How appropriate that the room number for WBFH would be RADIO 101, a great place to start if you want to find out what this radio broadcasting thing is all about!!

https://www.wbfh.fm/history/1976/1976%20News%20Articles/oe8301976.php

1976-2017 Bloomfield Hills School District Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Radio Station Manager/Electronic Media Instructor

Started the Radio Broadcasting program from scratch in 1976. Was hired to be the Station Manager of the school district’s FM radio station and teach the district’s radio broadcasting classes (Fundamentals of Radio Broadcasting, changed to Exploring Electronic Media, WBFH Staff).

Supervise a staff of usually between 20-30 students and one full-time adult.

Manage a radio station that is on the air 24/7/365.

Supervised hundreds of remote broadcasts.

Either DJ’d or supervised the DJ for over 100 dances for people of all ages.

Supervised student field trips to educational and professional radio and TV stations in the Detroit area and Lansing area.

Supervised students on field trips to broadcasting conferences/conventions in Lansing, Chicago, New York and Detroit area locations.

Host of weekly community radio show entitled "Bagley's Corner".

Play-by-play broadcaster of Andover and Lahser High School prep sports: Football, soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, and hockey.

Supervised a Saturday morning radio program for students grades 3-6.

Administer Facebook WBFH Alumni group with members consisting of at least 80 former students who were/are very successful in numerous fields of media/communications.

Love being a guest on someone’s radio show!

One of the best parts of my day was eating lunch with my brother Tom (and Mark Smak) in the A/V room! I miss UT so much!

PB and PB clone…Pete and Repete were crossing a bridge, Pete fell in, who is left?

What time is it? 12;34! Time to clean my desk in preparation for retirement. Purple chain has that many links on it, one link per day, until the end of the school year, end of my 41 year career.

Biff swag plus the National Guard pen which was given out at a BCBC conference…a pen with a laser pointer at one end. Not a good idea to give students a laser pointer at a radio conference.

Press ID card for 1977-78, our second year of operation.

OBSERVER & ECCENTRIC

August 30, 1976

Andover Grad Named WBFH Station Manager

By Barbara Underwood

The first time Pete Bowers read the news for a radio broadcast he was, by his own admission, terrible and was told to “work on it.”

Pete Bowers, station manager at Andover’s WBFH, ponders a list of needed items, ranging from a reception desk to one of the major news wires.

He was a student at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant and, following his inauspicious beginning, went on to work for three radio stations in the college community. He worked as assistant news director, assistant sports director, disc jockey and production and sales manager.

Now he as been named station manager of WBFH, the Bloomfield Hills Schools’ radio station, which will become operational by Oct. 1.

“I can’t believe it,” Bowers said last week. “I’ve been punching myself all week. Not many students get a job in what they studied.”

Bowers, a 1971 graduate of Andover High School and a 1975 graduate of Central Michigan University, has a degree in broadcast and is vocationally certified to teach.

HE APPLIED for the station manager’s job last year, but plans to activate the station were halted because of school district finances.

WBFH will broadcast from studios at both Andover and Lahser high schools, but the transmitter and tower are at Andover, almost in the center of the district. The station will broadcast with 10 watts of operating power.

Residents within a five-mile radius of Andover should be able to hear WBFH at 88.1 on their FM stereo dial.

The radio mast for the station, which is to become operational Oct. 1, towers above the school.

Before broadcasts begin, Bowers will teach the 66 students who have signed up for the daily one-hour broadcast class Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and regulations, how to run the control board with all its dials and meters and how to be a disc jockey.

“THEY WILL practice all the procedures,” he explained. Thirty-one students at Andover and 35 at Lahser have signed up for the class. Most are boys.

The students will be able to take an FCC test that is given each Tuesday and Thursday to earn their third-class radio telephone operator’s license and later another test for broadcast endorsement so they can operate the station themselves.

Bowers also hopes to have guest speakers at class sessions, including disc jockeys, talk show hosts, music show hosts and others. A supply of records is needed.

