Stephen Wilson - Harvey Couch Bio

Harvey Couch - Founder of Arkansas Power and Light Company

I wrote this biography as part of Arkansas Power and Light's anniversary celebrations. It was distributed to every school and library in Arkansas. In this excerpt, Couch is considering building Arkansas' first radio station.

Harvey Couch was on a trip to Pittsburgh in 1920 when he heard his first radio program. He was immediately impressed by its possibilities. Here was his opportunity to sell his message of Arkansas's economic opportunities to a listening audience that could reach across the South. On his return to Arkanas he immediately ordered a radio set for his family.

Couch's first test of his radio ambitions was a trial broadcast to the Rotary Club that met weekly in the Pines Hotel in Pine Bluff. For this first attempt, he turned his own home into a studio. He also installed two 100-foot poles, 50 feet apart on his front lawn to serve as antenna towers. After the Rotary members had assembled and completed their housekeeping agenda, they grew silent to listen to this historic moment. On cue, Misses Ernestine and Ailec Norris performed several vocal and piano selections from Couch's living room directly to the radio at the front of the hotel meeting room. The program was completed with the playing of several Victrola records. Amid the applause of the Rotarians, Couch took the podium and announced that he would build Arkansas's first radio station in Pine Bluff. 

On February 18, 1922, radio station WOK (Workers of Kilowatts) was ready for prime time. In the preceding months, Couch had been selling sets out of the AP&L Pine Bluff office in preparation for this big night. For the premiere, the program was simple. A. G. Whidden, the on-air announcer, asked listeners to call in and report on reception in Pine Bluff and beyond. The telephone lines were busy all night. Radio had arrived in Arkansas.