60 years ago, a small, primarily AM radio station launched on Smithers airwaves and marked history in the Bulkley Valley and Lakes District.
In that time, the station went by many names such as CFBV Radio, BV/LD Radio, The Peak, and is today known as The Moose.
“Marking the 60th anniversary of CFBV, The Moose, I am pleased to join the entire Vista family to reflect on our deep roots in Smithers,” said Bryan Edwards, Vista Radio President.
The man behind the launch was Ron East, who moved to Smithers after working for CKPG Radio, for about nine and a half years.
Construction of the tower site started at the end of August 1963, near the Smithers Golf Course and Canadian National Railway tracks.
After a month of construction and on-air testing, CFBV Radio launched at 1230 on the AM dial in Smithers.
It was the first radio station to broadcast in the Bulkley Valley and did so with a daytime power of 1 kilowatt.
The studios were located at 229 Queen Street, at the intersection of Highway 16.
At the time, programing only ran from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on weekdays, 6:30 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays, and 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Sometime during 1964, residents would be surprised to hear CKTK-AM after CFBV was turned off for the night due to the stations broadcasting on the same frequency.
Another year passed and CFBV Limited, the owners of CFBV Radio, launched CFLD 1400 AM in Burns Lake, broadcasting at a quarter the daytime power of CFBV.
While a morning show was broadcast from the Tweedsmuir Hotel in Burns Lake, most of the station’s programing would be provided by CFBV.
After four years in their Smithers studio, CFBV moved down the road to 97 Queen Street, at the intersection of First Avenue.
The next change for the company would come in 1974 as transmitters opened in Granisle (CHLD 1480 AM), Hazelton (CKBV 1490 AM), and downtown Houston (CHBV 1450 AM).
March 30th, 1976, CFLD’s studios were moved from the Tweedsmuir Hotel to 320-A Alaska Drive.
A partnership with Central Interior Radio in Prince George brought 24-hour broadcasting to CFBV and CFLD Radio for the first time.
In 1985, CFBV moved down the AM spectrum to 870 and CFLD went to 760 AM a year later.
It would be another decade before CFBV would pick up FM broadcast technology and moved its Houston transmitter to Mt. Harry Davis.
With the relocation, residents from Smithers to Decker Lake could listen on 106.5 FM with better audio quality.
“We were the message centre for everybody for what was going on. This is where you got your information from. We still had a once weekly paper, but everybody would tune in Monday morning at 9:00 to listen to the weekend’s news,” said former announcer Deb Meisner.
“I was lucky enough to be a part of this history 20 years ago, this January, as a 4 week fill in from our Prince George office,” said Regional Manager Kyle Wightman.
“Still to this day, I talk about the snowiest drive I have ever done, and playing Plains of Africa by Toto before Craig Lester from our news team would go live for the 6pm news cast.”
In 2006, the station shed its branding as BV/LD Radio and started going by The Peak.
Six years later, HQ Bulkley Valley was launched as a portal to read news stories online featured in newscasts through the day.
After celebrating 50 years on the air, CFBV once again changed its name to MooseFM , later The Moose, after parent company Vista Radio purchased several stations of the same name in Ontario.
The station’s rebroadcast transmitters in Granisle and Hazelton were discontinued in 2016 due to both being in a state of disrepair.
Today, The Moose and My Bulkley Lakes Now continue to serve communities across the Bulkley Valley and Lakes District with local news, events, sports, and more just as it did when first hitting the airwaves.
“For six decades, this station has been a steadfast source of local news, information, and community pride. Thank you to our dedicated listeners for trusting us as your local voice and here’s to many more years of celebrating our unique community together,” said Edwards.
“It’s remarkable that the station has managed to remain relevant and keep going which I’m proud of and proud to be a part of,” said Meisner.
“As a starting point for some of the biggest names in the Canadian broadcast industry, our Smithers studios has given countless opportunities to talented announcers and news reporters to find their voice and launch their careers,” Wightman said.