On April 28, 1922, an infant radio station on the Iowa State campus secured the call letters “WOI.”

Today, 75 years later, the radio station is still going strong.

For its milestone anniversary, WOI officials have planned an anniversary celebration beginning today with a special call-in show at 10 a.m., when “people can call in to share their memories” of WOI, said Don Wirth, WOI general manager.

At noon, university officials, present and former station employees and “Tippy,” WOI’s unofficial mascot, will be available for on-air interviews. These personalities will sing “Happy Birthday” and cut the 75th birthday cake during the broadcast.

Wirth said in WOI’s early days, founder Andy Woolfries decided which experts would talk on-air and which music would be played based on listeners’ opinions.

“At that time [1922], it was pretty much programming by request,” he said.

Wirth said WOI was founded even before the NBC Radio Network, which is about 70 years old.

“Radio was still being defined [as a medium],” Wirth said. “We were in the forefront.”

But at least one thing hasn’t changed. The first WOI broadcasts, at 640 on the AM dial, contained all programming and no advertising — just as they do now.

Within a few months of its initiation, the station was providing news and weather reports to central Iowa listeners.

Wirth cited the headline of a June 1922 newspaper article which stated, “Radio reports on weather start soon.”

Woolfries had no Associated Press wire in those days to help pick up news, but Wirth said that handicap didn’t stop him. “He picked up The Des Moines Register and started reading some of the stories on-air,” Wirth said.

By 1949, the station had expanded, so WOI took advantage of new technology and began broadcasting at 90.1 FM.

Today, WOI has 20 employees and broadcasts programs such as “The Music Shop,” “The Book Club,” “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.”

Wirth, who has been the business manager at the station for 14 years, has served as the interim general manager since September.

He remembered some big moments in the history of radio at ISU, such as the 80th birthday party, which celebrated the birth of broadcasting on the campus.

Considering the original transmission, “An engineer ran a wire to the water tower and sent out Morse Code,” Wirth said.

He said the station has lots of good memories, including Johann Sebastian Bach’s 300th birthday party, which was held in 1985, and Iowa Week, an event held this year where WOI staff “interacted outside of the studios with listeners. It was a fantastic success.”

Wirth said the pioneering spirit of the first radio broadcasters at ISU was the reason for WOI’s success.

“We’re really celebrating the farsightedness of the people who brought this station on the air. They were willing to take a chance on a new medium, and we intend to carry that mission into the future.”