Vinyl fans eager for first pick at 98-year-old Newfoundland radio station's sale
Record collectors in Newfoundland will have a chance Saturday to paw through selections from the vast vinyl library belonging to 98-year-old radio station VOWR.
Elaine Pond said she planned to be among the first people through the door at the St. John's Lions Club Vinyl Record Fair, where the station will have a table set up. It's the first time VOWR has sold any of its records, and Pond said she'll be digging through crates for country and gospel hits from Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash.
"It's a dream for collectors," Pond said in an interview Friday. "This will be my vinyl event of the year. I've seen their collection. I know what they have. I love many of their shows."
VOWR launched in July of 1924 as a way to transmit church services to those who couldn't attend in person. Station manager Ron LeDrew said its library is now home to about 50,000 vinyl records. Among the stacks are albums of banjo covers, obscure Anne Murray bangers and rare recordings from Newfoundland musicians that are likely impossible to find anywhere else.
LeDrew was quick to emphasize that Saturday's sale will be of duplicates or "surplus" records, noting that the station receives many donations of record collections and duplicates pile up. VOWR's library will remain intact, and much of the easy-listening music on its airwaves will still come from those LPs, he said.
"We're dedicated keeping that going," LeDrew said in an interview. "We have country-request programs on the weekends and people call up, and you're not going to get them digitized; you're going to get them off the records."
VOWR is on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it's run entirely by volunteers, many of whom have been there for decades. LeDrew, 75, has been volunteering for 55 years, he said.
The station has a dedicated listener base of mostly seniors and people over 50, though younger people are tuning in as they become more interested in older music, LeDrew said. "A lot of the commercials now they're using old music, old songs," he said. "It's good stuff. It's got great stories, all put together with music. You don't hear that anymore."
In August 2021, the station's transmission tower went down in a lightning storm and people of all ages stepped up to raise or donate money so it could be replaced.
Pond, 41, said VOWR is special to a lot of people, her family included. When her mother died in April of 2014, VOWR was playing in the background.
"She was able to go peacefully," Pond said. "And when it came to decide where we wanted to ask for donations in her memory, we asked that people donate to VOWR."
Some people from the local vinyl collecting community have been volunteering to help the station sort through its record piles to get ready for Saturday's sale.
"There's community support ... to push them ahead and give them the help they need for their first time doing this," Pond said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
RCMP not investigating possible foreign interference cases related to Chiu, Dong: Duheme
Canada's federal police force is not investigating any possible instances of foreign interference in the cases of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu and Liberal-turned-Independent MP Han Dong, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.