clips from visiting celebrities, including Carly Simon, Barry Manilow, Donny Osmond, Tom Cochrane and Corey Hart.
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