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1971-2021
Thanksgiving Day
WAFT Radio 101.1 was in the plan of God long before Jack and Frankie Tidwell ever imagined it. Following the Lord's leading they arrived in Valdosta in 1971, landed in a cow pasture right outside Valdosta and began manually building a building that would soon house 101.1. The call letters, WAFT, are from the old hymn, Jesus Saves. The second verse begins:
Waft it on the rolling tide:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Tell to sinners far and wide:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Since its beginning, the purpose of WAFT was to share the Good News of the
Gospel and help believers mature and grow in their walk with the Lord.
Now...50 years later....we continue to proclaim those same truths!
God has chosen to use people - just like you - to keep WAFT strong.
Thank you for giving to the ministry of WAFT! As we celebrate turning 50 years old,
won't you give a special gift to the Lord in honor of all that HE has done.
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When Jack went home to be with the Lord in 1990, his son,
Bill took up the mantle and continues to lead the ministry today.
Frankie continued working and being an inspiration to so many
listeners until her retirement. She too has gone on to be with the Lord.
Her children have fond memories of early days at WAFT:
Shelia: Mama crying every morning before she went to work in Jacksonville.
We needed the money with Daddy not working, except in Valdosta building
the station.....and helping put the rafters on the building one Saturday.
4 skinny daughters picking up those HEAVY rafters, maneuvering them to lean one end against the building where Daddy, Jerry and Evan hauled them up and nailed them in place......and I got married in the middle of all this.
Jackie: Daddy sent me a handwritten letter (I was away in college) telling me all about the move to Valdosta and the first hour on the air. I knew he was excited because he never wrote letters.
Sally: I was a teen at the time. So Daddy let me have a Saturday afternoon show. I loved it. He made me feel like I could do anything .
If I had any questions, I just hollered out the back window. I had to holler over the tiller.
Carol: When the phone call came from the telegraph office, Daddy sent Sally to pick up the physical copy of the telegram so he could legally begin broadcasting. And I got to ride with her.
Bill: I remember the adventure of "moving to the country" and camping in the woods with the cows and snakes.
Tom: My most vivid memory was the day the first tower was erected. It was exciting for a young kid and I remember that most of the Mailbox Club and Calvary Church people came to watch.
