Our Lady of the Lake Sunday Mass aired at 9 AM

Dcn.  Clarence Campbell, who serves the five-parish Catholic Communities of  Ashland Cluster, points to Our Lady of the Lake’s bell tower, now home  to the radio transmitter for the only Catholic radio station  transmitting from within the Diocese of Superior. Campbell, a member of  the Catholic clergy and local radio personality, has been very involved  with the Holy Family Radio Association since its inception. (Submitted  photo)

Jenny Snarski
Catholic Herald Staff
jsnarski@catholicdos.org

WWMD – What would Mary do?

The letters comprise the station identification for the only Catholic  radio station transmitting within the Diocese of Superior. What they  stand for is the inspiration behind the Holy Family Radio Association,  evangelizing the Chequamegon Bay area since 2007.

In early March, the transmitting equipment was moved to Our Lady of  the Lake Church in Ashland, with the antenna now located inside the bell  tower.

Taking a decade to complete, construction of the bell tower at the  church began in 1887. Just before the turn of the last century, the  large bells started ringing out to announce the start of Mass as well as  the hours of the day, and they have been tolling those times for more  than 100 years.

Historically, bells were also rung as the call to worship, the signal that the church’s service was about to begin.

More than the hour is being marked since the radio transmitter was  moved to the bell tower. With a new frequency at 95.3 FM (note: frequency is now 94.3 FM), a slight dial  turn  from the previous 95.5, Relevant Radio’s around-the-clock  programming is available with a much stronger signal covering the Bay  area.

Under the suspension of public Masses, Sunday mornings have seen the  addition of a radio broadcast of the Mass, “and lots of our parishioners  really appreciate it.” Ric Johnson said.

Johnson is the business administrator for the cluster.

He added that in “changing times,” the younger generation “prefers  the Facebook transmission” with the added feature of video. Even so, the  station’s signal – and mission – has been amplified.

It was changing times – seeing a need for adult catechesis in a time  when Catholics were becoming “lukewarm or leaving the church altogether”  – that was behind the establishment of the station as reported in an  October 2014 article in the Catholic Herald.

Johnson added that WWMD has dreamed of being able to reach a larger listener base.

Almost as a precursor to the bell tower’s prominent new role for Holy  Family Radio, new attention was had already been drawn to the structure  when a timer-run LED lighting system was installed last fall to light  up the spire’s stained glass windows facing Highway 2.

The windows, donated many years ago by the Catholic Knights, have been dark for almost as many years.

The parish administrator noted funds donated by the parish’s funeral  lunch ladies and offer of time and expertise of Wire Right Electric (ran  by parishioners Jeff Kupczyk and son Dan Kupczyk) were invaluable  resources.

“A wonderful gift of stewardship – time, talent and treasure!” Johnson said.

He called special attention to another member of Our Lady of the  Lake, Dcn. Clarence Campbell, who has shared countless hours of his own  time and talent with the radio station.

Dcn. Campbell has been a staple member of the station’s board of  directors for many years. He is a local radio personality broadcasting  for high school sports and, according to Johnson, “has wonderful  connections and expertise for radio equipment, engineering and licensure  issues.”

Johnson called him “a major driving force behind the success of our little, local gem of a Catholic radio station.”

“Prior to the recent moving … the transmission shed was east of town – way out in the woods,” Johnson said.

It was the deacon who would receive frequent calls to troubleshoot  problems that took that station off the air – from brushing snow off the  satellite dish to removing hornets’ nests infesting the site.

With the antenna located in the bell tower, the use of the parish’s  high speed internet connection is available for connecting to Relevant  Radio in Green Bay. This also allows Campbell – “the current voice of  WWMD radio” – to record and save his regular messages with greater ease.

One of the more challenging issues was working with the Federal  Communications Commission and professional radio engineers to prevent  overlapping of nearby stations’ stronger signals, determining the exact  frequency for WWMD. The transmitter move has given the station an  unimpeded signal transmission to a five-mile radius in the Ashland area.

“It would be a dream, and is a hope, for the future” that WWMD’s broadcast area would be even larger, Johnson said.

“All it takes is funding,” he stated.

A scheduled fundraiser in March was cancelled as coronavirus safety  measures were put into place. Funds raised were to be designated to  complete the upgrade and in anticipation of expenses in the coming  months.

Donations are welcome. Checks can be made out to Holy Family Radio  and mailed to the parish office at Our Lady of the Lake, 201 Lake Shore  Drive E, Ashland, WI 54806.

(NOTE: please use address of Our Lady of the Lake Pastoral Office, 106 N 2nd Ave E, Ashland, WI 54806 instead)

Added: June 8, 2020

Catholic radio clarifications

A note from reporter Jenny Snarski:

After publication of the May 28 article that included coverage of  Ashland’s 95.3 WWMD, it was brought to our attention that it is not the  only Catholic radio station broadcasting from within the geographic  boundaries of the Diocese of Superior.

Within the last five years, two other stations have been established.

There is 88.1 WWEN, which is one of the stations in the Real Presence  radio network based out of Fargo, North Dakota. Airing in the Duluth  and Superior area, the station’s transmitter is licensed in Wentworth,  WI. Real Presence Radio is affiliated with EWTN and airs their  programming with a few locally produced programs.

More information is available at yourcatholicradiostation.com and on Facebook at “Real Presence Radio Network.”

Another Relevant Radio affiliate – as is WWMD – is KSPP, broadcasting  in the Woodruff, Tomahawk, Rhinelander and Eagle River region as  Northwoods Catholic Radio.

Programming information is available at relevantradio.com.

Northwoods Catholic Radio has a website at  northwoodscatholicradio.org and Facebook page called “Northwoods  Catholic Radio” which has a signal strength map.

We apologize for the misinformation.

It was also requested that I note that Clarence Campbell, pictured  with the May 28 article, has not been involved with Ashland WWMD since  the beginning, rather for approximately the last eight years.