<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676316209390.jpeg" alt="The old Scroggin Bank of Oak, Nebraska, where KFEQ started in 1923 still stands/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>The old Scroggin Bank of Oak, Nebraska, where KFEQ started in 1923 still stands/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostKFEQ began modestly enough, in the back of a bank building in
Oak, Nebraska.This is the second of our five-part series on the history of KFEQ.A bout of measles forced University of Nebraska engineering
student John Scroggin home to recover where he began to earn the moniker of a tinkerer. While at back in Oak,
Scroggin began to experiment with a new technology, radio. He began with
crystal sets, then in the winter of 1921, Scroggin operated a ham radio under
the call letters of 9BEY.Scroggin passed all the federal requirements to operate a
radio station before setting up a 200-watt station in the back of his father’s
bank with transmitting towers made of lath outside. He operated under the call
letters KFEQ.The most complete history of the radio station we have,
written by long-time KFEQ Engineer Kenny Lux in 1966, states Scroggin began the
first broadcast at three o’clock the afternoon of February 15th,
1923. A provisional “License for Land Radio Station” issued by the Department
of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation, Radio Service to Scroggin contains the date
February 16th, 1923.Either way, KFEQ began on a cold winter afternoon in the small
town of Oak, in south-central Nebraska, approximately 190 miles from St. Joseph.
Data maintained by the National Weather Service reports a temperature of 27
degrees on the 15th in that area, and 30 degrees on the 16th
when John Scroggin and his brother, Grover, began broadcasting on KFEQ.Mark McLaughlin, John Scroggin’s great-grandson, recalled the
family stories about the beginnings of KFEQ during a visit to Oak.“Mom would talk about it a lot and grandma talked about it, of
course, a lot. She grew up with it,” Mark McLaughlin told KFEQ/St. Joseph Post during
an interview in the old bank building.“We’ve seen the memorabilia and all that,” John McLaughlin,
his older brother, added. “Always wondered about it. It’s just history.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676317526301.jpeg" alt="Mark McLaughlin (l) and John McLaughlin stand in the empty room in the back of the now vacant Scroggin bank, where KFEQ made its first broadcast/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Mark McLaughlin (l) and John McLaughlin stand in the empty room in the back of the now vacant Scroggin bank, where KFEQ made its first broadcast/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>John and Mark both got to know their great-grandfather before
he died in early 1985 at the age of 94.And, what do they remember?“Wise man,” Mark McLaughlin says with John agreeing. “He was
not like a jokester or anything. He was always a serious guy, very nice guy. I remember
he really like ice cream. He loved ice cream.”Both laughed at the recollection.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676317656971.jpeg" alt="John McLaughlin (in the foreground) and Mark McLaughlin stand in the now vacant Scroggin Bank/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>John McLaughlin (in the foreground) and Mark McLaughlin stand in the now vacant Scroggin Bank/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>The bank now is empty, but full of memories for the two
great-grandsons of John Scroggin.“I can remember when the bank was still going here. I’m not
from Oak, but I feel like I’m from Oak,” John McLaughlin says, noting the two grew
up in nearby Edgar, “but we spent a lot of time at our great-grandpa’s house
here. I can remember the grocery store here; a lot of good times here.”Mark McLaughlin remembers spending every Christmas Eve at the Scroggin
home.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676317749086.jpeg" alt="Tile at the entrance of the old Scroggin Bank/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Tile at the entrance of the old Scroggin Bank/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>While KFEQ began in Oak, its tie to St. Joseph started from
the beginning. Scroggin or, actually his brother Grover who served as the
announcer, broadcast the market report from the St. Joseph Grain Exchange in
the afternoon; live music at night. Alex Washington would provide the market
report from St. Joseph via telegraph.Some orchestras moved to Oak, playing on the radio as well as
at dances held in the Oak Opera House. John’s wife, Artha, played piano. Local
groups, such as the “King’s Entertainers,” performed.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676317810056.jpeg" alt="Mark McLauglin (l) and John McLaughlin stand next to the wooden doors from the old KFEQ studio in Oak. Both the studio door and the door to the coal room contain signatures from performers on and visitors to KFEQ. The doors are on exhibit at the Nuckolls County Museum in Superior, Nebraska/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Mark McLauglin (l) and John McLaughlin stand next to the wooden doors from the old KFEQ studio in Oak. Both the studio door and the door to the coal room contain signatures from performers on and visitors to KFEQ. The doors are on exhibit at the Nuckolls County Museum in Superior, Nebraska/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>Performers and visitors wrote their names on the wooden studio
door and the door to the coal room. Arlington Brugh played cello on KFEQ. He
would change his name to Robert Taylor when he moved to Hollywood to make
movies.Few radio sets existed at the time. Those with radios would
call friends on party lines and lay the receiver next to the radio for all to
enjoy.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676318060637.jpeg" alt="Derrick Drohman gives Mark and John McLaughlin a tour of their great-grandfather's home in Oak, which he now owns/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Derrick Drohman gives Mark and John McLaughlin a tour of their great-grandfather's home in Oak, which he now owns/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>The station outgrew the bank, eventually moving into the
basement of the Scroggin home across the street, now owned by Derrick Drohman
and his family, who gave us a tour of the one-time studio, now empty.“I don’t know,” Drohman said when asked about what goes
through his mind while we stood in the empty basement room that once house the
KFEQ studios. “I guess I wonder what it would have been like back however many
years ago when they were standing right here in the same spot.”Drohman’s great-grandfather, Gottlieb Schmitt, performed live
on KFEQ in those early days as part of the Acorn Trio.“Oak, Nebraska; one of the earliest radio stations,” Drohman
said. “Who would’ve guessed?”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676318158644.jpeg" alt="Derrick Drohman stands in the empty basement room that once housed the KFEQ studio/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Derrick Drohman stands in the empty basement room that once housed the KFEQ studio/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>In three years, KFEQ would move to St. Joseph.The memories of KFEQ in Oak remain.“I’m proud, proud to be the roots of that,” John McLaughlin said.
“100 years.”It is a heritage carried proudly by the great-grandsons of
John Scroggin.“Whenever we got to South Padre (Island) or down to Kansas
City to a Chiefs game, I’ll bring it up to everybody that’s in the car,” Mark
McLaughlin said. “Great grandpa started a radio station in this town: KFEQ,
still going.”Still going as a voice of agriculture. We’ll explore that on
part three tomorrow.<div><iframe src="https://anchor.fm/kfeq-news/embed/episodes/KFEQ-100-Journal-2142023--A-trip-to-where-it-all-started-in-Oak--Nebraska-e1uto7a" height="102px" width="400px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><div><div style="position:relative; overflow:hidden; padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/z8NBSRj3-KcBmu4K3.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" title="Kfeq Oak Ne Feb 2023" style="position:absolute;" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676318246028.jpeg" alt="Signatures on the wooden KFEQ studio door/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Signatures on the wooden KFEQ studio door/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676318296078.jpeg" alt="More signatures. Performers on KFEQ would sign their names, doodle, or draw on the wooden studio door as well as the door to the coal room/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>More signatures. Performers on KFEQ would sign their names, doodle, or draw on the wooden studio door as well as the door to the coal room/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>

🎥 KFEQ, the voice of St. Joseph, actually began in a small Nebraska town