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Kelton (Stanley M.) radio collection
PA Mss 120
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Title: Stanley M. Kelton radio collection
Identifier/Call Number: PA Mss 120
Language of Material:
English.
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Physical Description:
34.93 Linear Feet
(11 document boxes, 8 half-size document boxes, 1 carton, 1 flat box, 13 flat oversize boxes, 1 record disc)
Creator:
Kelton, Stanley M., 1952-2015
Creator:
Weisenberger, Newcomb
Date (inclusive): 1922-2003
Abstract: Materials generated in the course of operations of the Southern California AM radio stations KFI 640kHz (1938-1950) and KFON
1280kHz (1924-1941) -- later to become KFOX Long Beach (1941-1977) -- amassed by attorney and educator Stanley M. Kelton (1952-2015).
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Department of Special Research Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
[Identification of Item], Stanley M. Kelton radio collection, PA Mss 120. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa
Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Gift of Mary Kelton Lopes, 2016.
In 1922, Earle C. Anthony was the founder and owner of what eventually became KFI, a radio station he controlled until his
death in 1961. Significant materials relating to Anthony are included in the Stanley M. Kelton radio collection. Aside from
being the founder of KFI, Anthony was also a composer, philanthropist, and Southern California entrepreneur who had ties and
affiliations to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Packard Automobile Corporation. Anthony was also the founder of the Los Angeles
Auto Show, and was responsible for introducing neon signs to California. He personally built the first automobile in Los Angeles,
which is now housed in the Peterson Automotive Museum. KFI engineer and stalwart Newcomb B. Weisenberger began working for
Anthony in 1947. He is credited with being the studio engineer for the sign-on broadcast of the first regularly scheduled
program on KFI-FM (105.9), and for shooting camera during the early days of KFI-TV (Channel 9). After the advent of the internet,
he wrote prolifically about his radio career, focusing on his many years at KFI. Included in this collection are his personal
voice recordings to his parents in 1938, as well as the training manuals, handbooks, and radio and television operating instructions
(many of which he authored).
KFON first broadcast from the Jergins Trust Building in Long Beach in 1924 on 1290 kHz. It moved to 1240 kHz in 1927. The
1928 frequency reallocation resulted in a move to 1250 kHz. It moved to its current 1280 kHz frequency as a result of the
NARBA agreement in 1941.
KFON broadcasted from Long Beach beginning in 1924, serving the Los Angeles area. In 1941 KFON changed its call letters to
KFOX, intending to be acquired by 20th Century Fox, until the deal evaporated. Hal Nichols operated the station until his
death in 1952. As KFOX, it was one of the first stations in the Los Angeles area to feature country music programming. Sonderling
Broadcasting later bought the station from the Nichols estate and adopted a full-time country format. The station moved from
its long-time facilities at 220 East Anaheim to the International Tower during this period, and in 1974 was featured in the
film
Gone in 60 Seconds. In 1977 the station was then sold to Family Stations Inc., and became KFRN, offering Christian programming.
The Stanley M. Kelton Radio Collection consists of mixed materials pertaining to Southern California AM radio stations KFI
640kHz (1938-1950) and KFON 1280kHz (1924-1941), which later became KFOX Long Beach (1941-1977).
Materials include correspondence with the FCC, local advertisers, and various governmental agencies and organizations. Also
featured in the collection are station records, invoices, station equipment, broadcasting logs, notebooks, promotional materials,
advertisements, scrapbooks, inter office memos, training manuals, photographs of employees and equipment, as well as diagrams
and schematics of various equipment. The collection also contains items and memorabilia pertaining to station owner and California
entrepreneur Earl C. Anthony as well as esteemed radio engineer Newcomb B. Weisenberger. The collection was amassed by Huntington
Beach lawyer, educator, and radio enthusiast Stanley M. Kelton, and is unique in its content and scope.
Detailing the chronological history of Southern California radio stations KFI, KFON, and KFOX, the Stanley M. Kelton collection
offers insight into the perception, scheduling, and daily operations of early to late 20th century AM stations in California.
This is accomplished by the comprehensive collection of contemporary newspaper clippings displayed in the Scrapbooks series,
the bulk of which date from 1927 to 1941. Inside of the General files series are the bulk of daily operations materials for
KFI, the bulk of which date from 1938 to 1950, although some promotional materials and inter office memos pertaining to the
1970s era are also represented here. Log books, advertising correspondence, FCC communications and licenses, and files pertaining
to profit and personnel from KFI are also contained here.
The collection has been divided into the following series: 1. Scrapbooks (KFON), 2. General files (KFI), 3. Photographs and
memorabilia (KFI), 4. Audio (KFI), 5. Artifacts (KFI).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Radio stations -- California, Southern -- Archives
Administrative records
Commercial correspondence
Photographs
Printed ephemera
Scrapbooks
Anthony, Earle C.