John Shepard III (March 19, 1886May 11, 1950) was an American radio executive and merchant. Among his many achievements, he was one of the original board members of the National Association of Broadcasters, having been elected the group's first vice president in 1923.Gary L. Frost. Early FM Radio. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 2010, p. 120 Shepard co-founded a New England radio network, known as the Yankee Network, along with his brother Robert, in 1929–1930."Yankee Network is Being Formed." New York Times, February 9, 1930, p. X20. Shepard was also an early proponent of frequency modulation or FM broadcasting: he established the first FM network, when he linked his station in Massachusetts with one in New Hampshire in early 1941.Christopher Sterling, editor. The Encyclopedia of Radio. New York: Routledge, 2011, p. 326. He also was an early experimenter with home shopping, creating perhaps the first all-female radio station, WASN, in early 1927; the station broadcast some music, but mostly focused on shopping news and information about merchandise that listeners could purchase.New Station Will Take Air Tomorrow." Boston Herald, January 30, 1927, p. 16. Additionally, he created a local news network to serve New England, the Yankee News Service, and was instrumental in getting radio journalists the same credentials as print journalists.Leland Bickford. News While It Is News. Boston: Manthorne & Co., 1935.
Early life
John Shepard III was born in Boston on March 19, 1886; his father's name was John Jr. and his mother's name was Flora.Christopher Sterling, editor. The Encyclopedia of Radio. New York: Routledge, 2011, p. 327. John III also had a brother Robert, who was born in 1891.Who's Who in New England. Chicago: A. N. Marquis, 1949, p. 548. A third brother, Edward, was born in 1889, but he died suddenly at age twenty-one, in 1910."Edward Pearl Shepard." Providence Journal, June 4, 1910, p. 5. Along with his family, John III spent his early years in Providence before returning to greater Boston, where his family owned a home in Brookline. He graduated from Brookline High School."We Pay Our Respects to John Shepard III." Broadcasting magazine, August 15, 1932, p. 17. John Shepard and his brother Robert were born into a family of merchants. Their grandfather, John Shepard Senior and business partner Henry Norwell founded Shepard-Norwell, a Boston dry goods and retail store, in 1865.Edward Monroe Bacon. Men of Progress. Boston: New England Magazine, 1896, p. 94. That business later expanded to include a store in Providence, and the two companies became known collectively as the Shepard Stores in 1911. John Shepard III's father, John Shepard Junior, assumed operations that year, when John Sr. retired."Famous Business Celebrates 52d Anniversary." Boston Herald, September 13, 1917, p. E2. By that time, the Shepard Store in Boston had become one of Boston's most popular department stores. The large building, located at 30 Winter Street, occupied most of the city block created by Winter Street and Winter Place.
John Shepard III tried unsuccessfully to enroll at the U.S. Naval Academy, but was rejected due to poor eyesight. Rather than try to attend a different college, he chose to enter the retail trade of his father and grandfather."We Pay Our Respects to John Shepard III." Broadcasting magazine, August 15, 1932, p. 17. In 1912, John Shepard III married Mabel E. Fletcher of Providence, with whom he had three daughters.Who's Who in Massachusetts, 1941 edition, p. 695 By 1917, John III had worked his way up to a department manager at the Shepard Stores, becoming the third generation to go into management there."The John Shepards Congratulated", Boston Globe, 2 October 1917, p. 6 Meanwhile, his brother, Robert, became the manager of the Shepard Store in Providence."John Shepard Jr. Seeks to Retire." Boston Herald, February 7, 1928, p. 3.
Early radio career
In 1920 and 1921, people were still building their own radio sets and only a few commercial stations were on the air. That changed in 1922, as radio developing into the latest craze and new stations proliferated."Westinghouse Company Finds Radio Craze So Strong that Broadcasting Station Must Be Greatly Enlarged." Springfield Daily News, May 4, 1922, p. 2. By this time, John Shepard III was the general manager of the Shepard Stores."New Radio Station in Shepard Stores." Boston Globe, May 12, 1922, p. 8. Radio was becoming an essential part of daily life, and John Shepard III decided the Shepard Stores needed a radio department. It was installed on the fourth floor of the Boston store; personnel demonstrated radio equipment, sold ready-made sets, and let customers listen to music concerts from other stations."Moved to Larger Quarters." Boston Herald, June 4, 1922, p. E6. But Shepard wanted to do more than just sell radios; he wanted to have a station of his own. He applied for a license, and on July 31, 1922, the new radio station gave its first broadcast."Shepard Station to Open July 31." Boston Herald, July 23, 1922, p. 8D. For its first several months, it was only known as the "Shepard Radio Station";"Sermon at Cathedral to Be Broadcast by Radio." Boston Globe, August 26, 1922, p. 3. it was not until mid-September that the call letters "WNAC" came into use.Programs for Today." Boston Globe, September 15, 1922, p. 17. The Shepard station was typical of radio stations of the early 1920s: it featured a combination of music played by dance orchestras, performances by local vocalists, religious services, news headlines, and educational talks. In fact, WNAC was the first greater Boston radio station to broadcast a live church service, from the Cathedral Church of St. Paul."Shepard Radio Station to Broadcast Service." Boston Herald, August 19, 1922, p. 16. In addition, in 1924, Shepard contracted with Rabbi Harry Levi of Temple Israel in Boston to broadcast synagogue services, perhaps the first time in greater Boston that Jewish services were made available to a wider audience."Temple Israel to be Broadcast by WNAC." Boston Herald, November 2, 1924, p. D10. Five years later, Shepard arranged to have regular Sunday broadcasts by Catholic priest Father Michael J. Ahern, a program that came to be known as the "Catholic Truth Period.""Catholic Truth Committee Named." Boston Herald, September 18, 1929, p. 19. WNAC also developed a program especially for housewives, the WNAC Women's Club. It became one of the station's most popular features.Oliver Jenkins. "Radio for Milady at WNAC." Radio Age, May 1925, pp. 25, 55.
