Kiss FM is celebrating a major milestone today.
The radio station, which began as CJIB AM, is 70 years old.
CJIB went on the air September 22, 1947.
It was started by Edward and Bernard Schroter.
Their company was Schroter Bros. LTD.
They were electrical and radio engineers from Britain, although Bernard moved to Vernon in 1934.
Edward remained in Britain, and in 1938 was called into the British military to organize the radio department of the new War Research Establishment.
He was involved in several inventions and after World War Two he led experts to Germany to investigate German research in certain branches of Germany`s radio communications.
He left the military with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
When he came to Canada, he and his brother worked to produce a magnetic record using thin magnetized paper tape for recording and producing sound.
They put their application in for CJIB in 1946 and had originally planned to be on the air in June of 1947.
For various reasons that was delayed.
On September 18th, the story went out in The Vernon News that CJIB was going on the air at 6 pm September 22nd.
It would broadcast 16 hours of programming a day from 7 am to 11 pm.
It was to be aimed at every age group, every listener type.
There would be a program dedicated to children every day for a half an hour.
Other programming would include teen swinger – the music that teenagers of the day would listen to.
There would also be a show called `Teen Town`dealing with affairs and issues of teenagers of the day.
Music would include old time, western, classical.
The station would run six newscasts a day plus sports and of course, farm news.
Popular local columnist Stuart Fleming would also provide twice weekly commentaries.
The religious aspect of the day would not be forgotten with a regular Sunday church service
The head of the announcing staff was John A. Gunn-Fowlie, who would be joined by Tom Taylor, Emory Green, Elmer Merriman, Ted Soskin – who left CKOV to be part of the new station, and Don Warner doing sports.
On September 22nd, 1947 at 6 pm, Vernon Mayor David Howrie flicked the switch to turn on CJIB.
It was a huge affair with congratulations and a message for listeners from the local M-L-A C.W. Morris.
Greetings were also read from mayors of major BC cities along with greetings from Premiers from across Canada, the CBC and other Canadian radio stations.
The sign on also included a performance by the Vernon United Church Choir.
When the night was done, listeners were invited to turn their radios on again at 7am each morning to 940 on the dial to be entertained and informed by their own radio station – CJIB.
In 1948, a reorganization of Interior Broadcasters Ltd. placed CJIB under a board of directors with Norman Harrod (formerly with CJAT Trail) as manager, succeeding John Ferguson.
The Schroter Brothers relinquished their interests and planned to continue in the electronics business in Vernon (the Magrecorder for example – a tape recorder made for office use).
CJIB was added to the CBC Dominion network in April.
Various personnel and management changes took place over the next few years.
In 1951, the station delivered a new slogan: Outside of the three metropolitan cities – more people listen to CJIB than to any other B.C. station. Day in and day out, British Columbia’s “Big Second” market is sold by CJIB.
The station has gone through a number of different owners over the years including the Seabrook family of Vernon, to Selkirk in the 1980’s, to Rogers which owned it into the new century.
CJIB was changed into 107.5 Kiss FM on November 8, 2001, Vernon’s first ever FM station.
The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group bought the station from Rogers in 2010
