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Senior Wednesday – Women in Wichita Radio, 1922-1960

Senior Wednesdays are informational and entertaining sessions, designed for active seniors and offered by a collaboration of local institutions. Learn more at Seniorwednesday.org

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum offers their Senior Wednesdays on the 4th Wednesday of each month, January-October.

SEPTEMBER’S TOPIC: “WOMEN IN WICHITA RADIO, 1922-1960”

PRESENTED BY KRYSTI CARLSON-GOERING

This presentation is a historical study of radio, focusing on the work roles of women in early Wichita, Kansas radio programming. With its rich history of innovation and the flat plains of Kansas, Wichita provided ideal conditions for radio signal transmission, making it a prime location for building radio stations. Carlson-Goering’s research explores whether women were involved in on-air announcing or programming roles from the early days of Wichita radio until 1960, and if so, what contributions they made. It also examines whether these pioneering women were excluded from mainstream news programming or confined to behind-the-scenes roles. This presentation will highlight the women and the roles they held, based on her findings.

About the Presenter:

Krysti Carlson-Goering is a Sales Solution Engineer at Hyland Software, based in Cleveland, Ohio, and a Ph.D. candidate in History at Kansas State University. Her research focuses on the history of gender and technology, particularly as it pertains to women in communication and media technologies. Krysti holds a Master’s degree in Communication from Wichita State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Newman University.

Her master’s thesis explored the roles of women in Wichita, Kansas radio from 1922-1960, with an emphasis on those in management and on-air positions. Currently, she is working on her dissertation, which examines the involvement of women in communication fields such as telegraph and telephone operations, wireless communications, and early broadcast radio.

In her free time, Krysti enjoys conducting family genealogy research and engaging in arts and crafts projects. She is married to John Goering, an assistant professor at Wichita State University in the School of Music, where he teaches jazz courses, including jazz piano, and performs as a piano player in Wichita and the surrounding area.

Krysti previously worked at Wichita State University for 20 years before joining Hyland in 2021. She also has experience in local radio, having worked at KFDI for six years in the production department, where she also did part-time on-air work and co-edited the KFDI Ranch Hand Roundup with Orin Friesen. Krysti lives in Derby, Kansas.

Doors open at 9:30am
Non-Member Admission Fee – $2 (Annual Memberships available starting at $25- Learn more at: Memberships)
Refreshments provided by the “Friends of the Historical Museum” (served prior to program).

Program starts at 10am  in the DeVore Auditorium (2nd Floor) – Tour to follow at 11am

(Due to capacity restrictions, program has limited seating of 60.)

The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum’s Senior Wednesday programs are made possible through a generous grant from the Charles and Joanne McIlwaine Foundation.

Don’t miss our final Senior Wednesday of 2025!

October 22nd – Museum Docents Present Their Favorites

Floor 2

On the second floor you’ll find: The DeVore Auditorium containing the Victorian Silver Plate exhibit, the Vintage Drugstore, A Child’s World exhibit, and numerous special exhibits.

Learn more