Cynthia Schaulis, Station Manager 1965-1970
Station Manager 1965-1970 B.A. Wayne State College, Wayne, NE, 1965; M.A. Northwestern University, Radio, TV, Film, 1969. Teacher of speech education, debate, English, and radio-TV production. Debate and assistant speech team coach.
Being hired back in 1965, by Maine Township High School as WMTH Station Manager and head debate coach was a pretty “heady” experience for me. My husband and I had recently moved to the area from a small farming community in Nebraska. Maine East alone had a population greater than my college. Just finding my way through the enormous building on the corner of Potter and Dempster took many weeks.
Not only was Maine East High School much larger than any I had ever visited, but Maine Township included three high schools and ran its own 10 watt radio station. Without a doubt I felt trepidation as I signed that contract, but also my head was filled with the opportunities and endless possibilities.
The field of mass communication was changing dramatically. Marshall McLuhan had just declared “the medium is the message”. Universities started to explore the effects of the new technology. Programming, which had led Newton Minow head of the FCC to call “television a wasteland”, began to change as the networks picked up political events such as the Kennedy-Nixon debate, forcing broadcast journalism to a new standard.
Variety shows and well researched documentaries reaching millions of American homes at once not only changed the trajectories of performers’ careers but also heightened the viewers’ interest in more serious topics.
As television changed, new FCC standards for sound led to the rapid expansion of FM broadcasting as well. The field of broadcasting was an exciting place to be.
I leapt into the position without any concept of a 40 hour work week, aiming to learn all there was to know about educational radio and ready to grow a station filled with young broadcasters. To my advantage, I found a group of students, not much younger than I, with dreams just as great as my own, ready to involve themselves completely in the process of becoming broadcasters.
Over the years, our broadcasting format changed from a primarily tape sourced programming provided by the National Association of Broadcasters to a localized approach with live student productions: coverage of the athletic events at the schools, children’s programs, interview shows with local leaders, news, documentaries, as well as music shows appealing to a wide variety of tastes.
As I write this essay, I remember with great admiration and respect the students who so willingly demonstrated their desire to achieve not only their personal goas but also to work cooperatively with a WMTH-FM of which we could all be proud.
I encourage you to send in your bio. Your names and faces, the programs you created form good memories; I’d love to hear the stories of your lives.
-Cynthia Schaulis, March 14, 2020.
I was in your class in 1983 or 84
We started every class with a journal entry that began with the phrase when I think about ___ I think about___ and we filled in the blanks by journaling for 5 mins. This is probably the most valuable lesson. I learned in high school and lead to me pursuing a career as a songwriter in Nashville. I still write songs to this day. And I just wanted to thank you for introducing me to an exercise that has been valuable in my life.
I remember the first day of English class in 1992: You wrote your entire name on the chalkboard and introduced our class to A Tale of Two Cities, wherein I did the worst writing of my life, and you had mercy on me! Thank you for that, and for being a force of nature for High School students. I owe you a long overdue apology for my sassy nature. I apologize for being a freshman monster. You made an impact. I’ll never forget your class. Thank you.