WRYL was the local radio station for the town of Royal. WRYL provided news, sports, weather and local entertainment for Royal and the neighboring communities. WRYL was known as “The Voice of the Great Up North”.
WRYL was a community owned station. Every family in Royal had a share in the day to day operations of the station. The station operated with a small staff including several broadcasters, an engineer and a business administrator. The Royal community volunteered their time, talent and financial contributions to keep the station a beacon of information for Royal and the greater community.
WRYL was an independent station. The station was not affiliated with the major networks like CBS, NBC and Mutual Broadcasting. It did use the Associated Press and United Press International for national and international news. WRYL would cherry pick radio programs from the various major networks. On some evenings you could hear Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Fibber Mcgee & Molly as well as Suspense, Gunsmoke, Gangbusters and others.
But what WRYL was most proud of was their local programming. Every Saturday you could hear Jerome Melk and the Five Melk Duds perform song and dance music live from the local armory. The Morning Report was a must hear for every Royal citizen. Pastor Dzef from Saint Helgas would deliver inspirational messages from the counter at The Lunch Stop Restaurant every weekday afternoon at 2 pm. There was Telephone Time every weekday morning where people could call in with items for sale or services offered or to promote community events.
The most popular show was on Sunday evenings. Royal Theater Presents would perform stage plays adapted for radio. Most of the plays were written or transcribed by members of the cast. Royal Theater Presents was heard by hundreds of people in Royal and the surrounding communities.
On Sunday night October 18, 1953 Royal Theater Presents performed an original play written by Katrina Wasski entitled “Close Your Eyes And Say Goodbye”. It was a story about how miscommunication and misinformation could lead to a nuclear war and the end of the world. This story included fake news broadcasts and bulletins as well as fake interviews from fake high ranking officials in government. The realism of the show and a grain elevator explosion caused mass panic in Royal and the surrounding area.
The FCC suspended WRYL’s broadcast license pending an investigation. On Tuesday October 20, 1953 WRYL went off the air. Three weeks later WRYL’s license was revoked permanently.
Members of the community were outraged by the decision of the FCC. WRYL will not be silent. Within a few weeks after the revocation WRYL went back on the air alternating on various frequencies and reduced the strength of its signal. WRYL stayed one step ahead of the FCC. It wasn’t until the town of Royal became silent and abandoned that WRYL signed off forever.
