The popular radio program "Hawaii Calls" will celebrate its 80th anniversary next year. Webley Edwards, the creator, producer and longtime host of "Hawaii Calls," was an important media figure on both the national and local level. This month we look back on Edwards and his career.

Edwards was born in 1902 in Corvallis, Ore. While in high school, he made his first connection to the Pacific islands.

"Our next-door neighbor was a Tahitian who made ukuleles as a hobby. He gave me one and taught me how to play it," he said.

Then, while attending an Army ROTC program at Fort Lewis in Washington state, he met a group of University of Hawaii students. "It wasn’t long before I was invited to join their Hawaii chorus. I made up my mind then where I wanted to live," said Edwards in a 1965 interview with the Honolulu Advertiser.

Edwards attended Oregon State University, where his father taught chemistry. He quarterbacked the football team, ran the Sigma Delta Chi journalism fraternity and delivered the news for the campus radio station. He later managed the station, but decided to fulfill his dream of living in the islands.

Leaving OSU a few credits short of graduating, Edwards departed with his new bride, Louise, aboard the SS Malolo to Honolulu. He already had a job lined up in Honolulu playing football for Scotty Schuman’s Town Team and selling automobiles for Schuman’s dealership.

"I soon found out that selling autos was not my line," he said.

KGU radio hired Edwards in 1929 and eventually he served as assistant manager. Edwards briefly returned to the mainland in 1934 to work at KNX radio in Los Angeles. He returned six months later, managing KGMB radio.

"I wanted to see if I really wanted to live in Hawaii," he said.

When Edwards visited KRFC radio in San Francisco, he heard their version of a Hawaiian-style broadcast. "It’s alright, but it isn’t Hawaiian," he told station executives.

They told Edwards that if he could deliver something better, they would broadcast it. While back in Hawaii, Edwards gathered local musicians and personally paid for the time on the trans-Pacific telephone hookup. The Hawaii tourism bureau underwrote the expenses and the show, "Hawaii Calls," launched in July 1935.

Then camE the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. A new puppy woke Edwards early in the morning so he was alert when he received an urgent phone call from his colleagues at KGMB saying the police had informed them Pearl Harbor was under attack.

"An explosion shook the dishes. I thought an ammunition dump had blown up. It was the first bomb at Bellows Field. I thought it was a helluva disaster," said Edwards.

But he was reluctant to break the news at first because Orson Welles’ "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast of 1938 was still fresh in the minds of many. That Halloween radio report fooled listeners and caused panic in cities throughout the country. After verifying the reports about Pearl Harbor, Edwards drove to the station.

"I could see the smoke. I knew then it really was an attack," he said.

KGMB radio staff spent the next three hours warning people, even climbing the radio tower to get better views of Pearl Harbor and accurate descriptions to the public. Despite all this, many residents still did not believe what they were hearing on the radio or in the sky, which prompted Edwards to utter on radio: "Some people think this is a maneuver. This is not a maneuver. This is the real McCoy."

Shortly thereafter, CBS promoted Edwards to Pacific bureau manager. He later received a commendation from Navy Secretary James Forrestal for his coverage of the fighting in the Pacific.

Edwards was on the deck of the USS Missouri when Japan surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945. He had been chosen by Adm. Chester Nimitz to witness the ceremony.

"He knew I’d been in at the start and he wanted me to see the finish," said Edwards.

With the war over, Edwards resumed his duties producing "Hawaii Calls" and writing a weekly column for the Honolulu Advertiser. Edwards entered politics in 1952, first as a representative to the Hawaii Legislature. That same year, he was hired as the executive producer of KONA (now KHON) television. Edwards was the very first news anchorman for the station.

He served as state senator from 1966 until 1968. Edwards suffered a series of strokes in 1972 and had to give up his "Hawaii Calls" hosting duties. He died at the age of 74 on Oct. 5, 1977, in Honolulu.

A.J. McWhorter, a collector of film and videotape cataloging Hawaii’s TV history, has worked as a producer, writer and researcher for both local and national media. Email him at flashback@hawaii.rr.com.