{"id":66945,"date":"2026-08-31T07:08:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=66945"},"modified":"2026-08-31T07:08:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:08:30","slug":"reader-research-request-wbw-burrwood-louisiana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/08\/reader-research-request-wbw-burrwood-louisiana\/","title":{"rendered":"Reader Research Request: WBW Burrwood, Louisiana"},"content":{"rendered":"

SWLing Post<\/em> reader Nathan Woodruff is researching his late grandfather, a US Navy radio operator in WWII who later worked as a maritime radio operator for the United Fruit Company.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>Family photos suggest his grandfather spent roughly six months, around 1947, working at the WBW coastal radio station in Burrwood, Louisiana \u2014 the former Tropical Radio Telegraph Company station that, according to most records, ceased operations decades earlier when United Fruit consolidated its coastal network.<\/p>\n

Nathan’s key question: how long did WBW actually operate as a relay station?<\/strong> If WBW shut down in the 1920s or ’30s as records suggest, then either the family timeline is off, or a smaller facility carried on under that call sign (or a related one) into the post-war years. If you have any information about WBW, Burrwood, or Gulf Coast coastal stations operating into the 1940s, please leave a comment below. I’ll pass along anything useful to Nathan \u2014 and I’ve included the photo of the station from his grandfather’s album above.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SWLing Post reader Nathan Woodruff is researching his late grandfather, a US Navy radio operator in WWII who later worked as a maritime radio operator for the United Fruit Company. Family photos suggest his grandfather spent roughly six months, around 1947, working at the WBW coastal radio station in Burrwood, Louisiana \u2014 the former Tropical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,305,288],"tags":[10651,11180,11181],"class_list":["post-66945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","tag-tropical-radio-telegraph-company","tag-wbw","tag-wbw-burrwood"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-hpL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61626,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/bridging-two-worlds-shortwave-listening-meets-amateur-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":66945,"position":0},"title":"Bridging Two Worlds: Shortwave Listening Meets Amateur Radio","author":"Thomas","date":"January 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When the SWL and Amateur Radio hobbies meet by\u00a0 Dan Greenall Many of us who are also amateur radio operators, got their start in the hobby through simply listening to shortwave radio, or perhaps, to stations in the AM or FM broadcast bands.\u00a0 I suppose it is then inevitable that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/YN1Z-Nicaragua-1978.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/YN1Z-Nicaragua-1978.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/YN1Z-Nicaragua-1978.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/YN1Z-Nicaragua-1978.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/YN1Z-Nicaragua-1978.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61491,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/rediscovering-the-golden-age-of-utility-dxing\/","url_meta":{"origin":66945,"position":1},"title":"Rediscovering the Golden Age of Utility DXing","author":"Thomas","date":"December 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Greenall, who writes: Hi Thomas Back in the 1970's, I used to enjoy hunting for \"utility\" radio stations outside the regular SWBC bands. When I came across a copy of the Utility DXer's Handbook from 1971 recently on eBay, I couldn't resist purchasing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/udxh-cover.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/udxh-cover.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/udxh-cover.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/udxh-cover.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9949,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/george-steins-connection-to-the-1906-fessenden-christmas-eve-broadcast\/","url_meta":{"origin":66945,"position":2},"title":"George Stein’s connection to the 1906 Fessenden Christmas Eve broadcast","author":"Thomas","date":"June 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Some of you may recall that last year, I posted an announcement about WG2XFQ; this station annually airs Brian Justin's longwave broadcast honoring Reginald Fessenden\u2019s famous Christmas Eve'n 1906 AM voice transmission. I had been\u00a0lucky enough to capture a recording of this commemorative event on WG2XFQ\u00a0in 2013. Just yesterday, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (October 6, 1866 \u2013 July 22, 1932)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Fessenden-202x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24842,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/the-first-maritime-radio-distress-call\/","url_meta":{"origin":66945,"position":3},"title":"The first maritime radio distress call","author":"Thomas","date":"March 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: The Telegraph via Mike Barraclough on Facebook) On 17 March 1899, the East Goodwin Sands Lightship, operating under a licence from the General Post Office, BT\u2019s predecessor, sent a signal on behalf of the merchant vessel Elbe, which had run aground on the treacherous Goodwin Sands off the coast\u2026","rel":"","context":"In 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