WMRN 53 Years Serving the Marion Area Promotional Timeline Handout (WMRN-2026-053) is a printed station-history and anniversary handout associated with WMRN-AM / WMRN-FM, preserved within the WMRN Promotional Ephemera Collection. The handout was likely produced in or after September 1993, based on its “53 Years” anniversary language and the latest milestone printed on the sheet.

The piece features a blue-and-white design headed “Celebrating 53 Years of Serving the Marion Area,” with a central color photograph of the WMRN building, flagpole, landscaping, and antenna towers. The lower portion presents a selected institutional timeline of WMRN milestones from the station’s 1940 sign-on through early 1990s facility and operational improvements.

Timeline Milestones Printed on Item

• December 23, 1940 – WMRN-AM signs on the air under the auspices of Robert and Frank Mason.
• February 1949 – TV writer/producer Rod Serling is hired under a college work-study program.
• May 1953 – WMRN-FM signs on the air simulcasting WMRN’s AM signal with 25,000 watts of power.
• November 1967 – WMRN-FM ceases simulcasting and offers its own “beautiful music” format.
• January 1971 – A major addition is completed, more than doubling space for studios, offices, and transmitting equipment.
• April 1, 1981 – “Beautiful music” is replaced with a contemporary country music format.
• December 23, 1990 – WMRN celebrates its golden anniversary.
• April 1992 – WMRN-FM becomes “Hot Country-107.”
• September 1993 – WMRN-AM-FM completes a major capital improvements project, computerizing station operations with digital audio technology.

Historical Significance

This handout documents how WMRN presented its own institutional history to listeners and the Marion community during the early 1990s. It is especially useful because it combines facility imagery, station anniversary language, AM/FM development, programming changes, and technology modernization into a single promotional object.

The item also preserves WMRN’s public narrative of continuity: from the Mason-era 1940 sign-on, through Rod Serling’s early station association, FM expansion, format changes, Hot Country 107 branding, and early digital operations. As printed ephemera, it helps show how local radio history was summarized, commemorated, and distributed outside the broadcast itself.

Exhibit Label

WMRN 53 Years Serving the Marion Area Promotional Timeline Handout. c. 1993. Printed promotional timeline handout / station history flyer. This item is preserved as part of the WMRN Radio History Archive.

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