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WUIS "This I Believe"

Listener-Supported Radio Debuts in Central Illinois

The year was 1975; the Vietnam War came to an end at last. Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa was reported missing. American astronaut Tom Stafford and Soviet astronaut Alexei Leonov exchanged the first international handshake in space. The movie Jaws kept beach combers close to shore. And in the capital of Illinois, WSSR crackled to life. The era of “driveway” moments was beginning for a new generation of public radio listeners as the central Illinois prairies welcomed a unique brand of commercial-free news, information, and entertainment into the community.

In a “temporary” building on the campus of then Sangamon State University in Springfield Dale Ouzts, a swaggering southerner with a thick accent and a penchant for taking on major challenges, found himself writing proposals on the floor of an “office” with no furniture save the cardboard boxes lining the parameter. It was 1972 and as the first station manager, Dale would invest the next five years of his professional career getting WSSR up and running. Having launched broadcast stations in Wichita, Kan. and Knoxville, Tenn. he was well prepared to take on this latest task. Dale knew he had to make a strong case to the multiple boards of higher education that this public radio/television “thing” would be a worthwhile educational and financial investment.

By 1974 the concept was on the threshold of becoming reality. “The proposal did eventually get approved, but not in its entirety. They (board members) were scared to death of the TV part because the dollars were so big, but they did approve the radio part.” At last, Dale had permission to proceed, and from there job descriptions were developed, grant proposals were written, studio designs were sketched, and land for the broadcast tower was acquired near Mechanicsburg.

Dale tapped a talented engineer named Jim Newbanks, from Southern Illinois University, and charged him with the responsibility of getting the station on the air by the start of the new year. After months of hasty preparations, the day to go “live” was upon them. It was Friday, January 3, 1975. At 4:30 a.m. that morning Dale and Jim were still working feverishly to ensure that when the moment arrived the station would actually be ON AIR.

Some 100 faculty, staff, and local dignitaries had been invited. Crowds began arriving that morning. Congressman Paul Findley and SSU President Robert Spencer would do the honors and together, at 12 noon, they pulled the switch. The anticipation was thick. No response, another try, and yet another. Finally after a long and tension-filled 60-second delay, 91.9 fm was officially transmitting.

The Capital City’s first public radio station, WSSR, had sprung to life. In these early days it would rely on a skeleton staff, numerous volunteers, and what would become a large, extended family of dedicated listeners.

During this 30th anniversary year, we will look back on our journey over the last three decades - the people, the events, and the moments that have defined WSSR, WSSU, and WUIS. We hope you will enjoy this scrap book of sorts and a few of the highlights of the growth and development of your public radio station.