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APRIL 12, 2018 // 11
Pam Trenary and Barbara Hansel, among
others are still on the air, though they now
broadcast from the Tillicum House on 14th
Street, a large Queen Anne donated to the
station about 30 years ago by benefactor
Helen Patti.
Media blast
To celebrate their upcoming 35th
anniversary, Coast Community Radio is
throwing a giant birthday bash 6 to 10 p.m.
Saturday, April 14, in the Ruins at the Astor
(1425 Commercial St.), and you and yours
are invited.
In the spirit of community, there will be
a cash bar with brews from Fort George,
spirits from Pilot House Distilling, sand-
wiches from Good to Go, vintage vinyl
spun by DJ Joey Altruda, and the venue
space was donated by local developer Paul
Caruana, who owns the building. Local
print shop Anchor Graphics also provided
promotional materials for the event.
The party coincides with Astoria’s Sec-
ond Saturday Art Walk, and KMUN is hap-
py to poach any and all gallery gazers for a
little bit of revelry. All ages are welcome.
“We’ll be passing the hat, so to speak,”
KMUN board president Joan Herman said.
“But there’s no cover.”
As the only community-run station in
the Lower Columbia region, and a Na-
tional Public Radio affiliate to boot, Coast
Community Radio is annually threatened
as Congress continues to float the idea of
fully defunding the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting. With the recent passing of
the federal budget, for now, Herman said,
“No news is good news,” but she stressed
that it’s the support of the community that
keeps KMUN running.
Besides eclectic, original programming,
with favorites like The Ship Report and
Bedtime Stories, it is important to remem-
ber that KMUN is also here for the commu-
nity in times of crisis. “We’re there in a big
storm, when a pet’s lost, when there’s an
accident on the bridge,” Herman said.
Despite a tree falling on the station
during the Great Coastal Gale of 2007,
Coast Community Radio continued to
broadcast throughout the storm and its
aftermath. Herman said she has heard from
people who lived alone through this historic
event that KMUN was the only human
voice they heard for several days.
“The live broadcasts of FisherPoets by
KMUN has made this community event
accessible to so many more,” said Clatsop
Community College writing instructor
Nancy Cook, who has long been involved
with the FisherPoets Gathering. “And an
arts event wouldn’t be an arts event without
a Friday Arts Live & Local! interview with
Carol Newman.”
PHOTOS COURTESY GEORGE VETTER/CANNON-BEACH.NET
ABOVE: From left: Doug Sweet, Mike Sroufe
with musicians at sign-in April 17, 1983. (Mu-
sicians, from left: Dave Moffitt, Dave Quinton,
Polly Norris) LEFT: From left: Mike Sroufe,
Harriet Baskas and Liam Dunne in 1983
during KMUN’s sign-on
Staying the course
Successful community radio requires
just that: community. Herman, who also
hosts the public affairs show “Perspec-
tives,” urges potential volunteers to just
drop by the station and see what opportuni-
ties await them.
One such holdover is station manager
Graham Nystrom, who first got involved
with the station through the encouragement
of his partner, Jessamyn Grace, who hosts
the late night show Day of the Velvet Voice
every other Monday evening. “I made a
donation of some much needed gear to
the station, and started volunteering by
cleaning and organizing the engineering
space in the basement,” Nystrom recalled.
“It turns out cleaning basements is a good
way to win brownie points. The staff start-
ed referring to me as ‘the guy that lives in
the basement.’ When I would hear a blown
speaker, I would fix it. When I saw a need,
I would address it. About six months later, I
was offered the job of operations manager.
I was thrilled!”
To remain relevant, Herman hopes more
young people will get involved with Coast
Community Radio to help usher in the next
chapter of the people’s station.
“Looking back at early program guides,
the station is not so different now than it
was back then,” Nystrom added. “And I ex-
pect it won’t be so different 35 years in the
future than it is now. I don’t predict music
and news going out of style, but hey, it’s a
brave new world, right?”
Like the course of true love, Dunne
said, “not all relationships run smoothly.
But with a combination of desire and dis-
cipline, and if the spirit is willing, we
will stay the course for generations to
come.” CW