“Record companies usually supply stations with current hits,” Bowers explained. “The problem will be getting older records—two years to several years old.” Donations would be welcome, he added.

BOWERS PLANS that the station will operate initially for at least 12 hours daily Monday through Friday.

“Ultimately, it will go as long as possible,” he said. “It will depend on how many students can operate it.” He plans to survey students and others within the broadcast area to see what they like to listen to and will program accordingly.

“It will be mostly current hits, but eventually I hope we can tape school band concerts, have play-by-play of football and basketball games, live entertainment and news,” Bowers said. A national news wire also is being considered.

Bloomfield Hills Students Start Making Waves

By HUGH GRAMBAUM, Oakland Press Staff Writer

October 4, 1976

BLOOMFIELD TWP.—There's a new wrinkle in the sky. Students at Bloomfield Hills Schools start making waves—air waves.

The tally light above the door, outside of Studio A. It lights up when the studio is on the air.

The district’s new 10-watt educational radio station, WBFH, Friday began broadcasting in stereo at 88.1 on the FM dial.

WBFH studios are located in both Andover and Lahser high schools, but the 100-foot transmitting tower and central control board are at Andover, which is close to the geographic center of the district. Live broadcasts from Lahser will be tied in to the transmitter with telephone lines.

The station should come in loud and clear within a five-mile radius of Andover, but reception will vary depending on local terrain. Some persons as far as 15 miles away may get a good signal.

DJ TECHNIQUE—Paul Fisher, a senior at Lahser High, practices his disc jockey delivery at the microphone.

With the rennovation of the studio facilities at both Lahser and Andover, plus the necessary equipment, the station is costing approximately $60,000 to set up, according to June Hamilton, director of vocational education. The state will reimburse part of the equipment cost.

The station marks the fulfillment of plans begun in 1973, when a committee was formed of teachers, administrators and then school board member Larry Howard to study the possibility of starting a radio station to be used for vocational education.

The school board approved plans to open a station last year, but because of an unexpected money crunch, funding for a vocationally-trained teacher was not available until this fall.

AT THE CONTROLS—Peter Bowers, station manager, shows Diane Kraft, a junior at Andover, how to operate the control board at the Andover studio.

In August, station manager Peter Bowers was hired and he quickly began setting up the station for its debut. Bowers received a degree in broadcast and cinematic arts from Central Michigan University in 1975.

He also worked for three radio stations while earning his diploma, serving as disk jockey, assistant sports director, assistant news director and production and sales manager. In the process, he logged more than the 4,000 hours of professional experience required for his vocational certification.

Bowers is no stranger to Bloomfield Hills Schools. He graduated from Andover in 1971. His father is Dr. Charles Bowers, a member of the board of education.

The radio broadcasting program has four objectives: to provide career awareness and exploration; to develop an appreciation of radio as a means of communication and education; to prepare students for the FCC exam for a third class radio-telephone operator’s license with a broadcast endorsement; and to serve as a communciation vehicle for the school district and community.

FOR THE RECORD—Bill Ryan (left) a senior at Andover, and Randy Henney, a junior, go over the radio station’s fledgling record collection.

Students attend classes during the day and after school. Thirty-three Lahser students are enrolled and 28 at Andover. In addition seven students are doing independent studies in radio broadcasting.

Plans call for the station to operate Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m., but that depends on how many students can pass the FCC third class exam scheduled in the Andover Media Center on Oct. 13.

Only students with the license and broadcast endorsement can operate the transmitter.

“We need at least 15 to 20 to work the station during the week,”explains Bowers. “It’s a very tough test. There are three parts. The first two are easy. It’s the last one that’s tough.”

Until the new recruits are available, Bowers will rely on several of the independent studies students who have already passed the required exams.

On Nov. 1, the station’s United Press International news wire will be installed and hourly news and sports reports will begin.

100-foot transmitting tower at Andover.

Besides writing news and sports copy, students in the program will be operating the broadcast equipment, running disk jockey programs, and writing and producing public service announcements for school organizations, clubs, sports teams, music and dramatic programs throughout the district.

