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New Book Chronicles Faith, History Behind KICY
CHICAGO, IL (June 28, 2004) - It was just before sunrise Easter Sunday, 1960,
when Art Zylstra slipped into the studios of a brand new radio station
in Nome, Alaska. Tests on the station had been completed a few weeks
earlier, and now, after years of preparation, it was ready to go on the
air.
After taking a few minutes to look over his notes, he sat behind the
microphone, flipped a switch,
and signed on with these words:
"This is the Voice of the Arctic, radio station KICY, initiating with
this announcement. KICY is broadcasting with a transmitted power of
5,000 watts. On this, our first day of broadcasting, and daily
throughout the weeks and months of the future, you will be able to tune
this frequency for the very latest world, regional, and local news, and
programs of interest for your listening pleasure, entertainment, and
enlightenment.
"This is Art Zylstra, manager of radio station KICY, inviting you to
remain tuned and reminding you of this bit of good news: 'Faith cometh
by hearing and hearing by the word of God.' "
With that brief announcement, the ministry of KICY, the Covenant radio
station "at the end of the earth" was launched. In a remote area with no
phone service, and which had never even had access to live weather
forecasts and warnings of approaching storms, KICY was literally a
godsend, providing vital news and information, and linking together a
listening audience of more than 40,000 Alaskans.
Ptarmigan Telegraph: The Story of Radio Station KICY, a new
book by Covenant author and pastor Greg Asimakoupoulos, chronicles the
history of KICY--the vision and faith of those who founded it and how
the station continues to connect people not only to each other but to
the gospel message as well.
The book debuted during the Covenant Annual Meeting, and is named after
KICY's signature program. Because of its remoteness, the FCC allows
listeners in western Alaska to call or write in to radio stations with
messages for friends and relatives--these messages are then read on the
air during the "Ptarmigan Telegraph" segment six times a day, reaching
people in remote fishing camps, in boats on the Bearing Sea, or in other
locations where no other means of communication is available.
Drawing on station records and interviews with station pioneers such as
Ralph Fondell, Ralph Hanson, Roald Amundsen, Bill Hartman, and Native
Alaska pastor Fred Savok, Ptarmigan Telegraph highlights the
vision and faith of the Covenanters who brought KICY to life.
Dave Oseland, who was interim general manager of KICY from 1998 to 1999,
said that the new book does "an excellent job" in chronicling the
history of the station.
"In page after page of this new book," said Oseland, "the reader will be
held captive by the awesome stories of God's miraculous intervention in
the hearts of people and the efforts of those who so obediently sought
to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this land of frozen tundra."
Oseland, senior producer of "Prime Time America," is a member of
Ravenswood Covenant Church and serves of the board of the Arctic
Broadcasting Association (ABA), which oversees KICY.
Gail Phillips, former Alaska state representative and executive director
of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, said Ptarmigan
Telegraph brought back fond memories of her childhood.
"As a person who grew up in Nome during the time when there weren't any
radio stations, except for the Armed Services station," she said, "which
was aired late at night, the advent of KICY coming 'on line' was a huge
event in our lives. Our growing-up years were closely tied to the
Covenant Church (my grandparents were Reverend L.E. and Ruth Ost) and
KICY was one of the strings that kept us tied to the church."
The release of the book comes during a remarkable renaissance for the
KICY. Four years ago, the station was $600,000 in debt and had an
uncertain future. Last November, the ABA board held a mortgage burning
ceremony to celebrate the retirement of that debt--and during the last
four years renovated the studio, put up two new towers, and installed a
new transmitter.
In December, KICY was given permission from the FCC to broadcast at
50,000 watts, expanding its potential listening audience from 40,000 to
600,000 people. The station also beams Russian language programming
across the Bering Sea to Siberia and the Russian Far East.
"I pray this book will increase the awareness of KICY and our unique,
international radio mission to new generations," says Dennis Weidler,
KICY general manager. "The vision of the early radio pioneers, the
continuing ability to touch lives and God's hand in the process is
clearly detailed in this extremely readable history."
An excerpt from the Ptarmigan Telegraph appears in the July issue
of The Covenant Companion. Ptarmigan Telegraph is
available for $16.99 from Covenant Bookstore, 1-800-621-1290.
More information about KICY is available at www.kicy.org.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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