WQLE

WQLE (960 AM) was the last official call sign of a now defunct radio station in Kane, Pennsylvania.

History

McKean County's First Full-Time Radio Station

WQLE signed on as WADP in 1954 under the ownership of Northern Allegheny Broadcasting Company. Studios and offices were located inside the Penn-Kane Hotel.

For many years, it operated as a daytime-only service, with a maximum power output of 1,000 watts. One year prior to WADP's inception, WFRM in Coudersport, provided southern and central McKean County with local news service to its station from studios in Smethport, the county's seat, following a very positive response after doing a remote broadcast in town. However, local broadcasts that were exclusive to McKean County were only about an hour a day and generally confined to mornings, and it soon became obvious that this part of McKean County not only needed its own radio station, but was able to support one. Service from WESB in Bradford, which first went on the air in 1947, was barely able to be heard in the area due to the rugged mountain terrain literally splitting the county in two, as well as its Class C local frequency that provided a very limited signal. WHDL in Olean, New York also had some coverage in the northeastern portion of the county. WFRM, while having the better signal that blanketed McKean County, could only offer so much service to a county not its own. Two WFRM employees, Bob and Lois Johnson, who were part of the new WFRM studio operations in Smethport, left the station a short time later to assist in the startup of WADP.