Seldom Heard History: Pirate Station WUMS 1925 – 1980

Proctorville Ohio is a community located at the southernmost point of Ohio along the Ohio River, across the river from Huntington, West Virginia. Proctorville is the home of one of the earliest American pirate radio stations – WUMS. The federal government worked for decades to shut the station down to no avail.

Captain Paul Thomas had a reputation for being an exceptional ferryman on the Ohio River. He operated a busy ferry schedule between Proctorville and Huntington for years.
At times floods disrupted ferry service and the shipping activity along the river, not to mention creating hardship in local communities. In 1925, Capt. Thomas’s son, Dave Thomas, came up with the idea of utilizing radio during the floods. His station, using the call letters WUMS, took to the airwaves on November 16th that year transmitting flood information, music, news and advice to area residents about managing the flooding emergency. The WUMS studios were located on one of Capt. Thomas’s ferries. WUMS reportedly stood for both “We’re Unknown Mystery Station” and “We’re Unlicensed Marine Station.”

For a few years, no one knew the station’s location or who the operator was. The government refused to license even though Dave Thomas applied to become a legal broadcaster. By the early 1930’s WUMS started broadcasting openly and was a well known “outlaw” station. WUMS could be heard on 1560 kHz (regular broadcasts) and 2004 kHz (floods and emergencies) transmitting with only a few watts. Dave Thomas also took the operations of WUMS mobile, broadcasting from churches, schools, theaters, and local events.

Tensions with the FCC continued throughout WUMS’s history. In 1942, after the FCC had denied WUMS a license yet again, Dave Thomas wrote: “One of the first rules of the FCC is that radio be used for safety of life and property, and a few more things that should / would grant a permit to anyone who is working emergency times for no personal gain and has saved thousands of dollars for others during past floods. I have always tried to play ball with you and seek permission so that I could operate in a legal way. I do not want to operate as an outlaw station but when floods are raging over the Ohio Valley this station will come on the air. I’ve asked for nothing impossible for you to grant and I’ve asked for nothing personal except to serve the people of this locality.”

The federal government took Dave Thomas to court in 1948. After an initial conviction of operating without a license, upon appeal the FCC lost the case and charges were dismissed. As a consequence of legal concerns, after 1948 WUMS operated less frequently and stopped sending out advance notice of broadcasts. However, as late as 1980 Dave Thomas wrote that the station was still alive, just rarely on the air. The story of WUMS is a chronicle of courage, advocacy, perseverance and standing up to a government that doesn’t want us serving our communities through the airwaves unless we are subject to federal approval and control. Why? What is the FCC afraid of? There have been incidents of serious gas leaks, fires, and other emergencies that what remains of local media didn’t even bother to report. There are rural and suburban communities where there is no local media whatsoever. The internet could be an incredible local news resource yet even in 2007 not everyone is or wants to be connected to the internet. Not everyone owns or wants a television. And not many television stations broadcast to or for the local community. Radio is one of the most effective methods of communication and community building, along with zines and non-commercial local papers. Radio is inexpensive, portable, can be used anywhere. Dave Thomas showed the way for broadcasters to serve their communities, license or no license. Long live mystery stations!