Rádio Cruz de Malta FM

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In Lauro Müller, the history of radio began in March 1946, when Aldo Speck, with knowledge on the subject, decided, with the help of his brother Adalberto, Abady Rufino de Souza, Dr. Cotrin and Benjamim Barreto, to install a radio station. It worked normally with a loudspeaker installed on a wooden pole in the place where Mr. Alexandre Doneda now resides. In hiding, he worked for about three years as Rádio Clube de Lauro Muller. In 1949 a team formed by Dr. José de Lerner Rodrigues, Monsignor Bernardo Peters, João Correia Bittencourt, Benjamin Barreto, Aldo Speck, Walter Holthausen and Adalberto Speck, formed a society and founded Rádio Sociedade Cruz de Malta Ltda, originating from Rádio Clube by Lauro Muller. The first studio was installed in a 3x4m house (photo), where the INSS agency currently works.

During more than half a century of activity, several announcers occupied the microphones, among them: Abady Rufino de Souza, Marlene Souza, Benjamim Barreto, Walmor Jung, Rogê Carryl, Ailton Fernandes, Pedro Barcelos, the couple João and Dulce Claudino Soares, Maria Helena Bittencourt, Argemiro Raulino Mendes, Pedro Raimundo, Aires de Medeiros, Valmir Luiz, Gedy Jung, Luiz Belmiro, Juarez Rufino Rabelo, Walter Filho, Pedro Lopes, Antônio Querino Filho, Ariete Ruzza, Alcimar Jung, Ari Girardi, Antonio da Luz, Pedro Paulo Luciano (Caixinha), José Luiz Mello, Pedro Paulo Miranda, Rubens Rufino Rabelo.

But not only good announcers make a radio. It is necessary that the technical and technological devices guarantee the station's maintenance on the air. This was possible thanks to the work of Mr. João Rufino Rabelo, whose life story is intertwined with the story of the Maltese Cross.

At that time, the power was 100 watts, with a 110-meter tower located in the Arizona neighborhood. It reached municipalities in the region and reached Rio Grande do Sul, where many miners who went to work at the Canastra Plant were able to capture the signal due to the height of the tower and the inexistence of other stations. The radio did not have a telephone or recorder, contact with listeners was through correspondence and commercials were all live. The opening hours were from 6 am to 12:30 pm, with a break, and restarted from 2 pm to 10 pm. The control of listeners' satisfaction was done through the number of letters received and visits to the studio. On weekends, announcer João Claudino Soares, hosted the program “Dedications”, inspired by a similar one on Rádio Farroupilha, in Porto Alegre, where the listener paid to pay homage to someone.

The program “Domingo Alegre” was created and presented by Valmor Jung, known until today as Compadre Manduca, who was sponsored by the company “Massas Familiar”. It was an auditorium show with troubadours and sertaneja duos from the region. There was a charge for admission, even so the auditorium was packed.
Through Monsignor Bernardo Petters, a campaign was carried out under the name “Microfone de Deus” to acquire shares in the station. The population contributed and on Sundays the Monsignor thanked him at mass. It was a success, they managed to buy 45% of them.