WLRH

History

Although Huntsville is only the state's third-largest city, it has boasted for many years a large population of highly educated, affluent professionals such as technicians, engineers, and entrepreneurs, mostly associated with the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal installation, NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and contractors. Many of these individuals were responsible for organizing an unusually high-quality performing arts scene for such a small city in the 1960s. These were among factors that led to Huntsville receiving Alabama's first public radio license, and broadcasts began on October 13, 1976 from the Times Building on Holmes Avenue. The state's largest city, Birmingham, followed suit two months later when WBHM-FM started in December.

The station was originally owned by the Huntsville Madison County Public Library; in fact the call letters stand for Library Radio Huntsville. However, early in 1977, the library realized that it had gotten in over its head with operating a full-service radio station. The Alabama Educational Television Commission (AETC) stepped in and bought the station in December 1977, and still owns it today. The station carried, as was customary for public stations during that era, mostly classical music programming, with jazz late nights and on weekends. In 1987, after significant listener growth, UAH offered the AETC use of a newly constructed facility on its campus, several miles to the west of downtown; WLRH took the offer and remains at that location today.

In the early years, the station carried some unusual programs, most notably a weekly hour-long German-language news and features show for the benefit of several natives of that land who worked in Huntsville's aerospace and defense industry. It also was the home of northern Alabama's first call-in radio talk show, which had a very different flavor than those found on commercial stations today (in fact, when the format's popularity exploded elsewhere in the 1990s, WLRH dropped the show).

Local hosts and Staff

Mrs. Watters is the sole remaining announcer from the station's beginnings in 1976. For many years in the 1980s and 1990s, she and husband Harry Watters, Sr. hosted the Saturday morning feature show "Sundial", fondly remembered by many residents of the Tennessee Valley for its gentle humor, listener participation games and unusual musical selections. Mrs. Watters discontinued the program when her husband died. Mrs. Watters is the mother of jazz trumpeter Ken Watters and trombonist Harry Watters, Jr.

Ms. Norwood is an animal savior, a singer, and a visual artist. She performed with the Huntsville Opera Theater for several years until its dissolution. The Flying Monkey Arts Gallery in Huntsville, Alabama, is home to several of her current interests in art, both static and performance.

Tannehill has been WLRH's general manager since 2011.

Local programming

Operations

WLRH is the Alabama Educational Television Commission's only radio property; that state government agency is better known as the operator of the Alabama Public Television network.

One distinctive programming practice of WLRH is its frequent announcements throughout the broadcast day of underwriting day sponsorships made by individuals or families, in addition to the usual businesses and non-profit organizations. Usually, these messages honor birthdays or wedding anniversaries.

George Dickerson, a former South Bend, Indiana television news anchor, served as the only general manager in WLRH's entire history from its 1976 inception until his retirement in early 2007. It is believed that Dickerson's tenure was the longest ever for a manager of an American public radio station (and perhaps all public broadcasting), exceeding 30 years.