Longtime regional radio broadcaster Jess "Jay" Thomas Bagwell died on Christmas Eve, eight minutes before midnight on his 88th birthday.
The Rev. Jay Bagwell established the 250-watt radio station KBJT-AM 1570, serving the Fordyce area, in 1959.
In a conversation about three years ago, Bagwell told a reporter about his broadcasting career.
"The radio business in a small community was pretty tough back then," he said. "My workdays started at 5 a.m. I put together all the local and national news from the teletype before we went on-air. The broadcast day was from sunrise to sunset so it varied depending on the time of year. Even with only 250 watts of power, we got better reception than much more powerful stations do today because the airwaves weren't nearly so crowded."
Bagwell, who was born in Horatio, joined the Navy at 17 and served three years during the Korean War. Following his stint in the service, he attended Henderson College (now Henderson State University).
"Fresh out of the Navy, I didn't have the money for school but attended using G.I. assistance," he said. "I got my start in broadcasting by working at the college radio station to help make ends meet."
Upon leaving Henderson with a bachelor's degree, Bagwell said, "I started full-time radio work in Hope and later put a station on the air in De Queen. We stayed there a couple years before I went back to Henderson and completed my master's in education and administration."
Following a short time teaching history in Warren, Bagwell said, "There was a chief engineer I knew who worked with KARK-TV in Little Rock. Together he and I put together KBJT. The station began regular broadcast Aug. 1, 1959.
"My background was more administrative whereas he handled the technical side of the business. When Bell Labs came out with transistors to replace vacuum tubes, radio equipment made huge leaps. With the simplified technology I was able to later buy him out."
One of the more famous broadcasts made by KBJT was the March 19, 1961, first-ever direct-dial, person-to-person phone call in the United States. The historic long-distance conversation was facilitated by the Allied Telephone Co. of Fordyce and took place between then Arkansas Gov. Orville Faubus dialing Washington, D.C., for John A. Baker, top assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
Quoting a Fordyce News Advocate article from the time: "A new era of telephone service began at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, March 19th when the ultra-modern Stromberg-Carlson system in the new Fordyce Allied Telephone building went into operation. Gov. Orville Faubus placed the first call over the new system. About 300 people were in attendance in the High School Gymnasium coming from all over the state and various parts of the nation. Following an address to the crowd, the governor placed the first call on the new system. It only took 32 seconds to complete the call including dialing time which required thirteen digits."
"I owned the station 21 years before selling to Coates Media in 1980," Bagwell said. "I thoroughly enjoyed my time in radio. All I can say is from when I started to what it is now is unbelievable."
Since approval by the FCC in 2004, KBJT is now found at 1590 on the AM dial, boasting 4700 watts of daytime broadcasting power.