WEBSTER TIMES April 25, 1973

Alfred F. Kleindienst, 76, of Beacon Park, Birch Island Rd., founder of Radio Station WORC in Worcester, died April 19, 1973 in his home.

He was born in Fulnek, Austria, the son of Franz and Antonia (Stenzel) Kleindienst, and lived here most of his life.

As a small boy, he mastered by himself the mysteries of the Continental Code, which was some years before he built his first radio set in 1912. With his first set he heard the Arlington time signals, and later he was to listen in on many of the earlier of the DeForest experiments in New York.

He became a "ham" operator in 1915, having his own transmitter, and securing a first grade commercial license at 18. A few years later he built a broadcasting station in Webster, securing a license to operate at Radio Station WKBE. The first program was broadcast from the station on Feb. 25, 1925.

The call letters of the station in Webster, which was one of the smallest towns in the nation to boast of a radio broadcasting station, was decided upon because of his affiliation at that time as a partner in the Kleindienst-Bandlow Electric Co. Mr. Bandlow shortly afterward left the company and Mr. Kleindienst carried on alone.

The first program broadcast from the Webster station was a sensation throughout this area. The primitive sets of that time suddenly became outlets through which perfect reception was possible.

At the start, Mr. Kleindienst operated his station on 10 watts power, but after a few this was increase to 100 watts. The programs were entirely by local people, arranged by the late Laurence J. Daly, then the editor of the TIMES. Mr. Daly served as the announcer and singer. He developed the "How do you do" song, writing the parodies to fit conditions of the day, to salute people in the area.

Radio Station WKBE was not only owned by Mr. Kleindienst but was built by him. Without any outside aid, he attended to every detail of construction and operation. Much of the equipment he made himself, and the operation was entirely in his charge. The studio was in his home on Emerald Ave.

In the fall of 1929, Mr. Kleindienst transferred the license to Worcester, and the call letters were changed to WORC. He operated the station until 1951, when he sold it to Providence interests.

During his operation of WORC, Mr. Kleindienst employed a number of announcers who later became nationally known, including Knox Manning and Ed Herlihy.

Mr Kleindienst also had an interest in photography. He turned his attention to motion pictures in 1930. The results of this interest was a complete study of the subject, and the purchase of expensive equipment with which to continue the work.

Mr. Kleindienst produced a sound picture in the Fall of 1938, an amazing picture, "My Son Charlie". was presented for the first time in December 1938 in the Webster Municipal Auditorium. Proceeds were donated to The TIMES Christmas Fund to provide Christmas dinners to needy families.

Every detail of the technical work involved was in Mr. Kleindienst charge. He did all the photography, arranged the lighting, supervised the sound, developed and printed the film, did all the editing and all other details and finally projected the picture on his own apparatus.

The picture was made at the home of Mr. Kleindienst: the shores of Webster Lake providing the setting for "Hawaiian" scenes. Mr. Kleindienst was made a member of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers.

He later became a world traveler, recording his experiences on film. His work in radio and photography led him into the world of inventing. He devised and built a 17 1/2 millimeter magnetic film recorder. It had high precision sprocket holes, accurate to a 10th of a thousandth of an inch, or about the thickness of dust.

He is survived by his widow Alice (Joslin) Kleindienst of Webster; two daughters, Barbara, wife of Sylvio Gilbert of Thompson, Conn., and Marjorie, wife of Robert Guidera of Stonington, Conn., a brother, John R. Kleindienst of Webster, and nine grandchildren.

Funeral services were held Saturday, April 21 at 11 a.m. from his home. The Rev. David T. P. Bradley, rector of the Church of the Reconciliation officiated. Burial was in Mount Zion Cemetery in charge of the Pike and Luther Funeral Home.