About
WMTH Alumni is an informal group of current and former students of Maine Township High Schools, Maine East, Maine West, Maine South, and Maine North, who volunteer(ed) at the on-campus radio station WMTH-FM and cable television station WMTH-TV. We welcome Maine East alumni, Maine West alumni, Maine South alumni, and Maine North alumni to visit and share with classmates and friends who were part of this early FM educational radio station based in Maine Township Illinois.
THIS WEB SITE
The primary function of this web site is to share the station history, the stories of past staff members, and serve as an online museum of WMTH memorabilia. Contributions of material is always appreciated.
This web site is operated solely by Dave Schubert, WMTH-FM alum from 1967 to 1970 at Maine East. Expenses such as web hosting, domain registration, and volunteered hours are totally out of his pocket and available “spare time”. Annual costs are about $200. Contributions are helpful and much appreciated (There is a link at the top-right corner on the home page).
Note that we are in search of a “younger” co-webmaster who would eventually take over this web site so that it can continue well into the future. Skills in WordPress would be very helpful. Apply by contacting Dave.
NOT EVERYONE LIKES OR USES FACEBOOK
If you are not a Facebook member, here is your alternative to connect with WMTH friends from the present and past. If you are a Facebook member, consider giving some attention over here also. Like Facebook, membership is free. Membership is required to post messages. If you are just here to look at content, there is no requirement to sign up.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF WMTH AND WMTH ALUMNI
The idea of a student-operated radio station was presented to the District School Board #207 in 1957. During 1958, an FCC license was applied for and a studio was built in room 147B at Maine Township High School, which became “Maine East” as more high schools opened in the district.
The FM went on the air in December 1959 and the TV Cable channel went live around 1974. The FM was initially at frequency 88.5 MHz and later moved to 90.5 MHz by request of the Federal Communications Commission after District 207 representatives decided to not increase power to 100 watts at 88.5 MHz.
Over the years, a number of reunions have taken place. At one event in the mid-1990s someone said there should be a web site for our group. Dave Schubert liked the idea and went to a computer in the hotel lobby and reserved the web domains WMTHalumni.com and WMTHalumni.org . Since that time, the site has gone through a number of changes. Most recently, February 2020, it was converted to a WordPress format which better organizes content in an organized, searchable format.
Current and former students are welcomed to participate in conversations and to browse our site to learn about the earlier years of WMTH.
We also are constantly searching for stories, documents, audio, and video for the web site. Our address appears below.
Visit the Wikipedia page for WMTH (click to open)
Contact: WMTH Alumni c/o Schubert, PO Box 86602, Warrenton VA 20187-1202 Email dave@wmthalumni.com