From classical tunes to old-time radio shows, Community Growth Radio (CGR) offers programming catered to the blind, visually impaired, disabled, seniors and veterans.
The station provides reading radio, which makes audiobooks and other material readings more easily accessible.
“What I enjoy nowadays is bringing a little slice of heaven for a few minutes to someone through a song or a book reading,” CGR owner Gerald Gaule said.
Gaule worked for the first reading radio program in the Pacific Northwest, known as Golden Hours, which opened in 1971. Graham Archer founded the program for his mother, who lived in a nursing home in Gresham, Oregon, Gaule said.
Following his radio career, Gaule used his experience in reading radio and show hosting to open his station, CGR, in 2013. Operating from his home in Vancouver, the station is Gaule’s passion project and his way of supporting the community.
Reading radio is a critical source of easily accessible entertainment and information for the blind, visually impaired and disabled, Gaule said. Some of CGR’s listeners cannot read because of poor vision. Others cannot hold heavy books, due to physical disability, Gaule said. The need for CGR has kept him dedicated to the project.
The station keeps Gaule busy, despite having reached retirement age. He spends his evenings managing the station’s three streams and preparing content. He curates the daily playlist from his collection, which includes over 56,000 “oldie” songs, Gaule said.
Stream One provides old-time radio shows, music, book readings and the occasional live show hosted by Gaule. Stream Two is similar but does not include live shows.
CGR is available online, as an internet radio station, but CGR’s broadcasts are also carried by larger stations. Through a technology called subsidiary communications authorization (SCA), CGR’s Channel One is re-broadcasted by KFAE-FM, part of Northwest Public Broadcasting, and KPBX-FM, part of Spokane Public Radio, Gaule said.
Through the internet radio station alone, CGR has had up to 700 concurrent listeners. Through the rebroadcasts and other online radio streaming services, Gaule expects many more are listening.
Digital audiobooks have grown in popularity, and text-to-speech has become more easily accessible to the blind and visually impaired community, but Gaule believes the need for reading radio will not disappear. CGR provides entertainment at the click of a button and doesn’t require additional searching online, Gaule said.
Many of CGR’s listeners are older and find comfort in radio instead of having to learn new technology, Gaule said,
“If it was going to be dead, it’d be completely gone,” Gaule said. “It’s still relevant despite its competing with current technology.”
Some of Gaule’s favorite programming on CGR includes War and Peace, hosted on Stream Three VetNet. He also loves the autobiographies, hosted on Stream One and Two. Gaule has also returned to hosting live radio shows on Stream One, where he accepts song requests from the audience.
To learn more, or listen to CGR, visit cgrradio2.wixsite.com/cgrradio. For more information, reach CGR at ccaisradio@gmail.com.
