As long-time readers know, I have written about KCND-TV before a few times. Some time ago, I was contacted by a former employee of KCND, with this note:I arrived in late Jan 1961 and left just before Christmas 1961. [KCND had only been on the air awhile, going live on November 7, 1960...] I've always worked in electronics, broadcasting...
Dennis Lunsford
NOTE: The photos here were provided by Dennis, taken by him or of him, during his time at KCND
This photo is called "What electrical code?!" - a typical in-joke by an engineer, but funny nonetheless! Hey, you do what you gotta do...
It was still early days in the television broadcasting business and people sometimes had to improvise.
Here we see Dennis with colleague Brian Cox. We can only imagine their conversation, as they gaze at the tiny monitors...
"Dennis, doesn't Dick's tie look lovely with that shirt?"
"Why yes, Brian, it does!"
As you can see in this photo, it was taken so soon after building the new KCND studios, it still didn't have a sign up!
Post-History: KNRR, Channel 12 is still licensed to Pembina, North Dakota (Paul B Walker, SC, ibid.) But is for all intents & purposes, Canadian.
Indeed it is. What really happened with KCND/CKND's "move" across the border was this: Izzy Asper won a new license for channel 9 in Winnipeg from the CRTC in 1974. He bought the assets (programming and physical plant) of independent KCND channel 12 in Pembina ND from Gordon McLendon after convincing McLendon that the startup of a new indie in Winnipeg itself would suck away KCND's cross-border audience.
And then Asper garnered a ton of publicity by "moving" KCND across the border, signing off the Pembina license and turning on his new CKND 9 in Winnipeg at the same time. The old Pembina transmitter was moved to Minnedosa, MB to be a satellite signal for CKND. CKND even took over KCND's old channel 12 spot on Winnipeg cable.
But channel 12 remained allotted to Pembina, and returned to the air in the mid-80s as KNRR with Fox.
What did they do with the old studios after KCND shut down in 1975?
ReplyDeleteI was too young to remember anything of KCND, but it would be great to see some archival video posted to YouTube, if anything is still available after 33 years -- even if it's just a station ident.
I heard that a local customs broker was using it for a warehouse, but that may only be rumor. But the building is still there, across from the bus plant...
ReplyDeleteI'm doing some early research for a post I'm planning for November on the 50th anniversary of KCND's and CJAY's race to get on air. (KCND won by a mere five days.)
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to hear more from Dennis or others on what it was like to work at the station -- especially in consideration of the fact that there are few people left with first-hand memories of life at the station.
Somehow I imagine it as having been run by a very young staff just getting started in the industry, with everybody doing any job that needed to be done -- in short, a real adventure at a tiny TV station in a rather remote location.
I wish I could help you, but even after searching my gmail account's archives, I can't find Dennis' email messages to me that he originally sent me anymore, which puzzles me but oh well. I'm really sorry but I can't put you in touch. And he originally found me, not him. He swooped in, I communicated with him for a bit, then now he's gone. I agree, I think they were a young bunch back then, exciting and different times!
ReplyDeleteWhere was the KCND-TV studio building located and is it still there? Would like to use Google maps to locate, even if the building isn't there.
ReplyDeleteThe first summer of operation at KCND-TV revealed a mysterious intermittent loss of signal on the STL between the studio and the transmitter site. I don't remember how long it took them to figure out that the problem was the result of heat rising from I-29 and bending the microwave signal to such extent that the picture would get 'snowy'. The solution was to erect a taller tower at the studio end which got the midcowave path high enough above the highway surface that the signal was no longer affected by the heat.
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