Whistle from Kodiak

Out of the blanket of fog and censorship in which Alaska was muffled last week one ray of sunshine peeped: a letter from Major Bill Adams, onetime West Coast radioman. Printed in Broadcasting the letter told of a little "one-lung outfit," KODK, whose tiny transmitter made a welcome whistle in lonely Fort Greely on Kodiak Island.

Ten months ago this little broadcasting outfit, which the men now call "the greatest thing ever to hit Fort Greely" was a gleam in Major Adams' eye. By December, transmitter, turntable, mikes, etc. (purchased with money from a lottery) arrived on Kodiak Island. By January the station was on the air with what the Army calls "horse-blankets" (discs), strictly sweet music for the starved listeners. Soon Kodiakers were filing into the studio with their guitars, mandolins, fiddles, anxious to help out.

Saturdays Private Gene Johnson of the Mountaineers put on a "whoop-de-do" that jammed the noisy little station to the doors. Mountaineers generally ran to hoedowns, Regulars to sentimental cowboy tunes, Alabamans did takeoffs on hairtonic commercials, Gophers stuck to band music. In March Funnyman Joe Brown blew into camp, gave two and three shows a day.

Major Adams wound up his letter: "Now, here is the hat. Can you, will you, send us transcriptions? Help us give our boys the shows they used to hear at home. And that means the local shows as well as the big name shows. Leave your commercials in, if you like. We don't mind."

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