This station is mostly a total unknown. It had radio broadcast towers on Bridgeport Harbor. Locations conflict at times (east harbor or west ?) but who knows ? Established in 1946 and it only lasted into the early 1950's.
Frank Wojnarowksi, a resident of Fairfield, Connecticut, was born in Sanok, Poland. He started the Frank Wojnarowski Orchestra thirty years ago; his instrument was the violin. His sister Eleanore was the original vocalist in the band. Their first break, a recording session with Dana Records, came in 1947 -- "Bije Mamcia" was their first record.
Shortly after came a big hit "Jedzie Boat". This is the record that touched off the polka craze in New England, which, during that period, went through its golden years, lasting through the fifties.
Other hits followed, like "Goral", "Jasiu, Jasiu", "Oh Suzanna", "Rozmaria", etc… He then wrote, sang and recorded his big one – "Matka". For this he received a gold record award.
After Dana Records sold their company and discontinued making records, Frank recorded for Silverbell, Dyno, and presently is on RMI Records.
Frank toured and played all over the United States and Canada. His longest tour lasted eight weeks. Besides being popular in New England and Pennsylvania, he drew the largest crowds in the Detroit area for the late WJLB radio personality, Eugene Konstantynowicz, at his annual outdoor event in Warsaw Park.
Frank played this event for eight consecutive years.
The Frank Wojnarowski Orchestra is still being called on today to play top polka events like the Milwaukee Summerfest, Ocean Beach Festival, and the I.P.A. Convention.
When the band is not on tour you will find Frank at his Fairfield, Connecticut home with his wife Wanda. He likes chicken and has a sweet tooth for pastries. He still pulls out the fiddle for composing new tunes.
The observations kind of make sense, except that the only way to explain some of them is to postulate wide variations in the soil conductivity (much wider than those shown on the maps I've seen) in parts of the Bronx. When I was a kid, I lived in the northwest Bronx. (I could see Armstrong's Alpine tower--built when I was one year old--from my sixth-floor bedroom window.) WLIB's Tx was somewhere along the East River in northern Queens. It was visible from the approach to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. Of course, back then, WLIB was only 1 kW. In my apartment, no more than five or six miles away, WLIB was scarcely audible. Most signals from the east just didn't cut it. Exceptions were WCBS, regardless of whether from Columbia Island or High Island; WEAF/WNBC/WRCA, which for most of my childhood, came from Port Washington LI and was directional to the west; and several from Connecticut, which boomed down Long Island Sound. The Connecticut signals I recall are WICC, WNAB, and WLIZ Bridgeport, WSRR Stratford, and WSTC Stamford. WLIZ on 1300 was replaced by WAVZ New Haven, which was not audible where I lived. WSRR was the predecessor of WSTC on 1400. I moved away before WGCH came along. A Long Island signal that I remember was WKBS Oyster Bay on 1520 (now WTHE Mineola).
Jay Hoffer was born in New York City on November 14, 1930, Jay began his radio career as an announcer at WLIZ, Bridgeport, Connecticut. He joined WJAR-AM and TV in Rhode Island as Promotion Manager and later became Manager of National Advertising and Promotion for ABC-TV in New York. He joined Country station KRAK-AM in Sacramento in 1960. He was Station Manager of KRAK and Vice President of Hercules Broadcasting at the time of his death in 1977. He was a professor at Cal State University in Sacramento, and Golden Gate University, Sacramento campus. He authored the books "Managing Today's Radio Stations", "Organization and Operation of Broadcast Stations" and " Radio Production Techniques" as well as numerous articles on radio. He was active in community affairs as President of the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau, President of the Sacramento Public Relations Roundtable, Public Relations Chairman of the United Way and Publicity Chairman of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce DJ HALL OF FAME INDUCTEEJay Hoffer was born in New York City on November 14, 1930,Jay began his radio career as an announcer at WLIZ,Bridgeport,Connecticut. He joined WJAR-AM and TV in Rhode Island as Promotion Manager.