WYAR-FM is licensed to and operated by the Heritage Radio Society, Inc., a 501-c(3) non-profit, tax exempt corporation, founded by Gary  King and his late wife, Lois, in 1995. WYAR went on the air in September of 1998.

 

WYAR uses entertainment as an educational tool. The format of the station is not only designed to be instructive, it is intended to be nostalgic and fun, comic and poignant, inspirational and reflective, and everything else a worthy art should be.

 

WYAR has no commercials. We depend entirely on donations from our listeners, grants from our underwriters, and the sometimes heroic efforts of our all-volunteer staff to stay on the air. The Heritage Radio Society, Inc, is a 501-C-3 non-profit corporation, so gifts may be fully tax-deductible (consult your tax advisor). Check the “membership” page for more details.

 

WYAR is G rated. There is nothing played that you would not want your entire family to hear, any time of day or night. Call us old school, but we still believe old school is best.

 

WYAR uses many original; mechanically reproduced recordings, some now more than 100 years old. While a certain amount of enhancement is possible, these old records are still limited in fidelity. Yet the music transcends that limitation with a marvelous gift, a window into the past. WYAR transcends the time barrier, believing that this format can span past decades, uniting them with the present.

 

WYAR is unique among radio stations, in that our play list is quite large. A typical radio station, even with a nostalgia format, typically limits themselves to a 1500 song play list.

WYAR Radio is different. Our active play list is almost 7000 songs, many of which have been enhanced by digital signal processing, and continues to expand with no end in sight (we’re only about half way through cataloging our existing library of 78 RPM recordings!). Plus, we’ve added many of the popular icons of the post 78-era, and select modern covers of old standards. You can easily hear a 1920’s Paul Whiteman, then a 1959 Paul Anka song, followed by a 2009 Gordon Goodwin jazz instrumental, followed by a 1906 show tune. No other station has such stylistic diversity, playing music which spans more than a century.

about wyar

HERITAGE RADIO SOCIETY, INC

WYAR began as the retirement dream of Portland television engineer and director, Gary King and his late wife Lois.

 

WYAR started with limited coverage and a power of 100 watts.

 

Now WYAR is 10 times as strong, broadcasting with an effective radiated power of 1,000 watts.

 

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