In its heyday in the ’60s and ’70s, CFCH personalities dominated the airwaves with listeners waking to Bob Wood as the morning man, Clancy MacDonald reading the news, and Peter Handley (A good sport is good for sports) chipping in with sports
The new oldies station proposed for North Bay will have a nostalgic, much-loved name, drawn from the rich history of radio in the city.
Vista, the company which this week gained approval for the new FM station, will use the call letters CFCH. immediately recognizable to those most likely to listen to their music.
In its heyday in the ’60s and ’70s, its personalities dominated the airwaves with listeners waking to Bob Wood as the morning man, Clancy MacDonald reading the news, and Peter Handley (A good sport is good for sports) chipping in with sports.
General Manager Peter Hobbs told BayToday that he thought about resurrecting the nickname last fall, after growing up listening to the iconic AM station.
“It was actually picked up by a community organization out in B.C. but they couldn’t make any money with it so they turned the calls back in. It’s pretty cool.”
CFCH was the first radio station owned by Lord Roy Thomson, and launched in March 1931 after Thomson began selling radios in northern Ontario for De Forest Crosley Radios. He quickly became frustrated selling radios in an area that had spotty reception.
CFCH was housed upstairs in what is now the Capitol Centre, just three doors down from Vista Radio’s 106.3 Moose FM on Main Street.
In another twist, Vista Radio is owned by Sherry Brydson, a granddaughter of Lord Roy Thomson, who says, “Building a radio station that honours my grandfather’s legacy with the same call letters in the same city is a privilege.”
The new CFCH has two years to get back on the air, but Hobbs isn’t sure of a date.
Read more HERE.
