Our History

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Before long, R.E. Florence, the owner of Southern Radio, allowed Lonnie to tinker with the tube radio sets. Hephner's developing skills proved useful when his family needed a new radio for themselves. His parents, Lena and Irvin, had long been saving a dollar from every family paycheck to replace their aging tube radio. They were thrilled when Lonnie offered to build them a new 5-tube radio from scratch - saving them a lot of money. By the time Lonnie entered East High School, he eagerly enrolled in all the radio and electrical classes offered.

In his sophomore year of high school, Lonnie left Southern Radio to wire neon signs for Miracle Sign Company. He then went to work for Tarrant Electric Machinery Co in his senior year, rewinding transformers and motors. Besides working these formal jobs, Lonnie continued to pursue side ventures. Throughout his high school years, Lonnie always had at least two lockers full of government surplus electronic equipment to sell. He once sold the Board of Education 1,000 two amp fuses for their film projectors. Additionally, he began to fix radios for customers in his home on South Washington. His bedroom was soon filled with radio parts and tools.

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.

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