Verl Kingsley Thompson was born on April 26, 1906 in Sioux Falls, SD.

Verl's daughter, Ginger, recalls her earliest memories of her father and his work.

I did my first voice over at the age of three.

And so, and I remember exactly what it was.

It was for a meat packing plant, kind of like a Morrell's.

It was called Greenlees, and it was in Sioux Falls at that time.

I had a tag line that said my mommy says Greenlee Meats are the best.

Verl's interest in radio began with the inception of the medium itself and was inspired by historic tragedy.

He became interested in radio when he was six years old and the Titanic sank and he had heard that this ship to shore communication this dot dot helped save hundreds and hundreds of lives and so he was He was curious it was something new It was something that had potential.

And when I heard That the wireless Was having voices added to it.

Which is back in 1921 actually.

I've heard that that's not possible, and so right away I had an interest I had to buy stuff, put it together and see if all this were true.

And so it was risky in the standpoint I was just a kid and I didn't have that kind of funds.

But as soon as I found out what was true, I couldn't believe it.

And the first thing I knew I'm hooked.

Verl attended Washington High School in Sioux Falls, where he was put in charge of the schools amateur radio station.

His interest in radio was encouraged by his high school teachers, who gave him time to experiment with radio during physics class.

His experiments did not always go as planned.

The instructor let him experiment with the radio sets and so he would.

Work on, you know.

Getting the frequency that you know the signal stronger and that kind of thing.

We got a couple of wires crossed and blew up all the Bunsen burners and physics lab and so so then they said no, maybe not anymore during physics class.

His pioneering in radial involved not only a lot of experimentation, but a lot of self taught repair.

He was obviously very innovative and he also was always fixing things because he there you know there were a lot of things to fix.

When you have transmitters and recorders and everything, and so he had a workshop that was just on the other side of the broadcast studio and he would always have these cool nails and blocks and little ceramic fuses.

Or you know stuff like that on his workbench.

Thompson spent nearly every penny earned working at an auto shop to buy equipment for his radio hobby.

You just followed your nose and you put something together and you bought something from someplace and.

Put that in.

If it didn't work, you weren't surprised and then he bought something else and tried that he was so excited because radio it was brand new and it was totally uncharted territory.

It was the, you know, the Wild West of this new type of communication, Verls interest and experimentation with interest and experimentation with early radio was unique and early on generated an unusual reaction from those in his high school and community as he started experimenting with it and.

You know, in the high school students.

He knew that he did, but there was a social backlash to this.

There was a.

You know feeling that.

It was not God's intent.

To be sending voices across the air, he would walk home.

The other students that he went to school with would see him and they would cross the street and avoid him.

And so in this kept happening and so.

He had no idea why.

Why was everybody you know purposely staying so far away from him?

That's the Thompson boy.

He says he hears voices in the air.

Now it's hard to imagine, but they're not just one.

This is a whole neighborhood.

Our whole area if I got out of it.

There was no such thing.

As being able to hear voices in the air, unless you were touched.

But of course I did.

Maybe I was.

His interest in radio resulted in Ver being a self made expert in the field, something that was rare at the time, especially for a high school student.

Radio was coming up so fast that first thing I knew.

I just walking around and there's a.

There's a radio shop there in town.

And the fact that I knew something about this business I'm drug right off the street almost, you know, so I'm in it.

I quit my job and thought go to college next year.

And which I didn't And of course, unfortunately I think for me, being one of the only local experts in radio Verl was often called upon to demonstrate the technology.

However, the technology did not always cooperate since he was becoming known as you know, this guy who heard voices in the air and and other people hadn't.

He was asked to give a demonstration of radio in Canton, SD and so about 25 miles away or so.

So he had an engineer back with the the.

this transmitter and and and he took.

You know, hundreds of pounds of radio equipment with him, and so they were to, you know, at a certain time he was going to, you know, get the radio.

On the air and the in the engineer was, you know, it happened altogether and there were.

They had a big tent and they had, you know, and people that speakers and people were waiting and waiting to hear this thing called radio.

And so they charged.

They charged a dime for people to get into the tent to hear radio and the sign outside was "Hear Radio" Well, so the time came dads there all these people are gathered in the tent.

They've all paid their dimes and he.

And he's fiddling with the dial, and he's where he's supposed to be.

And it's static and he fiddles with some more.

And it's static.

I mean, not nothing, no voices, no music.

And you know, he slipped, and he says, you know.

One of the problems with radio is that it seems, and it was just windy as heck that day, and the tent was flapping and he said that the wind.

Is blowing all the radio waves away?

And they're like.

Oh, OK, His first official radio job was with WFAT in 1924, which was owned by the Sioux Falls Argus Leader newspaper.

Two years later, WFAT would go off the air since commercials were not allowed, there was no clear way for radio to generate revenue.

That frequency would emerge again a few years later as ksoo, you were not supposed to be broadcasting on Sunday and I had been broadcasting on local radio station.

owned by the newspaper.

Well, on the air a couple hours in the afternoon and so I decided it was friend of mine.

It put my amateur rig on the air on Sunday.

They thought well we'll just get some records and will play the records and we'll talk a little bit.

Well that was like what he thinks might be have been the first DJ show.

Perhaps ever the response was so overwhelming.

That I became.

Sort of a local figure of excitement in town.

And that was my first.

Shall I say, show business experience and kind of caught me off guard The show drew the attention of the local audience as well as the Federal Radio Commission, and they did this for about three weeks and then they got a notice from the Federal Radio Commission to cease and desist or and that they could go to prison or be fined $5000, or both because they it was an unholy to broadcast on Sunday, Verl moved on from Sioux Falls to work in Chicago at several radio stations.