During WNAC's first several years, John Shepard III was not only managing the Shepard Store and selling radio sets; by early 1923, he was taking an occasional turn as one of the announcers, using his initials, JS.Lewis Whitcomb. "Who's Who in Radio Broadcasting. Boston Post, January 21, 1923, p. 17. Meanwhile, as radio continued to grow in popularity, the Shepard Stores had to expand their radio department,Shepard Radio Store Expands," Boston Herald, October 29, 1922, p. C11. as well as expanding the number of hours the station broadcast. By the mid-1920s John Shepard III and his brother Robert, who managed the Providence Shepard Store and also operated station WEAN, began experimenting with linking their two stations by telephone land lines in order to share and exchange programming."We Pay Our Respects to John Shepard III." Broadcasting magazine, August 15, 1932, p. 17. As far back as January 1923, Shepard's WNAC had already done a brief experiment with WEAF in New York, in which the two stations were linked for five minutes, proving that such a linkage could be achieved.Charles R. Geisst. Encyclopedia of American Business History. New York: Facts on File, 2006, p. 351. Then, on December 24, 1925, both WNAC and WEAN aired a program of Christmas carols, sung by several choirs."Host Tonight Will Sing Xmas Carols." Boston Herald, December 24, 1925, p. 3. The two stations also relayed individual programs, with a Providence broadcast being sent to Boston, or vice versa."Sporting Events Featured at WNAC." Boston Herald, July 5, 1925, p. D5. These experiments were well received by the audience, and by the late 1920s, they became a regular part of the broadcasting schedule, ultimately leading to the creation of the Yankee Network."Yankee Network is Being Formed." New York Times, February 9, 1930, p. X20.
In May 1925, Shepard expanded further, acquiring a second Boston station, WNAB."WNAC Has Sister Station in WNAB." Boston Herald, May 20, 1925, p. 27. In late January 1927, that station became WASN (Air Shopping News), an early experiment with home shopping by radio."New Station Will Take Air Tomorrow." Boston Herald, January 30, 1927, p. 6A. The experiment was unsuccessful, however."Claire Crawford, Luminary of WBIS." Boston Herald, December 9, 1928, p. R7. By July 1927, the station had become known as WBIS."Radio Broadcast." Boston Herald, July 15, 1927, p. 11. Meanwhile, by April 1926, John Shepard III began providing Boston's baseball fans with regular broadcasts of home games: Boston Traveler sportswriter Gus Rooney aired the play-by-play of a Boston Red Sox game, and subsequently announced a Boston Braves home game."WNAC to Broadcast Braves Opening Game." Boston Herald, April 18, 1926, p. 6A. Later that year, Rooney was replaced at the microphone by sportswriter Fred Hoey.Howard Fitzpatrick. "Radio Listening." Boston Post, July 27, 1947, p. 18.
Later radio career John Shepard III and his brother Robert founded the Yankee Network in a period of time from February 1929 to July 1930."Yankee Network Becomes a Reality." Boston Globe, July 13, 1930, p. 51. Its purpose was to give New England a radio network that could offer local news, sports, and music. Its first affiliates, in addition to station WNAC in Boston and WEAN in Providence, were WNBH in New Bedford, WLBZ in Bangor, Maine, and WORC in Worcester. Also in the chain of stations was WLEX, then in Lexington, Massachusetts. Shepard ultimately purchased WLEX and moved it to Boston in 1931, under the call letters WAAB. Meanwhile, the Yankee Network continued to gain new affiliates, as WDRC in Hartford, Connecticut, soon joined, as did WICC in Bridgeport."WAAB To Take Air Tomorrow at 9 AM." Boston Herald, April 19, 1931, p. A 9. Throughout the Yankee Network's thirty-seven year history, WNAC remained the flagship station. At the height of its popularity, the network had affiliates in Massachusetts (Fall River, Lowell–Lawrence, New Bedford, Springfield), Connecticut (Bridgeport, Hartford, Waterbury), Rhode Island (Providence), New Hampshire (Manchester), and Maine (Bangor, Portland).