In 1947, leaders of Highland Park Baptist, Chattanooga’s 20th century megachurch, wanted to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the church’s radio ministry.
The Chattanooga News-Free Press archive photo accompanying this article shows a huge cake prepared by a downtown bakery and later shared with many of the church’s then-3,000 members to mark five years of services on WDOD-AM, Chattanooga’s first radio station.
In those pretelevision days, religious organizations could extend their reach considerably through radio broadcasts. WDOD signed on in 1925 and for 11 years was the only radio station in Chattanooga. By 1947, when this photo was made, radio was still the dominant entertainment and news medium in America. WDEF television, Chattanooga’s first station, didn’t sign on until 1954.
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So, it’s easy to understand the importance of Chattanooga’s oldest radio station to Chattanooga’s biggest house of worship. By the 1950s, Highland Park Baptist was said to have the largest Sunday school enrollment in the world, with 6,000 registered members.