MOUNT VERNON — Present and past employees, as well as community members joined together Friday night to celebrate the 60th birthday of 13WMVO radio.
“In 1951, Harry Truman was president, a first-class stamp cost 3 cents, a gallon of gasoline was 20 cents and WMVO radio FM went on the air,” said Marty Trese, program director for WMVO. “An old farm house was our home base. In 1953, the AM transmitter was installed.”
“We tried to operate on just the FM frequency but decided it was going to be a losing proposition, so in 1953, we succeeded in obtaining permission to broadcast an AM station, too,” Helen Zelkowitz told the News in 1996, the year she retired.
The first live remote took place at Pitkin’s Corner, Trese said, lead by Charlie Kilkenny.


