The Finding Aid of the Loyd C. Sigmon Papers 0063
Jamie Henricks, Katie Richardson, and Lindsey Gant
The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National
Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Pepperdine University. Special Collections and University Archives.
February 2013
24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA, 90263-4786
kelsey.knox@pepperdine.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Pepperdine University. Special Collections and University Archives.
Title: Loyd C. Sigmon Papers
Identifier/Call Number: 0063
Physical Description:
1.69 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1945-2008
Abstract: The collection contains materials created by or about Loyd C. Sigmon from 1945 to 2008. Items relate to his interest in radio
broadcasting, the creation of SigAlert (a traffic and emergency alert system), and his inventions. Books, plaques, articles,
newspaper clippings, biographical materials, blueprints, and notebooks, are found within the collection.
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder# or item name], Loyd C. Sigmon papers, Collection no. 0063, Special Collections and University Archives, University
Libraries, Pepperdine University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials were transferred from University Advancement to the University Archives on March 16, 2010.
Biographical note
Loyd C. Sigmon was born in Stigler, Oklahoma on May 6, 1909 to a cattle-ranching family. He went to school at Wentworth Military
Academy and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was interested in radio as a young man, and earned his his amateur
radio license (W6LQ) at age 14. His broadcasting career began in 1932 at the Boston Short Wave and Television Laboratories.
In 1941, he was hired as an engineer for MacMillan Petroleum Company's flagship radio station, KMPC, in Los Angeles, California.
During World War II, he served in the United States Army Signal Corps as Officer in charge of Communications for the Supreme
Allied Command in Europe. He came up with the idea for the SigCircus, a mobile radio broadcasting unit on a fleet of 17 trucks
which was able to send and receive messages simultaneously from Europe and the United States.
Sigmon resumed his job in Los Angeles after the war, and eventually became Executive Vice President at Gene Autry's Golden
West Broadcasters. The company owned eight radio and two television stations on the west coast, including KMPC.
In 1955, Sigmon invented a specialized radio and tape recorder that the Los Angeles Police Department used to alert radio
stations throughout the city to traffic conditions and emergencies. The messages were referred to as "Sigmon traffic alerts,"
a phrase quickly shortened to "SigAlert." While originally intended for any emergency or traffic situation, the system is
now mainly used for traffic alerts.
Loyd Sigmon received recognition and honors from local and state government agencies, the National Safety Council, and broadcasting
and radio organizations. He was a member of the University Board at Pepperdine University, and an office in the Center for
Communication and Business is named after him. Sigmon died in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, on June 2, 2004.
Scope and Content
The collection contains materials created by or about Loyd C. Sigmon from 1945 to 2008. Items relate to his interest in radio
broadcasting, the creation of SigAlert (a traffic and emergency alert system), and his inventions. Items include engineering
books and books on Los Angeles traffic; plaques celebrating Sigmon; articles and newspaper clippings about Sigmon and/or SigAlert;
biographical material; a radio station photo album; blueprints for electronic gates, home improvements, a police receiver,
a Mark IV radio receiver, and circuits; and a blueprint map of trans-Atlantic cables, radio and circuits passing between Europe,
England, the United States, and Iceland from 1945.
Related Archival Materials
Files related to the University Board can be found in the M. Norvel and Helen Young papers 0014, the Howard A. White papers
0010, and the William S. Banowsky papers 0002. Items are restricted for 50 years after their creation date.
Processing Information note
The collection was arranged and described by Jamie Henricks, Katie Richardson, and Lindsey Gant in February, 2013.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Periodicals
Correspondence
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History
Receipts (financial records)
Plaques
Clippings
Articles
Sigmon, Loyd C.
KMPC (Radio station : Los Angeles, Calif.)
SigAlert
box 1
Biographical Materials
1949-1997
box 1
Blueprints- Electrical Components (receivers, etc.) and Drawings
1945-1955
box 1
Construction and Renovation of Sigmon Home- Bills
1975
box 1
Construction and Renovation of Sigmon Home- Blueprints
1949-1997
box 1
Correspondence and Club Memberships
1965-1997
box 2
Framed photocopy of a check to Paramount Television Productions, Inc. for $11,642,533.33 and a photocopy of deposit slip for
Goldenwest Broadcast for $357,666.67
1964 May 19
box 1
Miscellaneous notes, invoices, papers
1970s-2008
box 1
Newspaper Clippings and Articles about Sigmon
1996-1997
box 2
Plaque- Lyod Sigmon Lifetime Member California Highway Patrol
1992 December 21
box 1
Publications- Amateur Radio Station Log
1980 July
box 1
Publications-
Electronics for Engineers:Reference Articles, Charts, and Graphs from Electronics Magazine edited by John Markus and Vin Zeluff
1945
box 1
Publications-
Engineers Notebook II: A Handbook of Integrated Circuit Applications by Forrest M. Mims, II
1982
box 1
Publications- Kathy Gronau, "L.A.'s Patron Saint of Traffic,"
Los Angeles Radio Guide vol. 1, no. 7
1995
box 1
Publications- KMPC Photo Album
undated
box 1
Publications- Lyod C. Sigmon, "SigCircus,"
Milwaukee School of Engineering Bulletin vol. 1, no. 12
1949 December
box 1
Publications- Rob O'Neil, "Sigmon Put L.A. Drivers on the Alert,"
Los Angeles Times
1997 August 16
box 1
Publications- "Sigalert,"
Traffic Safety: A National Safety Council Publication
1959 February
box 1
Publications-
Take an Alternate Route by Paul 'Panther' Pierce
1968
box 1
Publications- "The Story of the Sigalert"
1965 September 5
box 1
Publications- "The Voice of Emergency" by Ted Krec
1956
box 1
Radio Circuit Diagram- Transatlantic Radio and Circuits Cable
1945
