In the mid 1970s, a group from staff and administration met to launch a close-circuit Radio System in our residential school, the Halifax School for the Blind.
They got funds to build a studio on the main floor, complete with sound-proofing materials and donated equipment from the CBC. Telephone wire to carry the radio signal was strung from the studio location to a dozen speakers throughout the student living areas.
Even by the technical standards of the day, the studio equipment was not state-of-the-art, but it was adequate for the system's purposes.
The studio desk had an eight-channel sound mixer, a microphone attached to an adjustable arm, and two 16-inch turntables, all powered by tubes! A second microphone was mounted on another table.
A cassette tape player and cartridge tape player were also available.
This sound mixer was special: it had been wired especially for use by blind and visually impaired students, by Francis Drake, one of our alumni. It was very easy to operate, because it has been designed so logically.
(As you probably know, Dear Reader, I have worked in a number of amateur and professional radio studios, and this console was the best I have ever seen! Much thanks to Francis.)
A series of training manuals — from beginner to advanced skill levels -- were prepared in braille and print, adapted from professional sources, for use by blind and visually impaired students.
Major topics included: mixer board and microphone operations, cueing records (a really tough set of skills for blind students!) and speech requirements.
(Remember, this was in the mid 1970s, when even leading broadcasting stations were still playing vinyl 45s and LPs.)
For example, students could borrow the style of their favourite radio announcer, but were required to speak between records!
Records were provided by some of the top sources in Canada, including CKGM -980, a big rock radio station in Montréal, owned by Newfoundlander, Geoff Stirling.
He was even then a legend in the radio business (had made his first million before he was 30), having acquired and operated a network of Newfoundland stations, including CJON and ‘Radio Oz,’ a progressive FM station, in St. John’s. He was a friend of our colleague’s, George Garner, a ‘spark plug’ of the project.
In many cases, the records were available and played on the school's system BEFORE they were heard on local radio!
After my return from Boston College, I eagerly joined the radio project, which ultimately fell to me when George left to work at another school.
The students and I worked hard together, learned a lot about radio and public speaking, but mostly, we had fun!
We did presentations throughout the day:
— Because I was single and lived close by, I would sometimes come in at 7 a.m. to produce a ‘morning show,’ complete with news, sports and weather.
— We would often present a 10-minute sports summary / discussion during morning recess.
— We made up interview programs, such as, ‘rate the record’ during lunch hour.
— One of the older students made a successful pitch to produce a program for 6:30 p.m., for the junior students before bedtime. She would present music, such as, ‘Free to be You and Me,’ by Marlo Thomas, and tell children's stories.
After short trial (and a minimum of supervision), she had an instant hit with the junior crowd (and the staff!). I would sometimes visit to offer my services as storyteller, introduced as, ’The Mystery Reader,’ but she quickly learned to produce the program by herself.
'You're listening to C-F-G-H ... on a speaker near you!'
We were preparing for the school's annual ‘Open House,’ when we would meet hundreds of donors and friends, we decided to mark the ‘official opening’ of the radio station.
While we broadcast the ceremony live, a Provincial Cabinet minister graciously cut the ‘ribbon,’ a string of audiotape held by two students, and the announcer played the first song.*
Later on, after we had played, ‘I Can See Clearly Now,’ (the hit version by jJohnny Nash), one of the visitors took me aside and stated she was shocked that we, a school for visually impaired students, had the temerity to play that song.
I replied that the students themselves had programmed the music list!
The project continued for about a year, when some of the equipment tubes malfunctioned, and we were not able to get funds for replacements, which the tech companies were no longer manufacturing anyway.
In retrospect, had the project been useful?
I strongly believe it was, because many of the students learned special skills.
For example, I observed one student during the ‘Open House.’ He had been shy and introspective, but was now seeking out visitors, while offering help and listing classroom exhibits.
*Oh yes, the name of the first song chosen by the students to be played after the ribbon cutting?
’Send in the Clowns.’ by Judy Collins!
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