It airs a mix of Americana, Bluegrass, Classic Country and Southern Gospel music, along with some brokered Christian talk and teaching shows.

Ralph Epperson observed in 1948 that the popularity of old-time music was falling off, and one area radio station needed to take on the job of preserving it.

Fiddle player Benton Flippen helped dedicate the new studio February 1, 1948, the night before actual broadcasts began.

Epperson's "Merry Go-Round," which began airing on WPAQ in 1948, was the third-longest live-music show on radio in 1998 (The Grand Ole Opry was the longest-running).

Epperson did pretty much everything, working as a DJ during the day, selling air time, repairing equipment, sometimes sleeping on a cot at the station before he got married.

The golden, 6-inch-thick pine doors built by Epperson's cousin to cloak the sound in the station's studios remain in place.

Epperson still uses some of the same equipment he installed at the beginning -- black, hulking boxes of electronics with sturdy knobs and rounded, glass gauges.Unlike other stations that changed in order to make money, WPAQ remained committed to its traditions.

On April 5, 2007, which would have been Epperson's 86th birthday, WPAQ began streaming over the Internet—with Flippen playing his fiddle once again for the occasion—allowing the station to be heard all over the world.