Philanthropy

A higher frequency

Holy Family Radio in Glandorf has grown from a small station operating out of a tiny trailer on Tom and Mary Ann Deitering’s property in Leipsic to now reach nearly 250,000 people throughout Northwest Ohio

BY ELISHA VALLADARES-CORMIER

Since Pope Pius XI became the first pope to speak over the airwaves in 1931, radio has been a key method for Catholic communication and evangelization. From the pontiff’s first remarks on Vatican Radio to Venerable Fulton Sheen’s preaching on his show The Catholic Hour in the 1940s to Catholic Answers Live today, millions of souls have encountered the Gospel message through Catholic radio stations throughout the world.

Holy Family Radio in Glandorf is one such example. A grassroots effort started by Mary Ann Deitering and her late husband Tom, the station has grown from a single station broadcasting from the Deiterings’ Leipsic home to now three stations throughout the state with plans to continue expanding.

“We’re so thankful for the impact Holy Family Radio has had,” said Mary Ann, a parishioner of Holy Family Parish in New Cleveland. “I believe that as a result of our station, people have learned so much about our faith and about their own relationship with God.”

FAITHFUL BEGINNINGS

To say that Mary Ann and Tom were high school sweethearts doesn’t tell the whole story. They met when they were about 10 years old; her best friend was his first cousin. They began dating when they were both 16. After Tom served two years in the army from 1955-57, the couple married in 1959 at the age of 23.

Tom worked at Sylvania Electric before founding Deitering Landscaping in Leipsic. Mary Ann worked for some time at the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company and the Putnam County Health Department. They raised six children — four sons and two daughters — on their country property near Leipsic.

A key component of the Deiterings’ marriage and family life was their Catholic faith. They prayed a rosary as a family every night they could, and Mary Ann and Tom served in several parish and liturgical ministries. “God played a big part in our life,” she said.

VOICES FROM THE HEAVENS (& AIRWAVES)

Mary Ann recalled that Tom always said he felt very close to God when driving a tractor around the vast and peaceful countryside. Sometime around 2000, as Tom approached retirement, he was tuning between different stations on his radio when he came across programming from EWTN Global Catholic Radio.

“He felt there was a real need for evangelizing and sharing the truths of our Catholic faith,” Mary Ann said. “So he began to research more about starting a Catholic radio station.”

Tom began visiting stations in Cincinnati; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Ann Arbor, Mich. and peppered station owners with questions on how to operate a station. The Deiterings attended EWTN’s annual Catholic Radio Conference in Irondale, Ala., where they learned that the Catholic media powerhouse would provide them with programming if they acquired a station themselves.

The couple hired an engineer to look for available frequencies and formed a corporation in 2005 to help guide their quest. Around this time, the Deiterings began sponsoring weekly Catholic programming — primarily personal faith testimonies — from the Franciscan Hour on a local secular station.

After finally obtaining a frequency — WJTA 88.9 FM in Glandorf and Leipsic — from the Federal Communications Commission in 2009, Tom and Mary Ann began furnishing a small construction trailer and radio tower on their property. With prayers and financial support from Catholics throughwout Putnam County, Holy Family Radio went live on Aug. 10, 2010 — Northwest Ohio’s first full-time Catholic radio station and the first in the Diocese of Toledo.

Then Diocese of Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair came to bless the station, and more than 500 people attended an event celebrating the station’s opening. “It was a very happy time for us,” Mary Ann recalled.

A kick-off dinner for Holy Family Radio took place on Aug. 1, 2011. Bishop (now Archbishop of Hartford in Connecticut) Leonard P. Blair introduced local and area listeners to the new station. Archbishop Blair is pictured with founders Tom and Mary Ann Deitering.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

SPREADING THE GOSPEL

Tom died just two years after the station opened, but its mission lives on. Programming consists primarily of EWTN shows such as daily Mass, “Women of Grace” and “The Doctor is In,” but also content from other networks, such as “The Bishop’s Corner” from Annunciation Radio.

According to Deacon Jeff Compton, the station’s managing director since 2011, Holy Family Radio now reaches about 250,000 listeners. The station, which is entirely funded by its listeners, has expanded to include 88.7 FM in Findlay (2017) and to the Ada and Lima area on 94.9 FM (2020). Additionally, there are plans to continue expanding to Van Wert and Fostoria, which would increase the station’s reach by about 75,000.

Holy Family Radio moved to a new facility located in the parish center for St. John the Baptist Parish in Glandorf on August 10, 2022 — the station’s 12th anniversary. Mary Ann Deitering is pictured with Deacon Jeff Compton, the station's managing director, in his new office.

PHOTO BY SCOTT W. GRAU/SPECIAL TO THE DIOCESE OF TOLEDO

“The impact of Catholic radio cannot be overestimated,” Deacon Compton said. “Thousands of people listen each day to be educated, formed and inspired in the Catholic faith. We have hundreds of testimonials and encouraging notes from people. Many who have returned to the faith after being away for years, others who have learned, evangelized and defended the faith, and some have credited Holy Family Radio for bringing them into the Church.”

On August 10, 2022 — the station’s 12th anniversary — Holy Family Radio moved to a new facility that is located in the parish center for St. John the Baptist Parish in Glandorf. A capital campaign had raised nearly $65,000 to completely renovate an old classroom on the parish’s campus to house the station. The new facility, which Bishop Daniel Thomas blessed last September, gives the station a studio environment that will allow it to produce more original content, such as podcasts and live-stream instudio content on YouTube.

Bishop Daniel E. Thomas visited the new studio to bless the facility in September 2022. He said, "May Holy Family Radio's fine new station and location serve to enhance the commitment and communication going forward in announcing the Gospel, sharing information and in witnessing to Christ the Lord! How blessed we are to have Holy Family Radio in our Diocese!"

PHOTO COURTESY BISHOP DANIEL E. THOMAS

Mary Ann takes pride in the station’s evolution as it has grown from its humble beginnings. She knows Tom would be proud, too.

“It means so much to see all the hard work Tom did take place,” she said. “We’ve always felt that this was meant to be if it was God’s will, and we’re very thankful for all the support we’ve had.”