CJCA is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

. It operates at 930 AM with the current brand name "AM930 The Light" in Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

. It was first licensed on May 1, 1922 and it first broadcast on May 22, 1922, becoming Alberta's first radio station. It was an affiliate of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission

Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission

The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission was Canada's first public broadcaster and the immediate precursor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.-Origins:...

 from 1933 to 1936 when it affiliated with the newly formed Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

. CJCA was originally owned and operated by the Edmonton Journal

Edmonton Journal

The Edmonton Journal is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network.-History:The Journal was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as a rival to Alberta's first newspaper, the 23-year-old...

, and was later purchased by Selkirk Communications

Selkirk Communications

Selkirk Communications was a Canadian radio and television broadcasting company, which operated from 1959 to 1989. Evolving out of Taylor, Pearson & Carson, a local broadcaster in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company grew to own 14 radio stations, six television stations and cable television...

. As of 1994, it broadcasts entirely Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 programming.

During the 1960s CJCA was one of two major rock stations in Edmonton (the other being CHED

CHED (AM)

CHED is a talk radio station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, broadcasting at 630 kHz on the AM dial and is owned by Corus Entertainment.The station originally began broadcasting at 1080 AM in 1954, until it moved to its current frequency in 1965....

).

Walt Rutherford, Phil Floyd, John McKittrick, Murray Blakely, Terry Spense and Earl McKittrick were in the newroom. Gord Skuttle was the Chief engineer (assisted by Andre Picard). Harry Boon was the Music Director with Dalt Elton as Program Director. The Top 40 was played twice in a row on Saturdays. Dixieland Jazz was played live from a club for an hour on Thursday nights. Each high school had its own "fight" song for dedications. The DJs were household names, and their pictures were passed out as folding cards. The Top 40 sheet was distributed weekly, and once a month a listener would win the Top 40 records for that week.

An FM station was started from the back production studio. The FM simulcast the AM except for 6:00 pm to midnight when CJCA FM played classical music which was handled by an operator who played the records along with the pre-taped announcer.

Many "Radio 93" on-air personalities who went on to bigger markets include singer–songwriter Barry Boyd, who had a Canadian hit record, "Wishin'". In the mid 60s Barry moved to KFXM Radio in San Bernardino, California, which also called itself 'Tiger Radio'. Before returning to Edmonton, Barry was a jock on KCBQ in San Diego. Barry died in Edmonton in 1991. Other famous CJCA DJs included Mike Marshall, who later crossed the street to CHED and then became Frank Brodie at the legendary CKLW in Windsor, Ontario. Jim Hault was a longtime CJCA morning man. Hault later became an on-air institution in Vancouver.

On weekdays, George Payne did afternoons; Barry Boyd 4:00–8:00; Lorne Thompson (who was also a teacher at NAIT) 8:00 to midnight; and Tom Fulton (who came from the Quesnel/Williams Lake station) the A&W all night show. Fulton came to Toronto's CKFH

CJCL (AM)

CJCL is a Canadian sports radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Communications, the station broadcasts at 590 kHz on the AM radio dial with a 50,000 watts transmitter and directional antenna concentrating its signal over the Toronto/Hamilton region...

, then spent his final years at CJRT

CJRT-FM

CJRT-FM is a Canadian public radio station, which broadcasts at 91.1 on the FM dial in Toronto, Ontario. CJRT currently operates as JAZZ.FM91.The station transmits at a strength of 40,000 watts; as its transmitter facilities are at the CN Tower...

 and AM740. Jim Hand was an extremely popular morning man (prior to Jim Hault) and a real character. The city was shocked when he died at such a young age, a few days after having had dental surgery. A couple of other DJ characters of this era were Frantic Frank Todd (weekends), Don Lamb (weekends and sales), and Bernie Bishiup (the all night show - prior to Tom). Because of the station's popularity the DJs spent a lot of time doing remote broadcasts at car dealerships and stores. Ratings-wise, CJCA had the city, but could never quite get by CFRN because of their rural listeners. Lorne Thompson helped a number young guys get started in radio, including Terry David Mulligan who was then an RCMP Officer patrolling the Edmonton–Calgary highway. Doug Thompson, an army brat and still at Queen E high school, started as an operator and later went on to a long career behind the scenes at CHUM AM in Toronto. Hal Weaver was a very popular CJCA DJ in the mid 60s. A few years later, he would also bring that popularity to CHUM AM.

For many years the CJCA broadcast studios were located on the 4th floor of the Birks building in downtown Edmonton. On top of the Birks building was a huge billboard of a tiger wearing sunglasses—CJCA was also known as Tiger Radio.

CJCA was also home for the Edmonton Eskimos

Edmonton Eskimos

The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...

 and Edmonton Trappers

Edmonton Trappers

The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada....

. Their games were broadcast live on CJCA for many years.

In the mid to late 1980s CJCA changed to an "all talk" format and while it was successful for a short while the station eventually went bankrupt and went off the air on December 1, 1993. Shortly thereafter, the rights to the station were purchased by Touch Canada Broadcasting and in April 1994 it returned to the air as a Christian station.

External links

• AM930 The Light
• CJCA history at Canadian Communications Foundation
  Canadian Communications Foundation
  The Canadian Communications Foundation is a history of Canadian broadcasting for radio and television chronicles and documents. It also provides a history of radio and television stations, including networks, programs, broadcasters and many others....