Our History
Lonnie's radio business continued to grow, but the golden days of radio were quickly coming to an end. Even as Americans laughed with Bob Hope and shuddered with "The Shadow," another form of entertainment would soon transform Wichita home entertainment. In 1953 an Oklahoma City television station installed a transmitting tower that reached southern Kansas, and a few televisions began to appear in Wichita. Lonnie built his first antenna tower, a 50-foot TV tower, atop his old garage shop. He recalls, "About 50% of the time we could get a picture; it wasn't good, but we could get a picture." In the evenings, he and his friends gathered around the TV set with their hamburgers in hand, waiting for a picture.
The introduction of television brought three changes to the business in the mid-1950's. Hephner needed more space, more manpower, and a new name. He added a 12' x 20' addition to the existing shop, giving him a total of 384 square feet of workspace. He also hired his first technician, Raymond Babcock. With no TV repair schools around, Lonnie and Raymond practiced TV repair by taking turns putting a glitch of some kind in the TV, and then challenging the other to find and repair the problem. Furthermore, Lonnie changed the business name to reflect the new technology - Hephner Radio became Hephner TV & Radio. |
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When Hephner graduated from East High School in 1949, he headed to Wichita State University for a degree in electrical engineering. The radio repair business continued to flourish and soon outgrew his bedroom. Lonnie and his father built a 12' x 12' garage behind the house using salvaged lumber. In 1950, someone at City Hall learned of his radio business and told him he needed a license. "I coughed up the $10, bought a license, and I was in business," Lonnie recalls. Hephner Radio was born.
But it wasn't the entertainment value that prompted Hephner to spend the huge sum of $300 on a 17" Black & White Philco console TV. Hephner recognized that TV would soon transform America. He knew having a television to tinker with was the first step in learning how to repair one. "I thought it was something I had to do if I was going to be ahead of everyone else," he said. Hephner's foresight paid off when Wichita's first TV station, KTVH -12 went on the air July 1, 1953. KTVH was soon followed by KAKE-10 in October, 1954 and KARD-3 in September, 1955.
