Wild West

KFBB, the radio station at Great Falls, Mont., is the kind of broadcasting station that U.S. radio-network executives envy. Almost all of its programs are heard by almost all of its audience. The reason for this idyllic situation is that KFBB's territory has one basic interest -- the weather -- and that KFBB has been sharing that interest for 22 years. As a result, most receiving sets in Montana's 15 north-central counties (about the size of the State of New York) were tuned last week, as usual, to KFBB.

Sheepherders in their covered wagons, without telephones, beyond telegraph service, get advance information on blizzards breaking fast over the bitter Montana ranch lands. Farmer Jones's wife can sleep at night when KFBB finally tells her that Farmer Jones is safe in town and not freezing on some snowy butte. Most of the rural schools have radios, and warnings like the following are a winter commonplace: "The teacher at the Pleasant Val ley school should not let the children start for home this afternoon because the roads are blocked," or "The children of Pleasant Valley school are safe. . . ." Tickets, Please. Such personal messages are sent free by the station. To send one, KFBB, a CBS affiliate, will break into a commercial broadcast sometimes.

Typical message was one from a Montana farmer who went to Great Falls to see the fair and left his tickets at home. Recalling that a neighbor was planning to come to town, the farmer got KFBB to ask the neighbor to go to the farmer's house, enter by way of a loose kitchen screen, and get the tickets out of the blue sugar bowl in the cupboard.

Favorite hour for such personals is The Farmer's Noon Hour (12-1 p.m., daily, M.W.T.). This program is filled with everything from recordings of Spike Jones and His City Slickers to the Minneapolis wheat futures and protein premiums. Farmers and grain-elevator operators get the latest prices by radio during the hour. And recently the county treasurer at Havre sent a message to motorists that his supply of 1944 automobile plates was exhausted, and would they please lay off coming to town until he got some more.

KFBB began in 1922 in an upstairs corner of the F. A. Buttrey general store in Havre. Old Man Buttrey, now one of Montana's biggest merchants, still sees to it that the station pays more attention to the facts of Montana life than to Kate Smith and Jell-0, for instance. This winter, so far, has been fairly mild, and distress calls infrequent. But a prairie fire broke out last week on the exposed ranch lands 35 miles south of Great Falls. At 4:30 p.m. KFBB called for volunteers. Three hours later the sheriff told the station there were 500 on hand, and the fire was under control.

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