Ann Arbor Radio Pioneer Wedemeyer Dies

Ann Arbor Pioneer Wedemeyer Dies

George E. Wedemeyer, a U.S. Congressman’s son who entered the electronic age as a freight ship wireless operator and later ran Ann Arbor’s first radio station, died Friday. He was 90.

Wedemeyer, born in Ann Arbor in 1902, built a career on radio waves that ranged from working as a “sparks” on ocean freighters to starting a radio manufacturing and wholesaling business that has survived 65 years.

The son of pre-World War I Congressman William Wedemeyer, Wedemeyer got his first exposure to the radio business during an inspection trip with his father to the Panama Canal. Wedemeyer became fascinated with the “sparks” - the radio operator on the ship — and later became one himself before graduating from high school.

That early fascination later propelled him to run WQAJ, Ann Arbor’s first radio station, then to design radios and start a radio manufacturing, repair, and sales business in 1927. Wedemeyer Electronic Supply Co. still operates at 2280 S. Industrial Highway in Ann Arbor.

Along the way, Wedemeyer served as president of the National Electronic Distributors Association and the National Association of Wholesaler Distributors, a position that sometimes sent him to Washington, D.C., to offer testimony to congressional committees. Wedemeyer also served as president of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce and the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission.

Funeral arrangements are pending at Muehlig Chapel in Ann Arbor.

GEORGE E. WEDEMEYER .. .started 1st radio station