-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Between the years 1953 and 1956 WHUM-TV Channel 61 in Reading, PA had their broadcast tower just west of Rt. 183 on top of the Blue Mountain, right along the Appalacian Trail. Park on top of the Blue Mountain on the west (Appalacian Trail South) side of the road. Some bushwhacking required.
This should be a simple find. I'm not into difficulty here. I just want more people to know this history. I suggest walking the Appalacian Trail south (actually compass west) about 125 yards to the fork in the trail, this is where the AT bears left. Just on the north side of the trail was a triangular concrete base that had been visible in the 1970's. It is also the location of the coordinate point listed. That was the approximate location of the tower.
If you look south from the wye in the trail you can see a grown over access road. That is the direction of the south guy wires and GZ.
Continue to GZ by way of the old access road. At places you may want to walk to the right (west) of the road to avoid mud.
WHUM-TV Channel 61
My father had some additional information about the tower. At the time it was one of the tallest structures in the USA. It was assembled by a crew of Native Americans. Apparently construction or maintenance work was done during cold weather. The water froze in the canteens that the workers carried. At least one airplane hit the tower in the few years that the tower existed.
When TV was young;
WHUM-TV Channel 61 went on the air in February 1953 with a 12-hour broadcast day consisting of live programs, film features and CBS network shows. Its studio was in the former Tower Hotel atop Mount Penn.
WHUM-TV’s transmitter was in Schuylkill County, at Summit Station on the crest of the Blue Mountains. It was one of the tallest transmitters in the country, more than 1,000 feet high, and with a signal more powerful than many big-city stations. "We knew that the signal was getting out there," said Frank G. Rothenberger, a WHUM-TV announcer who worked at the station from 1953 through 1954, using the on-air name of Frank Roth. Mail from Philadelphia and even New York City attested to the signal’s power, said Rothenberger, 71, a Drexelwood resident.
However, that power also proved to be a detriment. "Your picture might be snowier in Reading," he said. Geography and the quirks of UHF transmission caused the powerful signal to overshoot much of the Reading area, according to Rothenberger and others.
"You talk about a low-budget operation, HUM was a no-budget operation," Chelius Smith recalled. (She had a cooking show on WHUM).
She had to buy and prepare her own food, and even wash the dishes afterward. But having to be a jack of all trades and adapt to a new medium weren’t her greatest challenges. "No. 1, I didn’t know how to cook," she said with a smile. "I am living proof that ignorance is bliss."
Chelius Smith recalled frantically looking for recipes that could be prepared in 15-minute slots during her daily, 45-minute show."I think I read every cookbook in the Reading Public Library," she said. "The good thing is, I learned to love to cook."
Reading’s two stations struggled to find an audience, but by late 1956, both were gone.
"They couldn’t get the business anymore because everyone was watching the Philly stations," Friedman said.
Additional info:
From the location of tower, if you continue on the AT south (actually west) you will pass by two guy wire anchor points off to your right. They are difficult to see, especially with leaves on the trees. I was able to find the distant guy wire point to the north. It is about 20 ft. off of Rt. 183, also difficult to find.
THE INFORMATION ABOVE IS COURTESY OF READINGEAGLE.COM
If anyone has more information or photos of the tower, I will gladly add it to this information. Thanks, BClauser
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Arkg gb gur napube cbvag.