WHWB is a defunct AM

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

that was licensed to

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. WHWB went on the air in 1949, and was on the air until late 1993. The call sign was known to have two meanings, the "H" was for Harris, the "W" was for Wilson, and the "B" was for Bates, part of the original trio that launched the radio station. Since its transmitter and studio were located across the street in a barn from the famous "Wilson's Castle" on the West Proctor Road in Proctor, Vermont, the WHWB call sign was also known to mean "We Have Wilson's Barn". WHWB was originally a true AM

daytimer A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-coun ...

on 1000 AM. The schedule of sunrise to sunset operation was designed to protect the clear channel status of WCFL (now WMVP) in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. In the mid- to late-1980s, the frequency was moved to 970 AM, and was initially able to operate with low pre-sunrise and post sunset power. From the late 1980s until signing off for good in 1993, WHWB was allowed 24-hour operation albeit with a very low nighttime power. Its 1000 watt daytime signal was about as strong as its 5,000 watt daytime AM competitor, WSYB. The nighttime signal of WHWB was able to cover most of Rutland, parts of West Rutland, and parts of Proctor with a non-directional antenna. In October 1988, the station drew national attention with a full week of all-

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

music on what at the time was a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

formatted station. Listener reaction ran 60/40 against swapping permanently to an all-Elvis format. WHWB had several FM partners through the years including the original WHWB-FM 98.1 (which became WJJR in 1984). The WHWB-FM calls were used once again on 92.1 in

Port Henry Port Henry is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,194 at the 2010 census. Port Henry lies on the eastern side of the town of Moriah and is approximately one hour's drive (52 miles ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

(now

WVTK WVTK (92.1 MHz) is an FM radio station airing a classic hits radio format, licensed to Port Henry, New York, near the New York State/Vermont border. It is owned by Vox AM/FM, LLC. WVTK has an effective radiated power of 18,000 watts, most of ...

) and eventually were installed at one time on 94.5 FM (now WDVT in Rutland). WHWB and the Rutland FM on 94.5 were linked until the demise of the operation in 1993, when WHWB went dark for good. 94.5 was auctioned off and returned to the airwaves as a simulcast to WJAN 95.1 in Sunderland, Vermont. This complement of FM signals with 95.1 and 94.5 came to be known throughout central and southern Vermont and eastern New York as "Cat Country". The station's license was cancelled and the callsign deleted from the FCC database on September 30, 1997. The WHWB self-supporting tower on the West Proctor Road was demolished in early 1995, only the cement bases and the remnants of the transmitter shack 'doghouse' remain. The actual AM transmitter is still inside the former West Proctor Road facility, and the 94.5 facility still broadcasts from that site.

References

{{Bennington and Rutland Radio Defunct radio stations in the United States HWB Radio stations established in 1949 Rutland County, Vermont 1949 establishments in Vermont Radio stations disestablished in 1997 1997 disestablishments in Vermont HWB