SCHOOLS
WBHS 88.3 celebrates 51 years on the airWBHS has carried a second signal since its first night
The high school station first broadcast on November 10, 1975, and it has not missed a night since. Station manager June Albers has run WBHS from the beginning. "Former students still call in," she said. "Some of them haven't been students in forty years. They still know the frequency." An open house is planned for Saturday in the east wing.Between 2 and 3 a.m., under the oldies, June Albers reads the names. Tune to 88.3 and listen past the static. If you hear your street, stay inside. She has read them every night since November 10, 1975, and she has never once been wrong.
BY GARY LINDQVISTBY R. CALLOWAY SCHOOLS & SPORTSUNEDITED MONDAY, OCT 26, 2026
WBHS 88.3, Bellwether High School's student radio station, turns 51 this month. It first went on the air on November 10, 1975, and it has broadcast every night since, through snowstorms, two power outages and a roof leak in 1991 that soaked the record library.WBHS 88.3, Bellwether High School's student radio station, turns 51 this month. It first went on the air on November 10, 1975, and it has broadcast every night since. It has never been off the air. Not once, not even during the outages.
Station manager June Albers has been there for all of it. She was a 17-year-old senior on the first night and stayed on as faculty adviser when she came back to teach.Station manager June Albers has been there for all of it. She was a 17-year-old senior on the first night. In the station photos she does not look much older now.
“Former students still call in,” Albers said. “Some of them haven't been students in forty years. They still know the frequency. They ask for the same songs.”“Former students still call in,” Albers said. “Some of them haven't been students in forty years. They still know the frequency. They call to ask if their street has been read yet.”
AFTER HOURSTHE SECOND SIGNAL
Students run the station until 10 p.m. After that, an automated oldies loop carries it until morning. Albers says it's the most popular slot on the schedule.Students run the station until 10 p.m. Between 2 and 3 a.m., under the oldies, a second signal comes through. It's Albers, reading names and street names. If you hear your street, stay inside. She has never once been wrong.
“They still know the frequency.”“If you hear your street, stay inside.”
The station will hold an open house on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. in the east wing, with tours of the booth, a wall of photos and cake. Alumni are asked to bring their own photos to add.The open house is Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. in the east wing. Alumni are asked to bring their photos. Albers will be there. She'd like to see who is still listening.
