Today 900 CHML radio in Hamilton celebrates its 90th anniversary.
Major news stories from that debut year 1927 included:
- Charles Lindbergh completes the first solo flight across the Atlantic, and The Jazz Singer opens, ending the era of silent movies;
- Work began on Mount Rushmore Sculpture of Presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln);
- Locally, Jack Elliot established Elliot Airport running from the Radial Line to the Bay; Airmail landed in Hamilton; The next year, the first Canadian female pilot was licensed there.
It was before the stadium, the Empire Games, Canada’s first birth control clinic, and before McMaster University.
Legend has it, CHML began operations in 1927 as a response to censorship of political discussions, by another Hamilton radio station.
The original owners were Maple Leaf Radio Company, and the “HML” in the call letters stood for “Hamilton Maple Leaf”.
Today, not only do we celebrate their vision, but the public’s ongoing commitment to keep this local voice alive.
Thank you!