W. K. Henderson
| William Kennon Henderson, Jr. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 6, 1880 Bastrop, Morehouse Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Died | May 28, 1945 (aged 64) Shreveport, Caddo Parish Louisiana |
| Resting place | Greenwood Cemetery in Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | St. Edward's University |
| Occupation | Founder of KWKH Radio |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Josie Carter Henderson (married 1908-1945, his death) |
| Children |
Kennon Henderson |
| Parent(s) | W. K. and Mamie Jamison Henderson |
Kennon Henderson
William Kennon Henderson, Jr., usually known as W.K. Henderson (August 6, 1880 – May 28, 1945), was a pioneer in the radio industry who in 1922 acquired WGAQ in Shreveport, Louisiana, expanded it, and renamed the call letters after himself as KWKH.
Hello, World, Doggone, Ya! -- trademark greeting of W. K. Henderson
Henderson was born to W. K. Henderson, Sr., and the former Mamie Jamison in Bastrop, the seat of Morehouse Parish north of Monroe. The parents moved to Jefferson in Marion County in northeast Texas, where Henderson was reared and educated. He attended the Thatcher Institute in Shreveport before he entered and subsequently graduated from the Roman Catholic-affiliated St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. In 1896, the Hendersons moved to Shreveport. After college, he established Henderson Garage and sold Ford automobiles. Upon the death of the senior Henderson near the end of World War I, Henderson, then thirty-eight, disposed of the garage and assumed management of the Henderson Iron Works and Supply Company, the largest company of its kind south of St. Louis, Missouri.
Henderson, meanwhile, developed an interest in the new medium of radio. He and several partners operated WGAQ from 1922-1925. He then acquired full ownership of the renamed KWKH, and the station with expanded band width went on the air on September 25, 1925. Operating from his estate called "Kennonwood," north of Shreveport, the 10,000-watt, clear-channel station matched in prestige WWL in New Orleans. On the air, Henderson railed against the power of the new Federal Communications Commission to regulate his station, going so far as to issue a private phonograph record to present his views. During the evening hours, its powerful signal reached all over the United States. Henderson allied himself politically with the popular Democrat, Huey Pierce Long, Jr., who was elected governor of Louisiana in 1928. Like Long, Henderson challenged the power of chain store monopolies. Henderson and Long came to a parting of the ways, and Henderson sold the station in 1933. Henderson's trademark sign-in on radio was "Hello, World, Doggone Ya!" The Shreveport mayor during Henderson's heyday as a broadcaster was Lee Emmett Thomas, who pushed for the acquisition of Shreveport Municipal Auditorium.
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