WTAY-WTYE

by: Declan and Connor

RADIO

In 1955 Keith and Roger Moyer bought land on the northside of route 33 in Robinson, Illinois. They bought the land to build a radio station for informing the community about local news.  The original radio station was five rooms and was AM only.  It had a tower that could broadcast 50 miles.  They named their radio station WTAY.  The W stands for the fact that it is West of the Mississippi.  The TAY stands for Taylorville, their hometown.  The Moyer’s did not own the station for very long.  They sold it to Ed Phelps Sr. and Jr. and Kathryn Duncan in 1957.  By 1959 Kathryn had bought out the other two and became the only owner. 

After Kathryn Duncan purchased WTAY, she added an FM station and added a 2000 watt transmitter.  In 1972 the tower was raised to 235 feet which increased the broadcast to 70 miles.   After Kathryn Duncan passed away in 1976, the station has changed hands several times.  Jerry Tye purchased the station in 1994 and changed the name to WTYE.  He owned the station until 2010 when he sold it to a business out of Vincennes, Indiana.  The current owner of the station is a business called “The Original Co. Inc”.