Frank Altdoerffer, Sr.

Inducted 1996
Deceased  

Frank Altdoerffer's lifelong interest in radio began at age twelve when he built a wireless set.  During World War I he served as a radio operator in the Navy, and in World War II he operated a laboratory in Lancaster that manufactured radio and radar-related technical equipment.  

In 1946, he founded WLAN-AM.  Two years later, he built WLAN-FM at a time when FM receivers were almost nonexistent.  After several successful decades of running the stations, among the most popular in the area, he retired in 1980 as president of the Peoples Broadcasting Company. 

Altdoerffer family members continued to manage the station until the 1990s with three generations of Altdoerffers active in the station business.  

Altdoerffer also worked with Clair McCollough and the Steinman family to bring cable television to the Lancaster area.  He served as president of Cable Associates Inc.   Altdoerffer was an avid ham radio operator for most of his life. 

His powerful, shortwave radio set, the W3APO, made the first contact with Admiral Byrd's South Pole Expedition.  Radio contacts with Byrd extended over a period of several months in 1936.    Altdoerffer's longtime affiliation with the Lancaster Blind Association led to his development of a radio station for the blind in Lancaster. 

Using a subcarrier authorization of WLAN-FM, which he donated to the Blind Association, Altdoerffer built the station in 1972.  It was the first such station in Pennsylvania and the sixth in the nation.  The radio center was named for the Altdoerffer family in recognition of  Altdoerffer's service to the Association. The station provides blind listeners with news and other programming information several hours each day.  

In addition to his broadcasting efforts, Altdoerffer was a civic and business leader of Lancaster.  He served 25 years as president and director of the Blind Association of Lancaster.  He served on the board of directors of a number of commercial establishments. He was a director of the Boy Scouts of America and the Mental Health Association of Lancaster.