Article submitted by Ian Schebel, Support Team Specialist, Seehafer Broadcasting
My name is Ian and I’m the Support Team Specialist at Seehafer Broadcasting. I specialize in support with a focus on teams. I’m honored to support this team celebrating 100 years of WOMT here on the lakeshore. As a broadcaster, artist, radio nerd, history buff, community advocate, and lover of anything midcentury, I want to encourage you to head to Manitowoc Public Library for WOMT 100: A Century of Live Local Radio in Manitowoc. The radios will be on display through the end of May. I’m going to speak casually and say, flat out, this exhibit is super rad. Like, “I know I just left, but I need to plan to go back” rad.
I met Steve Kanter, the owner of this collection, while he was wearing a Zenith hat. That hat is also pretty rad. And a clear indication of his love for radio. Steve has amassed a collection of history that truly tells the story of this pivotal medium. A medium that, when finally commercialized, became more than just a box—it became a member of the family. The one who would tell you the news of the day. Answer questions. Alert you in emergencies. Entertain you. All in one, little, wooden box. It’s tough to fathom now.
Kidding! We are all addicted to our phones and we are at the cusp of the AI revolution. I’m paraphrasing Black Sabbath, but we are going through changes.
I invite you to picture life when WOMT first went on the air on November 8, 1926. Parking meters were not invented yet. Cars were still new. Can you imagine a world without parking meters?! The idea of wearing open-toed shoes would get you sent to an asylum.
Times have changed, but the importance of radio has not. Radio is, and will always be, constant. It gave us communication when we thought it impossible. It gave us news that sounded unbelievable, but we trusted it. That unspoken agreement, partnership, promise, whatever you want to call it is still there today. It just looks a little different. Just like how you revamp your wardrobe, hit the gym, cut the cord. It’s just packaged differently. Radio was the original influencer, and its influence is truly tremendous.
Take in the designs and details of each piece. It’s fascinating to think about what was going on both culturally and historically when each of these pieces was made. The “futuristic” designs of the past that maintain their “wow” factor, even when we are living in the future they were thinking of.
I can’t help but look at the radios from the early 20th century and think about the person or persons listening. Could this have been the same model Robert O. Cook had as he was building the original WOMT studio? Did he purchase something a little more stylish when he moved to Hollywood and became Sound Director for Disney? Did Don Seehafer own any of these models at home to help keep the announcers in line?
It’s funny how little boxes with tubes and wires would eventually lead to where we are now. And here we are! Hopefully I’ll see you at the Manitowoc Public Library for WOMT 100: A Century of Live Local Radio in Manitowoc.
*This article was written by A.I.—An Ian*
