"Happy Jack" O'Malley was one of the many great personalities who vaulted WNAX to prominence in the late 1920's and 1930's.

Begun by Gurney Seed and Nursery and the upstart Dakota Radio Apparatus Company, WNAX was destined to become one of Yankton's constants for the 20th Century with its first broadcast of recorded music on Nov. 25, 1922.

In May 1922, the Dakota Radio Apparatus Company was established in Yankton. President of the firm was E. O. Walgren, an accountant and former official of the Schwenk-Barth Brewing Company. E. C. "Al" Madson, a man from Mankato, Minn., with radio experience, applied to the U.S. Department of Commerce for a license to operate a "sending station" in conjunction with the company's sales activities as a distributor of Crosley radios. Commerce Secretary and future United States President Herbert Hoover approved, and WNAX was born on Nov. 9, 1922.

Madson and Walgren teamed with Cecil Bauer to set up their radio equipment on the second floor of the Wagner Block on the west side of Walnut between Third and Fourth streets. Then, with an aerial strung between two pipes on the roof of the building, Madson prepared with 50 watts of power to reach out to the estimated 500 receivers within a 40-mile radius of Yankton.

On Nov. 25, 1922, WNAX broadcasted music from a "talking machine" as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the First National Bank (now First Dakota). On Dec.1, 1922, WNAX broadcasted its first radio concert from 10:30 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. The station received congratulatory messages from the surrounding area throughout the next day. An equal amount of enthusiasm swept over receiving set owners when WNAX broadcast its second concert from the Hess (now Dakota) Theater on Dec. 10 with the municipal band providing music.

Radio buffs were excited, but WNAX in 1922 was developing too quickly for Yankton. Potential advertisers did not invest in the new concept because it was new and untested, and the programming was too unstable. Over the next few years the station went on and off the air, often having to accept a part-time broadcast schedule.

Eventually Madson sold the license to Gurney Seed and Nursery for $2,000. WNAX went on the air under its new ownership on Feb. 28, 1927.

Not even listed in the local newspaper's year-end announcements of achievements in 1922, WNAX went on to become one of the most important industries in Yankton history. In the process, it helped launch the careers of some of Yankton's most notable people, including John Chandler "Chan" Gurney and Lawrence Welk.