Joe Van Sandt had been with the Advertising Department of The Times-Picayune,
New Orleans, before becoming manager of WNRA, Sheffield, in mid 1930's.
During his tenure as top executive, Van Sandt changed call
letters first
to WMSD, and then in 1942 to WLAY. Could he have recommended to
Dick Biddle that he consider the call letters "WOWL" for Biddle's own
station?
In 1952, Biddle purchased WMFT that had been on air in Florence since 1945. Before acquisition of WMFT,
Biddle served WLAY as commercial manager in Time and Spot Sales Department.
Van Sandt had left WLAY much earlier than Biddle to build WJOI.
In 1946 Van Sandt passed over using WOWL as
call-sign for his new AM/FM radio facility in Florence, co-owned with Colonel Clyde W. Anderson.
1925
Headline Reads: "WOWL Ready to Broadcast"
Picture Caption Reads: . . . Jazz Orchestra and other entertainers whose program was [heard first]
as WOWL. W.C. Nevill, known as "Shutter Down Bill", is the
an-[nouncer] at this station,
which is one of the most recent, in point of service, in the city.
Sign in front of Orchestra names sponsor as:
Standard Oil Company of Louisiana, Petroleum Products
Reviewed . Revised . Refreshed
1 October 2016 Our 21th Year