OUT OF THIN AIR Because of CFCY's outstanding relationship with such manufactur¬ ers as General Electric , Bob knew he could buy equipment on generous terms through a few select companies. Before the new station was ready to go on air, a year of intensive planning was required—not to mention a substantial increase in staff. We were confronted with a whopping investment of over a quarter of a million dollars—multiply that by ten and you will approximate today's equivalent. The pressures were enormous. Bob gives a great deal of credit to his young assistant Lome Finley at that time for taking a huge load off his shoulders. Lome, who came from a small Island farming community, was one of those young men who seem to be born with a special knowledge. Armed only with a few correspondence courses on the technology of television transmission, Lome—assisted by the installation staff of Canadian General Electric in Toronto —oversaw the technical installation at Strathgartney . Strathgartney had been picked originally by Dad as the Island's highest suitable point for television transmission. The experts suggested that we should install a new and larger tower than the one Dad had installed earlier. The old tower which had been Dad 's pride and joy held so much significance for us all. We couldn't believe that it was now considered short. It had been at West Royalty for so many years and with its twin was our first "high tower", transmitting programs over a wide area of the . But technology often supersedes sentiment and a lofty and more modern one was ordered. Upon reflection however, I'm sure if Dad had been alive he would have approved and enjoyed the building of this new tower. He had jubi¬ lantly scaled the old one, and I have no doubt he would have attempted to climb this new Everest which was 600 feet high, 936 feet above sea level, and which could direct power along the entire length of Prince Edward Island , and towards New Glasgow and. Nova Scotia . When we expanded from radio to television the old staff had to learn the new tricks of the new trade. Of course, working in a visual medium meant hiring people with visual skills, such as artists. Our first fulltime artist was young Henry Purdy , fresh from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and only just turned twenty. As in the early days of radio, in the early days of television money was in short supply. Helen Herring , who had done so many womens' programs on radio, was about to be launched on her television program Today at Home. Bob called in the production crew and admonished 168