Patrick Leahy: “2006 marks the 75th anniversary of a true Vermont treasure. Locally owned and operated, WDEV of Waterbury, VT, first…”

“2006 marks the 75th anniversary of a true Vermont treasure. Locally owned and operated, WDEV of Waterbury, VT, first came to the airwaves on July 16, 1931. Its continuing and expanded presence in Central Vermont and the Champlain Valley ever since then is a rare and stellar example these days of the invaluable resources that independent, community-based media can offer. WDEV station owner and President Ken Squier took the reins of WDEV from his parents, Guila and Lloyd, who first operated the station at the same time my own parents were operating a small Waterbury newspaper nearby, and his parents and mine were friends. If things had gone differently Ken and I might have had a media conglomerate in the making. Growing up in the station's studios, Ken's life was steeped in the culture and the craft of community radio. He understood WDEV's role in community life, and when he assumed operation of the station, his approach to community-based programming became the foundation of the station's lineup. Today the residents of Waterbury and its surrounding communities turn the dial to WDEV to find everything from a trading post to buy and sell their goods and treasures, to such off-beat program offerings as ``Music to Go to the Dump By.'' WDEV is the place to go for everything from local news to high school sports to school closings. It has become a vital source of news, information and entertainment to its devoted audience.…”