Our local history feature continues to be tuned in to the start of J. Conrad Lavigne’s CFCL Radio – the first French-language radio station in Ontario.
He opened his first studio space in 1952 upstairs of the Fern Cottage restaurant at 175 Third Avenue.
Local historian Karen Bachmann tells us he hired a talented team of on-air personalities:“Roch Demers, Yvan Ducharme, Jean-Pierre Coallier, Raymond Lemay, Gaston Bergeron, Henri Saint-Georges, Ted Meunier, Pierre Stein, Aurèle Lacoste, Roger Poirier, Robert De Blois and Jean De Villiers.”
The fledgling station earned early success by presenting local talent and covering local events.
Bachmann says the staff was happy to work in French, creating a sense of community across Northeastern Ontario.
“Programming at the station was at least 80% French, and they started to add a few English shows as well. And there were also broadcasts in Italian and Ukrainian because they wanted to cover all of their bases, I assume.”
Next week: The importance of personally dedicating songs on the air… and the long-running program that led to.
