The history of WDOR dates back to the 1930’s, when Ed Allen Jr., who was working at WGN in Chicago, began taking fishing trips to Door County with Leon Schinkten, who grew up in Sturgeon Bay & was an Engineer at WGN. Ed eventually bought some property & decided that Door County would be a great place to live. By the late 1940’s Ed had gathered community support for a local radio station, & Door County Broadcasting Company was born. WDOR went on the air September 8th, 1951, & WDOR FM went on the air December 12th, 1966.
WDOR has been a family business from the beginning, Ed’s wife Dolores was on several shows through the years, but is probably best remembered for her recipe program, Five Minutes With Dolores Allen, which ran for over fifty years! All three of their children were involved in the family business to some degree, Kathy provided artwork for company logos & signs, David was an on air personality for a number of years, & Eddy began on air work when he was in high school & eventually took the business over from his father. The family tradition continues to this day at WDOR as Eddy’s son Danny is following in the footsteps of his father & grandfather.
WDOR strives to be part of the fabric of the community, providing coverage of local news, sports, & community events, upholding Ed’s vision of what a local radio station should be. WDOR, Local & Live Since 1951.
