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In May, 1920, Charles A. Stanley, president of the Cosradio Company
and operator of amateur radio station 9BW in Wichita, Kansas, was
told by his minister, Dr. Clayton B. Wells, that if Stanley's daily
broadcasts were going to include Sundays, he should at least be
promoting religious activities. So Stanley began broadcasting Dr.
Wells' sermons on Sunday evenings. (The Cosradio Company would later
operate broadcasting station WEY in 1922-1923).

This article uses a number of radio operator abbreviations: QST--
General transmission of interest to everyone (i.e. a broadcast); QSA--
Strong signals; CUL--"See you later", O. M.--"Old man", "the 'bug'"--
enthusiasm for the radio hobby. Also, some of the oddly spelled
words, like "droppt" for dropped", are due to Radio News' advocacy of
phonetic spelling.


Radio News, November, 1920, pages 270, 312:
Enter--The Radio Preacher

How a Preacher in Wichita, Kansas, Broadcasts Sermons via
Radio

By C. A. STANLEY*

YE olden time circuit preacher in Kansas who rode from parish to
parish, little dreamed that twenty years hence his more modern
followers would step to the radio transmitter, close the switch and
for twenty minutes preach to a greater number of listeners than his
complete circuit preaching ever reached. Even the average layman,
quite well read in scientific subjects, does not always realize the
wonderful strides made in radio telephone and telegraph research
work.

THE FIRST AND ORIGINAL "SKY" PILOT

From my private station in Wichita, Kansas, there is transmitted
every evening, at a specified hour, such radio news and data as may
be of interest to the local amateur and experimenter. On a certain
Sunday evening in May, as I sat in my station ready to send out my
evening "Q S T," Dr. C. B. Wells, who by the way, is teacher of Bible
at Fairmount College as well as pastor of the Fairmount
Congregational Church, chanced to pass, droppt into the station, took
me to task for not having attended morning service, and then and
there suggested that the use of the radio station on the Lord's day
should henceforth be devoted to the Lord's work. I immediately took
down Dr. Wells' sermon and transmitted it to the hundreds of stations
within hearing; and it has now become an established practice to send
out these sermons every Sunday evening at 7:30. Letters of
appreciation addressed to the "Radio Preacher" and the "Wireless
Parson" have been received from all parts of the middle west.
A jeweler located in a small town in northern Kansas, where
little ever occurs to disturb the country folk, goes to his store
every Sunday evening, copies the sermon on his jewelers receiving set
and posts it on a bulletin board in front of his store where a goodly
number of non-churchgoing people gather to read the Doctor's sermon.

THE "BUG" CAUSES SEPARATION OF MAN AND WIFE

On July the 18th this year, Dr. Wells' sermon was sent out as
usual, a portion of which follows:
The subject for tonight is 'Love One Another.' This sounds rather
mushy to some people, but in these three words is found the secret of
success for the nation, the firm and the individual. Without love
life is a failure. Did you ever stop to think that love is simply a
desire to help the other fellow play the game fair and look the world
square in the face with a feeling of pity for the man who is crooked?

Shortly afterwards I received the following letter from southern
Texas:
Radio Preacher, 9BW,
Wichita, Kansas.
Dear Sirs Was listening in tonight and working a number of
hams, when I heard for the first time your "Q S T." I tuned the old
receiver in until you were very QSA and copied your sermon. Say O. M.
that's the first sermon I have listened to for ten years. Am station
agent here for the -------- Railroad, and four years ago I acquired
the wireless bug. Put up an aerial and constructed a receiver. Sure
enough, I soon got the fever in real shape, sat up nights until long
after midnight. For awhile everything went 0. K. but after a while
the late hours became an old story to friend wife, and she accused me
of neglecting her and the baby. Well, maybe I did, so I laid off for
awhile; but alas, I couldn't keep away from the old set. Well O. M.
the story's a long one, and to cut it short, wife and baby left me.
They now live with her mother over the other side of town. I see them
about every week. Yes, I guess I love them, but I sure love to hear
the old "sigs" come in. I am wondering tonight what I am made of,
your sermon O. M. has sure torn a hole in me, I just don't seem to
care to listen in, don't know what's the matter, guess I am out of
sorts. Well I will listen for your sermon next Sunday. Cul. O. M.

REUNITED

On July 25th the QST was sent out in the regular manner and we
were told that Dr. Wells was out of the city. We therefore listened
to a venerable Preacher, whose subject was an old one yet ever new--
"And a little child shall lead them." The little folks were all
dresst in their best bib and tucker. He spoke in part of the
innocense and beauty of the child in the home, of the influence for
good on the parents. "How often the little child takes the parents'
hands and looking up into their care worn faces, says. 'Good Papa,
Kind Mamma.' What a soothing effect this little Heaven-sent angel has
on our home relations. Boys, if you are a family man, how is it with
you are you letting the little one in the home lead you?"
Then, on July 28th I received another letter from our radio
friend in southern Texas which, was of a very pathetic nature and
speaks for itself. The letter follows:
Radio Preacher, 9BW,
Wichita, Kansas.
My dear Radio Preachers Last night I listened-in as usual,
copied your sermon, which was very QSA. That was sure some sermon. I
never before thought that I would have any use for preachers, but I
have changed my mind. Your sermon reached the right spot in my heart
if I have any. Say, O.M. I must confess that when I finished copying
your QST I was a mess. I bawled like a kid. Well, I'll tell you, I
threw the old receivers on the table and beat it for the Methodist
Church a couple of blocks away; the preacher had just started his
sermon, and strange to say his subject was "Home the Sweetest Place
on Earth." I tell you O.M. I just swallowed that sermon whole and
after the service I went down front took the old preacher aside and
told him my troubles. Well, we talked it over and then we went over
to my mother-in-law's house, wife had not gone to bed yet. We had a
little prayer together, and today we are all back in our little home
again the three happiest kids you ever saw; and best of all radio did
it. Well, I guess you had had enough of this, so CUL."

HOW I DRIFTED INTO THE GAME

It may be of interest to the reader to learn how I first started
in radio work. Some sixteen years ago when the Electro Importing Co.
put out its first catalog; a little paper covered book which
contained descriptive matter on spark coils, coherers and the like. I
became keenly interested and like the boys of today it was not many
years before I found myself sitting up late at night over a simple
tuning coil and a piece of silicon. About all that could be heard in
those days was NAA on time and weather, and the fellow who got time
signals from Arlington was "going some." There were but few stations
in New England then, but whenever I found a station I did not fail to
visit it and gain all possible knowledge of this wonderful phenomena.
I spent many spare hours in a station installed by the National Tel.
& Tel. Co., where I helped to construct what we believed to be the
first rotary gap. It was made by mounting brass balls on brass rods
which were inserted in a steel hub. This was quite a novel gap for
those days and produced a very peculiar tone as compared to the old
stationary gap.
In conclusion I want to say that I am not the only person who
believes that radio--amateur radio, mind you--is far from having
reached the limit of new and distinct uses. Preaching by radio is but
one of the many things which the radiophone of the future will do.
-------
* President Cosradio Co.

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