Today is KRPS' 37th anniversary. The station exists as an NPR affiliate because of the leadership of Frank Baker, KRPS's first general manager. His first task as General Manager was establishing KRPS as an NPR member station and a Corporation for Public Broadcasting member. Baker said his job was always exciting and he enjoyed every part.
For the last 36 years, KRPS has lived in Shirk Hall, originally a dormitory for Pittsburg State University. Baker spent most of his time 'retrofitting' the radio station to its previous facilities – even though the dormitory closed before KRPS was in Shirk,
"I'll be honest: when I first heard of the radio station being in an old dorm, I thought it was odd," he said.
The process didn't come without challenges.
For example, the floors at Shirk were uneven. The classical music section at the station's beginning relied on records and later CDs. Building the shelves for the music storage was a delicate, step-by-step process.
The old showers, conveniently, were also where the manager's office was – which Baker found amusing.
Baker graduated from Pittsburg State University. His favorite part of the job was creating a new public radio station for his alma mater. At the time of KRPS' establishment, the Pittsburg region was the most underserved area for public media. Successfully starting this station was impactful to Baker for several reasons.
"The idea that number one was that we were serving that large area with something brand new or at least unfamiliar to many people or missed by people familiar with it. And helping enhance the university's image by putting the station on air," Baker adds.
His day-to-day operations started early in the morning. As the station's Morning Edition Host, he recorded 'cut-ins' and station IDs. The rest of the staff arrived at about ten a.m.
While he initially disliked waking up early, he eventually got used to it. He said that was his least favorite part of the job—everything else was thrilling.
"I do not know if I had least liked every part of the job. Everything was new and exciting, and the whole thing from beginning to end," Baker said.
He recalls some funnier moments, like when somebody did not properly nail the satellite dish on top of Shirk Hall. When the wind struck, it wobbled around on the roof, cutting the signal to NPR.
He said he was thinking about this being one of the funnier moments "in terms of retrofitting something to be something different than what it was in the beginning,"
Shirk Hall, KRPS's thirty-six-year-old home, will be demolished in the next few months. Baker recalls his reaction to moving KRPS to the old dormitory.
"There were all sorts of adjustments and make-dues that we had to make to get the thing to fit into the dorm," he said.
Baker was in his forties when he was General Manager of KRPS. Now, he's retired and just recently turned eighty.
In his free time, he enjoys photography and experimenting with Photoshop. He also enjoys playing World of Warcraft and is on a '50 and older World of Warcraft' page.
