I remember my parents listening to WHCF, FM88.5 a lot when I was young. A lot.
Born in 1975, growing up in East Hodgdon, Maine, less than a mile from the Canadian border, nearly on 'top' of Henderson Hill...
At the very beginning, (as I remember it!), my mom considered WHCF to basically be a gift from God. Some homes on both ends of our small, dead-end, dirt road weren't able to pick up the station. But our home, on the hill, with its view of beautiful Mt. Katahdin, could get the station. And so my parents made heavy use of it!
Consequently I know all the words to 'Heaven must be a happy place, my grandpa's going there' and to 'Excuses, excuses.' !! Dr. Jeremiah, Chuck Swindoll, and Dr. Dobson were, and are, familiar voices. The background noise of the radio, tuned to WHCF, seemed constant. It was just kind-of always there. I remember playing on our living room floor, sort-of passively listening to these programs that my parents were more actively listening to.
I remember the fund-raising times! Hearing that 'Maine' accent, (the one that, later, others thought I 'should' have, but no one I knew growing up ever talked like that!), 'Good old Washington county!' Hearing all the names called out of those who were supporting WHCF as 'minutemen.' My parents have supported WHCF all these years.
I was born a bit too early for the timing to be right for me to have listened to 'Adventures in Odyssey', however we did listen as a family to 'Unshackled' and 'Ranger Bill.' (I can imitate all the organ sounds. I can sing the song to Ranger Bill!!) I don't remember listening to 'Children's Bible Hour' on WHCF, (Was it on there? Pre-'Down Gilead Lane'?). Maybe it was WHCF or maybe it's because my dad is from Michigan. Whatever the reason, we had loads of 'Children's Bible Hour' records & audio tapes & rally tapes & song books & Keys for Kids devotionals.
It truly is amazing what we 'catch' as children growing up. Stuff that's not 'aimed' at us specifically. Because my parents listened to WHCF so much, -no doubt- I caught a lot. I know that I caught a lot of information about parenting & marriage & family life! Even as a child I truly loved listening to 'Focus on the Family.' Influenced, I am sure, by the broadcast, my parents also invested in resources from Focus on the Family, as well as the monthly magazine they used to put out. I read almost every one of those magazines cover to cover!
WHAT a blessing WHCF was to my childhood, has been to my parents, and has been to my adult life as well!
Now, as an adult, WHCF has continued to be a blessing in my life. Occasionally I will catch Greg Laurie or Ravi Zacharias, June Hunt or Ministry Spotlight. 9:00 a.m. is not a convenient time for me, or I am certain that I would regularly listen to 'Family Talk' with James Dobson.
My mainstays, my favorites are Focus on the Family and Family Life Today. They air twice a weekday and I love to listen to them, often listening to the same broadcast more than once if I can. Now that we have an internet at a higher speed than dial up, I certainly can listen online & often do. (Still don't have a smartphone or anything that could have an 'app' though!!) What a blessing! I have learned so, SO much from these broadcasts!
I may have been a bit too old for the Odyssey craze the "first time 'round", but as a parent I have greatly enjoyed listening to 'Adventures in Odyssey' on WHCF. We are, sadly, mostly past that point now, but for quite some time, Oh my goodness!- How we loved Odyssey!! Really, we still love it, it just isn't something we listen to very regularly. But it used to be that nearly every evening at 7:00, it was ON! (Truthfully, if we were home, I often fell asleep on the couch during the episode!) NovaCom is probably our favorite set of episodes, but we like the Green Ring Conspiracy & many others as well! We never heard the new ones because they were on Saturday mornings & we never had the radio on at that time! Eugene Meltsner is my favorite character!
Adventures in Odyssey episodes and WHCF also served a purpose when my sis-in-law lost her brother in Afghanistan. Listening to episodes brought some distraction & comfort. Directing funding toward WHCF served as a way to honor his memory.
Much like in my childhood, my children are gleaning wisdom from the programming that WHCF offers. I don't personally care for most of the music on WHCF's related station, 'Solution FM', (with the exception of Switchfoot's 'Let it Out!'), however, my kids like it so we listen to that station quite a bit too!
Speaking of music, I have a confession: I do not like southern Gospel music.
And I remember a lot of southern Gospel being played on the radio!
Now to be fair, I am not a 'music person.'
At all.
As a child & teen I never really sought out music.
In my home my dad played the trumpet and my mom played the piano & accordion. My extended family included several accordion-players and piano & organ & guitar players. Through family & church I was exposed to primarily hymns and choruses.
Our record player brought about a lot of listening to the Gaithers & the Blackwood Brothers & children's music & Word of Life musicals.
We had, (and my parents still have), a 'roll piano.' So I learned songs like 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'Talk to the Animals' because we would play rolls over & over & over, clinging onto the edge of the piano with the ends of our fingers for balance as we pedaled away!
And of course we had music class at school.
And at some point at AWANA Camp someone introduced me to Michael W. Smith & this new thing called 'Contemporary Christian Music' (!!!)
And my brother introduced me to Petra!!
But I never really sought out music. And even now, I listen to WHCF for the programs, not for the music! (that was a bit of a bunny trail!)
The basic lesson of Input-Output still holds true. Exposure to good radio programs!~
*whether as a child when I didn't even realize I was listening, or as an adult when I am taking notes & crying (!),
*whether a true story from Unshackled or a fictional story,
*whether hearing about something happening 1/2 way around the world or learning about ministries in our own community where we can make a difference~ these exposures have been so profitable for me! Thank you, WHCF!
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