A lot apparently for the on-air personalities at 94.1 FM in Lethbridge.
For about a year, the station had been called the Juice FM, then on Friday, July 31, it was announced the station was going back to its original name – CJOC FM.
I was happy too, for a different reason.
One of the reasons the station took the name CJOC was to pay tribute to a radio station that existed for decades in Lethbridge, including the ‘80s – 1220 CJOC.
I think anyone who grew up when 1220 CJOC was on the air, has their own memories.
I have my own for sure.
History
Growing up on the farm one of the only stations we could get on the big green radio my parents had sitting on the top of the fridge was CJOC. It was a country and western station broadcasting out of Lethbridge. In fact, its transmitter was located on the highway from Lethbridge to Coaldale within distance of Perlich Brothers Auction Market and my good friend Dave Perlich’s house.
Growing up on the farm one of the only stations we could get on the big green radio my parents had sitting on the top of the fridge was CJOC. It was a country and western station broadcasting out of Lethbridge. In fact, its transmitter was located on the highway from Lethbridge to Coaldale within distance of Perlich Brothers Auction Market and my good friend Dave Perlich’s house.
It was all my parents listened to and the channel was rarely changed.
Part of the reason was the variety of programming. For Dad there was the weather and farm reports. Mom always seemed to have it on as background noise.
In the weekday mornings, she would listen to call-in talk show host Terry Bland, who was anything but his last name. He would get into arguments with his callers, talking about the issues of the day. When she made Sunday dinner, which was at noon in our house, she listened to the “Back to the Bible Hour” which I believe Ernest Manning hosted. Sunday also featured “Musical Memories” with George Brown, and after dinner, the “Blackfoot Tapes” broadcasting I believe from Standoff on the Kainai Nation.
It was also loosely affiliated with Channel 7 TV, although at one point they were connected because I can barely remember when the station was called CJOC-TV. With that association came the crossover of announcers such as weathermen Bill Matheson and announcer Wally Hild.
Cross-over sensation
Occasionally, CJOC would make me do a double take or turn my head. Sometimes songs I really liked, that had kind of an odd country sound, migrated from CJOC to 1090 CHEC, the local rock station, and back. The first example of that was Lionel Richie’s “Stuck On You”, then maybe a year later it was “Bop” by Dan Seals. The last time I heard that happen was spring of 1988 when I was doing deliveries for the greenhouse I worked at and the radio was turned to CJOC. Suddenly, “Rebel” by Blue Rodeo came on. I always laughed that everyone took Blue Rodeo for a country and western band specifically because they had rodeo in their name.
Occasionally, CJOC would make me do a double take or turn my head. Sometimes songs I really liked, that had kind of an odd country sound, migrated from CJOC to 1090 CHEC, the local rock station, and back. The first example of that was Lionel Richie’s “Stuck On You”, then maybe a year later it was “Bop” by Dan Seals. The last time I heard that happen was spring of 1988 when I was doing deliveries for the greenhouse I worked at and the radio was turned to CJOC. Suddenly, “Rebel” by Blue Rodeo came on. I always laughed that everyone took Blue Rodeo for a country and western band specifically because they had rodeo in their name.
Pre-history
When I started high school in 1984 at Kate Andrews High School in Coaldale, I was excited to meet and have as a teacher Ed Ryan who, by then, was the school’s guidance counsellor. My sister, who is nine years older than me, really liked him. Plus, he coached “Reach for the Top”, a TV quiz show for high school students.
When I started high school in 1984 at Kate Andrews High School in Coaldale, I was excited to meet and have as a teacher Ed Ryan who, by then, was the school’s guidance counsellor. My sister, who is nine years older than me, really liked him. Plus, he coached “Reach for the Top”, a TV quiz show for high school students.
The day I started Grade 10, the first lunch break was a memorable one. Mr. Ryan read the announcements, and he sounded like a radio announcer.
That’s because he was – on CJOC. That was something I had heard from my sister as well. Moreover, his wife Shiela still worked at the station as its news director at the time.
As I progressed through high school, Mr. Ryan became like a second father to me, and I spent a lot of time in his office. He had pictures up from his radio days of him with performers such as Jim Reeves and Roy Orbison, some of whom mom still listened to on CJOC.
Bus rider
CJOC was also the radio station our school bus was turned to by our driver. Then one day, as Lorne Kruzsewski, who was the first stop after school, got off the bus with his older brothers and younger sister he turned the radio station to 1090 CHEC, a rock station. It elicited cheers from the rest of us, led by my neighbour.
CJOC was also the radio station our school bus was turned to by our driver. Then one day, as Lorne Kruzsewski, who was the first stop after school, got off the bus with his older brothers and younger sister he turned the radio station to 1090 CHEC, a rock station. It elicited cheers from the rest of us, led by my neighbour.
Sticker shock
On August 29, 2020, we hosted a garage sale at my mother’s house in Lethbridge. One of the items that sold was a red dresser that sat in a room on the farm when I was growing up. It doubled as a computer room for me, office for my dad, and freezer for my mom.
On August 29, 2020, we hosted a garage sale at my mother’s house in Lethbridge. One of the items that sold was a red dresser that sat in a room on the farm when I was growing up. It doubled as a computer room for me, office for my dad, and freezer for my mom.
That dresser had a blank spot on it. That spot was where a sticker had been scrubbed off, a sticker for 1220 CJOC. If memory serves, I got that sticker at either Ag-Expo or Whoop-Up Days in Lethbridge. Either way, it was a time when the radio station had a booth at events held at the Lethbridge Exhibition grounds.
Sister act
One other odd memory was that 1220 CJOC had a sister station that was a rock station. They shared a building on Third Avenue South in Lethbridge, with their signs side by side. However, it was not 1090 CHEC – it was LA-107 FM, who had a bit of a war with CHEC. CJOC and LA-107 shared resources, especially in the newsroom.
One other odd memory was that 1220 CJOC had a sister station that was a rock station. They shared a building on Third Avenue South in Lethbridge, with their signs side by side. However, it was not 1090 CHEC – it was LA-107 FM, who had a bit of a war with CHEC. CJOC and LA-107 shared resources, especially in the newsroom.
Parting thoughts
The re-birth of CJOC was not only a year in the making, but in a way, decades in the making.
The re-birth of CJOC was not only a year in the making, but in a way, decades in the making.
Back in the ‘80s, it was 1220 CJOC and played country music, but it was such a big part of life. It greeted me every morning as I got ready for school, played on the school bus radio – for awhile, and was pretty much the default radio station for anyone over 40.
I will always have fond memories of Terry Bland, Wally Hild, livestock reports, Musical Memories, and much more.
Bringing back CJOC not only restores what was lost in the transition at 94.1 FM, but pays tribute to1220 CJOC.
Everything old is new again on the radio in Lethbridge.
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