As well as doing announcing work for Chrysler Motors, Radio quickly became a popular medium to the point where finding content to fill the air time was a challenge, something this volatile, something that changes you never could get your hands on.

There's always just a little ahead of you, and as a result you're reaching for it.

You're trying for it.

And it never is in your grasp.

Verl took this challenge head on creating what was to become some common types of programming.

He also developed as the first man on the street interviews.

We had this portable transmitter that he would take out and they would send and then take the radio station to downtown in front of Montgomery wards and and connect with people who were on the street and ask them questions about their family or whatever it was.

And you know.

People got a kick out of this because it was a fairly small town at that time.

They knew a lot of the people, but it also allowed him to take the equipment to breaking news events.

The radio stations were crying for entertaining entertainment.

Because they couldn't, you know, run this thing all day.

and just phonographing sounded pretty poorly.

And so they were looking for anybody that.

Add talented of any kind.

They were putting them on the air There was competition for it, with radio being established as the first truly electronic medium.

It was not long before the development of television.

Verls first experience with television came during his announcing work for Chrysler at the world's Fair in 1934.

There was no such thing as television in anyone's home.

Some engineers in New York had one and they were working with it, the.

Fair.

And the television exhibit.

Again, pointed out that here's another possibility, and actually the thing worked with all his experience and expertise in radio.

It was only a matter of time before Verl would create his very own radio station, KISD, which went on the air on May 6th, 1948.

Broadcasting from the basement of his home and that time.

Television unknown factor.

And very expensive.

to get involved in.

And there was no way of doing both.

I had to get with radio and that's what I knew.

Television.

Good deal of doubt.

Even, uh, I think perhaps more among us so called old timers, then there should have been.

That this thing isn't going to get off the ground for years.

KSOO was going to a stronger frequency and they were going to vacate 12:30 on the dial and they were going up to 1320.

Then my dad applied for and got that frequency.

He originally was going to call the radio station KDAK K Dakota and but then the FCC found that there was.

Some obscure something or other that had those call letters, and so he called it K which.

Of course, most everything West of the Mississippi and ISD four in South Dakota, while his expertise in broadcasting was unique, his work with other up incoming broadcasters and community involvement better defined the type of person he was.

One particularly well known local broadcaster owes his start to Verl;s generosity young Dave Dedrick.

Walked in and said I don't have any experience, but I would like to know how to be an announcer.

My dad gave him a job, you know, he trusted that people were going to learn and do a good job and I to learn and do a good job and I decided that I'd run the news.

In a straight fashion till 10:15.

Then I would comment.

Either on what I just read.

Or something.

It was quite current what he called radio tutorials, which were editorials that he wrote about issues that that he wanted people to know his opinion about.

And you know it was very popular and he had never heard of this being done anywhere else but his radio tutorials became very popular.

Well it caught hold.

Developed quite an audience.

I think I was wise enough, apparently was.

Not to get in too deep.

Where something was controversial, he was able to affect change.

Sometimes in the community.

By doing this and then he was also became very, very active in the Community and he was the head of, you know, at one time or another President of everything, the Chamber of Commerce, the Cosmopolitan club, the United Fund, this, this and that.

Because he was a leader, one of Verls innovations went on to gain national attention.

Joe Floyd owned the state theater in Sioux Falls and so he wanted Dad to Come up with a show that would be of interest during those war years that time.

They had the air base here.

Thinking over what would bring in soldiers.

So to think I have.

The idea.

And it would be.

That we would bring in a girl.

And.

Put her up on stage.

And then two soldiers.

Down in the audience with microphones.

Would say choose me.

Well, she couldn't really see either one of them And here is a reason why.

And then she would choose one of them.

And would go out on a date after the show with him calling it GI blind date.

And it was a tremendous success and worked great.

Well then he had a chance to go to Chicago.

He said, do you mind if I offer it to friends back there is a idea for a program.

First thing I knew and not only was offered to a program.

It became a network show.

Called blind date.

As an employer, Verl had a very generous nature.

One of his employees didn't have enough money at Christmas time to give their family presents, and so my dad had all these toys that he would keep as prizes to give out.

And he had this this big long closet behind his office and.

And so Christmas came.

And he found that that this man's family didn't have any presents, and so he went back in in that closet, and he pulled out toys, and he had wrapping paper about them all himself, and and gave this family.

Toys and they were just, you know, forever really, really grateful for his kindness.

Burl sold KSID after 18 years.

It is still on the air today as KWSN.

Looking back I mean just the idea that you were part of this great thing.

I don't think it on one day or one event.

It's just a glow from.

That many years.

Verl'swork as a broadcaster served as an inspiration for his daughter, Ginger, who has her own successful broadcasting career.

He was so thrilled when I decided to go into broadcasting a lot of things that I that I have done over.

You know the course of my life I've done because of his influence, of course, but not realizing that's why I was doing them.

So he certainly had a huge, huge impact on my life.

But he also had a huge huge impact on many, many other people's lives too.

Once his time on the air was over.

Verl went on to serve as an advocate and voice for other broadcasters in South Dakota in 1966. he sold the station he was going to semi retire so he was kind of looking forward to you know he had worked for a long time and then right away they asked if he would become executive director of the South Dakota Broadcasters Association, which you know he agreed to do and then he did that for another 20 years until in fact just a year or so before he died.

In 1971 Verl Thompson Was inducted into the South Dakota Broadcasters Hall of Fame being the first person recognized with that honor, broadcasting would look different today if it weren't for Verl Thompson.

I looked back with a great deal of.

I looked back with a great deal of.

Of pride, because here you were a part of.

Something that the whole world.

Now figures is indispensable.

And so you feel like his joy or while a small cog.

At least you're in the right wheel.