The call letters for WAMO stand for the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers.

That name was given to the station in 1956, but it started broadcasting as WHOD on Aug. 1, 1948, a Sunday.

Recognition will be given to WAMO and its most famous DJ, Porky Chedwick, at Community Day on Saturday in Homestead.

"WHOD Rushes Plans to Go on Air After Receiving Permit" was the headline on a story in the July 28, 1948, issue of the Homestead Daily Messenger, discovered by Jim Hartman, of the Mifflin Township Historical Society.

	Post-Gazette file photo The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King is interviewed by WAMO's Charles Gordon on July 9, 1961, at Forbes Field during the radio station's broadcast of "Freedom Jubilee." Click photo for larger image.

The station had recently received its programming permit from the Federal Communications Commission. It had wanted to go on air in April, but bad weather delayed the construction of a West Mifflin communications tower, which, because the Civil Aeronautics Commission called it an air hazard, had to be replaced.

The article said the small, 250-watt radio station would be on the air from 6 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. daily and have a range of 30 miles.

The programs that first Sunday included a live broadcast of services from Whitaker Community Methodist Church, with the Rev. Charles Tame delivering the sermon.

Other programs that Sunday included a Croatian hour, a Slovak hour and various musical programs. The permanent broadcasting schedule was not completed, the article quoted the programming director as saying. A women's club program was planned and there would be news broadcasts using the United Press news wire service.

The Messenger carried an article a year later noting the first anniversary of WHOD, Mr. Hartman said. There was an open house at the station that day and visitors could see a 16-foot white neon replica of the Statue of Liberty.

The article quoted the secretary of Homestead's chamber of commerce as praising the station's children and women's programs.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the station became known for its R&B and soul music, played by Porky Chedwick and other DJs.

WAMO-FM went on the air in 1960, simultaneously broadcasting WAMO-AM's programming.

In 1973, Sheridan Broadcasting, the current owner, bought WAMO-AM and FM. In 1974, the AM station began airing mainly gospel music and the FM station mainly had R&B.

WAMO moved to 811 Blvd. of the Allies in 1982 and to 411 Seventh Ave. in 1984. It moved to its current site, 960 Penn Ave., in 1994.

Today, the FM station plays contemporary hits. The AM station has a talk format, featuring such well-known people as the Rev. Al Sharpton and Tom Joyner.