Today, few remnants of the ABC's brief life

remain. Yet it is obvious that, while in operation,

ABC was a classy affair with a large staff and business being conducted on a grand

scale. Even NBC and CBS couldn’t boast such huge staffs as ABC’s which included a

variety of vocalists, comedians, a string quartet, a dance band, a symphony

orchestra, an opera company and a plethora of announcers and actors.

Homer Pope, who came to the KJR staff in 1928 and remained until 1970, was

interviewed by John Schneider in 1993. According to Pope, KJR/ABC “had a 12-14

piece orchestra — they played a couple of hours a day. We had trios, classical, as

well as pop, and a lot of people, like Vic Meyers. Vic had an orchestra in Seattle

at the Butler Hotel for years, and at the Trianon Ballroom. He traveled around the

northwest, and would go to Spokane and to Portland. Then we had another whole

crew in San Francisco, a concert orchestra. It was on three days a week, Herman

Kenin with his Orchestra, on every night.” Between the Seattle and the San

Francisco personnel, ABC had as many as 300 people on staff.

Other things suggest in small ways the manner in

which ABC was “flying high.” For example, a

surviving script for the situation comedy “The Great

American Appleburys” was bound in handsome,

gold-embossed leatherette folio. Neither NBC nor

CBS seemingly sported such literary finery.

Linden was ahead of his time. Ultimately, there was

indeed a niche for a fourth network established on

somewhat different principles than NBC and CBS

which led to the formation of the Mutual

Broadcasting System (MBS) in 1934.

In Homer Pope's words: “You can’t believe how

fabulous it was.”