KMA
The closest station to him
was WOAW in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1923 he began taking local talent by bus
to the station and personally spoke on various topics. In January of 1924
he offered the first 10,000 listeners who mailed him a card a free gift of iris
roots. It seems that he recognized that radio was the key to his success.
However, he would not be the first seedsman to capitalize on the technology for
on February 22, 1924,
Henry Field and his Seedhouse Folk began broadcasting from their new
station,
KFNF, just three blocks away from May's
However,
Earl
May's broadcasts, a nice mix of musical talent and agricultural information,
became quite popular and so in June of 1924, WOAW and May Seed and Nursery
announced the construction of a remote studio in the company's administration
building. Using
It was not long (September
of 1925) before they received a
Using radio to entertain
and promote, Earl's leadership grew the mail order business to a point where
over two million catalogs were mailed annually. Radio advertising helped boost
catalog sales. Mr. May not only acted as
Earl passed away in 1946 but family still manage the company. Betty Jane Shaw, Earl May's granddaughter, is the current president.
The company ceased
producing a mail order catalog in 1991 and focused on growing into a large,
regional retail nursery and garden center chain. According to FCC records, the station is currently owned by KMA Broadcasting, L.P., an entity made up of Eleanor J. May (Edward W. May's widow), and her children - Edward W. May, Jr., Annette M. Marra, and Karen L. Sislo. |
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