Although the control room is at Andover, Bowers emphasizes that there is only one radio station and both high schools will get equal treatment.

“They do have these rivalries between the schools,” he says. “I’m trying to build teamwork. We’re 50-50 in the football games we’ll broadcast and we’ll make sure we get the same coverage at both schools.

What kind of music will the station play?

“That’s the biggest question we get,” says Bowers. “During the day we’ll keep it down to easy listening. After 3 o’clock, we’ll throw in a little more rock and folk rock.”

“You can’t please everybody,” he says philosophically.

The station is contacting record companies to stock its library with new records, but it needs old LPs too. Anyone interested in contributing their oldies can make arrangements by calling 647-8510 during business hours or simply drop them off at the studio at the south end of Andover under the transmitting tower.

“Anything is possible," he said. "That’s what’s kind of great about this.”

Those 41 years as WBFH Station Manager…Those were the best days of my life (line from Summer of ‘69 by Bryan Adams)

Michigan’s powerhouse of educational broadcasting all in one photo!

One cool thing I did as radio teacher was to take my students to non-commercial and commercial radio stations in the state…even a few TV stations. I wanted them to see for themselves the studios that professionals worked at and talk with the air personalities about their radio careers. Here’s a secret revealed…being a radio geek, I scheduled these tours for me too as I was always interested in what equipment the pros used and to pick the brains of those on the air, some of them I had listened to for years and now I got to meet them in person…PEACHY! Here’s a list of the stations we toured:

*Cumulus Media: WJR, WDVD, WDRQ, New Country (Gary Berkowitz, Dave Fuller, Paul W. Smith)

*CBS: 97.1 The Ticket, WOMC, WWJ, WYCD, 98.7 AMP, WXYZ AM (Scott Anderson, Dick Purtan, Big Al, Jim Johnson)

*Greater Media Detroit (now Beasley Media Group): WCSX, WRIF, !05.1 Bounce (Arthur Penthallow, Drew and Mike)

*Bell Media: CIMX (89X), CKLW, CIDR, CKWW

*Michigan Public Radio: WUOM NPR public radio with studios in Ann Arbor (Steve Schram)

*Detroit Public TV: Radio studios originally owned and operated by Detroit Public Schools, now WRCJ.

*Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia): WNIC, Channel 955, WLLZ, Mix 92.3, WDFN, WDTW, WJLB (Mojo in the Morning, The Bushman, Jay Towers)

*Other stations: WDET (Detroit), WPON (Pontiac), WHMI (Howell), WHPR (Highland Park), WSHJ (Southfield), WPHS (Warren), WHFR (Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn), WAHS (Avondale), Spring Arbor College Radio (Spring Arbor), Michigan State University WDBM The Impact (Lansing).

TV: Channel 7, Channel 4, Channel 2, Channel 50, Channel 56.

My last Exploring Electronic Media class, Fall 2016, in the new high school.

My Job as Teacher: I tell my students the first day of class that my objective is the same every day. I guarantee that before they leave my class that day, they will learn something new that they didn’t know before they entered the classroom. I try to find out from professional broadcasters what it is that my students need to learn in my class to prepare them for the kooky, crazy, fickle world of broadcasting. I try to pick the brains of my former students who are making a living in the communications field. I even arranged to spend a day at a commercial radio station in Detroit (WDRQ 93.1) to find out what they do and how I can incorporate that into my curriculum. I was a sponge absorbing the real world of broadcasting. I want to be realistic with my students. Should any of them choose communications as a career path, at least they’ll understand what I was telling them in class. I also take into consideration those students who are not going down the communications career path. I want them to be able to use the knowledge gained from my class in their career whatever it may be. I’m a strong advocate of learning hands-on. That’s one of the great things about our radio station. Students learn first hand what it’s like to be a DJ because I put them on the air to gain that experience. More than facts and figures, I think the most important value I can have on my students is to be a positive influence in their lives. That’s something they’ll remember the rest of their lives. PB

WBFH work shirt to commemorate our 20th anniversary in 1996.

Station Manager/Teacher…41 Years with Teenagers