WCTM (defunct) - The End of WCTM

The End of WCTM

In its last few years, WCTM operated almost as a public service. Few commercials were heard, donations were accepted to help keep the station on the air, and sign-on/sign-off times were almost entirely dependent on how long Coning could remain at the station (a typical daily sign-off was around 5 P.M., with no broadcasts at all on Sundays). During this period, a friend of Coning's with the on-air name of "John Grant" hosted weekly programs and assisted with station maintenance and operations.

Due to his failing health, which had taken the station off the air for extended periods of time, Stan Coning finally sold his little station to Town & Country Broadcasting, owner of WBZI in Xenia. WCTM signed off for the last time on June 24, 2004, an event which was covered by two Dayton TV stations. As a one-man operation with an easy-listening format, WCTM was widely regarded as the last of its kind. According to industry observer Scott Fybush, the loss of WCTM and its format marked "(the end of) the era of commercial beautiful music on American radio."

Today, the station lives on as WEDI, simulcasting WBZI's programming. The old WCTM-FM tower, topped with the original call letters, still stands atop a building on North Barron in downtown Eaton. After several years of deteriorating health following the sale of WCTM, Stan Corning died on December 24, 2010,at approximately 86 years old at his residence and is interred next to his wife Helen (who preceded him in death in 1989) at Sugar Grove Cemetery in West Alexandria, Ohio.

Tapes of WCTM, including its final day on the air, are known to exist in the aircheck collection of Clarke Ingram, a Pittsburgh radio executive who befriended Coning and was a fan of the station.

Source: Fybush.com Tower Site of the Week 6/25-7/5/04 by Scott Fybush